Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 79 / Monday, April 25, 2022 / Notices 24337 

Authority 

We publish this notice under section 

10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

seq.). 

John Tirpak, 

Deputy Assistant Regional Director, 

Ecological Services. 

[FR Doc. 2022–08689 Filed 4–22–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–R8–ES–2022–0034; 

FXES11140800000–223–FF08ECAR00] 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Incidental Take Permit Application for 

the Desert Tortoise; Draft Habitat 

Conservation Plan and Draft 

Environmental Assessment; Bellefield 

Solar Energy Project, Kern County, CA 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for public comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), have received 

an application from 8minute Solar 

Energy for an incidental take permit 

under the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended. The permit would 

authorize take of the federally 

threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus 

agassizii) incidental to otherwise lawful 

activities associated with construction, 

operation, maintenance, and 

decommissioning of the Bellefield Solar 

Energy Project. We invite comments on 

the draft habitat conservation plan and 

the draft environmental assessment, 

which we have prepared pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act. We 

will take comments into consideration 

before deciding whether to issue an 

incidental take permit. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, please 

submit your written comments by May 

25, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: 

Obtaining Documents: The 

application, application supporting 

materials, and any comments and other 

materials that we receive will be 

available for public inspection at 

https://www.regulations.gov in Docket 

No. FWS–R8–ES–2022–0034. 

Submitting Comments: If you wish to 

submit comments on any of the 

documents, you may do so in writing by 

any of the following methods: 

• Internet: https://

www.regulations.gov. Search for and 

submit comments on Docket No. FWS– 

R8–ES–2022–0034. 

• U.S. mail: Public Comments 

Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R8– 

ES–2022–0034; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service Headquarters, MS: PRB/3W; 

5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 

22041–3803. 

We request that you send written 

comments by only one of the methods 

described above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ray 

Bransfield, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, 

by mail at the Palm Springs Fish and 

Wildlife Office, 777 East Tahquitz 

Canyon Way, Suite 208, Palm Springs, 

CA 92262; by phone at 805–677–3398; 

or via email at ray_bransfield@fws.gov. 

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 have 

received an application from 8minute 

Solar Energy (applicant) for an 

incidental take permit under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

The application addresses the potential 

take of the federally threatened desert 

tortoise, incidental to otherwise lawful 

activities at the Bellefield Solar Energy 

Project (project), as described in the 

applicant’s draft habitat conservation 

plan. The proposed project would be 

located east of the town of Mojave in 

Kern County, California. 

Background 

Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1538) 

and Federal regulations promulgated 

pursuant to section 4(d) of the ESA (16 

U.S.C. 1533) prohibit the take of 

endangered and threatened animals 

without special exemption. Under 

section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 

1539), we may issue permits to 

authorize take of listed fish and wildlife 

species that is incidental to, and not the 

purpose of, carrying out an otherwise 

lawful activity. Regulations governing 

permits for endangered and threatened 

species are set forth in title 50 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 

part 17, sections 17.22 and 17.32. 

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 the 

NEPA analysis, the Federal agency will 

identify the effects, as well as possible 

mitigation for effects on environmental 

resources, that could occur with the 

implementation of the proposed action 

and alternatives. The Federal action in 

this case is the Service’s proposed 

issuance of an incidental take permit for 

the federally threatened desert tortoise. 

Permit Application 

The applicant has submitted a draft 

habitat conservation plan that describes 

the activities covered by the permit, 

such as the construction of the solar 

field and generator tie-in line. To 

minimize the risk of incidental take, the 

applicant would employ qualified 

biologists to translocate desert tortoises 

to a safe location off site. The 

conservation plan also includes 

adaptive management to allow for 

maintaining the protection of desert 

tortoises if necessary. To mitigate the 

impact of the incidental take, the 

applicant proposes to fund the 

enhancement of desert tortoise habitat 

within a retired grazing allotment on 

lands managed by the Bureau of Land 

Management. 

The draft conservation plan and the 

draft environmental assessment 

consider alternatives to the proposed 

action, including a no action alternative. 

The Service prepared a draft 

environmental assessment to evaluate 

the impacts of issuing the proposed 

incidental take permit on the human 

environment, consistent with the 

purpose and goals of NEPA and 

pursuant to the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s implementing 

NEPA regulations at 40 CFR parts 1500– 

1508. Additionally, the draft 

environmental assessment was prepared 

consistent with the Department of the 

Interior NEPA regulations (43 CFR part 

46); longstanding Federal judicial and 

regulatory interpretations; and 

Administration priorities and policies, 

including Secretary’s Order No. 3399, 

which requires bureaus and offices to 

use ‘‘the same application or level of 

NEPA that would have been applied to 

a proposed action before the 2020 Rule 

went into effect.’’ 

