Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sweet Acres Wind Project, White County, IN; Categorical Exclusion, 35192-35194 [2024-09349]
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<![CDATA[
35192
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 1, 2024 / Notices
Permit application No.
Applicant
Species
Location
PER9604902–0 ..........
Kaitlyn
Torrey;
Woodstock, GA.
Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), gray bat
(Myotis grisescens), northern long-eared
bat (Myotis septentrionalis), and tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus).
PER9605390–0 ..........
Amanda
Rosenberger;
Cookeville, TN.
Chucky madtom (Noturus crypticus) and
53 species of freshwater mussels.
Alabama, Arkansas,
Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware,
District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,
Nebraska, New
Hampshire, New
Jersey, New Mexico, New York,
North Carolina,
North Dakota,
Ohio, Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island,
South Carolina,
South Dakota,
Tennessee, Texas,
Vermont, Virginia,
West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Tennessee and Virginia.
Public Availability of Comments
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Written comments we receive 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 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. 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.
Type in your search exactly as the
application number appears above, with
spaces and hyphens as necessary. For
example, to find information about the
potential issuance of Permit No. PER
1234567–0, you would go to https://
www.regulations.gov and put ‘‘PER
1234567–0’’ in the Search field.
Authority
We publish this notice under section
10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.).
Sean Blomquist,
Acting Deputy Assistant Regional Director,
Ecological Services, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2024–09347 Filed 4–30–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Next Steps
Fish and Wildlife Service
After the comment period closes, we
will make decisions regarding permit
issuance. If we issue permits to any of
the applicants listed above in this
notice, we will publish a subsequent
notice in the Federal Register. You may
locate the notice announcing the permit
issuance by searching https://
www.regulations.gov for the application
number listed above in this document.
[Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2023–0248;
FXES11140300000–245–FF03E00000]
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:59 Apr 30, 2024
Jkt 262001
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit
Application and Proposed Habitat
Conservation Plan for the Sweet Acres
Wind Project, White County, IN;
Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY:
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
PO 00000
Frm 00160
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Activity
Type of take
Permit action
Presence/
probable
absence
surveys.
Capture, handle,
identify, band,
radio tag, and release.
New
Presence/
probable
absence
surveys
and scientific research.
Fishes: capture, handle, identify, swab,
fin clip, and release; Mussels:
capture, handle,
identify, release,
and salvage relic
shells.
New
Notice of availability of
documents; request for comment and
information.
ACTION:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, have received an
application from Indiana Crossroads
Wind Farm II LLC (applicant), for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the
Endangered Species Act, for its Sweet
Acres Wind Project (project). If
approved, the ITP would be for a 6-year
period and would authorize the
incidental take of the federally
endangered Indiana bat, the federally
endangered northern long-eared bat, and
the tricolored bat and little brown bat,
both of which are proposed for listing.
The applicant has prepared a habitat
conservation plan in support of the
application. 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
the proposed permitting action may be
eligible for a categorical exclusion
pursuant to the Council on
Environmental Quality’s National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
regulations, the Department of the
Interior’s (DOI) NEPA regulations, and
the DOI Departmental Manual. To make
this preliminary determination, we
prepared a draft environmental action
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\01MYN1.SGM
01MYN1
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 1, 2024 / Notices
statement and low-effect screening form,
both of which are also available for
public review. We invite comment from
the public and local, State, Tribal, and
Federal agencies.
DATES: We must receive your written
comments on or before May 31, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: The documents
this notice announces, as well as any
comments and other materials that we
receive, will be available for public
inspection online in Docket No . FWS–
R3–ES–2023–0248 at https://
www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to
submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by
one of the following methods:
• Online: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments
on Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2023–0248.
• U.S. mail: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R3–
ES–2023–0248; U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/
3W; Falls Church, VA 22041–3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan Cooper, Field Supervisor, Indiana
Ecological Services Field Office, by
email at susan_cooper@fws.gov or by
telephone at 812–334–4261, extension
214; or Andrew Horton, Regional HCP
Coordinator, by email at andrew_
horton@fws.gov or by 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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
have received an application from
Indiana Crossroads II Wind Farm LLC
(applicant) for a 6-year 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 ITP to take the Indiana bat
(Myotis sodalis) and northern long-eared
bat (Myotis septentrionalis), both
federally listed as endangered, and the
proposed as endangered tricolored bat
(Perimyotis subflavus) and little brown
bat (Myotis lucifugus), being considered
for listing. Take would be incidental to
the operation of 42 wind turbines, with
a total generating capacity of 201.6
megawatts (MW), at the Sweet Acres
Wind Project in White County, Indiana.
