[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 164 (Friday, August 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48241-48243]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18449]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2021-0094; FF08ESMF00-FXES11140800000-212]


DifWind VII & IX Reclamation Project, Alameda County, California; 
Draft Categorical Exclusion and Draft Habitat Conservation Plan

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of permit application; request for 
comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the receipt 
of an application from DifWind Farms Limited VII and DifWind Farms 
Limited IX (collectively, the applicants) for a 6-year incidental take 
permit under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), along with the 
applicants' draft habitat conservation plan. We also announce the 
availability of the associated draft National Environmental Policy Act 
categorical exclusion screening form. The applicants have applied for 
an incidental take permit under the ESA for the DifWind VII & IX 
Reclamation Project in Alameda County, California. The permit would 
authorize the take of two species incidental to the reclamation of a 
decommissioned commercial wind energy project. We invite the public and 
local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment on the 
application and related documents. Before issuing the requested permit, 
we will take into consideration any information that we receive during 
the public comment period.

DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before September 27, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: The draft categorical exclusion screening form 
(CatEx), draft habitat conservation plan (HCP), and any comments and 
other materials that we receive are available for public inspection at 
http://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2021-0094.
    Submitting Comments: To submit comments, please use one of the 
following methods, and note that your information requests or comments 
are in reference to the draft CatEx, draft HCP, or both.
     Internet: Submit comments at http://www.regulations.gov 
under Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2021-0094.
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R8-ES-2021-0094; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: 
PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    For more information, see Public Comments and Public Availability 
of Comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vincent Griego, Fish and Wildlife 
Biologist, or Ryan Olah, Chief, Coast Bay Division, Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, by phone at 916-414-6600 
or via the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), announce the receipt of an application from DifWind Farms 
Limited VII, and DifWind Farms Limited IX (collectively, the 
applicants), 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.), along with the applicants' draft habitat conservation plan. We 
also announce the availability of the associated draft National 
Environmental Policy Act categorical exclusion screening form (NEPA; 42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The applicants have applied for an incidental 
take permit under the ESA for the DifWind VII & IX Reclamation Project 
in Alameda County, California. The permit would authorize the take of 
two species incidental to the reclamation of a decommissioned 
commercial wind energy project. We invite the public and local, State, 
Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment on the application and related 
documents. Before issuing the requested permit, we will take into 
consideration any information that we receive during the public comment 
period.
    An ITP application requires the preparation of an HCP with measures 
to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the impacts of incidental take to the 
maximum extent practicable. The applicants prepared and submitted for 
Service review their Draft DifWind VII & IX Reclamation Project Habitat 
Conservation Plan (HCP) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. The 
Service then prepared a draft categorical exclusion screening form 
consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 
amended (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and its implementing 
regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR 1501.4, 
and now is making it available in accordance with provisions within 40 
CFR 1506.6. The purpose of the screening form is to confirm that the 
agency action is within a category of actions previously determined, 
pursuant to agency NEPA procedures, not to normally have significant 
effects on the natural and human environment, and thus does not require 
further NEPA evaluation, and that there are no extraordinary 
circumstances that indicate that an otherwise-excluded action may 
warrant further NEPA evaluation.

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544 et seq.) and Federal 
regulations (50 CFR 17) prohibit the taking of fish and wildlife 
species listed as endangered or threatened under section 4 of the ESA. 
Regulations governing allowable exceptions to prohibited take of 
endangered and threatened species via permits are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 
17.32. For more about the Federal habitat conservation plan program, go 
to http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/hcp.pdf.

National Environmental Policy Act Compliance

    The proposed permit issuance triggers the need for compliance with 
NEPA. The draft CatEx was prepared to analyze the impacts of issuing an 
ITP based on the draft HCP and to inform the public of the proposed 
action, any alternatives, and associated impacts, and to disclose any 
irreversible commitments of resources. The draft CatEx further confirms 
if an action is within a category of categorically excluded activities 
indicating further NEPA evaluation is not necessary.

[[Page 48242]]

