[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 230 (Friday, December 1, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56987-56990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25875]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R1-ES-2017-N123; FXES11140100000-178-FF01E00000]
Notice of Availability of a Draft Habitat Conservation Plan and
Draft Environmental Assessment for the Lalamilo Wind Farm Repowering
Project, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have
received an application from the Lalamilo Wind Company, LLC
(applicant), for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the
[[Page 56988]]
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The applicant is
requesting an ITP to authorize take of the endangered Hawaiian hoary
bat and the endangered Hawaiian petrel. If issued, the ITP would
authorize incidental take of these two species that may occur as a
result of the operation of the Lalamilo Wind Farm Repowering Project
(project). The ITP application includes a draft habitat conservation
plan (HCP) describing the actions and the measures the applicant will
implement to avoid, minimize, mitigate, and monitor incidental take of
the two species. The Service also announces the availability of a draft
environmental assessment (EA) that has been prepared in response to the
ITP application in accordance with the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We are making the ITP application,
including the draft HCP and the draft EA, available for public review
and comment.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
January 16, 2018.
ADDRESSES: To request further information or submit written comments,
please use one of the following methods, and note that your information
request or comments are in reference to the Lalamilo Wind Farm HCP,
draft EA, and the proposed issuance of the ITP:
Internet: Documents may be viewed on the internet at
http://www.fws.gov/pacificislands/.
Email: [email protected]. Include ``Draft Lalamilo
HCP and EA'' in the subject line of the message.
U.S. Mail: Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana
Boulevard, Room 3-122, Honolulu, HI 96850.
Fax: 808-792-9581, Attn: Field Supervisor. Include ``Draft
Lalamilo HCP and EA'' in the subject line of the message.
In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Comments and
materials received will be available for public inspection, by
appointment, during normal business hours at the Pacific Islands Fish
and Wildlife Office (address above). Written comments can be dropped
off during regular business hours on or before the closing date of the
public comment period (see DATES).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Bogardus (Maui Nui and Hawaii
Geographic Team Manager), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by mail at the
address in ADDRESSES; by telephone at 808-792-9400; or by email at
[email protected]. If you use a telecommunications device for the
deaf, please call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Service has received an ITP application
from the Lalamilo Wind Company, LLC in accordance with the requirements
of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicant is requesting an ITP
to authorize take of the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus
cinereus semotus) and the endangered Hawaiian Petrel (Pterodroma
sandwichensis). Collectively, these two species are hereafter referred
to as the covered species. If issued, the ITP would authorize
incidental take of the covered species that may occur as a result of
the operation of the project. The ITP application includes a draft HCP
describing the actions and the measures the applicant will implement to
avoid, minimize, mitigate, and monitor incidental take of the covered
species. The Service also announces the availability of a draft EA that
has been prepared in response to the ITP application in accordance with
requirements of NEPA. We are making the ITP application, including the
draft HCP and the draft EA, available for public review and comment.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the take of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered or threatened under section 4 of the ESA.
Under the ESA, the term ``take'' means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt,
shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage
in any such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)). The term ``harm,'' as defined
in our regulations, includes significant habitat modification or
degradation that results in death or injury to listed species by
significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including
breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3).
However, under specified circumstances, the Service may issue
permits that authorize take of federally listed species, provided the
take is incidental to, but not the purpose of, an otherwise lawful
activity. Regulations governing permits for endangered and threatened
species are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, respectively. Section
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA contains provisions for issuing such incidental
take permits to non-Federal entities for the take of endangered and
threatened species, provided the following criteria are met:
(1) The taking will be incidental;
(2) The applicant will prepare a conservation plan that, to the
maximum extent practicable, identifies the steps the applicant will
take to minimize and mitigate the impact of such taking;
(3) The applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the plan
will be provided;
(4) The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the
survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
(5) The applicant will carry out any other measures that the
Service may require as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes
of the plan.
