Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 26, 2022 / Notices 4039 

2022, at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/ 

training/nfa/about/bov.html. 

Eriks J. Gabliks, 

Superintendent, National Fire Academy, 

United States Fire Administration, Federal 

Emergency Management Agency. 

[FR Doc. 2022–01483 Filed 1–25–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–74–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R3–ES–2021–0158; 

FXES11140300000–212] 

Draft Environmental Assessment and 

Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan; 

Receipt of an Application for an 

Incidental Take Permit, Sugar Creek 

Wind Project, Logan County, Illinois 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comment and information. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), have received 

an application from Sugar Creek Wind 

One, LLC (applicant), for an incidental 

take permit (ITP) under the Endangered 

Species Act, for its Sugar Creek Wind 

Project (project). The applicant requests 

the ITP, which would be for a 30-year 

period, for the take of the federally 

listed endangered Indiana bat and 

threatened northern long-eared bat 

incidental to the otherwise lawful 

activities associated with the project. 

The applicant proposes a conservation 

program to minimize and mitigate for 

the unavoidable incidental take as 

described in their habitat conservation 

plan (HCP). The Service requests public 

comment on the application, which 

includes the applicant’s proposed HCP, 

and the Service’s draft environmental 

assessment, prepared pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act. The 

Service provides this notice to seek 

comments from the public and Federal, 

Tribal, State, and local governments. 

DATES: We will accept comments 

received or postmarked on or before 

February 25, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: 

Document availability: Electronic 

copies of the documents this notice 

announces, along with public comments 

received, will be available online in 

Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2021–0158 at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Comment submission: In your 

comment, please specify whether your 

comment addresses the proposed HCP, 

draft EA, or any combination of the 

aforementioned documents, or other 

supporting documents. You may submit 

written comments by one of the 

following methods: 

• Online: http://www.regulations.gov. 

Search for and submit comments on 

Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2021–0158. 

• By hard copy: Submit comments by 

U.S. mail to Public Comments 

Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R3– 

ES–2021–0158; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/ 

3W; Falls Church, VA 22041–3803. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kraig McPeek, Field Supervisor, 

Illinois-Iowa Ecological Services Field 

Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

1511 47th Ave., Moline, IL 61265; 

telephone: 309–757–5800, extension 

202; or Andrew Horton, Regional HCP 

Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service—Interior Region 3, 5600 

American Blvd. West, Suite 990, 

Bloomington, MN 55437–1458; 

telephone: 612–713–5337. 

Individuals who are hearing impaired 

or speech impaired may call the Federal 

Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339 for 

TTY assistance. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 9 of the Endangered Species 

Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and its 

implementing regulations prohibit the 

‘‘take’’ of animal species listed as 

endangered or threatened. ‘‘Take’’ is 

defined under the ESA as to ‘‘harass, 

harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, 

trap, capture, or collect [listed animal 

species], or to attempt to engage in such 

conduct’’ (16 U.S.C. 1538). However, 

under section 10(a) of the ESA, we may 

issue permits to authorize incidental 

take of listed species. ‘‘Incidental take’’ 

is defined by the ESA as take that is 

incidental to, and not the purpose of, 

carrying out an otherwise lawful 

activity. Regulations governing 

incidental take permits for endangered 

and threatened species, respectively, are 

found in the Code of Federal 

Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 

17.32. 

Applicant’s Proposed Project 

The applicant requests a 30-year ITP 

for take of the federally endangered 

Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and 

federally threatened northern long-eared 

bat (Myotis septentrionalis). The 

applicant determined that wind farm 

activities on this land are reasonably 

certain to result in incidental take of 

these federally listed species. Activity 

that could result in incidental take of 

Indiana bats and northern long-eared 

bats is the operation of 57 wind turbines 

occurring in Logan County, Illinois 

across approximately 12,120 acres of 

private land. The estimated level of take 

from the project is up to 90 Indiana bats 

and 60 northern long-eared bats over the 

30-year project duration. 

The proposed conservation strategy in 

the applicant’s proposed HCP is 

designed to avoid, minimize, and 

mitigate the impacts of the covered 

activity on the covered species. The 

biological goals and objectives are to 

minimize potential take of Indiana bats 

and northern long-eared bats through 

on-site minimization measures and to 

provide habitat conservation measures 

for Indiana bats and northern long-eared 

bats to offset any impacts from 

operations of the project. On-site 

minimization measures include 

feathering turbine blades until wind 

speeds reach 3.0 meters per second 

(m/s) when temperatures are above 40 

degrees Fahrenheit during the spring, 

summer, and fall (March 15 to 

November 15). Additionally, on-site 

minimization measures include 

feathering of turbine blades until wind 

speeds reach 5.0 m/s during fall (August 

1 to October 15) when temperatures are 

above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Minimization measures will be 

implemented nightly from sunset to 

sunrise. To offset the impacts of the 

taking of Indiana bats and northern 

long-eared bats, the applicant proposes 

to protect known maternity colony 

habitat for both covered species. The 

Service requests public comments on 

the permit application, which includes 

a proposed HCP, and an EA prepared in 

accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

The applicants’ HCP describes the 

activities that will be undertaken to 

implement the project, as well as the 

mitigation and minimization measures 

proposed to address the impacts to the 

covered species. Pursuant to NEPA, the 

EA analyzes the impacts the ITP 

issuance would have on the covered 

species and the environment. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

