Receipt of an Application for an Amended Incidental Take Permit Amendment for the Great Pathfinder Habitat Conservation Plan, Hamilton and Boone Counties, IA; Categorical Exclusion, 47589-47590 [2024-12123]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 107 / Monday, June 3, 2024 / Notices
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Estimated
number of
annual
respondents
Activity/requirement
Estimated
number of
annual
responses
Completion
time per
response
(hours)
Estimated
total annual
burden hours
Application (FWS Form 3–2341) .................................................................................
Fulfillment Reports .......................................................................................................
6
33
6
1,353
40
1
240
1,353
Totals ....................................................................................................................
39
1,359
....................
1,593
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor and a person is not required to
respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
The authority for this action is the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–12089 Filed 5–31–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2024–0023;
FXES11140300000–245–FF03E00000]
Receipt of an Application for an
Amended Incidental Take Permit
Amendment for the Great Pathfinder
Habitat Conservation Plan, Hamilton
and Boone Counties, IA; Categorical
Exclusion
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comments and information.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, have received an
application from Great Pathfinder Wind
LLC (applicant), to amend an existing
incidental take permit under the
Endangered Species Act, for its Great
Pathfinder Wind Project. We request
public comment on the application,
which includes the applicant’s
proposed amended habitat conservation
plan, and the Service’s preliminary
SUMMARY:
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Form Number: Form 3–2341.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: State
fish and wildlife agencies.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: One time for
applications, and an average of once
every 7 days per respondent for
fulfillment reports.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour
Burden Cost: None.
clarification that either party may ask
for a meeting to discuss issues; and a
clause stating that in the event that the
agreement is terminated for cause, the
Service may require the State to reapply
to be enrolled in the program.
Upon request, copies of the draft
Form 3–2341 and example MOU are
available by sending a request to the
Service Information Collection
Clearance Officer at Info_Coll@fws.gov.
Title of Collection: Electronic Federal
Duck Stamp Program.
OMB Control Number: 1018–0135.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:00 May 31, 2024
Jkt 262001
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 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 will accept comments
received or postmarked on or before July
3, 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–2024–0023 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–2024–0023.
• U.S. mail: Submit comments by
U.S. mail to Public Comments
Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R3–
ES–2024–0023; 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
PO 00000
Frm 00081
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Office, by email at Kraig_mcpeek@
fws.gov, or by telephone at 309–757–
5800, 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.
We, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
have received an application from Great
Pathfinder Wind LLC (applicant), to
amend an existing incidental take
permit (ITP) under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA;
16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), for its Great
Pathfinder Wind Project (project). If
approved, the amended ITP would add
authorization of incidental take of a
proposed endangered species, the
tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus), to
the currently existing authorizations to
incidentally take the Indiana bat (Myotis
sodalis) and northern long-eared bat
(Myotis septentrionalis), both of which
are federally listed as endangered. The
applicant has prepared a proposed
habitat conservation plan (HCP)
amendment that describes the actions
and measures that the applicant would
implement to avoid, minimize, and
mitigate incidental take of the tricolored
bat. We also announce the availability of
a draft environmental action statement
and low-effect screening form, which
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
E:\FR\FM\03JNN1.SGM
03JNN1
47590
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 107 / Monday, June 3, 2024 / Notices
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.). We request public
comment on the application and
associated documents.
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 (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.22 and
50 CFR 17.32.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Applicant’s Proposed Project
The applicant requests to amend their
current 6-year ITP (ESPER0627303). The
proposed HCP amendment, if approved,
would add authorization to incidentally
take the proposed endangered tricolored
bat (Perimyotis subflavus) to the
remaining 5 years of the current ITP.
