[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 33 (Thursday, February 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9081-9082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-03465]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2021-0157; FXES11140800000-20223FF08ECAR00]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Receipt of an Incidental Take 
Permit Application for the California Condor; Availability of Draft 
Conservation Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment; Pine Tree Wind 
Farm, Kern County, California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received an application from the Los Angeles Department of Water and 
Power for an incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended. The permit would authorize take of the federally 
endangered California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) incidental to 
otherwise lawful activities associated with operation of the existing 
Pine Tree Wind Farm. We invite comments on the draft conservation plan 
and the draft environmental assessment, which we have prepared pursuant 
to the National Environmental Policy Act. We will take comments into 
consideration before deciding whether to issue an incidental take 
permit.

DATES: To ensure consideration, please submit your written comments by 
March 21, 2022.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2021-0157 at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the 
documents, you may do so in writing by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``Pine Tree Wind 
Farm Incidental Take Permit'' in the subject line of the message.
     U.S. Mail: Assistant Field Supervisor, Palm Springs Fish 
and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 777 East Tahquitz 
Canyon Way, Suite 208, Palm Springs, CA 92262.
    We request that you send written comments by only one of the 
methods described above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Sanzenbacher, Fish and Wildlife 
Biologist, by mail at Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office (address 
above), by phone at 760-322-2070, extension 425,

[[Page 9082]]

or via email at [email protected]. If you use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf, hard of hearing, or speech 
disabled, please call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application from the Los 
Angeles Department of Water and Power (applicant) for an incidental 
take permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 
16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The application addresses the potential take 
of the federally endangered California condor (condor), incidental to 
otherwise lawful activities at the Pine Tree Wind Farm (project), as 
described in the applicant's draft conservation plan. The project began 
operations in 2009 and is within the Tehachapi Wind Resource Area in 
the eastern foothills of the southern Sierra Nevada in Kern County, 
California.

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1538) and Federal regulations 
promulgated pursuant to section 4(d) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1533) 
prohibit the take of endangered species without special exemption. 
Under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539), we may issue 
permits to authorize take of listed fish and wildlife species that is 
incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful 
activity. Regulations governing permits for endangered and threatened 
species are set forth in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR) at part 17, sections 17.22 and 17.32.
    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.) requires Federal agencies to analyze their proposed actions to 
determine whether the actions may significantly affect the human 
environment. In the NEPA analysis, the Federal agency will identify the 
effects, as well as possible mitigation for effects on environmental 
resources, that could occur with the implementation of the proposed 
action and alternatives. The Federal action in this case is the 
Service's proposed issuance of an incidental take permit for the 
federally endangered California condor.

Permit Application

    The applicant has submitted a draft conservation plan that 
describes the activities covered by the permit, such as the operation 
of wind turbines and other specified activities associated with project 
components. To minimize the risk of incidental take, the applicant will 
maintain a program to detect condors approaching the project and 
temporarily curtail operating wind turbines when appropriate. The 
conservation plan also includes adaptive management to allow for 
maintaining the protection of condors as technologies, condor behavior, 
and other factors change over time. To mitigate the impact of the 
potential incidental take, the applicant proposes to work with an 
existing captive breeding facility to fund the production of additional 
condors for release into the wild. The Service and applicant used a 
population viability analysis to inform the mitigation strategy and 
ensure that the level of potential injury or mortality of condors 
permitted at the project would not impede recovery of the species. The 
population viability analysis report is appended to the draft 
conservation plan.
    The Service prepared a draft environmental assessment to evaluate 
the impacts of issuing the proposed incidental take permit on the human 
environment, consistent with the purpose and goals of NEPA and pursuant 
to the Council on Environmental Quality's implementing NEPA regulations 
at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. Additionally, the draft environmental 
assessment was prepared consistent with the Department of the Interior 
NEPA regulations (43 CFR part 46); longstanding Federal judicial and 
regulatory interpretations; and Administration priorities and policies 
including Secretary's Order No. 3399 requiring bureaus and offices to 
use ``the same application or level of NEPA that would have been 
applied to a proposed action before the 2020 Rule went into effect.''
    A ``Frequently Asked Questions'' document for the above-described 
population viability analysis is attached to the draft environmental 
assessment. The draft conservation plan and the draft environmental 
assessment consider alternatives to the proposed action, including a no 
action alternative.

Public Comments

    If you wish to comment on the draft conservation plan and draft 
environmental assessment, you may submit comments by one of the methods 
in ADDRESSES.

Public Availability of Comments

    You may submit comments by one of the methods shown under 
ADDRESSES. All comments and materials we receive in response to this 
request will become part of the decision 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 
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 issue this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA (16 
U.S.C. 1539) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22), and NEPA 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 
1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.305).

Scott Sobiech,
Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, Carlsbad, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2022-03465 Filed 2-16-22; 8:45 am]
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