Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Habitat Conservation Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit, Headwaters Wind Farm, Randolph County, Indiana, 40325-40327 [2018-17485]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 157 / Tuesday, August 14, 2018 / Notices
• Severe: Greater than $7,500 of FEMA
inspected personal property damage or
determined destroyed and/or 6 or more
feet of flooding on the first floor.
For rental properties, to meet the statutory
requirement of ‘‘most impacted’’ in this
legislative language, homes are determined to
have a high level of damage if they have
damage of ‘‘major-low’’ or higher. That is,
they have a FEMA personal property damage
assessment of $2,000 or greater or flooding
over 1 foot.
Furthermore, landlords are presumed to
have adequate insurance coverage unless the
unit is occupied by a renter with income less
than the greater of the Federal poverty level
or 50 percent of Area Median Income. Units
occupied by a tenant with income less than
the greater of the Federal poverty level or 50
percent of Area Median Income are used to
calculate likely unmet needs for affordable
rental housing.
The average cost to fully repair a home for
a specific disaster to code within each of the
damage categories noted above is calculated
using the median real property damage repair
costs determined by the Small Business
Administration for its disaster loan program
for the subset of homes inspected by both
SBA and FEMA for each eligible disaster.
Because SBA is inspecting for full repair
costs, it is presumed to reflect the full cost
to repair the home, which is generally more
than the FEMA estimates on the cost to make
the home habitable.
For each household determined to have
unmet housing needs (as described above),
their estimated average unmet housing need
less assistance from FEMA and SBA
provided for repair to homes with serious
unmet needs. No unmet housing need cost
multiplier can be less than the 25th
percentile estimate across all disasters of
2017. Those minimum cost multipliers are:
$40,323 for major damage (low); $55,812 for
major damage (high); and $77,252 for severe
damage. The multipliers used for each
disaster is shown below.
Serious Unmet Housing Need Multipliers
Major-Low
California ......................................................................................................................................
Florida ..........................................................................................................................................
Georgia ........................................................................................................................................
Missouri ........................................................................................................................................
Puerto Rico ..................................................................................................................................
Texas ...........................................................................................................................................
Virgin Islands ...............................................................................................................................
Methods for estimating unmet economic
revitalization needs
Based on SBA disaster loans to businesses
as of 3–22–2018, HUD calculates the median
real estate and content loss by the following
damage categories for each state:
Allocation Calculation
Once eligible entities are identified using
the above criteria, the allocation to
individual grantees represents their
proportional share of the estimated unmet
needs. For the formula allocation, HUD
calculates total serious unmet recovery needs
as the aggregate of:
• Category 1: real estate + content loss =
below 12,000
• Category 2: real estate + content loss =
12,000–30,000
• Category 3: real estate + content loss =
30,000–65,000
• Category 4: real estate + content loss =
65,000–150,000
• Category 5: real estate + content loss =
above 150,000
For properties with real estate and content
loss of $30,000 or more, HUD calculates the
estimated amount of unmet needs for small
businesses by multiplying the median
damage estimates for the categories above by
the number of small businesses denied an
SBA loan, including those denied a loan
prior to inspection due to inadequate credit
or income (or a decision had not been made),
under the assumption that damage among
those denied at pre-inspection have the same
distribution of damage as those denied after
inspection.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES1
Virgin Islands) for ‘‘enhanced or improved
electrical power systems.’’ This is allocated
between Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
based on their relative share of total
estimated Category F Public Assistance
cost to repair public utilities.
• Serious unmet housing needs in most
impacted counties less amounts of CDBG–
DR previously allocated for serious unmet
housing needs
• Serious unmet business needs less
amounts of CDBG–DR previously allocated
for serious business needs
• FEMA Public Assistance Category C to G
local cost share and the $2 billion
additional amount for enhanced or
improved electrical power systems in
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
Methods for estimating unmet infrastructure
needs
To calculate unmet needs for infrastructure
projects, HUD is using data obtained from
FEMA as of March 30, 2018, showing the
amount FEMA estimates will be needed to
repair the permanent public infrastructure
(Categories C to G) to their pre-storm
condition. HUD uses these data to calculate
two infrastructure unmet needs:
Prior allocations for 2017 disasters are
subtracted from this amount. Because this
results in less than $11 billion being
allocated to Maria affected disasters (Puerto
Rico and the Virgin Islands) from Public Law
115–123, an additional amount is added to
those two grantees to reach $11 billion based
on their relative share of needs as calculated
under the three bullets above.
