[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 10, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67473-67474]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26491]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R5-ES-2014-0050; FXES111X0500000-XXX-FF05E00000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for Indiana Bat (Myotis Sodalis) and Northern 
Long-Eared Bat (Myotis Septentrionalis) at the Copenhagen Wind Farm, 
Jefferson and Lewis Counties, New York; and Draft Environmental 
Assessment

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 (Service), announce the 
receipt of an application from Copenhagen Wind Farm, LLC (applicant), 
for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act 
(ESA). The applicant requests the ITP for take of the federally 
endangered Indiana bat and threatened northern long-eared bat 
incidental to otherwise lawful activities associated with operation of 
its Copenhagen Wind Farm, a 40-turbine wind farm that has been 
constructed in Jefferson and Lewis Counties, New York. The applicant 
proposes a conservation program to minimize and mitigate for the 
unavoidable incidental take as described in its Indiana Bat and 
Northern Long-eared Bat Habitat Conservation Plan for the Copenhagen 
Wind Farm, Lewis and Jefferson Counties, New York (HCP). We request 
public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's 
proposed HCP, and the Service's draft environmental assessment, 
prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. We provide 
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 
January 9, 2020. Comments submitted electronically using the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES) must be received by 11:59 p.m. 
Eastern Standard Time on the closing date.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining documents:
     Internet: You may obtain copies of the application 
including the HCP and draft environmental assessment (EA) on the 
internet at the New York Ecological Services Field Office's website at 
https://www.fws.gov/northeast/nyfo/ or at http://www.regulations.gov at 
Docket No. FWS-R5-ES-2014-0050.
     In-person: Documents are available for public inspection 
by appointment during regular business hours at the New York Ecological 
Services Field Office, 3817 Luker Road, Cortland, NY 13045. Call 607-
753-49334 to make an appointment.
    Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the 
documents, you may do so by one of the following methods. Please 
reference Docket Number FWS-R5-ES-2014-0050 in all comments. For 
additional guidance on submitting comments, please see Public Comments 
under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
     Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
website at: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-
R5-2014-0050, which is the docket number for this notice. Click on the 
appropriate link to locate this document and submit a comment.
     By hard copy: You may submit by mail or hand-delivery to 
Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R5-ES-2014-0050, New 
York Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
3817 Luker Road, Cortland, NY 13045. We request that you send comments 
by only the methods described above.

[[Page 67474]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robyn Niver, by mail at New York 
Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 3817 
Luker Road, Cortland, NY 13045; or by phone at 607-753-9334.

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 25-year ITP to take the federally 
endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and threatened northern long-
eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis). The applicant determined that 
unavoidable take is reasonably certain to occur incidental to operation 
of 40 previously constructed wind turbines. 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 
onsite minimization measures and to provide habitat conservation 
measures for Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats to offset any 
unavoidable impacts from operations of the project. The HCP provides 
onsite avoidance and minimization measures, which include turbine 
operational adjustments. The estimated level of take from the project 
is 4 Indiana bats and 16 northern long-eared bats over the 25-year 
project duration. To offset the impacts of the unavoidable taking of 
Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats, the applicant proposes to 
protect a high priority winter hibernaculum by installing a gate.

National Environmental Policy Act

    The issuance of an ITP is a Federal action that triggers the need 
for compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 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 an alternative consisting of feathering below the 
manufacturer's cut-in wind speed.

Next Steps

    The Service will evaluate the application and the comments received 
to determine whether the permit application meets the requirements of 
section 10(a) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 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.

Public Comments

    The Service invites the public to comment on the proposed HCP and 
draft EA during a 30-day public comment period (see DATES). You may 
submit comments by one of the methods shown under ADDRESSES.

Public Availability of Comments

    We will post on http://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

    The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) (16 U.S.C. 
1539(c)) of the ESA and NEPA regulation 40 CFR 1506.6.

Glenn S. Smith,
Acting Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, North 
Atlantic-Appalachian Region.
[FR Doc. 2019-26491 Filed 12-9-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P