Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit, Crescent Wind Project; Hillsdale County, Michigan, 5372-5373 [2023-01696]

Download as PDF 5372 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 18 / Friday, January 27, 2023 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service [Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2022–0147; FXES11140300000–234] Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit, Crescent Wind Project; Hillsdale County, Michigan Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment and information. AGENCY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an application from Consumers Energy Company for an incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act, for its Crescent Wind Project (project). If approved, the permit would authorize the incidental take of two endangered species, the Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat. The applicant has prepared a habitat conservation plan in support of their application. We also announce the availability of a draft environmental assessment, which has been prepared in response to the permit application in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. We invite comments from the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and local governments. DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before February 27, 2023. 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– 2022–0147 at https:// www.regulations.gov. Comment submission: Please specify whether your comment addresses the proposed habitat conservation plan, draft Environmental Assessment, any combination of the aforementioned documents, or other 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–2022–0147. • By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail to Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R3– ES–2022–0147; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/ 3W; Falls Church, VA 22041–3803. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Hicks, Field Supervisor, Michigan Ecological Services Field Office, by khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:53 Jan 26, 2023 Jkt 259001 email at scott_hicks@fws.gov, or telephone at 517–351–6274; or Andrew Horton, Regional HCP Coordinator, Midwest Region, by email at andrew_ horton@fws.gov, or telephone at 612– 713–5337. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an application from Consumers Energy Company for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), for its Crescent Wind Project (project). If approved, the ITP would be for a 30-year period and would authorize the incidental take of two endangered species, the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), and northern longeared bat (Myotis septentrionalis). The applicant has prepared a 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 longeared bat. We also announce the availability of a draft environmental assessment (EA), which has been prepared in response to the permit application in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (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 (ITP) for endangered and threatened species, respectively, are found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32. PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Applicant’s Proposed Project The applicant requests a 30-year ITP to take the federally endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and northern longeared bat (Myotis septentrionalis). The applicant determined that take is reasonably certain to occur incidental to operation of 60 wind turbines that have a total generating capacity of 166 megawatts and cover approximately 38,320 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 longeared bats through on-site 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 and acoustic-activated curtailment technology that adjusts turbine operations when bats are detected acoustically near turbine blades. The authorized level of take from the project is 96 Indiana bats and 49 northern long-eared bats over the 30year project duration. To offset the impacts of taking Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats, the applicant proposes to protect summer maternity habitat in Hillsdale County, Michigan, as well as known swarming/staging habitat for both species at an approved mitigation site in southern Indiana. The summer mitigation site is connected to habitat where both covered species were captured during preconstruction surveys for the Crescent Wind Project, and the swarming/staging site is located within a mile of Ray’s Cave, a Priority 1 hibernaculum for Indiana bats, where bats from two southern Michigan maternity colonies have been observed during hibernation. National Environmental Policy Act 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 proposed action, and a more restrictive alternative consisting of feathering below higher wind speeds that results in lower impacts to bats. Next Steps The Service will evaluate the permit application and the comments received to determine whether the application E:\FR\FM\27JAN1.SGM 27JAN1 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 18 / Friday, January 27, 2023 / Notices 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. khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES Request for Public Comments The Service invites comments and suggestions from all interested parties during a 30-day public comment period (see DATES). Information and comments regarding the following topics are requested: 1. The environmental effects that implementation of any alternative could have on the human environment; 2. Whether or not the significance of the impact on various aspects of the human environment has been adequately analyzed; 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 Environmental Assessment; and 4. 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:// www.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 Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:53 Jan 26, 2023 Jkt 259001 implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22) and the National Environmental Policy Act (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. 2023–01696 Filed 1–26–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4333–15–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [L13100000.PP0000.LLHQ330000.234; OMB Control No. 1004–0132] Agency Information Collection Activities; Geothermal Resource Leases and Unit Agreements Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of Information Collection; request for comment. AGENCY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposes to renew an information collection. DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before March 28, 2023. ADDRESSES: Send your written comments on this information collection request (ICR) by mail to Darrin King, Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Attention PRA Office, 440 W 200 S #500, Salt Lake City, UT 84101; or by email to BLM_HQ_PRA_ Comments@blm.gov. Please reference Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 1004–0132 in the subject line of your comments. Please note that the electronic submission of comments is recommended. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information about this ICR, contact Jennifer Spencer by email at j35spenc@blm.gov, or by telephone at (307) 775–6261, or Lorenzo Trimble, BLM National Geothermal Program Lead by email at ltrimble@ blm.gov, or by telephone at (916) 978– 4377. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-ofSUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 5373 contact in the United States. You may also view the ICR at https:// www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all information collections require approval under the PRA. We may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burdens, we invite the public and other Federal agencies to comment on new, proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public’s reporting burden. It also helps the public understand our information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. We are especially interested in public comment addressing the following: (1) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) How the agency might minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of response. Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this ICR. 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. Abstract: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) uses this E:\FR\FM\27JAN1.SGM 27JAN1

