101034 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Notices 

Community Community map repository address 

Tulsa County, Oklahoma and Incorporated Areas 

Project: 18–06–0010S Preliminary Date: September 27, 2024 

City of Tulsa ....................................................................... Stormwater Design Office, 175 East 2nd Street, Suite 450, Tulsa, OK 74103. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29412 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–12–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–R8–ES–2024–0125; 

FXES11140800000–189–FF08ESMF00] 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Receipt of Amended Incidental Take 

Permit Application and Amended 

Habitat Conservation Plan for the 

Proposed Rooney Ranch Wind 

Repowering Project, Alameda County, 

CA; Draft Environmental Assessment 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), have received 

an application for an amended 

incidental take permit under the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) to 

conduct activities with the potential for 

take of endangered and threatened 

species that is incidental to, and not the 

purpose of, carrying out otherwise 

lawful activities. We invite comments 

on the applicant’s amended permit 

application and amended habitat 

conservation plan (HCP), and the 

associated environmental assessment, 

which we have prepared pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act. The 

amended incidental take permit (ITP) is 

necessary due to an increase in the 

project’s temporary and permanent 

impacts and a new applicant for the ITP. 

In addition, the new applicant would 

like to add two additional species that 

have been proposed for Federal listing 

and request ‘‘take’’ coverage should the 

species become listed. We invite the 

public and local, State, Tribal, and 

Federal agencies to comment on the 

documents. Before issuing the requested 

permit, we will take into consideration 

all comments received. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, please 

send your written comments by January 

13, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: 

Obtaining Documents: 

• Electronic copies: The documents 

this notice announces, as well as any 

comments and other materials that we 

receive, will be available for public 

inspection online in Docket No. FWS– 

R8–ES–2024–0125 at https://

www.regulations.gov. 

You may also obtain electronic copies 

of the draft amended Rooney Ranch 

Wind Repowering Project Habitat 

Conservation Plan (draft HCP) and draft 

amended environmental assessment 

(EA) from the Sacramento Fish and 

Wildlife Office website at https://

www.fws.gov/office/sacramento-fishand-wildlife. (See FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT.) 

Submitting Comments: You may 

submit comments by one of the 

following methods: 

• internet: https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

under Docket No. FWS–R8–ES–2024– 

0125. 

• U.S. mail: Public Comments 

Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R8– 

ES–2024–0125; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/ 

3W; Falls Church, VA 22041–3803 

We request that you send comments 

by only the methods described above. 

For more information, see Public 

Comment Procedures under 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jason Hanni, Fish and Wildlife 

Biologist, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife 

Office (see ADDRESSES), 916–414–6600 

(telephone). Individuals in the United 

States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of 

hearing, or have a speech disability may 

dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to 

access telecommunications relay 

services. Individuals outside the United 

States should use the relay services 

offered within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have 

prepared an environmental assessment 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) for the proposed 

Rooney Ranch Wind Repowering Project 

in response to an application from 

Viracocha Wind, LLC (applicant) for a 

36-year amended incidental take permit 

for three species under the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 

16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and two 

additional species that have been 

proposed for Federal listing. This 

amended ITP is an update to the 

previously issued ITP for the project. 

(For more about that process, see our 

notice of May 28, 2020 (85 FR 32044).) 

Changes to the project’s anticipated 

disturbance acreage, inclusion of the 

additional two species, and the change 

of applicant necessitate the amended 

ITP. The application addresses the 

potential for ‘‘take’’ of the following 

three federally listed animals: the 

Central California distinct population 

segment of the California tiger 

salamander (Ambystoma californiense) 

(central CTS), the California red-legged 

frog (Rana draytonii), and the San 

Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis 

mutica). The application also addresses 

the potential for ‘‘take’’ of the following 

two animals proposed for Federal 

listing: northwestern pond turtle 

(Actinemys marmorata) and western 

spadefoot (Spea hammondii), a frog 

species. The applicant would 

implement a conservation program to 

minimize and mitigate the project 

impacts, as described in the applicant’s 

amended habitat conservation plan 

(HCP). We invite comments on the 

applicant’s permit application, amended 

HCP, and the associated amended EA, 

which we have prepared pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.), and its implementing 

regulations in the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR 1506.6. We 

will take comments into consideration 

before issuance of the requested permit. 

