Endangered and Threatened Species; Receipt of an Incidental Take Permit Application for the California Condor; Availability of Draft Conservation Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment; Manzana Wind Power Project, Kern County, California, 83603-83604 [2020-28253]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 22, 2020 / Notices
Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or
by using the search function.
BILLING CODE 9110–9M–C
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR–7024–C–55]
30-Day Notice of Proposed Information
Collection: Quality Control
Requirements for Direct Endorsement
Lenders; OMB Control No.: 2502–0600:
Correction
Office of the Chief Information
Officer, HUD.
ACTION: Notice; correction.
AGENCY:
On December 17, 2020, HUD
published a 30-day information
collection notice for OMB Control No.
2502–0600. This notice is to correct the
Average Hours per Response.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit comments regarding
this proposal. Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
Start Printed Page 15501PRAMain. Find
this particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:30 Dec 21, 2020
Jkt 253001
Colette Pollard, Reports Management
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing
and Urban Development, 451 7th Street
SW, Washington, DC 20410; email
Colette Pollard at Colette.Pollard@
hud.gov or telephone 202–402–3400.
Persons with hearing or speech
impairments may access this number
through TTY by calling the toll-free
Federal Relay Service at (800) 877–8339.
This is not a toll-free number. Copies
of available documents submitted to
OMB may be obtained from Ms. Pollard.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In the Federal Register of December
17, 2020, in FR Doc. 2020–27771, on
page 81947, in the third column, correct
the Average Hours per Response from
25. to 0.25.
Colette Pollard,
Department reports Management Officer,
Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020–28197 Filed 12–21–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
Frm 00094
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R8–ES–2020–N152;
FXES11140800000–20212FF08ECAR00]
Endangered and Threatened Species;
Receipt of an Incidental Take Permit
Application for the California Condor;
Availability of Draft Conservation Plan
and Draft Environmental Assessment;
Manzana Wind Power Project, Kern
County, California
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for public comments.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), have received
an application from Manzana Wind LLC
for an incidental take permit under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended. The permit would authorize
take of the federally endangered
California condor (Gymnogyps
californianus) incidental to otherwise
lawful activities associated with
operation of the existing Manzana Wind
Power Project. We invite comments on
the draft conservation plan and the draft
environmental assessment, which we
have prepared pursuant to the National
SUMMARY:
Correction
PO 00000
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
E:\FR\FM\22DEN1.SGM
22DEN1
EN22DE20.007
[FR Doc. 2020–28136 Filed 12–21–20; 8:45 am]
83603
83604
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 22, 2020 / Notices
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Environmental Policy Act. We will take
comments into consideration before
deciding whether to issue an incidental
take permit.
DATES: We are extending the standard
30-day comment period by 15 days to
allow additional time for public
comment. Written comments should be
received on or before February 5, 2021.
ADDRESSES:
To obtain documents: You may view
or download copies of the draft
conservation plan and draft
environmental assessment at https://
www.fws.gov/carlsbad/, or you may
request hardcopies of the draft
documents by contacting our Palm
Springs office (see below).
To submit written comments: Please
submit your written comments by either
of the following methods:
D Email: fw8cfwocomments@fws.gov.
Include ‘‘Manzana Wind Power
Incidental Take Permit’’ in the subject
line of the message.
D U.S. Mail: Assistant Field
Supervisor, Palm Springs Fish and
Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 777 East Tahquitz Canyon Way,
Suite 208, Palm Springs, CA 92284.
We request that you send written
comments by only the methods
described above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Peter Sanzenbacher, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, by mail at Palm Springs Fish
and Wildlife Office (address above), by
phone at 760–322–2070, extension 425,
or via email at peter_sanzenbacher@
fws.gov. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf,
hard of hearing, or speech disabled,
please call the Federal Relay Service at
800–877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have
received an application from Manzana
Wind LLC (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 endangered California condor
(condor), incidental to otherwise lawful
activities at the Manzana Wind Power
Project (project), as described in the
applicant’s draft conservation plan. The
project began operations in 2012 and is
in the Antelope Valley region of Kern
County, California, along the southern
foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains.
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 species without special
exemption. Under section 10(a)(1)(B) of
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:30 Dec 21, 2020
Jkt 253001
Public Comments
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 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 endangered California
condor.
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
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.