While the ITP would be for 6 years, the
operational life of most new wind
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:59 Apr 30, 2024
Jkt 262001
35193
energy facilities is 30 years; therefore,
intensive monitoring conducted during
the 6-year permit term would inform the
need for future avoidance or a future
new or revised long-term ITP for the
remaining life of the project that would
comply with a new NEPA analysis and
habitat conservation plan (HCP). The
applicant has prepared an 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,’’ and
may qualify for a categorical exclusion
pursuant to the Council on
Environmental Quality’s National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
regulations (40 CFR 1501.4), the
Department of the Interior’s (DOI) NEPA
regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI’s
Departmental Manual (516 DM
8.5(C)(2)). To make this preliminary
determination, we prepared a draft
environmental action statement and
low-effect screening form, both of which
are also available for public review.
County, Indiana, covering
approximately 11,646 hectares (28,778
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 covered bat species through on-site
minimization measures and to provide
habitat conservation measures to offset
any impacts from project operations.
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,
2 northern long-eared bats, 18 tricolored
bats, and 18 little brown bats bat over
the 6-year permit duration. To offset the
impacts of the taking of the species, 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 a permittee-responsible
mitigation project; or
• Contribute to a white-nose
syndrome treatment fund.
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 (CFR) at 50
CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32.
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 proposed project, and
the proposed mitigation measures,
would individually and cumulatively
have a minor effect on the covered
species and the human environment.
Therefore, we have preliminarily
determined that the proposed ESA
section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would be a
low-effect ITP that individually or
cumulatively would have a minor effect
on the species and may qualify for
application of a categorical exclusion
pursuant to the Council on
Environmental Quality’s NEPA
regulations, DOI’s NEPA regulations,
and the DOI Departmental Manual. A
low-effect ITP is one that would result
in (1) minor or nonsignificant effects on
species covered in the HCP; (2)
nonsignificant effects on the human
environment; and (3) impacts that,
when added together with the impacts
of other past, present, and reasonably
foreseeable actions, would not result in
significant cumulative effects to the
human environment.
Applicant’s Proposed Project
The applicant requests a 6-year ITP to
take the federally endangered Indiana
bat (Myotis sodalis), federally
endangered northern long-eared bat
(Myotis septentrionalis), proposed
endangered tricolored bat (Perimyotis
subflavus) and under discretionary
review, the little brown bat (Myotis
lucifugus). The applicant determined
that take is reasonably certain to occur
incidental to operation of 42 previously
constructed wind turbines in White
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the
application and the comments received
to determine whether to issue the
E:\FR\FM\01MYN1.SGM
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35194
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 1, 2024 / Notices
requested ITP. 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 preceding and other
matters, we will determine whether the
permit issuance criteria of section
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA have been met. If
met, the Service will issue the requested
ITP to the applicant.
Request for Public Comments
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
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.
16:59 Apr 30, 2024
Jkt 262001
Karen Herrington,
Acting Assistant Regional Director, Ecological
Services.
[FR Doc. 2024–09349 Filed 4–30–24; 8:45 am]
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 the adaptive management,
monitoring, and mitigation provisions
in the proposed HCP are sufficient;
2. The requested 6-year ITP term;
3. Any threats to the covered bat
species 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 whitenose syndrome effects on covered bat
species;
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.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Authority
We provide this notice under 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 1500–1508; 43 CFR part 46).
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Geological Survey
[GX.24.DJ73.V3410.00; OMB Control
Number 1028–NEW]
Vulnerability to Water Insecurity,
Hazards Planning and Response
U.S. Geological Survey,
Department of Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) is proposing a new information
collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before May 31,
2024.
ADDRESSES: 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/
PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open
for Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function. Send your comments
on this information collection request
(ICR) by mail to U.S. Geological Survey,
Information Collections Officer, 12201
Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 159, Reston,
VA 20192; or by email to gs-info_
collections@usgs.gov. Please reference
OMB Control Number 1028–NEW—
Water Insecurity in the subject line of
your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this Information Collection Request
(ICR), contact Jennifer Rapp by email at
jrapp@usgs.gov, or by telephone at 804–
261–2635. You may also view the ICR
at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain. Individuals who are hearing
or speech impaired may call the Federal
Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339 for
TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the PRA (44 U.S.C.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), we
provide the general public and other
federal agencies with an opportunity 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.
A Federal Register notice with a 60day public comment period soliciting
comments on this collection of
information was published on
September 2, 2022 (87 FR 54240). No
comments were received.
