[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 230 (Wednesday, November 30, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74072-74073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30824]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R1-ES-2011-N235; 10120-1112-0000-F2]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Incidental Take 
Permit Application; Habitat Conservation Plan and Associated Documents; 
Kaheawa Pastures Wind Energy Generation Facility, Maui County, HI

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an 
application, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(Act), from Kaheawa Wind Power I, LLC, for an amendment to incidental 
take permit (ITP) number TE118901-0 and the associated Kaheawa Pastures 
Wind Energy Generation Facility Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). If 
approved, the ITP amendment would reduce the level of authorized 
incidental take of the endangered Hawaiian petrel (uau) and the 
threatened Newell's shearwater (ao) in the course of operating the 
Kaheawa Pastures Wind Energy Generation Facility (KWPI wind farm) for 
generating electricity on the island of Maui, Hawaii. We invite public 
comment on the proposed amendment of the ITP, HCP, and associated 
documents.

DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by 
December 30, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may download a copy of the permit application, HCP, and 
associated documents on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/pacificislands/. Alternatively, you may use one of the methods below to 
request hard copies or a CD-ROM of the documents. Please specify permit 
number TE118901-0 on all correspondence.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments or requests for copies 
or more information by one of the following methods.
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``Permit Number 
TE118901-0'' in the subject line of the message.
     U.S. Mail: Please address written comments to Loyal 
Mehrhoff, Project Leader, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 3-122, 
Honolulu, HI 96850.
     In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Call Dawn 
Greenlee, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, at (808) 792-9400 to make an 
appointment to view or pick up draft documents, or drop-off comments 
during regular business hours at the above address.
     Fax: Loyal Mehrhoff, Project Leader, (808) 792-9580, 
Attn.: Permit number TE118901-0.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dawn Greenlee, Fish and Wildlife 
Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (808) 792-9400 (phone); 
[email protected] (email, include ``Permit Number TE118901-0'' in 
the subject line of the message). If you use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal Information Relay 
Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    Kaheawa Wind Power I, LLC (KWPI), a subsidiary of First Wind Energy 
LLC, has requested an amendment to their existing incidental take 
permit (ITP) number TE118901-0, and the associated Kaheawa Pastures 
Wind Energy Generation Facility Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), under 
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. If we approve the amendment, the ITP 
would reduce the level of authorized incidental take of the endangered 
Hawaiian petrel (uau, Pterodroma sandwichensis) and the threatened 
Newell's shearwater (ao, Puffinus auricularis newelli) in the course of 
operating the Kaheawa Pastures Wind Energy Generation Facility (KWPI 
wind farm) for generating electricity on the island of Maui, Hawaii. 
Project-related permit-authorized take of the Hawaiian goose (nene, 
Branta sandvicensis) and the Hawaiian hoary bat (opeapea, Lasiurus 
cinereus semotus) would remain unchanged.
    The take would be incidental to KWPI's continued operation of the 
20-turbine, 30-megawatt KWPI wind farm that generates electricity on 
Maui. The Service listed the Hawaiian petrel as endangered on March 11, 
1967 (32 FR 4001); the Hawaiian goose as endangered on March 11, 1967 
(32 FR 4001); the Hawaiian hoary bat as endangered on October 13, 1970 
(35 FR 16047); and the Newell's shearwater as threatened on September 
25, 1975 (40 FR 44150).
    The notice for the existing ITP was published in the Federal 
Register on October 4, 2005 (70 FR 57888), and the ITP was issued on 
January 30, 2006.

Background

    Section 9 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and our implementing 
Federal regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 
17 prohibit the ``take'' of fish or wildlife species listed as 
endangered or threatened. Take of listed fish or wildlife is defined 
under the Act as ``to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, 
trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such 
conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532). However, under limited circumstances, we 
issue permits to authorize incidental take--i.e., take that is 
incidental to, and not the purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise 
lawful activity.
    Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened and 
endangered species are at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. In 
addition to meeting other criteria, an ITP must not jeopardize the 
continued existence of federally listed threatened or endangered 
species.