The applicant determined that take is
reasonably certain to occur incidental to
operation of the 66 wind turbines at the
project. The proposed conservation
strategy in the applicant’s proposed
HCP amendment 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, northern long-eared
bats, and tricolored bats through on-site
minimization measures and to provide
habitat conservation measures for all
covered to offset any impacts from
operations of the project. The HCP
amendment provides on-site avoidance
and minimization measures, which
include turbine operational
adjustments. The estimated level of take
from the project amendment is 15
tricolored bats. To offset the impacts of
the taking tricolored bats, the applicant
proposes to protect known maternity
colony habitat or contribute to a whitenose treatment research mitigation fund,
if available.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:00 May 31, 2024
Jkt 262001
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 amended
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 reasonable 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
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
amended 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 effects that implementation of
any alternative under this proposed
amendment 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 in this proposed
amendment;
3. Any threats to the tricolored bat
that may influence their populations
over the life of the ITP that are not
addressed in the proposed HCP
amendment or screening form; and
PO 00000
Frm 00082
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
4. Any other information pertinent to
evaluating the effects of the proposed
amendment 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 ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
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).
Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological
Services.
[FR Doc. 2024–12123 Filed 5–31–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–HQ–MB–2024–N029;
FXMB123109CITY0–245–FF09M20200; OMB
Control Number 1018–0183]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget; Urban Bird
Treaty Program Requirements
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
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\03JNN1.SGM
03JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 107 (Monday, June 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47589-47590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12123]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2024-0023; FXES11140300000-245-FF03E00000]
Receipt of an Application for an Amended Incidental Take Permit
Amendment for the Great Pathfinder Habitat Conservation Plan, Hamilton
and Boone Counties, IA; Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments and information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an
application from Great Pathfinder Wind LLC (applicant), to amend an
existing incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act, for
its Great Pathfinder Wind Project. We request public comment on the
application, which includes the applicant's proposed amended habitat
conservation plan, and 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 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 will accept comments received or postmarked on or before July
3, 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-2024-0023 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-2024-0023.
U.S. mail: Submit comments by U.S. mail to Public Comments
Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2024-0023; 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, by email at
[email protected], or by telephone at 309-757-5800, 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 Great Pathfinder Wind LLC
(applicant), to amend an existing incidental take permit (ITP) under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.), for its Great Pathfinder Wind Project (project). If approved,
the amended ITP would add authorization of incidental take of a
proposed endangered species, the tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus),
to the currently existing authorizations to incidentally take the
Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and northern long-eared bat (Myotis
septentrionalis), both of which are federally listed as endangered. The
applicant has prepared a proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP)
amendment that describes the actions and measures that the applicant
would implement to avoid, minimize, and mitigate incidental take of the
tricolored bat. We also announce the availability of a draft
environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, which
[[Page 47590]]
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.). We request public comment on the application
and associated documents.
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 (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR
17.32.
Applicant's Proposed Project
The applicant requests to amend their current 6-year ITP
(ESPER0627303). The proposed HCP amendment, if approved, would add
authorization to incidentally take the proposed endangered tricolored
bat (Perimyotis subflavus) to the remaining 5 years of the current ITP.
The applicant determined that take is reasonably certain to occur
incidental to operation of the 66 wind turbines at the project. The
proposed conservation strategy in the applicant's proposed HCP
amendment 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, northern
long-eared bats, and tricolored bats through on-site minimization
measures and to provide habitat conservation measures for all covered
to offset any impacts from operations of the project. The HCP amendment
provides on-site avoidance and minimization measures, which include
turbine operational adjustments. The estimated level of take from the
project amendment is 15 tricolored bats. To offset the impacts of the
taking tricolored bats, the applicant proposes to protect known
maternity colony habitat or contribute to a white-nose treatment
research mitigation fund, if available.
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 amended 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 reasonable 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 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 amended 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 effects that implementation of any alternative under this
proposed amendment 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 in this proposed
amendment;
3. Any threats to the tricolored bat that may influence their
populations over the life of the ITP that are not addressed in the
proposed HCP amendment or screening form; and
4. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the
proposed amendment 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 ESA (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) 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).
Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2024-12123 Filed 5-31-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