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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 18 (Friday, January 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5372-5373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01696]



[[Page 5372]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2022-0147; FXES11140300000-234]


Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation 
Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit, Crescent 
Wind Project; Hillsdale County, Michigan

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an 
application from Consumers Energy Company for an incidental take permit 
under the Endangered Species Act, for its Crescent Wind Project 
(project). If approved, the permit would authorize the incidental take 
of two endangered species, the Indiana bat and the northern long-eared 
bat. The applicant has prepared a habitat conservation plan in support 
of their application. We also announce the availability of a draft 
environmental assessment, which has been prepared in response to the 
permit application in accordance with the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act. We invite comments from the public and 
Federal, Tribal, State, and local governments.

DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before 
February 27, 2023.

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-2022-0147 at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Comment submission: Please specify whether your comment addresses 
the proposed habitat conservation plan, draft Environmental Assessment, 
any combination of the aforementioned documents, or other 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-2022-0147.
     By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail to Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2022-0147; U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/3W; Falls Church, VA 
22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Hicks, Field Supervisor, 
Michigan Ecological Services Field Office, by email at 
[email protected], or telephone at 517-351-6274; or Andrew Horton, 
Regional HCP Coordinator, Midwest Region, by email at 
[email protected], or telephone at 612-713-5337. Individuals in the 
United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a 
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United 
States should use the relay services offered within their country to 
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have 
received an application from Consumers Energy Company for an incidental 
take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.), for its Crescent Wind Project (project). If approved, the ITP 
would be for a 30-year period and would authorize the incidental take 
of two endangered species, the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), and 
northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis). The applicant has 
prepared a 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 (EA), which has been prepared in response to the permit 
application in accordance with the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

Background

    Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (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 (ITP) 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 to take the federally 
endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and northern long-eared bat 
(Myotis septentrionalis). The applicant determined that take is 
reasonably certain to occur incidental to operation of 60 wind turbines 
that have a total generating capacity of 166 megawatts and cover 
approximately 38,320 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 on-
site 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 and acoustic-activated curtailment technology that adjusts 
turbine operations when bats are detected acoustically near turbine 
blades. The authorized level of take from the project is 96 Indiana 
bats and 49 northern long-eared bats over the 30-year project duration. 
To offset the impacts of taking Indiana bats and northern long-eared 
bats, the applicant proposes to protect summer maternity habitat in 
Hillsdale County, Michigan, as well as known swarming/staging habitat 
for both species at an approved mitigation site in southern Indiana. 
The summer mitigation site is connected to habitat where both covered 
species were captured during preconstruction surveys for the Crescent 
Wind Project, and the swarming/staging site is located within a mile of 
Ray's Cave, a Priority 1 hibernaculum for Indiana bats, where bats from 
two southern Michigan maternity colonies have been observed during 
hibernation.

National Environmental Policy Act

    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 proposed action, and a more 
restrictive alternative consisting of feathering below higher wind 
speeds that results in lower impacts to bats.

Next Steps

    The Service will evaluate the permit application and the comments 
received to determine whether the application

[[Page 5373]]

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 during a 30-day public comment period (see DATES). Information 
and comments regarding the following topics are requested:
    1. The environmental effects that implementation of any alternative 
could have on the human environment;
    2. Whether or not the significance of the impact on various aspects 
of the human environment has been adequately analyzed;
    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 Environmental Assessment; and
    4. 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://www.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 Endangered 
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations 
(50 CFR 17.22) and the National Environmental Policy Act (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. 2023-01696 Filed 1-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P

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