[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10932-10933]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03635]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0019; FXES11130400000-234-FF04EF4000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Eastern Indigo Snake; Decatur County, 
GA; Categorical Exclusion

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from Tri-State Solar Project, LLC (applicant) for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The 
applicant requests the ITP to take the federally

[[Page 10933]]

listed threatened eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) incidental 
to the construction and operation of a solar facility in Decatur 
County, Georgia. 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 the proposed permitting 
action may be eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the 
Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) regulations, the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA 
regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary 
determination, we prepared a draft environmental action statement and 
low-effect screening form, both of which are also available for public 
review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and 
Federal agencies.

DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before March 24, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0019 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 one of the following methods:
     Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0019.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0019; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Elmore, by U.S. mail (see 
ADDRESSES), via phone at 912-403-1873, or by email at 
[email protected]. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, 
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 
(TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. 
Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services 
offered within their country to make international calls to the point-
of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 
announce receipt of an application from Tri-State Solar Project, 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 threatened 
eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) incidental to the 
construction and operation of a solar facility development in Decatur 
County, Georgia. We request public comment on the application, which 
includes the applicant's habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the 
Service's preliminary determination that this proposed ITP qualifies as 
``low effect,'' and may qualify for a categorical exclusion pursuant to 
the Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 1501.4), the Department of the 
Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI's 
Departmental Manual (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). To make this preliminary 
determination, we prepared a draft environmental action statement and 
low-effect screening form, both of which are also available for public 
review.

Proposed Project

    The applicant requests a 10-year ITP to take three individual 
eastern indigo snakes via the conversion of approximately 431 acres 
(ac) of occupied nesting, foraging, and sheltering habitat incidental 
to the construction and operation of a solar facility development on a 
3,611-ac parcel on the north side of Georgia State Route 253 and east 
side of Georgia State Route 310, approximately 4 miles west of 
Bainbridge, in Decatur County, Georgia. The applicant proposes to avoid 
and minimize take of the species to the greatest extent possible by 
implementing the Service's Standard Protection Measures for the eastern 
indigo snake during implementation of activities associated with the 
construction and operation of the solar facility. The applicant 
proposes mitigation for take of the eastern indigo snake by 
contributing $339,412.50 to the Wildlife Foundation of Florida--Eastern 
Indigo Snake Conservation Fund. These funds will be used in Georgia for 
the management or restoration of eastern indigo snake habitat, purchase 
of occupied habitat, purchase of development rights for occupied 
habitat, or a combination thereof. The Service would require the 
applicant to provide the contribution of the funds prior to engaging in 
any construction of the project.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that 
your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, 
may be made available to the public. While you may request that we 
withhold your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee 
that we will be able to do so.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
applicant's proposed project, including the construction and operation 
of the solar facility, would individually and cumulatively have a minor 
effect on the eastern indigo snake and the human environment. 
Therefore, we have preliminarily determined that the proposed ESA 
section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would be a ``low-effect'' ITP that 
individually or cumulatively would have a minor effect on the eastern 
indigo snake and may qualify for application of a categorical exclusion 
pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations, 
DOI's NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. A ``low-
effect'' incidental take permit is one that would result in (1) minor 
or negligible effects on species covered in the HCP; (2) nonsignificant 
effects on the human environment; and (3) impacts that, when added 
together with the impacts of other past, present, and reasonable 
foreseeable actions, would not result in significant cumulative effects 
to the human environment.

Next Steps

    The Service will evaluate the application and the comments to 
determine whether to issue the requested ITP. 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 preceding and 
other matters, we will determine whether the permit issuance criteria 
of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service 
will issue ITP number PER 0053113 to Tri-State Solar Project, LLC.

Authority

    The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the 
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing 
regulations (50 CFR 17.32) and the National Environmental Policy Act 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500-
1508 and 43 CFR 46).

Peter Maholland,
Field Supervisor, Georgia Ecological Services Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-03635 Filed 2-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P