This results in an estimate of unmet needs
to be allocated from Public Law 115–123 of
$12.031 billion, allowing $3.935 billion to be
allocated to mitigation.
• The estimated local cost share for Public
Assistance Category C to G projects.
• An allocation of $2 billion for Maria
affected disasters (Puerto Rico and the
Allocating for mitigation
The allocation of $15.935 billion in
mitigation funds (the $12 billion
appropriated for mitigation plus the $3.935
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19:13 Aug 13, 2018
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$40,323
$42,837
$40,323
$40,323
$40,323
$56,342
$80,142
Major-High
$55,812
$56,113
$55,812
$66,545
$55,812
$75,414
$97,672
Severe
$124,481
$79,096
$77,252
$100,947
$77,252
$101,390
$116,351
billion remaining after allocation of 100% of
unmet needs) is allocated proportionally
based on each grantee’s relative share of the
$22.425 billion of CDBG–DR funds allocated
for unmet needs to disasters occurring in
2015, 2016, and 2017. For example, the
combination of all grants to Puerto Rico for
unmet needs represents 52 percent of the
$22.425 billion allocated for unmet needs. As
a result, Puerto Rico receives 52 percent of
the $15.935 billion made available for
mitigation funding.
[FR Doc. 2018–17365 Filed 8–13–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R3–ES–2018–N044;
FXES11130300000–189–FF03E00000]
Draft Environmental Assessment and
Draft Habitat Conservation Plan;
Receipt of an Application for an
Incidental Take Permit, Headwaters
Wind Farm, Randolph County, Indiana
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), have received
an application from Headwaters Wind
Farm LLC (applicant), for an incidental
take permit (ITP) under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA),
for its Headwaters Wind Farm
(Headwaters) (project). If approved, the
ITP would be for a 27-year period and
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 157 / Tuesday, August 14, 2018 / Notices
would authorize the incidental take of
an endangered species, the Indiana bat,
and a threatened species, the northern
long-eared bat. The applicant has
prepared a draft habitat conservation
plan (HCP) that describes the actions
and measures that the applicant would
implement to avoid, minimize, and
mitigate incidental take of the Indiana
bat and northern long-eared bat. We also
announce the availability of a draft
Environmental Assessment (DEA),
which has been prepared in response to
the permit application in accordance
with the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We
request public comment on the
application and associated documents.
DATES: We will accept comments
received or postmarked on or before
September 14, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Document availability:
• Internet: You may obtain copies of
the documents on the internet at https://
www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/
permits/hcp/r3hcps.html.
• U.S. Mail: You can obtain the
documents by mail from the Indiana
Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
• In-Person: To view hard copies of
the documents in person, go to one of
the Ecological Services Offices (8 a.m. to
4 p.m.) listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
Comment submission: In your
comment, please specify whether your
comment addresses the draft HCP, DEA,
or any combination of the
aforementioned documents, or other
supporting documents. You may submit
written comments by one of the
following methods:
• Electronically: Submit by email to
IndianaFO@fws.gov.
• By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail
or hand-delivery to U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Indiana Ecological
Services Field Office, 620 S Walker
Street, Bloomington, IN 47403.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Scott Pruitt, Field Supervisor,
Bloomington, Indiana, Ecological
Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 620 South Walker
Street, Bloomington, IN 47403;
telephone: 812–334–4261, extension
214; or Erik Olson, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, Ecological Services, Midwest
Regional Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 5600 American Blvd., West,
Suite 990, Bloomington, MN 55437–
1458; telephone: 612–713–5488.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have
received an application from
Headwaters Wind Farm LLC (HWF) for
an incidental take permit under the ESA
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If approved, the
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19:13 Aug 13, 2018
Jkt 244001
ITP would be for a 27-year period and
would authorize incidental take of the
endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis)
and the threatened northern long-eared
bat (Myotis septentrionalis).
The applicant has prepared a draft
HCP that covers the operation of the
Headwaters Wind Farm (Headwaters).
The project consists of a wind-powered
electric generation facility located in an
approximately 53,808-acre area in
Randolph County, Indiana. The draft
HCP describes the following: (1)
Biological goals and objectives of the
HCP; (2) covered activities; (3) permit
duration; (4) project area; (5)
alternatives to the taking that were
considered; (5) public participation; (6)
life history of the Indiana bat and
northern long-eared bat; (6)
quantification of the take for which
authorization is requested; (7)
assessment of direct and indirect effects
of the taking on the Indiana bat within
the Midwest Recovery Unit (as
delineated in the 2007 Indiana Bat Draft
Recovery Plan, Service) and rangewide;
(8) assessment of direct and indirect
effects of the taking on the northern
long-eared bat within the Service’s
Midwest region and rangewide; (9)
conservation program consisting of
avoidance and minimization measures,
mitigation, monitoring, and adaptive
management; (10) funding for the HCP;
(11) procedures to deal with changed
and unforeseen circumstances; and (12)
methods for ITP amendments.
Under the NEPA (43 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) and the ESA, the Service
announces that we have gathered the
information necessary to:
1. Determine the impacts and
formulate alternatives for an EA related
to:
a. Issuance of an ITP to the applicant
for the take of the Indiana bat and the
northern long-eared bat, and
b. Implementation of the associated
HCP; and
2. Evaluate the application for ITP
issuance, including the HCP, which
provides measures to minimize and
mitigate the effects of the proposed
incidental take of the Indiana bat and
the northern long-eared bat.
Background
The HWF application is unusual in
that the wind facility has been
operational since 2014. The project
includes 100 Vestas V110 2.0 megawatt
wind turbines and has a total energy
capacity of 200 MW. The need for the
proposed action (i.e., issuance of an ITP)
is based on the potential that operation
of the Headwaters Wind Farm could
result in take of Indiana bats and
northern long-eared bats.
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The HCP provides a detailed
conservation plan to ensure that the
incidental take caused by the operation
of the project will not appreciably
reduce the likelihood of the survival
and recovery of the Indiana bat and
northern long-eared bat, and provides
mitigation to fully offset the impact of
the taking. Further, the HCP provides a
long-term monitoring and adaptive
management strategy to ensure that the
ITP terms are satisfied, and to account
for changed and unforeseen
circumstances.
Purpose and Need for Action
In accordance with NEPA, the Service
has prepared an EA to analyze the
impacts to the human environment that
would occur if the requested ITP were
issued and the associated HCP were
implemented.
Proposed Action
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the
‘‘taking’’ of threatened and endangered
species. However, provided certain
criteria are met, the Service is
authorized to issue permits under
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA for take of
federally listed species when, among
other things, such a taking is incidental
to, and not the purpose of, otherwise
lawful activities. Under the ESA, the
term ‘‘take’’ means to harass, harm,
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect endangered and
threatened species, or to attempt to
engage in any such conduct. Our
implementing regulations in title 50 of
the Code of Federal Regulations define
‘‘harm’’ as an act which actually kills or
injures wildlife, and such act may
include significant habitat modification
or degradation that results in death or
injury to listed species by significantly
impairing essential behavioral patterns,
including breeding, feeding, or
sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). Harass, as
defined in our regulations, means ‘‘an
intentional or negligent act or omission
which creates the likelihood of injury to
wildlife by annoying it to such an extent
as to significantly disrupt normal
behavioral patterns which include, but
are not limited to, breeding, feeding, or
sheltering’’ (50 CFR 17.3).
The HCP analyzes, and the ITP would
cover, take from harassment and harm,
and killing of bats due to the operation
of the Headwaters project. If issued, the
ITP would authorize incidental take
consistent with the applicant’s HCP and
the ITP. To issue the ITP, the Service
must find that the application,
including its HCP, satisfies the criteria
of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA and the
Service’s implementing regulations at
50 CFR part 13 and § 17.22. If the ITP
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 157 / Tuesday, August 14, 2018 / Notices
is issued, the applicant would receive
assurances under the Service’s No
Surprises policy, as codified at 50 CFR
17.22(b)(5).
The applicant proposes to operate a
maximum of 100 wind turbines and
associated facilities (described below)
for a period of 27 years in Randolph
County, Indiana. The project consists of
wind turbines, associated access roads,
an underground and aboveground
electrical collector system, one
substation containing transformers that
feed electricity into an existing 345kilovolt (kV) electrical tie-in line, a 10mile generator lead line, three
permanent meteorological towers, and
an operations and maintenance
building. Project facilities and
infrastructure are placed on private land
via long-term easement agreements
between the applicant and respective
landowners.
The draft HCP describes the impacts
of take associated with the operation of
the Headwaters Wind Farm and
includes measures to avoid, minimize,
mitigate, and monitor the impacts of
incidental take on the Indiana bat and
the northern long-eared bat. The
applicant will mitigate for take and
associated impacts through protection
and restoration of maternity colony
habitat and/or swarming habitat, and
gating of an Indiana bat hibernacula.