Public Comments 

If you wish to comment on the draft 

conservation plan and draft 

environmental assessment, you may 

submit comments by one of the methods 

in ADDRESSES. 

Public Availability of Comments 

You may submit comments by one of 

the methods shown under ADDRESSES. 

All comments and materials we receive 

in response to this request will become 

part of the decision record associated 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
24338 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 79 / Monday, April 25, 2022 / Notices 

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 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. 

Authority 

We issue this notice pursuant to 

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

1539) and its implementing regulations 

(50 CFR 17.22), and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.) and its implementing 

regulations (40 CFR 1506.6 and 43 CFR 

46.305). 

Scott Sobiech, 

Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife 

Office, Carlsbad, California. 

[FR Doc. 2022–08688 Filed 4–22–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–HQ–IA–2022–0007; 

FXIA16710900000–223–FF09A30000] 

Marine Mammal Protection Act and 

Wild Bird Conservation Act; Receipt of 

Permit Applications 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of permit 

applications; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), invite the 

public to comment on foreign or native 

species for which the Service has 

jurisdiction under the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act (MMPA) and foreign bird 

species covered under the Wild Bird 

Conservation Act (WBCA). With some 

exceptions, the MMPA and WBCA 

prohibit activities with listed species 

unless Federal authorization is issued 

that allows such activities. These Acts 

also require that we invite public 

comment before issuing permits for any 

activity they otherwise prohibit with 

respect to any species. 

DATES: We must receive comments by 

May 25, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: The 

application, application supporting 

materials, and any comments and other 

materials that we receive will be 

available for public inspection at 

https://www.regulations.gov in Docket 

No. FWS–HQ–IA–2022–0007. 

Submitting Comments: When 

submitting comments, please specify the 

name of the applicant and the permit 

number at the beginning of your 

comment. You may submit comments 

by one of the following methods: 

• Internet: https://

www.regulations.gov. Search for and 

submit comments on Docket No. FWS– 

HQ–IA–2022–0007. 

• U.S. mail: Public Comments 

Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–HQ– 

IA–2022–0007; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service Headquarters, MS: PRB/3W; 

5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 

22041–3803. 

For more information, see Public 

Comment Procedures under 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brenda Tapia, by phone at 703–358– 

2185 or via email at DMAFR@fws.gov. 

Individuals in the United States who are 

deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have 

a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, 

TTD, 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: 

I. Public Comment Procedures 

A. How do I comment on submitted 

applications? 

We invite the public and local, State, 

Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment 

on these applications. Before issuing 

any of the requested permits, we will 

take into consideration any information 

that we receive during the public 

comment period. 

You may submit your comments and 

materials by one of the methods in 

ADDRESSES. We will not consider 

comments sent by email or fax, or to an 

address not in ADDRESSES. We will not 

consider or include in our 

administrative record comments we 

receive after the close of the comment 

period (see DATES). When submitting 

comments, please specify the name of 

the applicant and the permit number at 

the beginning of your comment. Provide 

sufficient information to allow us to 

authenticate any scientific or 

commercial data you include. 

The comments and recommendations 

that will be most useful and likely to 

influence agency decisions are: (1) 

Those supported by quantitative 

information or studies; and (2) those 

that include citations to, and analyses 

of, the applicable laws and regulations. 

B. May I review comments submitted by 

others? 

You may view and comment on 

others’ public comments at https://

www.regulations.gov, unless our 

allowing so would violate the Privacy 

Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) or Freedom of 

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). 

C. Who will see my comments? 

If you submit a comment at https://

www.regulations.gov, your entire 

comment, including any personal 

identifying information, will be posted 

on the website. If you submit a 

hardcopy comment that includes 

personal identifying information, such 

as your address, phone number, or 

email address, you may request at the 

top of your document that we withhold 

this information from public review. 

However, we cannot guarantee that we 

will be able to do so. Moreover, 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. 

II. Background 

To help us carry out our conservation 

responsibilities for affected species, and 

in consideration of section 104(c) of the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, 

as amended (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et 

seq.), and section 112(4) of the Wild 

Bird Conservation Act of 1992 (WBCA; 

16 U.S.C. 4901–4916), we invite public 

comments on permit applications before 

final action is taken. With some 

exceptions, these Acts prohibit certain 

activities with listed species unless 

Federal authorization is issued that 

allows such activities. Service 

regulations regarding permits for any 

activity otherwise prohibited by the 

MMPA with respect to any marine 

mammals are available in title 50 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations in part 18. 

Service regulations regarding permits 

for any activity otherwise prohibited by 

the WBCA with respect to any wild 

birds are available in title 50 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations in part 15. 

Concurrent with publishing this 

notice in the Federal Register, we are 

forwarding copies of the marine 

mammal applications to the Marine 

Mammal Commission and the 

Committee of Scientific Advisors for 

their review. 

III. Permit Applications 

We invite comments on the following 

applications. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES