Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for the Rosewater Wind Farm, White County, Indiana; Categorical Exclusion, 79503-79504 [2020-27102]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 238 / Thursday, December 10, 2020 / Notices
(Presidentially Declared Disasters); 97.039,
Hazard Mitigation Grant.
(Presidentially Declared Disasters); 97.039,
Hazard Mitigation Grant.
Pete Gaynor,
Administrator, Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
Pete Gaynor,
Administrator, Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2020–27174 Filed 12–9–20; 8:45 am]
[FR Doc. 2020–27175 Filed 12–9–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111–23–P
BILLING CODE 9111–23–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Federal Emergency Management
Agency
[FWS–R3–ES–2020–0128;
FXES11140300000–212]
[Internal Agency Docket No. FEMA–4567–
DR; Docket ID FEMA–2020–0001]
New York; Amendment No. 2 to Notice
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Federal Emergency
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AGENCY:
ACTION:
This notice amends the notice
of a major disaster declaration for the
State of New York (FEMA–4567–DR),
dated October 2, 2020, and related
determinations.
SUMMARY:
This amendment was issued
November 3, 2020.
DATES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dean Webster, Office of Response and
Recovery, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, 500 C Street SW,
Washington, DC 20472, (202) 646–2833.
The notice
of a major disaster declaration for the
State of New York is hereby amended to
include the following areas among those
areas determined to have been adversely
affected by the event declared a major
disaster by the President in his
declaration of October 2, 2020.
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The following Catalog of Federal Domestic
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and Households; 97.050 Presidentially
Declared Disaster Assistance to Individuals
and Households—Other Needs; 97.036,
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17:36 Dec 09, 2020
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of
documents; request for comment and
information.
AGENCY:
Notice.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit
Application and Proposed Habitat
Conservation Plan for the Rosewater
Wind Farm, White County, Indiana;
Categorical Exclusion
Jkt 253001
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, have received an
application from Rosewater Wind Farm
LLC (applicant), for an incidental take
permit (ITP) under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA), for its Rosewater
Wind Farm (project). If approved, the
ITP would be for a 6-year period and
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 habitat conservation plan
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 request
public comment on the application,
which includes the applicant’s
proposed habitat conservation plan
(HCP), and on the Service’s preliminary
determination that this HCP qualifies as
‘‘low-effect,’’ categorically excluded
under the National Environmental
Policy Act. To make this determination,
we used our environmental action
statement and low-effect screening form,
both of which are also able for public
review.
SUMMARY:
We will accept comments
received or postmarked on or before
January 11, 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–
2020–0128 at https://
www.regulations.gov.
DATES:
PO 00000
Frm 00043
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
79503
Comment submission: In your
comment, please specify whether your
comment addresses the proposed HCP,
draft environmental action statement, or
any combination of the aforementioned
documents, or other supporting
documents. You may submit written
comments by one of the following
methods:
• Online: https://www.regulations.gov.
Search for and submit comments on
Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2020–0128.
• U.S. mail: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R3–
ES–2020–0128; U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/
3W; Falls Church, VA 22041–3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Scott Pruitt, Field Supervisor,
Bloomington Ecological Services Field
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
620 South Walker Street, Bloomington,
IN 47403; telephone: 812–334–4261,
extension 214; 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 Rosewater
Wind Farm LLC (applicant), for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
The applicant requests the 6-year ITP to
take the federally listed Indiana bat
(Myotis sodalis) and northern long-eared
bat (Myotis septentrionalis) incidental to
the operation of 25 wind turbines with
a total generating capacity of 102
megawatt (MW) at the Rosewater Wind
Farm in White County, Indiana. While
the ITP is for 6 years, the operational
life of most new wind energy facilities
is thirty years and intensive monitoring
conducted during this permit term will
inform the need for future avoidance or
a new long-term ITP for the remaining
life of the project that will comply with
a new NEPA analysis and habitat
conservation plan (HCP). The applicant
has prepared a HCP that describes the
actions and measures that the applicant
would implement to avoid, minimize,
and mitigate incidental take of the
covered species for the first 6 years. We
request public comment on the
application, which includes the
applicant’s proposed HCP, and on the
Service’s preliminary determination that
this HCP qualifies as ‘‘low-effect,’’
categorically excluded under the
E:\FR\FM\10DEN1.SGM
10DEN1
79504
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 238 / Thursday, December 10, 2020 / Notices
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). To make
this determination, we used our
environmental action statement and
low-effect screening form, both of which
are also able for public review.