The applicant has submitted a draft 

amended HCP as part of the application 

for an ITP under section 10(a)(1)(B) of 

the ESA. The draft amended HCP 

includes measures necessary to 

minimize and mitigate the impacts, to 

the maximum extent practicable, of 

potential taking of federally listed 

species to be covered by the amended 

HCP, and the habitats upon which they 

depend, resulting from construction and 

operation of the proposed Rooney 

Ranch Wind Repowering Project within 

the project area, to include portions of 

the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area 

(APWRA) in Alameda County, 

California. 

Background Information 

Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the 

take of fish or wildlife species listed as 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Notices 101035 

endangered; as applicable to the species 

affected by the proposed action, the ESA 

implementing regulations also prohibit 

take of fish or wildlife species listed as 

threatened, with exceptions for certain 

ranching activities on private and Tribal 

lands as described in 50 CFR 

17.43(c)(3)(i)–(xi) and 50 CFR 

17.43(d)(3)(i)–(xi). The applicant has 

also proposed to include the 

northwestern pond turtle and the 

western spadefoot as covered species 

under the plan; for these two species, all 

applicable section 9 prohibitions, 

including any exceptions, would only 

be in effect upon a final listing 

determination. Regulations governing 

permits for endangered and threatened 

species are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32. 

For more about the Federal habitat 

conservation plan (HCP) program, go to 

https://www.fws.gov/service/habitatconservation-plans. 

The National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 

requires Federal agencies to analyze 

their proposed actions to determine 

whether the actions may significantly 

affect the human environment. In these 

NEPA analyses, the Federal agency will 

identify direct, indirect, and cumulative 

effects, as well as possible mitigation for 

effects on environmental resources that 

could occur with implementation of the 

proposed action and alternatives. 

Proposed Action Alternative 

We would issue an ITP to the 

applicant for a period of 36 years for 

certain covered activities (described 

below). The applicant has requested an 

amended ITP for three federally listed 

species and the two species proposed 

for federal listing. The amended HCP 

addresses four types of proposed 

activities (referred to as covered 

activities in the HCP): (1) Construction 

of facilities, (2) operation and 

maintenance (O&M) of facilities, (3) 

conservation actions, and (4) restoration 

actions. The project would consist of the 

installation of large-scale modern wind 

turbines with generating capacities up 

to 4.0 megawatts (MW), all generally 

similar in size and appearance, to 

generate up to 28 MW. The proposed 

layout would include seven newgeneration wind turbines. Generally, 

existing roads would be used, with 

approximately 1.52 miles of new roads 

to provide access to proposed turbine 

locations. Temporary widening of 

existing roads would be required to 

safely accommodate the turbine 

components and associated construction 

equipment. An existing on-site 

substation, consisting of an 

approximately 0.2-acre (ac) gravelcovered footprint area, may be 

expanded by 0.1 ac to accommodate 

installation of upgraded equipment. 

Construction activities would result in 

11.1 ac of permanent impacts to 

landcover from the installation of 

facilities, roads, and turbine structures. 

This is an increase of 9.3 ac over the 

previously permitted 1.8 ac of 

permanent impacts. Construction 

activities would also result in 65 ac of 

temporary land cover impacts from 

activities such as grading, trenching, 

excavation, access roads, and staging 

areas. Operations and maintenance 

activities would result in temporary 

landcover disturbance of up to 3.0 ac 

over the life of the permit. The project 

would result in 11.1 ac of permanent 

impacts (construction) and 68.0 ac of 

temporary impacts (construction + 

operations/maintenance). 