Habitat mitigation, including any
restored habitat, will occur on private
land and be permanently protected by
restrictive covenants approved by the
Service. Chapter 5 of the HCP describes
the Conservation Program, including
details of avoidance and minimization
measures, compensatory mitigation, and
adaptive management that will limit
and mitigate for the take of Indiana bats
and northern long-eared bats.
The Service is soliciting information
regarding the adequacy of the HCP to
avoid, minimize, mitigate, and monitor
the proposed incidental take of the
covered species and to provide for
adaptive management. In compliance
with section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C.
1539(c)), the Service is making the ITP
application materials available for
public review and comment as
described above.
We invite comments and suggestions
from all interested parties on the draft
documents associated with the ITP
application (HCP and HCP Appendices),
and request that comments be as
specific as possible. In particular, we
request information and comments on
the following topics:
1. Whether adaptive management and
monitoring provisions in the Proposed
Action alternative are sufficient;
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20:18 Aug 13, 2018
Jkt 244001
2. 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
draft HCP or draft EA;
3. Any new information on whitenose syndrome effects on the Indiana
bat and the northern long-eared bat; and
4. Any other information pertinent to
evaluating the effects of the proposed
action on the Indiana bat and the
northern long-eared bat.
Alternatives in the Draft EA
The DEA contains an analysis of four
alternatives: (1) No Action alternative,
in which all 100 turbines would be
feathered from 1⁄2 hour before sunset to
1⁄2 hour after sunrise up to 5.0 meters
per second (m/s) from March 15 through
May 15 and up to 6.9 m/s from August
1 through October 15. In addition, 10
turbines within 1,000 feet of suitable
habitat would be feathered up to 6.9 m/
s with the rest of the turbines feathered
up to manufacturer’s cut-in speed (3.0
m/s) from May 16 through July 31. This
curtailment regime would occur each
year during the operational life (27
years) of Headwaters; (2) the 5.0 m/s
Cut-In Speed (feathered) Alternative
including implementation of the HCP
and issuance of a 27-year ITP; (3) the 6.5
m/s Cut-In Speed (feathered)
Alternative, including implementation
of the HCP and issuance of a 27-year
ITP; and (4) the 4.0 m/s Cut-In Speed
(feathered) Alternative, including
implementation of the HCP and
issuance of a 27-year ITP. The DEA
considers the direct, indirect, and
cumulative effects of the alternatives,
including any measures under the
Proposed Action alternative intended to
minimize and mitigate such impacts.
The DEA also identifies two additional
alternatives that were considered but
were eliminated from analysis as
detailed in Section 3.4 of the DEA.
The Service invites comments and
suggestions from all interested parties
on the content of the DEA. 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.
Public Comments
You may submit your comments and
materials related to the draft HCP, DEA,
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40327
or other supporting documents by one
of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We
request that you send comments by only
one of the methods described in
ADDRESSES.
Comments and materials we receive,
as well as documents associated with
the notice, will be available for public
inspection by appointment, during
normal business hours, at the Indiana
Ecological Services Field Office in
Bloomington, Indiana (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). 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 you comment to
withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
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).
Dated: April 18, 2018.
Lori H. Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological
Services, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2018–17485 Filed 8–13–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R2–ES–2018–N065;
FXES11140200000–189–FF02ENEH00]
Incidental Take Permit Applications
Received To Participate in the
American Burying-Beetle Amended Oil
and Gas Industry Conservation Plan in
Oklahoma
AGENCY:
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
Notice of availability; request
for public comments.
ACTION:
Under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA), as amended, we, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite
the public to comment on Federallylisted American burying-beetle
incidental take permit (ITP)
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\14AUN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 157 (Tuesday, August 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40325-40327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17485]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R3-ES-2018-N044; FXES11130300000-189-FF03E00000]
Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Habitat Conservation
Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit,
Headwaters Wind Farm, Randolph County, Indiana
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 from Headwaters Wind Farm LLC (applicant), for
an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (ESA), for its Headwaters Wind Farm (Headwaters)
(project). If approved, the ITP would be for a 27-year period and
[[Page 40326]]
would authorize the incidental take of an endangered species, the
Indiana bat, and a threatened species, the northern long-eared bat. The
applicant has prepared a draft habitat conservation plan (HCP) that
describes the actions and measures that the applicant would implement
to avoid, minimize, and mitigate incidental take of the Indiana bat and
northern long-eared bat. We also announce the availability of a draft
Environmental Assessment (DEA), which has been prepared in response to
the permit application in accordance with the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We request public comment on
the application and associated documents.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before
September 14, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Document availability:
Internet: You may obtain copies of the documents on the
internet at https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/permits/hcp/r3hcps.html.