The issuance of an ITP is a Federal 

action that triggers the need for 

compliance with NEPA. We prepared a 

draft EA that analyzes the 

environmental impacts on the human 

environment resulting from three 

alternatives: A no-action alternative, the 

applicant’s proposed action, and a more 

restrictive alternative consisting of 

feathering at a rate of wind speed that 

results in less impacts to bats. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
4040 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 26, 2022 / Notices 

Next Steps 

The Service will evaluate the permit 

application and the comments received 

to determine whether the application 

meets the requirements of section 10(a) 

of the ESA. We will also conduct an 

intra-Service consultation pursuant to 

section 7 of the ESA to evaluate the 

effects of the proposed take. After 

considering the above findings, we will 

determine whether the permit issuance 

criteria of section 10(a)(l)(B) of the ESA 

have been met. If met, the Service will 

issue the requested ITP to the applicant. 

Request for Public Comments 

The Service invites comments and 

suggestions from all interested parties 

during a 30-day public comment period 

(see DATES). In particular, information 

and comments regarding the following 

topics are requested: 

1. The direct, indirect, or cumulative 

effects that implementation of any 

alternative could have on the human 

environment; 

2. Whether or not the significance of 

the impact on various aspects of the 

human environment has been 

adequately analyzed; and 

3. Any other information pertinent to 

evaluating the effects of the proposed 

action on the human environment. 

Availability of Public Comments 

You may submit comments by one of 

the methods shown under ADDRESSES. 

We will post on http://regulations.gov 

all public comments and information 

received electronically or via hardcopy. 

All comments received, including 

names and addresses, will become part 

of the administrative record associated 

with this action. Before including your 

address, phone number, email address, 

or other personal identifying 

information in your comment, you 

should be aware that your entire 

comment—including your personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available at any time. While 

you can request in your comment that 

we withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. All submissions from 

organizations or businesses, and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

made available for public disclosure in 

their entirety. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

and its implementing regulations (50 

CFR 17.22) and the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 

4371 et seq.) and its implementing 

regulations (40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR part 

46). 

Lori Nordstrom, 

Assistant Regional Director, Ecological 

Services. 

[FR Doc. 2022–01437 Filed 1–25–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

[2221A2100DD/AAKC001030/ 

A0A501010.999900 253G; OMB Control 

Number 1076–0149] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; Class III Gaming 

Procedures 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 

the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs 

(AS–IA) are proposing to renew an 

information collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before February 

25, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on 

this information collection request (ICR) 

to the Office of Management and 

Budget’s Desk Officer for the 

Department of the Interior by email at 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov; or via 

facsimile to (202) 395–5806. Please 

provide a copy of your comments to 

Steven Mullen, Information Collection 

Clearance Officer, Office of Regulatory 

Affairs and Collaborative Action— 

Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the 

Interior, 1001 Indian School Road NW, 

Suite 229, Albuquerque, New Mexico 

87104; or by email to comments@

bia.gov. Please reference OMB Control 

Number 1076–0149 in the subject line of 

your comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request additional information about 

this ICR, contact Ms. Paula Hart, 

Director, Office of Indian Gaming, AS– 

IA, telephone: 202–219–4066. You may 

also view the ICR at http://

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies with an opportunity to 

comment on new, proposed, revised, 

and continuing collections of 

information. This helps us assess the 

impact of our information collection 

requirements and minimize the public’s 

reporting burden. It also helps the 

public understand our information 

collection requirements and provide the 

requested data in the desired format. 

A Federal Register notice with a 60- 

day public comment period soliciting 

comments on this collection of 

information was published on August 

12, 2021 (86 FR 44401). No comments 

were received. 

As part of our continuing effort to 

reduce paperwork and respondent 

burdens, we are again soliciting 

comments from the public and other 

Federal agencies on the proposed ICR 

that is described below. We are 

especially interested in public comment 

addressing the following: 

(1) Whether or not the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether or not the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the 

burden for this collection of 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and 

(4) How might the agency minimize 

the burden of the collection of 

information on those who are to 

respond, including through the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of response. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. Before including your 

address, phone number, email address, 

or other personal identifying 

information in your comment, you 

should be aware that your entire 

comment—including your personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available at any time. While 

you can ask us in your comment to 

withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Abstract: The collection of 

information will ensure that the 

provisions of the Indian Gaming 

Regulatory Act (IGRA) and other 

applicable requirements are met when 

federally recognized Tribes submit Class 

III procedures for review and approval 

by the Secretary of the Interior. Sections 

291.4, 291.10, 291.12 and 291.15 of 25 

CFR 291, Class III Gaming Procedures, 

specify the information collection 

requirement. An Indian Tribe must ask 

the Secretary to issue Class III gaming 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES