Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit, Green River Wind Farm, Lee and Whiteside Counties, Illinois, 62839-62840 [2021-24638]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 216 / Friday, November 12, 2021 / Notices
(2) The accuracy of the agency’s
estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection of information;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) Ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on those
who are to respond; including through
the use of appropriate automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of responses.
HUD encourages interested parties to
submit comment in response to these
questions.
C. Authority
Section 3507 of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507.
Janet M. Golrick,
Acting, Chief of Staff for the Office of Housing
Federal Housing Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021–24650 Filed 11–10–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R3–ES–2021–0100;
FXES11140300000–212]
Draft Environmental Assessment and
Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan;
Receipt of an Application for an
Incidental Take Permit, Green River
Wind Farm, Lee and Whiteside
Counties, Illinois
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comment and information.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), have received
an application from Green River Wind
Farm Phase 1, LLC (applicant), for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA), for its
Green River Wind Farm (project). The
applicant requests the ITP, which would
be for a 30-year period, for the take of
the federally listed endangered Indiana
bat and threatened northern long-eared
bat incidental to the otherwise lawful
activities associated with the project.
The applicant proposes a conservation
program to minimize and mitigate for
the unavoidable incidental take as
described in their habitat conservation
plan (HCP). The Service requests public
comment on the application including
the submission of written data, views or
arguments with respect to the
application, which includes the
applicant’s proposed HCP, and the
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:42 Nov 10, 2021
Jkt 256001
Service’s draft environmental
assessment, prepared pursuant to the
National Environmental Policy Act. The
Service provides this notice to seek
comments from the public and Federal,
Tribal, State, and local governments.
DATES: We will accept comments
received or postmarked on or before
December 13, 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–
2021–0100 at https://
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:
• Online: https://www.regulations.gov.
Search for and submit comments on
Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2021–0100.
• By hard copy: Submit comments by
U.S. mail to Public Comments
Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R3–
ES–2021–0100; 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:
Background
Section 9 of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 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 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,
PO 00000
Frm 00070
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
62839
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 30-year ITP
for take of the federally endangered
Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and
federally threatened northern long-eared
bat (Myotis septentrionalis). The
applicant determined that wind farm
activities on this land are reasonably
certain to result in incidental take of
these federally listed species. Activity
that could result in incidental take of
Indiana bats and northern long-eared
bats is the operation of 74 wind turbines
currently being constructed in Lee and
Whiteside Counties, Illinois, within a
permit area consisting of approximately
12,120 acres of private land. The
estimated level of take from the project
is 60 Indiana bats and 120 northern
long-eared bats over the 30-year project
duration.
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
on-site minimization measures and to
provide habitat conservation and
mitigation measures for Indiana bats
and northern long-eared bats to offset
any impacts from operations of the
project. On-site minimization measures
include feathering turbine blades up to
3.0 meters per second (m/s) during
winter and spring (October 16–May 15),
up to 5.0 m/s during fall (August 1–
October 15), and up to 5.0 m/s at 24
turbines with risk and 3.0 m/s at the
remaining turbines during summer (May
16–July 31). Minimization measures
will be implemented nightly from a half
hour before sunset to a half hour after
sunrise when the temperature is above
10 °C. To offset the impacts of the taking
of Indiana bats and northern long-eared
bats, the applicant proposes to protect
known maternity colony habitat for both
covered species. The Service requests
public comments on the permit
application, which includes a proposed
HCP, and a draft EA prepared in
accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
The applicants’ HCP describes the
activities that will be undertaken to
implement the project, as well as the
mitigation and minimization measures
E:\FR\FM\12NON1.SGM
12NON1
62840
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 216 / Friday, November 12, 2021 / Notices
proposed to address the impacts to the
covered species. Pursuant to NEPA, the
EA analyzes the impacts the ITP
issuance would have on the covered
species and the environment.
National Environmental Policy Act
The issuance of an ITP is a Federal
action that triggers the need for
compliance with NEPA. We prepared a
draft EA that analyzes the
environmental impacts on the human
environment resulting from three
alternatives: A no-action alternative, the
applicant’s proposed action, and a more
restrictive alternative consisting of
feathering at a rate of 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
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
review public comments on the draft
EA, complete the NEPA process, and
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.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Request for 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 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.
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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:42 Nov 10, 2021
Jkt 256001
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.
4321 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1500–1508 (2020);
43 CFR part 46).
Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological
Services.
[FR Doc. 2021–24638 Filed 11–10–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLAK940000.L14100000.BX0000.22X.
LXSS001L0100]
Filing of Plats of Survey: Alaska
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of official filing.
AGENCY:
The plats of survey of lands
described in this notice are scheduled to
be officially filed in the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), Alaska State Office,
Anchorage, Alaska. The surveys, which
were executed at the request of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs and the BLM,
are necessary for the management of
these lands.
DATES: The BLM must receive protests
by December 13, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may buy a copy of the
plats from the BLM Alaska Public
Information Center, 222 West 7th
Avenue, Mailstop 13, Anchorage,
Alaska 99513. You may also view the
plats at the BLM Alaska Public
Information Center, Fitzgerald Federal
Building, 222 West 7th Avenue,
Anchorage, Alaska, at no cost.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thomas B. O’Toole, Chief, Branch of
Cadastral Survey, Alaska State Office,
Bureau of Land Management, 222 West
7th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 99513;
telephone (907) 271–4231; email
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00071
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
totoole@blm.gov. People who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS)
at 1–800–877–8339 to contact the BLM
during normal business hours. The FRS
is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week, to leave a message or question
with the above individual. You will
receive a reply during normal business
hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The lands
surveyed are:
Copper River Meridian, Alaska
U.S. Survey No. 14531, accepted October 8,
2021, situated in T. 24 N., R. 11 E.
