[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3837-3839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01426]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0167; FXES11140300000-212]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Ford Ridge Wind Project, Ford County, 
Illinois; 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 Ford Ridge Wind Farm LLC (applicant), for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act, for its 
Ford Ridge Wind Project (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.

DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before 
February 24, 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-2021-0167 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-2021-0167.
     By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail to Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0167; 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 telephone at 309-757-5800, extension 202; or 
Andrew Horton, Regional HCP Coordinator, Interior

[[Page 3838]]

Region 3, by email at [email protected] or telephone at 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 Ford Ridge 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 43 wind turbines with a total generating capacity of 121 
megawatts (MW) at the Ford Ridge Wind Project in Ford County, Illinois. 
While the ITP is for 6 years, the operational life of most new wind 
energy facilities is 30 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 (CFR) 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 43 previously 
constructed wind turbines in Ford County, Illinois, covering 
approximately 13,806 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 the Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat through 
on-site minimization measures and to provide habitat conservation 
measures for the two species to offset any impacts from project 
operations. 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 bat and 18 northern long-
eared bat 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:
    1. Whether the 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

[[Page 3839]]

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; 43 CFR part 46).

Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2022-01426 Filed 1-24-22; 8:45 am]
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