Habitat Conservation Plan Area 

The geographic scope of the draft 

amended HCP area comprises two 

separate permit areas: the project permit 

area and the mitigation permit area. The 

project permit area encompasses 

approximately 580.43 ac within the 

APWRA in eastern Alameda County, 

California, consisting of two Santa Clara 

City-owned parcels between I–580 to 

the south and Altamont Pass Road to the 

north. The repowering project would be 

constructed entirely within the project 

permit area. The mitigation permit area 

comprises potential mitigation lands, 

still to be identified, that the applicant, 

in coordination with the Service, is 

evaluating in Alameda County. Based 

on where the mitigation lands are 

located in the County, the estimated 

acreage required of the mitigation site 

would be 101.3 ac. The mitigation will 

be achieved by purchasing credits at a 

Service-approved conservation bank or 

applicant-purchased mitigation lands 

that occur within Alameda County. 

When the permit areas are combined, 

the amended HCP area will cover 

approximately 683.3 ac. 

Covered Activities 

The proposed ESA section 10 

amended ITP would allow take of five 

covered species resulting from certain 

covered activities in the proposed HCP 

area. The proposed covered activities 

under this amended HCP include 

constructing and installing seven wind 

turbines and associated electrical 

facilities and access roads, installing a 

meteorological tower and a power 

collection system, expanding a 

substation, maintaining the new wind 

turbines and the associated facilities, 

and restoring the site. Specifically, 

proposed covered activities include 

grading, excavating to support access 

roads, trenching to install underground 

electrical lines, installing erosion 

control measures during construction 

and maintenance covered activities, 

installing or temporarily expanding 

gravel roads, pouring a cement footing 

to support each turbine, installing other 

infrastructure, placing gravel for road 

maintenance, causing wear by vehicle 

travel, transporting equipment and 

supplies, and other similar actions 

necessary to support the construction, 

maintenance, and operation of the 

proposed Rooney Ranch Wind 

Repowering Project. All activities 

associated with monitoring and 

maintenance of habitat and listed 

species populations within the 

mitigation site would also be considered 

covered activities. 

The applicant proposes to avoid, 

minimize, and mitigate the effects to the 

covered species associated with the 

covered activities by fully implementing 

the amended HCP. The following 

mitigation measures will be 

implemented for covered species as part 

of the amended HCP: Minimize impact 

area; avoid injury of covered species 

during implementation of covered 

activities, through such measures as 

seasonal and daytime work limitation, 

preconstruction surveys to determine 

whether covered species are present and 

contact the Service if any life stage is 

found, biological monitors’ presence, 

and wildlife exclusionary fencing in key 

areas; avoid habitat impacts associated 

with erosion and sedimentation 

generated by covered activities; 

minimize the risk of project-related 

toxic spills that could adversely affect 

listed species’ habitat; restore all listed 

species’ habitat that is temporarily 

disturbed in the amended HCP area to 

pre-project conditions within 1 year of 

disturbance; ensure implementation of 

the avoidance and minimization 

measures; offset unavoidable impacts on 

the five covered species through the 

purchase of approximately 101.3 ac of 

covered species habitat to ensure that 

temporary and permanent effects are 

mitigated. 

Covered Species 

The applicants have requested an 

amended ITP for three federally listed 

species: the threatened California redlegged frog (Rana draytonii), the 

threatened Central California distinct 

population segment (DPS) of the 

California tiger salamander (Ambystoma 

californiense) (Central California tiger 

salamander), and the endangered San 

Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis 

mutica). The amended ITP would also 

cover two species that have been 

proposed for Federal listing, the 


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101036 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Notices 

northwestern pond turtle (Actinemys 

marmorata) and the western spadefoot 

(Spea hammondii). All species included 

on the ITP would receive assurances 

under the Service’s ‘‘No Surprises’’ 

regulations at 50 CFR 17.22(b)(5). 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Compliance 

The draft amended EA was prepared 

to analyze the impacts of issuing an 

amended ITP based on the draft 

amended HCP and to inform the public 

of the proposed action, alternatives, and 

associated impacts, and to disclose any 

irreversible commitments of resources. 