As part of our continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we are again soliciting
comments from the public and other
federal agencies on the proposed ICR
that is described below. We are
especially interested in public comment
addressing the following:
(1) Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether or not 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 through 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. Before including your
address, phone number, email address,
or other personal identifiable
information (PII) in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire
comment—including your PII—may be
made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your PII from public review,
we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Abstract: The United States is facing
growing challenges related to the
availability and quality of water due to
shifting demographics, aging water
delivery infrastructure, the impacts of
climate change, and increasing hazards
risk, like floods and drought. Working
with incomplete knowledge, managers
must consider the needs of various
E:\FR\FM\01MYN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35192-35194]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09349]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2023-0248; FXES11140300000-245-FF03E00000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sweet Acres Wind Project, White
County, IN; 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 Indiana Crossroads Wind Farm II LLC (applicant), for
an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act, for
its Sweet Acres Wind Project (project). If approved, the ITP would be
for a 6-year period and would authorize the incidental take of the
federally endangered Indiana bat, the federally endangered northern
long-eared bat, and the tricolored bat and little brown bat, both of
which are proposed for listing. The applicant has prepared a habitat
conservation plan in support of the application. 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 the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a
categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental
Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the
Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI
Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary determination, we
prepared a draft environmental action
[[Page 35193]]
statement and low-effect screening form, both of which are also
available for public review. We invite comment from the public and
local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before May 31, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: The documents this notice announces, as well
as any comments and other materials that we receive, will be available
for public inspection online in Docket No . FWS-R3-ES-2023-0248 at
https://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by one of the following methods:
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2023-0248.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R3-ES-2023-0248; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg
Pike, MS: PRB/3W; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Cooper, Field Supervisor,
Indiana Ecological Services Field Office, by email at
[email protected] or by telephone at 812-334-4261, extension 214; or
Andrew Horton, Regional HCP Coordinator, by email at
[email protected] or by 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
(Service), have received an application from Indiana Crossroads II Wind
Farm LLC (applicant) for a 6-year 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 ITP to take the Indiana bat (Myotis
sodalis) and northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), both
federally listed as endangered, and the proposed as endangered
tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus) and little brown bat (Myotis
lucifugus), being considered for listing. Take would be incidental to
the operation of 42 wind turbines, with a total generating capacity of
201.6 megawatts (MW), at the Sweet Acres Wind Project in White County,
Indiana. While the ITP would be for 6 years, the operational life of
most new wind energy facilities is 30 years; therefore, intensive
monitoring conducted during the 6-year permit term would inform the
need for future avoidance or a future new or revised long-term ITP for
the remaining life of the project that would comply with a new NEPA
analysis and habitat conservation plan (HCP). The applicant has
prepared an 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,'' and may
qualify for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on
Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
regulations (40 CFR 1501.4), the Department of the Interior's (DOI)
NEPA regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI's Departmental Manual (516 DM
8.5(C)(2)). To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft
environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, both of
which are also available 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 (CFR) 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), federally endangered northern
long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), proposed endangered tricolored
bat (Perimyotis subflavus) and under discretionary review, the little
brown bat (Myotis lucifugus). The applicant determined that take is
reasonably certain to occur incidental to operation of 42 previously
constructed wind turbines in White County, Indiana, covering
approximately 11,646 hectares (28,778 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 covered bat species through on-site
minimization measures and to provide habitat conservation measures to
offset any impacts from project operations. 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, 2 northern long-eared bats, 18 tricolored bats, and 18
little brown bats bat over the 6-year permit duration. To offset the
impacts of the taking of the species, 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 a permittee-responsible mitigation project; or
Contribute to a white-nose syndrome treatment fund.
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 proposed project, and the proposed
mitigation measures, would individually and cumulatively have a minor
effect on the covered species and the human environment. Therefore, we
have preliminarily determined that the proposed ESA section 10(a)(1)(B)
permit would be a low-effect ITP that individually or cumulatively
would have a minor effect on the species and may qualify for
application of a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on
Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations, DOI's NEPA regulations, and
the DOI Departmental Manual. A low-effect ITP is one that would result
in (1) minor or nonsignificant effects on species covered in the HCP;
(2) nonsignificant effects on the human environment; and (3) impacts
that, when added together with the impacts of other past, present, and
reasonably foreseeable actions, would not result in significant
cumulative effects to the human environment.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the application and the comments received
to determine whether to issue the
[[Page 35194]]
requested ITP. 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 preceding and other matters, we
will determine whether the permit issuance criteria of section
10(a)(1)(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 the adaptive management, monitoring, and mitigation
provisions in the proposed HCP are sufficient;
2. The requested 6-year ITP term;
3. Any threats to the covered bat species 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 covered
bat species;
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.
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.
1539) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22) and NEPA (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500-
1508; 43 CFR part 46).
Karen Herrington,
Acting Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2024-09349 Filed 4-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