U.S. Mail: You can obtain the documents by mail from the
Indiana Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
In-Person: To view hard copies of the documents in person,
go to one of the Ecological Services Offices (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Comment submission: In your comment, please specify whether your
comment addresses the draft HCP, DEA, or any combination of the
aforementioned documents, or other supporting documents. You may submit
written comments by one of the following methods:
Electronically: Submit by email to [email protected].
By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Indiana Ecological Services Field Office,
620 S Walker Street, Bloomington, IN 47403.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Pruitt, Field Supervisor,
Bloomington, Indiana, Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 620 South Walker Street, Bloomington, IN 47403;
telephone: 812-334-4261, extension 214; or Erik Olson, Fish and
Wildlife Biologist, Ecological Services, Midwest Regional Office, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 5600 American Blvd., West, Suite 990,
Bloomington, MN 55437-1458; telephone: 612-713-5488.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application from
Headwaters Wind Farm LLC (HWF) for an incidental take permit under the
ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If approved, the ITP would be for a 27-
year period and would authorize incidental take of the endangered
Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and the threatened northern long-eared bat
(Myotis septentrionalis).
The applicant has prepared a draft HCP that covers the operation of
the Headwaters Wind Farm (Headwaters). The project consists of a wind-
powered electric generation facility located in an approximately
53,808-acre area in Randolph County, Indiana. The draft HCP describes
the following: (1) Biological goals and objectives of the HCP; (2)
covered activities; (3) permit duration; (4) project area; (5)
alternatives to the taking that were considered; (5) public
participation; (6) life history of the Indiana bat and northern long-
eared bat; (6) quantification of the take for which authorization is
requested; (7) assessment of direct and indirect effects of the taking
on the Indiana bat within the Midwest Recovery Unit (as delineated in
the 2007 Indiana Bat Draft Recovery Plan, Service) and rangewide; (8)
assessment of direct and indirect effects of the taking on the northern
long-eared bat within the Service's Midwest region and rangewide; (9)
conservation program consisting of avoidance and minimization measures,
mitigation, monitoring, and adaptive management; (10) funding for the
HCP; (11) procedures to deal with changed and unforeseen circumstances;
and (12) methods for ITP amendments.
Under the NEPA (43 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the ESA, the Service
announces that we have gathered the information necessary to:
1. Determine the impacts and formulate alternatives for an EA
related to:
a. Issuance of an ITP to the applicant for the take of the Indiana
bat and the northern long-eared bat, and
b. Implementation of the associated HCP; and
2. Evaluate the application for ITP issuance, including the HCP,
which provides measures to minimize and mitigate the effects of the
proposed incidental take of the Indiana bat and the northern long-eared
bat.
Background
The HWF application is unusual in that the wind facility has been
operational since 2014. The project includes 100 Vestas V110 2.0
megawatt wind turbines and has a total energy capacity of 200 MW. The
need for the proposed action (i.e., issuance of an ITP) is based on the
potential that operation of the Headwaters Wind Farm could result in
take of Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats.
The HCP provides a detailed conservation plan to ensure that the
incidental take caused by the operation of the project will not
appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the
Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat, and provides mitigation to
fully offset the impact of the taking. Further, the HCP provides a
long-term monitoring and adaptive management strategy to ensure that
the ITP terms are satisfied, and to account for changed and unforeseen
circumstances.
Purpose and Need for Action
In accordance with NEPA, the Service has prepared an EA to analyze
the impacts to the human environment that would occur if the requested
ITP were issued and the associated HCP were implemented.
Proposed Action
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the ``taking'' of threatened and
endangered species. However, provided certain criteria are met, the
Service is authorized to issue permits under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
ESA for take of federally listed species when, among other things, such
a taking is incidental to, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful
activities. Under the ESA, the term ``take'' means to harass, harm,
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect endangered
and threatened species, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.
Our implementing regulations in title 50 of the Code of Federal
Regulations define ``harm'' as an act which actually kills or injures
wildlife, and such act may include significant habitat modification or
degradation that results in death or injury to listed species by
significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including
breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). Harass, as defined in
our regulations, means ``an intentional or negligent act or omission
which creates the likelihood of injury to wildlife by annoying it to
such an extent as to significantly disrupt normal behavioral patterns
which include, but are not limited to, breeding, feeding, or
sheltering'' (50 CFR 17.3).
