[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41655-41656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13554]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2023-0080; FXES11140300000-234]


Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation 
Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit, Cardinal 
Point Wind Project, McDonough and Warren Counties, IL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

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

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received an application from Cardinal Point Wind Farm, LLC for an 
incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act, for its 
Cardinal Point Wind Project (project). If approved, the permit would 
authorize the incidental take of two endangered species, the Indiana 
bat and the northern long-eared bat, and two species under federal 
review, the tricolored bat and little brown bat. The applicant has 
prepared a habitat conservation plan in support of their application. 
We also announce the availability of a draft environmental assessment, 
which has been prepared in response to the permit application in 
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act. We invite comments from the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and 
local governments.

DATES: We will accept comments on or before July 27, 2023.

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-2023-0080 at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Comment submission: In your comment, please specify whether your 
comment addresses the proposed HCP, draft EA, or any combination of the 
aforementioned documents, or other supporting documents. You may submit 
written comments by one of the following methods:
     Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Search for and submit 
comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2023-0080.
     By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail to Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2023-0080; 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, Midwest Region, by email at 
[email protected], or telephone at 612-713-5337. 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: 

Background

    Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 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 such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1538). 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. Regulations governing incidental take 
permits (ITP) 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 for take of four bat species, 
including the federally protected Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and 
northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), the tricolored bat 
(Perimyotis subflavus), which is proposed for listing, and the little 
brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), which is being considered for listing. 
These species are hereafter referred to as ``covered species.'' The 
applicant determined that wind farm activities on this land are 
reasonably certain to result in incidental take of these species. The 
activity that could result in incidental take of the covered species is 
the operation of 60 wind turbines occurring in McDonough and Warrant 
Counties, Illinois, on private land. The estimated level of take from 
the project is up to 240 Indiana bats, 6 northern long-eared bats, 18 
tricolored bats, and 18 little brown bats over the 6-year project 
duration.
    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 covered species through on-site 
minimization measures and to provide habitat conservation measures to 
offset any impacts from operations of the project. On-site minimization 
measures include feathering turbine blades under specific conditions 
that are associated with high bat use of the project area, as measured 
with acoustic bat detectors at the project. To offset the impacts of 
the taking of the covered species, the applicant proposes to conserve 
bat habitat by purchasing credits from a bat conservation bank in 
Illinois or through individually sponsored habitat projects. The 
Service requests public comments on the permit application, which 
includes a proposed HCP, and an EA prepared in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
    The applicant's HCP describes the activities that will be 
undertaken to implement the project, as well as the mitigation and 
minimization measures proposed to address the impacts to the covered 
species. Pursuant to NEPA, the EA analyzes the impacts the ITP issuance 
would have on the covered species and the environment.

National Environmental Policy Act

    Issuance of an ITP is a Federal action that triggers the need for 
compliance with NEPA. We prepared a draft EA that analyzes the 
environmental impacts on

[[Page 41656]]

the human environment resulting from three alternatives: A no-action 
alternative, the proposed action, and a more restrictive alternative 
consisting of feathering below higher wind speeds that results in lower 
impacts to bats.

Next Steps

    The Service will evaluate the permit application and the comments 
received to determine whether the 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 during a 30-day public comment period (see DATES). Information 
and comments regarding the following topics are requested:
    1. The environmental effects that implementation of any alternative 
could have on the human environment;
    2. Whether or not the significance of the impact on various aspects 
of the human environment has been adequately analyzed;
    3. Any threats to the covered species that may influence their 
populations over the life of the ITP that are not addressed in the 
proposed HCP or environmental assessment; and
    4. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the 
proposed action on the human environment.

Availability of Public Comments

    You may submit comments by one of the methods shown under 
ADDRESSES. We will post on https://www.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 Endangered 
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations 
(50 CFR 17.22) and the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 
4371 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR 
part 46).

Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2023-13554 Filed 6-26-23; 8:45 am]
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