[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 112 (Monday, June 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48917-48918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12599]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2023-0189; FXES11140800000-223-FF08ECAR00]
Incidental Take Permit Application for the Desert Tortoise; Draft
Habitat Conservation Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment; Desert
Breeze Solar Energy Project, San Bernardino, CA
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 Desert Breeze Solar, LLC for an incidental
take permit under the Endangered Species Act. The permit would
authorize take of the federally threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus
agassizii) incidental to otherwise lawful activities associated with
construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of the Desert
Breeze Solar Site. We invite comments on the applicant's draft habitat
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: Submitting Comments: We must receive any written comments on or
before July 10, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: The application, application supporting
materials, and any comments and other materials that we receive will be
available for public inspection at https://www.regulations.gov in
Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0189.
Submitting Written Comments: You may submit your written comments
using one of the following methods:
Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0189.
U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R8-ES-2023-0189; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeremy Bisson, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, by email at [email protected] or via phone at 760-322-
2070. 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 have received an application from Desert
Breeze Solar, LLC (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
threatened desert tortoise, incidental to otherwise lawful activities
at the Desert Breeze Solar Site (project), as described in the
applicant's draft habitat conservation plan. The proposed project would
be located north of the town of Hinkley in San Bernardino 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 and threatened animals 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 threatened desert tortoise.
Permit Application
The applicant has submitted a draft habitat conservation plan that
describes the activities covered by the permit, such as the
construction of a solar field. To minimize the risk of incidental take,
the applicant would employ qualified biologists to translocate desert
tortoises to a safe location off site. The conservation plan also
includes adaptive management to allow for maintaining the protection of
desert tortoises if necessary. To mitigate the impact of the incidental
take, the applicant proposes to fund the preservation of desert
tortoise habitat through a combination of new acquisition and purchased
bank credits from an existing conservation credit bank.
The draft conservation plan and the draft environmental assessment
consider alternatives to the proposed action, including a no action
alternative.
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, which requires 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.''
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
[[Page 48918]]
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
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 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).
Scott Sobiech,
Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, Carlsbad,
California.
[FR Doc. 2024-12599 Filed 6-7-24; 8:45 am]
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