Permit Application
Authority
The applicant has submitted a draft
conservation plan that describes the
activities covered by the permit, such as
the operation of wind turbines and other
specified activities associated with
project components. To minimize the
risk of incidental take, the applicant
will maintain a program to detect
condors approaching the project and
temporarily curtail operating wind
turbines when appropriate; the
conservation plan also includes
adaptive management to allow for
maintaining the protection of condors as
technologies, condor behavior, and
other factors change over time. To
mitigate the impact of the potential
incidental take, the applicant proposes
to work with an existing captive
breeding facility to fund the production
of additional condors for release into the
wild. The Service and applicant used a
population viability analysis to inform
the mitigation strategy and ensure that
the level of potential injury or mortality
of condors permitted at the project
would not impede recovery of the
species. The population viability
analysis report is appended to the draft
conservation plan and the draft
environmental assessment. A
‘‘Frequently Asked Questions’’
document for the population viability
analysis is also attached to the draft
environmental assessment. The draft
conservation plan and the draft
environmental assessment consider
alternatives to the proposed action,
including a no action alternative.
PO 00000
Frm 00095
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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
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. 2020–28253 Filed 12–21–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R7–NWRS–2020–N158;
FF07R08000F–XRS–1263–0700000–201;
OMB Control Number 1018–0141]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget for Review
and Approval; Alaska Guide Service
Evaluation
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), are proposing to renew an
information collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before January
21, 2021.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\22DEN1.SGM
22DEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83603-83604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-28253]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2020-N152; FXES11140800000-20212FF08ECAR00]
Endangered and Threatened Species; Receipt of an Incidental Take
Permit Application for the California Condor; Availability of Draft
Conservation Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment; Manzana Wind
Power Project, Kern County, California
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 Manzana Wind LLC for an incidental take
permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The permit
would authorize take of the federally endangered California condor
(Gymnogyps californianus) incidental to otherwise lawful activities
associated with operation of the existing Manzana Wind Power Project.
We invite comments on the draft conservation plan and the draft
environmental assessment, which we have prepared pursuant to the
National
[[Page 83604]]
Environmental Policy Act. We will take comments into consideration
before deciding whether to issue an incidental take permit.
DATES: We are extending the standard 30-day comment period by 15 days
to allow additional time for public comment. Written comments should be
received on or before February 5, 2021.
ADDRESSES:
To obtain documents: You may view or download copies of the draft
conservation plan and draft environmental assessment at https://www.fws.gov/carlsbad/, or you may request hardcopies of the draft
documents by contacting our Palm Springs office (see below).
To submit written comments: Please submit your written comments by
either of the following methods:
[ssquf] Email: [email protected]. Include ``Manzana Wind
Power Incidental Take Permit'' in the subject line of the message.
[ssquf] U.S. Mail: Assistant Field Supervisor, Palm Springs Fish
and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 777 East Tahquitz
Canyon Way, Suite 208, Palm Springs, CA 92284.
We request that you send written comments by only the methods
described above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Sanzenbacher, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, by mail at Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office (address
above), by phone at 760-322-2070, extension 425, or via email at
[email protected]. If you use a telecommunications device for
the deaf, hard of hearing, or speech disabled, please call the Federal
Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application from Manzana
Wind LLC (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 endangered
California condor (condor), incidental to otherwise lawful activities
at the Manzana Wind Power Project (project), as described in the
applicant's draft conservation plan. The project began operations in
2012 and is in the Antelope Valley region of Kern County, California,
along the southern foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains.
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 species 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 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 endangered California condor.
Permit Application
The applicant has submitted a draft conservation plan that
describes the activities covered by the permit, such as the operation
of wind turbines and other specified activities associated with project
components. To minimize the risk of incidental take, the applicant will
maintain a program to detect condors approaching the project and
temporarily curtail operating wind turbines when appropriate; the
conservation plan also includes adaptive management to allow for
maintaining the protection of condors as technologies, condor behavior,
and other factors change over time. To mitigate the impact of the
potential incidental take, the applicant proposes to work with an
existing captive breeding facility to fund the production of additional
condors for release into the wild. The Service and applicant used a
population viability analysis to inform the mitigation strategy and
ensure that the level of potential injury or mortality of condors
permitted at the project would not impede recovery of the species. The
population viability analysis report is appended to the draft
conservation plan and the draft environmental assessment. A
``Frequently Asked Questions'' document for the population viability
analysis is also attached to the draft environmental assessment. The
draft conservation plan and the draft environmental assessment consider
alternatives to the proposed action, including a no action alternative.
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 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. 2020-28253 Filed 12-21-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P