[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 105 (Thursday, June 3, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29803-29804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11602]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R3-ES-2021-0042; FXES11140300000-212]


Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation 
Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit, 
California Ridge Wind Farm, Champaign and Vermilion Counties, Illinois

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of documents; request for comment and 
information.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an 
application from California Ridge Wind Energy, LLC (applicant), for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 
for its California Ridge Wind Farm (project). If approved, the ITP 
would authorize the incidental take of four bat species. The applicant 
has prepared a habitat conservation plan, which is also available for 
review. We also announce the availability of a draft environmental 
assessment, which has been prepared in response to the permit 
application in accordance with the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act. We request public comment on the application 
and associated documents.

DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before July 
6, 2021.

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-2021-0042 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:
    <bullet> Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for and submit 
comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0042.
    <bullet> By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail to Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0042; 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: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have 
received an application from California Ridge Wind Energy, LLC 
(applicant), for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered 
Species Act, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), for its 
California Ridge Wind Farm (project). If approved, the ITP would be for 
a 20-year period and would authorize the incidental take of the 
following four species: Indiana bat (federally listed as endangered), 
northern long-eared bat (federally listed as threatened), little brown 
bat (currently under discretionary review), and tricolored bat 
(petitioned for listing under ESA). The applicant has prepared a 
habitat conservation plan that describes the actions and measures that 
the applicant would implement to avoid, minimize, and mitigate 
incidental take of the four species. We also announce the availability 
of a draft environmental assessment (EA), which has been prepared in 
response to the permit application in accordance with the requirements 
of the National Environmental Policy Act. We request public comment on 
the application and associated documents.

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA 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 any 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 20-year ITP to take the federally 
endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), threatened northern long-eared 
bat (Myotis septentrionalis), non-listed little brown bat (Myotis 
lucifugus), and non-listed tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus) 
(covered species). The applicant determined that take is reasonably 
certain to occur incidental to operation of 134 previously constructed 
wind turbines that have a total generating capacity of 214.4 megawatts 
and covering approximately 35,270 acres of private land. 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 
increase the understanding of the risk to covered species populations 
resulting from operation of wind energy facilities; minimize mortality 
of the covered species as a result of wind farm operations in the 
permit area; and to support survival and recovery of the covered 
species by maintaining or increasing the reproductive capacity of the 
populations of the covered species. The HCP provides on-site avoidance 
and minimization measures, which include turbine operational 
adjustments. The authorized level of take from the project is up to a 
total of 100 Indiana bats, 280 northern long-eared bats, 780 little 
brown bats, and 240 tricolored bats over the 20-year project duration. 
To offset the impacts of the taking of covered species, the applicant 
proposes to restore and protect up to 563.2 acres of suitable habitat 
for the covered species and up to 13 artificial bat roost structures. 
Mitigation will occur in the same or immediately adjacent watershed as 
the project.

National Environmental Policy Act

    The issuance of an ITP is a Federal action that triggers the need 
for compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). We prepared a draft 
EA that analyzes the environmental impacts on the human environment 
resulting from three alternatives: A no-action alternative, the 
proposed action, and a more restrictive alternative consisting of 
feathering turbines at a wind speed that results in less impacts to 
bats.

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

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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.

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 environmental 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 threats to the Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat 
that may influence their populations over the life of the ITP that are 
not addressed in the proposed HCP; and
    4. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the 
proposed action on the human environment.
    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. 2021-11602 Filed 6-2-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P