Applicant's Proposal

    KWPI currently holds permit number TE118901-0, and now seeks an 
amendment to this existing permit to reduce the permitted level of take 
for the Hawaiian petrel and the Newell's shearwater. The existing 
permit

[[Page 74073]]

authorizes the applicant to take 40 Hawaiian petrels, 40 Newell's 
shearwaters, 60 Hawaiian geese, and 20 Hawaiian hoary bats incidental 
to operation of the KWPI wind farm. The amendment would reduce the 
permitted level of take to 30 Hawaiian petrels and 8 Newell's 
shearwaters, with no change to the permitted level of take for the 
Hawaiian goose and the Hawaiian hoary bat. The KWPI wind farm project 
is located on the island of Maui, Hawaii.
    The requested amendment to permitted take levels is based on the 
results of monitoring the take of listed species during the first six 
seasons of operation of the KWPI wind farm project. Monitoring has 
detected two Hawaiian petrel carcasses, but no Newell's shearwater 
carcasses were detected at the wind farm site. Under the approved HCP, 
KWPI is required to mitigate for the take of the covered species by 
implementing predator control at nesting areas of the Hawaiian petrel, 
Newell's shearwater, and the Hawaiian goose on Maui, and by 
contributing to Hawaiian hoary bat research. No changes to the 
mitigation program under the KWPI HCP are being proposed. The HCP's 
mitigation for take of Hawaiian petrels and Newell's shearwaters is 
conducted based on observed levels of take. The KWPI project's 
mitigation plans are being implemented pursuant to the KWPI HCP. 
Pursuant to the adaptive management aspects of the KWPII HCP, the 
mitigation program for Hawaiian petrel and Newell's shearwater has been 
refined. Summaries of the KWPI project's seabird mitigation plans are 
outlined in the October 2011 Draft Seabird Mitigation Plan for KWPI and 
KWPII. The document outlines the applicant's plans to attract both 
seabird species to protected areas in west Maui, and to develop, within 
five years, additional mitigation measures that would be implemented, 
if necessary, to offset project take. These additional mitigation 
measures include in-situ management of Newell's shearwater in west 
Maui, east Maui, Molokai, and Lanai, in-situ management of Hawaiian 
petrel colonies on the Haleakala Crater in east Maui, and additional 
social attraction projects for Newell's shearwater in east Maui, 
Molokai, and Lanai.
    The application for a permit amendment includes KWPI's 2006 Kaheawa 
Pastures Wind Energy Generation Facility HCP, Implementing Agreement, 
Guarantee Agreement, a proposed amendment to the HCP, a proposed 
amendment to the Implementing Agreement, and the October 2011 Draft 
Seabird Mitigation Plan for KWPI and KWPII.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
Biological Opinion, Set of Findings, Environmental Assessment, and 
Finding of No Significant Impact, all of which were previously approved 
in support of issuance of the original incidental take permit, do not 
require revision, because there is no new information relating to the 
impacts of this action that warrant such a change, and there are no 
additional impacts expected beyond those originally assessed.

Next Steps

    The public process for the proposed Federal permit action will be 
completed after the public comment period, at which time we will 
evaluate the permit amendment application and comments submitted 
thereon to determine whether the application meets the requirements of 
section 10(a) of the Act, applicable regulations, and NEPA 
requirements. If we determine that those requirements are met, we will 
amend the ITP to reflect the revised HCP, Implementing Agreement, 
Guarantee Agreement, and the October 2011 Draft Seabird Mitigation Plan 
for KWPI and KWPII.

Public Comments

    We invite public comment on the proposed amendments of the ITP, 
HCP, Implementing Agreement, and the October 2011 Draft Seabird 
Mitigation Plan for KWPI and KWPII. If you wish to comment on the 
proposed amendment of the ITP, HCP, and associated documents, you may 
submit comments by any one of the methods discussed above under 
ADDRESSES.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comments, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Authority: We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: November 8, 2011.
Richard R. Hannan,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 2011-30824 Filed 11-29-11; 8:45 am]
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