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
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. 1532).
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 (16 U.S.C. 1539).
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 6-year ITP to
take the federally endangered Indiana
bat (Myotis sodalis) and threatened
northern long-eared bat (Myotis
septentrionalis). The applicant
determined that take is reasonably
certain to occur incidental to operation
of 25 previously constructed wind
turbines in White County, Indiana,
consisting of approximately 6,381 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 minimize potential take
of Indiana bats and northern long-eared
bats through onsite 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. The HCP provides on-site
avoidance and minimization measures,
which include turbine operational
adjustments. The authorized level of
take from the project is 18 Indiana bats
and 18 northern long-eared bats over the
6-year permit duration. To offset the
impacts of the taking of Indiana bats and
northern long-eared bats, the applicant
will implement one or more of the
following mitigation options: Purchase
credits from an approved conservation
bank, contribute to an in-lieu fee
mitigation fund, implement permittee
responsible mitigation project, or
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:36 Dec 09, 2020
Jkt 253001
contribute to a white-nose syndrome
treatment fund if such a fund is
established during the permit term.
National Environmental Policy Act
The issuance of an ITP is a Federal
action that triggers the need for
compliance with NEPA. The Service has
made a preliminary determination that
the applicant’s project and the proposed
mitigation measures would individually
and cumulatively have a minor or
negligible effect on the covered species
and the environment. Therefore, we
have preliminarily concluded that the
ITP for this project would qualify for
categorical exclusion, and the HCP
would be low effect under our NEPA
regulations at 43 CFR 46.205 and
46.210. A low-effect HCP is one that
would result in (1) minor or negligible
effects on federally listed, proposed, and
candidate species and their habitats; (2)
minor or negligible effects on other
environmental values or resources; and
(3) incremental impacts from the federal
action that, when added to other past,
present, and reasonable foreseeable
future actions, would not result in
significant cumulative effects to
environmental values or resources over
time.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the
application and the comments received
to determine whether the permit
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
on the proposed HCP and screening
form during a 30-day public comment
period (see DATES).
In particular, information and
comments regarding the following
topics are requested:
1. Whether adaptive management,
monitoring and mitigation provisions in
the proposed HCP are sufficient;
2. The requested 6-year ITP term;
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 or screening form;
PO 00000
Frm 00044
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
4. Any new information on whitenose syndrome effects on the Indiana
bat and the northern long-eared bat;
5. Whether or not the significance of
the impact on various aspects of the
human environment has been
adequately analyzed; and
6. Any other information pertinent to
evaluating the effects of the proposed
action on the human environment,
including those on the Indiana bat and
the northern long-eared bat.
Availability of Public Comments
You may submit comments by one of
the methods shown under ADDRESSES.
We will post on https://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. 2020–27102 Filed 12–9–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Secretary
[LLWO210000.L1610000]
National Environmental Policy Act
Implementing Procedures for the
Bureau of Land Management (516 DM
11)
AGENCY:
E:\FR\FM\10DEN1.SGM
Office of the Secretary, Interior.
10DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 238 (Thursday, December 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79503-79504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27102]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R3-ES-2020-0128; FXES11140300000-212]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Rosewater Wind Farm, White County,
Indiana; Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of documents; request for comment and
information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an
application from Rosewater Wind Farm LLC (applicant), for an incidental
take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), for its
Rosewater Wind Farm (project). If approved, the ITP would be for a 6-
year period and 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 habitat conservation plan 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 request public comment on the application,
which includes the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan
(HCP), and on the Service's preliminary determination that this HCP
qualifies as ``low-effect,'' categorically excluded under the National
Environmental Policy Act. To make this determination, we used our
environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, both of
which are also able for public review.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before
January 11, 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-2020-0128 at https://www.regulations.gov.