Proposed Action
The applicant proposes to operate the project to provide
electricity to eight existing water wells in the Lalamilo-Parker well
system, which is located near the town of Kamuela, South Kohala
District, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii. The Lalamilo Wind Farm was
originally constructed in the mid-1980s with 120 wind turbines, with an
installed generating capacity of 2.7 megawatts (MW). It was
decommissioned in 2010 in anticipation of repowering the site. In 2013,
the County of Hawaii Department of Water Supply (DWS) awarded the
applicant a contract to design, build, and operate the wind farm and
associated facilities for the project. Construction was completed in
2016, and the applicant is currently curtailing the wind turbine
generators so that only two turbines are operational at a time. The
wind farm is located on approximately 126 acres of State-owned land
leased by the DWS from the State of Hawaii's Department of Land and
Natural Resources (DLNR) in South Kohala. The project area is zoned
``agriculture'' and is surrounded on all sides by agricultural pastoral
lands principally used for cattle (Bos taurus) grazing. The topography
of the project area consists of a relatively flat plateau falling off
to the west and north. Elevations range from 1,401 feet to 1,145 feet
above mean sea level, with an average slope of 5 percent. Several
small, dry gulches occur around the west and north portions of the
project site.
The project consists of five Vestas 660-kilowatt V47 wind turbines
with a combined generating capacity of up to approximately 3.3 MW and
an updated monitoring and control system to optimize the operations of
the water well pumping system. Power is provided to Parker Wells 1
through 4 and Lalamilo Wells A through D. The maximum blade tip height
of the five turbines is 198.5 feet above ground level. Associated
infrastructure includes a 197-foot-tall meteorological guyed tower, two
88-foot-tall free-standing lattice radio towers, 1.3 miles of roads
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to access the turbines, an electrical collection system, an operations
and maintenance building, a new 1.3-mile-long, 13-kilovolt overhead
electrical transmission line adjacent to the existing road, and updated
switchgear and electrical interconnection equipment.
The project is located on the island of Hawaii, where Hawaiian
hoary bats are known to collide with wind turbine structures at the
existing Pakini Nui 21-MW wind energy facility. The Hawaiian petrel and
the Hawaiian hoary bat are also known to collide with wind turbine
structures at the existing 30-MW Kaheawa Wind Power, the 21-MW Kaheawa
Wind Power II, and the 21-MW Auwahi wind energy facilities on Maui.
Acoustic monitoring indicates that the Hawaii hoary bat flies in the
area occupied by the project's wind turbines. Hawaiian petrels may
transgress over the project and may be affected by the applicant's
activities associated with operation and maintenance of the project.
The applicant has developed a draft HCP that addresses the
incidental take of the two covered species that may occur as a result
of the operation of the project over a period of 20 years. The draft
HCP includes proposed measures the applicant will implement to avoid,
minimize, mitigate, and monitor incidental take of the covered species.
It is expected that only up to three of the five turbines will be in
operation at any one time. All turbines blades will be curtailed (not
rotating or rotating extremely slowly) from sunset to dusk, until wind
speeds of 5.5 meters per second (m/s) are sustained for 10 minutes, at
which time the blades would be pitched into the wind and begin rotating
to generate power when needed for the water pumps. The applicant has
also applied for a State of Hawaii incidental take license under Hawaii
State law.
To offset anticipated take impacts, the applicant is proposing
mitigation measures on the island of Hawaii that include: (1) A
combination of native forest restoration and management in the Kahuku
section of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to increase and improve
Hawaiian hoary bat habitat; (2) acoustic surveys to document the
occupancy of the Hawaiian hoary bat; and (3) funding of fence
maintenance and predator control to protect the Hawaiian petrel in a
vulnerable area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The HCP incorporates
adaptive management provisions to allow for modifications to the
mitigation and monitoring measures as knowledge is gained during
implementation of the HCP.
The Service proposes to approve the HCP and to issue an ITP with a
term of 20 years to the applicant for incidental take of the covered
species caused by activities associated with the operation of the
project, if permit issuance criteria are met.