U.S. Survey No. 14534, accepted October 8,
2021, situated in T. 15 N., R. 12 E.
U.S. Survey No. 14535, accepted October 8,
2021, situated in T. 25 N., R. 12 E.
U.S. Survey No. 14537, accepted October 8,
2021, situated in T. 15 N., R. 12 E.
U.S. Survey No. 14541, accepted October 8,
2021, situated in T. 28 N., R. 10 E.
Seward Meridian, Alaska
U.S. Survey No. 4980, accepted October 1,
2021, situated in T. 13 S., R. 56 W.
U.S. Survey No. 7143, accepted October 1,
2021, situated in T. 13 S., R. 56 W.
A person or party who wishes to
protest one or more plats of survey
identified above must file a written
notice of protest with the BLM Alaska
State Director. The protest may be filed
by mail addressed to ‘‘BLM State
Director, Alaska State Office, Bureau of
Land Management, 222 West 7th
Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 99513’’ or
by delivering it in person to the BLM
Alaska Public Information Center,
Fitzgerald Federal Building, 222 West
7th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska. The
notice of protest must identify the
plat(s) of survey that the person or party
wishes to protest. You must file the
notice of protest by December 13, 2021.
The BLM will not consider any notice
of protest filed after this date. A notice
of protest is considered filed on the date
it is received by the BLM Alaska State
Director during regular business hours;
if received after regular business hours,
a notice of protest will be considered
filed the next business day. A written
statement of reasons in support of a
protest, if not filed with the notice of
protest, must be filed with the BLM
Alaska State Director within 30 calendar
days after the notice of protest is filed.
If a notice of protest of a plat of survey
is timely, the official filing of the plat of
survey identified in the notice of protest
will be stayed pending consideration of
the protest. A plat of survey will not be
officially filed until the dismissal or
resolution of all protests of the plat.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personally identifiable information in a
E:\FR\FM\12NON1.SGM
12NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 216 (Friday, November 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62839-62840]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24638]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R3-ES-2021-0100; FXES11140300000-212]
Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation
Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit, Green
River Wind Farm, Lee and Whiteside Counties, Illinois
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment and information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have
received an application from Green River Wind Farm Phase 1, LLC
(applicant), for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA), for its Green River Wind Farm (project). The
applicant requests the ITP, which would be for a 30-year period, for
the take of the federally listed endangered Indiana bat and threatened
northern long-eared bat incidental to the otherwise lawful activities
associated with the project. The applicant proposes a conservation
program to minimize and mitigate for the unavoidable incidental take as
described in their habitat conservation plan (HCP). The Service
requests public comment on the application including the submission of
written data, views or arguments with respect to the application, which
includes the applicant's proposed HCP, and the Service's draft
environmental assessment, prepared pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act. The Service provides this notice to seek
comments from the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and local
governments.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before
December 13, 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-2021-0100 at https://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:
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Search for and submit
comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0100.
By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail to Public
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0100; 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:
Background
Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA;
16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 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 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 30-year ITP for take of the federally
endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and federally threatened
northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis). The applicant
determined that wind farm activities on this land are reasonably
certain to result in incidental take of these federally listed species.
Activity that could result in incidental take of Indiana bats and
northern long-eared bats is the operation of 74 wind turbines currently
being constructed in Lee and Whiteside Counties, Illinois, within a
permit area consisting of approximately 12,120 acres of private land.
The estimated level of take from the project is 60 Indiana bats and 120
northern long-eared bats over the 30-year project duration.
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 on-site minimization measures and to provide habitat
conservation and mitigation measures for Indiana bats and northern
long-eared bats to offset any impacts from operations of the project.
On-site minimization measures include feathering turbine blades up to
3.0 meters per second (m/s) during winter and spring (October 16-May
15), up to 5.0 m/s during fall (August 1-October 15), and up to 5.0 m/s
at 24 turbines with risk and 3.0 m/s at the remaining turbines during
summer (May 16-July 31). Minimization measures will be implemented
nightly from a half hour before sunset to a half hour after sunrise
when the temperature is above 10 [deg]C. To offset the impacts of the
taking of Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats, the applicant
proposes to protect known maternity colony habitat for both covered
species. The Service requests public comments on the permit
application, which includes a proposed HCP, and a draft EA prepared in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.).
The applicants' HCP describes the activities that will be
undertaken to implement the project, as well as the mitigation and
minimization measures
[[Page 62840]]
proposed to address the impacts to the covered species. Pursuant to
NEPA, the EA analyzes the impacts the ITP issuance would have on the
covered species and the environment.
National Environmental Policy Act
The issuance of an ITP is a Federal action that triggers the need
for compliance with NEPA. We prepared a draft EA that analyzes the
environmental impacts on the human environment resulting from three
alternatives: A no-action alternative, the applicant's proposed action,
and a more restrictive alternative consisting of feathering at a rate
of 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 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
review public comments on the draft EA, complete the NEPA process, and
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 during a 30-day public comment period (see DATES). 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.
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. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR
1500-1508 (2020); 43 CFR part 46).
Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2021-24638 Filed 11-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