Comment submission: In your comment, please specify whether your
comment addresses the proposed HCP, draft environmental action
statement, or any combination of the aforementioned documents, or other
supporting documents. You may submit written comments by one of the
following methods:
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Search for and submit
comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2020-0128.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R3-ES-2020-0128; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg
Pike, MS: PRB/3W; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Pruitt, Field Supervisor,
Bloomington Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 620 South Walker Street, Bloomington, IN 47403; telephone:
812-334-4261, extension 214; 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 Rosewater Wind Farm LLC (applicant), for
an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicant requests
the 6-year ITP to take the federally listed Indiana bat (Myotis
sodalis) and northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis)
incidental to the operation of 25 wind turbines with a total generating
capacity of 102 megawatt (MW) at the Rosewater Wind Farm in White
County, Indiana. While the ITP is for 6 years, the operational life of
most new wind energy facilities is thirty years and intensive
monitoring conducted during this permit term will inform the need for
future avoidance or a new long-term ITP for the remaining life of the
project that will comply with a new NEPA analysis and habitat
conservation plan (HCP). The applicant has prepared a HCP that
describes the actions and measures that the applicant would implement
to avoid, minimize, and mitigate incidental take of the covered species
for the first 6 years. We request public comment on the application,
which includes the applicant's proposed HCP, and on the Service's
preliminary determination that this HCP qualifies as ``low-effect,''
categorically excluded under the
[[Page 79504]]
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). To
make this determination, we used our environmental action statement and
low-effect screening form, both of which are also able for public
review.
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. 1532). 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 (16 U.S.C. 1539). 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 6-year ITP to take the federally
endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and threatened northern long-
eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis). The applicant determined that take
is reasonably certain to occur incidental to operation of 25 previously
constructed wind turbines in White County, Indiana, consisting of
approximately 6,381 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 minimize
potential take of Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats through
onsite 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. The HCP provides on-site
avoidance and minimization measures, which include turbine operational
adjustments. The authorized level of take from the project is 18
Indiana bats and 18 northern long-eared bats over the 6-year permit
duration. To offset the impacts of the taking of Indiana bats and
northern long-eared bats, the applicant will implement one or more of
the following mitigation options: Purchase credits from an approved
conservation bank, contribute to an in-lieu fee mitigation fund,
implement permittee responsible mitigation project, or contribute to a
white-nose syndrome treatment fund if such a fund is established during
the permit term.
National Environmental Policy Act
The issuance of an ITP is a Federal action that triggers the need
for compliance with NEPA. The Service has made a preliminary
determination that the applicant's project and the proposed mitigation
measures would individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible
effect on the covered species and the environment. Therefore, we have
preliminarily concluded that the ITP for this project would qualify for
categorical exclusion, and the HCP would be low effect under our NEPA
regulations at 43 CFR 46.205 and 46.210. A low-effect HCP is one that
would result in (1) minor or negligible effects on federally listed,
proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2) minor or
negligible effects on other environmental values or resources; and (3)
incremental impacts from the federal action that, when added to other
past, present, and reasonable foreseeable future actions, would not
result in significant cumulative effects to environmental values or
resources over time.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the application and the comments received
to determine whether the permit 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 on the proposed HCP and screening form during a 30-day public
comment period (see DATES).
In particular, information and comments regarding the following
topics are requested:
1. Whether adaptive management, monitoring and mitigation
provisions in the proposed HCP are sufficient;
2. The requested 6-year ITP term;
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 or screening form;
4. Any new information on white-nose syndrome effects on the
Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat;
5. Whether or not the significance of the impact on various aspects
of the human environment has been adequately analyzed; and
6. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the
proposed action on the human environment, including those on the
Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat.
Availability of Public Comments
You may submit comments by one of the methods shown under
ADDRESSES. We will post on https://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. 2020-27102 Filed 12-9-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
