[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 28, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73797-73799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-28223]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R3-ES-2021-0139; FXES11140300000-223]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Indiana Crossroads Wind Farm, White 
County, Indiana; Categorical Exclusion

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of documents; request for comment and 
information.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an 
application from Indiana Crossroads Wind Farm LLC (applicant), for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act, for its 
Indiana Crossroads Wind Farm (project). If approved, the ITP would be 
for a 6-year period and would authorize the incidental take of an 
endangered species, the Indiana bat, and a threatened species, the 
northern long-eared bat. The applicant has prepared a habitat 
conservation plan that describes the actions and measures that the 
applicant would implement to avoid, minimize, and mitigate incidental 
take of the Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat. 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 this HCP qualifies as ``low-effect,'' categorically 
excluded under the National Environmental Policy Act. To make this 
determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-
effect screening form, both of which are also able for public review.

[[Page 73798]]


DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before 
January 27, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Document availability:
    Electronic copies of the documents this notice announces, along 
with public comments received, will be available online in Docket No. 
FWS-R3-ES-2021-0139 at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Comment submission: In your comment, please specify whether your 
comment addresses the proposed HCP, draft environmental action 
statement, or any combination of the aforementioned documents, or other 
supporting documents. You may submit written comments by one of the 
following methods:
     Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for and submit 
comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0139.
     By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail to Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0139; U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/3W; Falls Church, VA 
22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Pruitt, Field Supervisor, 
Bloomington Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 620 South Walker Street, Bloomington, IN 47403; telephone: 
812-334-4261, extension 214; or Andrew Horton, Regional HCP 
Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service--Interior Region 3, 5600 
American Blvd., West, Suite 990, Bloomington, MN 55437-1458; telephone: 
612-713-5337.
    Individuals who are hearing impaired or speech impaired may call 
the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have 
received an application from Indiana Crossroads Wind Farm LLC 
(applicant) for an 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 federally listed Indiana bat 
(Myotis sodalis) and northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) 
incidental to the operation of 72 wind turbines with a total generating 
capacity of 302 megawatt (MW) at the Indiana Crossroads Wind Farm in 
White County, Indiana. While the ITP is for 6 years, the operational 
life of most new wind energy facilities is thirty years and intensive 
monitoring conducted during this permit term will inform the need for 
future avoidance or a new long-term ITP for the remaining life of the 
project that will 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,'' 
categorically excluded under the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). To make this determination, we used our 
environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, both of 
which are also able 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 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) and threatened northern long-
eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis). The applicant determined that take 
is reasonably certain to occur incidental to operation of 72 previously 
constructed wind turbines in White County, Indiana, consisting of 
approximately 32,763 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 Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats through on-
site minimization measures and to provide habitat conservation measures 
for Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat to offset any impacts from 
operations of the project. 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 and 18 
northern long-eared bats 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 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 project and the proposed mitigation 
measures would individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible 
effect on the covered species and the environment. Therefore, we have 
preliminarily concluded that the ITP for this project would qualify for 
categorical exclusion, and the HCP would be low effect under our NEPA 
regulations at 43 CFR 46.205 and 46.210. A low-effect HCP is one that 
would result in (1) minor or negligible effects on federally listed, 
proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2) minor or 
negligible effects on other environmental values or resources; and (3) 
impacts that, when considered together with the impacts of other past, 
present, and reasonable foreseeable similarly situated projects, would 
not result in significant cumulative effects to environmental values or 
resources over time.

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. 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.

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:

[[Page 73799]]

    1. Whether adaptive management, monitoring, and mitigation 
provisions in the proposed HCP are sufficient;
    2. The requested 6-year ITP term;>
    3. Any threats to the Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat 
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 the 
Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat;
    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, including those on the 
Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat.

Availability of Public Comments

    You may submit comments by one of the methods shown under 
ADDRESSES. 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

    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 the 
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 
1500-1508 (2020); 43 CFR part 46).

Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2021-28223 Filed 12-27-21; 8:45 am]
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