The proposed action presented in the 

draft amended EA will be compared to 

the no-action alternative. The no-action 

alternative represents estimated future 

conditions to which the proposed 

action’s estimated future conditions can 

be compared. Other alternatives were 

not considered or addressed in the draft 

amended EA, because they did not 

fulfill the purpose and need of the 

project. 

No-Action Alternative 

Under the no-action alternative, the 

amended HCP would not be 

implemented, and the proposed 

amended ITP would not be issued. 

There would be no take of federally 

listed species as a result of the project. 

This alternative assumes that existing 

wind power production facilities and 

approved repowering wind production 

facilities in the APWRA would continue 

to operate into the future. 

Environmental Review and Next Steps 

As described in our amended EA, we 

have made the preliminary 

determination that approval of the draft 

amended HCP and issuance of the 

permit would qualify as finding of no 

significant impact (FONSI) under NEPA 

(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as provided by 

Federal regulations (40 CFR 1500.5(k), 

1507.3(b)(2), and 1508.13) and the 

Department of the Interior Manual. Our 

amended EA articulates the project 

effects on all potential resources that 

could be adversely affected, including 

aesthetics, air quality and climate 

change, biological resources, cultural 

resources, geology, hazardous materials 

and public safety hazards, hydrology 

and water quality, noise, and traffic and 

transportation. It also includes an 

analysis of alternatives and other 

required analysis such as unavoidable 

adverse effects, irreversible and 

irretrievable commitments of resources, 

and, finally, short-term uses versus 

long-term productivity and cumulative 

effects. 

Public Comment Procedures 

All comments and materials we 

receive in response to these requests 

will be available for public review at 

https://www.regulations.gov (see 

ADDRESSES). 

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. 

Next Steps 

Issuance of an amended ITP is a 

Federal proposed action subject to 

compliance with NEPA. The FWS will 

evaluate the application, associated 

documents, and any public comments 

we receive to determine whether the 

application meets the requirements of 

NEPA regulations and section 10(a) of 

the ESA. If the FWS determines that 

those requirements are met, we will 

issue a permit to the applicant for the 

incidental take of the covered species 

from the implementation of the covered 

activities described in the amended 

HCP. A permit decision will be made no 

sooner than 30 days after the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register. 

Authority 

We issue this notice pursuant to 

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

et seq.) and its implementing 

regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32), 

and the National Environmental Policy 

Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its 

implementing regulations (40 CFR 

1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.305). 

Michael Fris, 

Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and 

Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Sacramento, California. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29405 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

[256A2100DD/AAKC001030/ 

A0A501010.999900] 

Indian Gaming; Approval of the TribalState Class III Gaming Compact 

Amendment Between the Confederated 

Tribes of the Warm Springs 

Reservation of Oregon and the State of 

Oregon 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice publishes the 

approval of the Amendment to the 

Amended and Restated (Highway 26) 

Tribal-State Compact for Regulation of 

Class III Gaming between the 

Confederated Tribes of The Warm 

Springs Reservation of Oregon and the 

State of Oregon, which governs the 

operation and regulation of class III 

gaming activities. 

DATES: The Amendment takes effect on 

December 13, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Paula L. Hart, Director, Office of Indian 

Gaming, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary—Indian Affairs, Washington, 

DC 20240, IndianGaming@bia.gov; (202) 

219–4066. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 

section 11 of the Indian Gaming 

Regulatory Act (IGRA), Public Law 100– 

497, 25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq., the 

Secretary of the Interior shall publish in 

the Federal Register notice of approved 

Tribal-State compacts for the purpose of 

engaging in Class III gaming activities 

on Indian lands. As required by 25 CFR 

293.4, all compacts and amendments are 

subject to review and approval by the 

Secretary. The Amendment makes 

changes to the scope of gaming and adds 

technical regulations to support those 

changes. The Amendment is approved. 

Bryan Newland, 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29450 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4337–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

[256A2100DD/AAKE200000/ 

A0A501010.000000] 

Land Acquisitions; Prairie Island 

Indian Community, Elk Run Site, City 

of Pine Island, Olmstead County, 

Minnesota 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 


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