The HCP analyzes, and the ITP would cover, take from harassment and
harm, and killing of bats due to the operation of the Headwaters
project. If issued, the ITP would authorize incidental take consistent
with the applicant's HCP and the ITP. To issue the ITP, the Service
must find that the application, including its HCP, satisfies the
criteria of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA and the Service's
implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 13 and Sec. 17.22. If the ITP
[[Page 40327]]
is issued, the applicant would receive assurances under the Service's
No Surprises policy, as codified at 50 CFR 17.22(b)(5).
The applicant proposes to operate a maximum of 100 wind turbines
and associated facilities (described below) for a period of 27 years in
Randolph County, Indiana. The project consists of wind turbines,
associated access roads, an underground and aboveground electrical
collector system, one substation containing transformers that feed
electricity into an existing 345-kilovolt (kV) electrical tie-in line,
a 10-mile generator lead line, three permanent meteorological towers,
and an operations and maintenance building. Project facilities and
infrastructure are placed on private land via long-term easement
agreements between the applicant and respective landowners.
The draft HCP describes the impacts of take associated with the
operation of the Headwaters Wind Farm and includes measures to avoid,
minimize, mitigate, and monitor the impacts of incidental take on the
Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat. The applicant will
mitigate for take and associated impacts through protection and
restoration of maternity colony habitat and/or swarming habitat, and
gating of an Indiana bat hibernacula. Habitat mitigation, including any
restored habitat, will occur on private land and be permanently
protected by restrictive covenants approved by the Service. Chapter 5
of the HCP describes the Conservation Program, including details of
avoidance and minimization measures, compensatory mitigation, and
adaptive management that will limit and mitigate for the take of
Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats.
The Service is soliciting information regarding the adequacy of the
HCP to avoid, minimize, mitigate, and monitor the proposed incidental
take of the covered species and to provide for adaptive management. In
compliance with section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539(c)), the
Service is making the ITP application materials available for public
review and comment as described above.
We invite comments and suggestions from all interested parties on
the draft documents associated with the ITP application (HCP and HCP
Appendices), and request that comments be as specific as possible. In
particular, we request information and comments on the following
topics:
1. Whether adaptive management and monitoring provisions in the
Proposed Action alternative are sufficient;
2. 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 draft HCP or draft EA;
3. Any new information on white-nose syndrome effects on the
Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat; and
4. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the
proposed action on the Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat.
Alternatives in the Draft EA
The DEA contains an analysis of four alternatives: (1) No Action
alternative, in which all 100 turbines would be feathered from \1/2\
hour before sunset to \1/2\ hour after sunrise up to 5.0 meters per
second (m/s) from March 15 through May 15 and up to 6.9 m/s from August
1 through October 15. In addition, 10 turbines within 1,000 feet of
suitable habitat would be feathered up to 6.9 m/s with the rest of the
turbines feathered up to manufacturer's cut-in speed (3.0 m/s) from May
16 through July 31. This curtailment regime would occur each year
during the operational life (27 years) of Headwaters; (2) the 5.0 m/s
Cut-In Speed (feathered) Alternative including implementation of the
HCP and issuance of a 27-year ITP; (3) the 6.5 m/s Cut-In Speed
(feathered) Alternative, including implementation of the HCP and
issuance of a 27-year ITP; and (4) the 4.0 m/s Cut-In Speed (feathered)
Alternative, including implementation of the HCP and issuance of a 27-
year ITP. The DEA considers the direct, indirect, and cumulative
effects of the alternatives, including any measures under the Proposed
Action alternative intended to minimize and mitigate such impacts. The
DEA also identifies two additional alternatives that were considered
but were eliminated from analysis as detailed in Section 3.4 of the
DEA.
The Service invites comments and suggestions from all interested
parties on the content of the DEA. 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.
Public Comments
You may submit your comments and materials related to the draft
HCP, DEA, or other supporting documents by one of the methods listed in
ADDRESSES. We request that you send comments by only one of the methods
described in ADDRESSES.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as documents associated
with the notice, will be available for public inspection by
appointment, during normal business hours, at the Indiana Ecological
Services Field Office in Bloomington, Indiana (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). 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 you comment to withhold your personal
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we
will be able to do so.
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).
Dated: April 18, 2018.
Lori H. Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2018-17485 Filed 8-13-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