Proposed Action Alternative

    Under the proposed action alternative, the Service would issue an 
ITP to the applicants for a period of 6 years for certain covered 
activities (described below). The applicants have requested an ITP for 
two covered species (described below), which are listed as threatened 
under the ESA.
Covered Activities
    The proposed ESA section 10 ITP would allow take of two covered 
species from covered activities in the proposed HCP area. The 
applicants are requesting incidental take authorization to complete the 
decommissioning and removal of a wind energy project originally 
installed in the 1980s and 1990s. The applicants have completed non-
ground-disturbing work, including the removal of wind turbine blades, 
nacelles, turbine towers, transformers, meteorological masts, and other 
minor aboveground facilities. Under the HCP, the applicants would 
complete the decommissioning and removal of approximately 14 
miscellaneous concrete pads, 17 junction boxes, 308 turbine 
foundations, 41 concrete pad-mount transformer pads, and would restore 
approximately 14.7 miles of access roads. The applicants seeks a 6-year 
permit to match the projected time necessary to complete the activities 
associated with this proposed decommissioning and reclamation project, 
including ground-disturbing activities, and remedial actions, if 
necessary, to ensure restoration of the project site.
    The applicants propose actions to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the 
effects to the Covered Species associated with the Covered Activities 
through the implementation of the HCP. The proposed mitigation measures 
in the HCP closely follow the avoidance and minimization measures 
outlined in the East Alameda Conservation Strategy (EACCS). The 
measures generally require preconstruction surveys; avoidance and 
monitoring during construction; and best management practices for 
restoration of Covered Species habitat.
Covered Species
    The California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) (central 
California distinct population segment), and the California red-legged 
frog (Rana draytonii), both federally listed as threatened, are 
proposed to be included as covered species in the proposed HCP.

Alternatives

    In addition to the proposed action alternative in the applicant's 
HCP, as required by the ESA, the HCP considers several alternatives to 
such action's potential taking: (1) The No-Take Alternative; (2) the 
Reduced Take Alternative, and (3) an Other Alternative.

No-Action Alternative

    Under the no-action alternative, the Service would not issue an ITP 
to the applicants, and the reclamation would not be completed. The no-
action alternative is not feasible, based on the purpose and need of 
the project. The existing wind energy project has been partially 
decommissioned, but the applicants are responsible for comprehensive 
decommissioning and reclamation activities. Ground disturbance during 
the final phases of decommissioning/reclamation activities is 
unavoidable, along with plausible incidental take of covered species. 
For these reasons, the no-action alternative has been rejected.

Reduced Take Alternative

    Under the reduced take alternative, the applicants considered only 
removing turbine foundations that were located further away from 
aquatic habitat for the covered species. The Service would issue a 
permit, and the applicants would implement the proposed mitigation 
measures. While this reduced take alternative would reduce the amount 
of California tiger salamander and California red-legged frog habitat 
affected, it was determined to be infeasible because the applicants 
have previous agreements with the landowner to remove all project 
components during decommissioning. The applicants would not be able to 
meet their obligations with landowners under this alternative, so the 
reduced take alternative was rejected.

Other Alternative

    The applicants also considered restoring fewer miles of roads as an 
alternative. The Service would issue a permit, and the applicants would 
implement the proposed mitigation measures. While this other 
alternative would reduce by a very small amount the amount of 
California tiger salamander and California red-legged frog habitat 
initially affected, the long-term value of rehabilitating areas for 
future habitat would be lost. Additionally, it was determined to be 
generally infeasible because the applicants have previous agreements 
with the landowner to remove all project components during 
decommissioning. So for these reasons, the reduced take alternative was 
rejected.

Public Comments

    We request data, comments, new information, or suggestions from the 
public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific 
community, Tribes, industry, or any other interested party on this 
notice, the draft CatEx, and the draft HCP. We particularly seek 
comments on the following:
    (1) Biological information concerning the species;
    (2) Relevant data concerning the species;
    (3) Additional information concerning the range, distribution, 
population size, and population trends of the species;
    (4) Current or planned activities in the subject area and their 
possible impacts on the species; and
    (5) The presence of archeological sites, buildings and structures, 
historic events, sacred and traditional areas, and other historic 
preservation concerns, which are required to be considered in project 
planning by the National Historic Preservation Act; and
    (6) Any other environmental issues that should be considered with 
regard to the proposed development and permit action.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, or other personal 
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--might 
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.

Next Steps

    Issuance of an ITP is a Federal proposed action subject to 
compliance with NEPA and section 7 of the ESA. We will evaluate the 
application, associated documents, and any public comments we receive 
to determine whether the application meets the requirements of section 
10(a) of the ESA. If we determine that those requirements are met, we 
will conduct an intra-Service consultation under section 7 of the ESA 
for the Federal action for the potential issuance of an ITP. If the 
intra-Service consultation confirms that issuance of the ITP will not 
jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened 
species, or destroy or adversely modify critical habitat, we will issue 
a permit to the applicant for the incidental take of the California 
tiger salamander and California red-legged frog from the

[[Page 48243]]

implementation of the covered activities described in the draft HCP. We 
will make the final permit decision no sooner than 30 days after 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.

Authority

    We publish this notice in compliance with section 10(c) of the 
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544 et seq.) and its 
implementing regulations at 40 CFR 17.22 and 17.32; and in furtherance 
of objectives under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347 et seq.), and its implementing regulations 
at 40 CFR 1500-1508.

Kim S. Turner,
Acting Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 
Sacramento, California.
[FR Doc. 2021-18449 Filed 8-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P