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
The development of the draft HCP and the proposed issuance of an
ITP under this plan is a Federal action that triggers the need for
compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). We have prepared a draft
EA to analyze the environmental impacts of four alternatives related to
the issuance of the ITP and implementation of the conservation program
under the proposed HCP. The four alternatives include a no-action
alternative, the proposed action, a no curtailment alternative, and an
increased cut-in speed alternative.
Under the no-action alternative, the Service would not authorize
incidental take of the covered species. All facility turbines would be
non-operational from sunset to sunrise--i.e., completely curtailed at
night. This alternative would result in complete loss of renewable
electricity production from approximately one hour before dusk to one
hour after dawn. This alternative would reduce the risk of take of the
two covered species. Incidental take of the covered species could occur
during daytime operations, though the risk is negligible. Under this
alternative the applicant would not have the regulatory assurance to
avoid a potential violation of the ESA.
The proposed action alternative is operation of the project,
implementation of the HCP, and issuance of the ITP, as proposed. Under
this alternative, all facility turbines would be non-operational
(curtailed) from sunset to sunrise until winds of 5.5 m/s were
sustained for 10 minutes, at which time the turbine blades would be
pitched into the wind and begin rotating to generate power. It is
expected that no more than three turbines would be operating
simultaneously. The applicant would provide compensatory mitigation to
offset the impacts of the taking on the covered species.
Under the no curtailment alternative, the applicant would not
implement curtailment from sunset to sunrise. This alternative would
produce the most renewable energy. This alternative would result in an
increase in the time during which the turbine blades would be
rotational, particularly at lower wind speeds, and would present a
greater risk of collision-related mortality to the covered species. The
applicant would provide compensatory mitigation to offset the higher
take of the covered species.
Under the increased cut-in speed alternative, all facility turbines
would be non-operational from sunset to sunrise until winds of 6.5 m/s
were sustained for 10 minutes, at which time the turbine blades would
be pitched into the wind and begin rotating to generate power. This
alternative would produce less renewable energy than the proposed
alternative. There is no certainty that incidental take of covered
species would be reduced with the higher cut-in speed. The applicant
would provide compensatory mitigation to offset the impacts of the
taking on the covered species.
Public Comments
You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods
listed in the ADDRESSES section. We specifically request information,
views, and opinions from the public on our proposed Federal action,
including identification of any other aspects of the human environment
not already identified in the draft EA pursuant to NEPA regulations in
the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR 1506.6. Further, we
specifically solicit information regarding the adequacy of the HCP for
the project pursuant to the requirements for ITPs at 50 CFR parts 13
and 17.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments and materials we receive become part of the public
record associated with this action. Before including your address,
phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable
information in your comments, you should be aware that your entire
comment--including your personally identifiable information--may be
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your
comment to withhold your personally identifiable 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. Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we use in preparing the EA, will be available for public
inspection by appointment, during normal business hours, at our Pacific
Islands Field Office (see ADDRESSES).
[[Page 56990]]
Next Steps
We will evaluate the ITP application, associated documents, and
public comments in reaching a final decision on whether the application
meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.). The HCP and EA may change in response to public comments. After
completion of the EA, we will determine whether the proposed action
warrants a finding of no significant impact or whether an environmental
impact statement should be prepared. We will also evaluate whether the
proposed ITP action would comply with the requirements of section 7 of
the ESA by conducting a formal consultation on the proposed ITP action.
We will use the results of this consultation, in combination with the
above findings, in our final analysis to determine whether or not to
issue an ITP. If the requirements are met, we will issue the ITP to the
applicant. We will not make our final decision until after the end of
the 45-day public comment period, and we will fully consider all
comments and information we receive during the public comment period.
Authority
We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of
section 10(c) of the ESA and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22
and 17.32) and NEPA and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: September 14, 2017.
Theresa E. Rabot,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 2017-25875 Filed 11-30-17; 8:45 am]
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