2020-04-10 Draft Tande Species Desktop Assessment Report
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600 North 18th Street Hydro Services 16N-8180 Birmingham, AL 35203 205 257 2251 tel [email protected] April 10, 2020 VIA ELECTRONIC FILING Project No. 2628-065 R.L. Harris Hydroelectric Project Transmittal of the Draft Threatened and Endangered Species Desktop Assessment Ms. Kimberly D. Bose Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street N. Washington, DC 20426 Dear Secretary Bose, Alabama Power Company (Alabama Power) is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) licensee for the R.L. Harris Hydroelectric Project (Harris Project) (FERC No. 2628-065). On April 12, 2019, FERC issued its Study Plan Determination1 (SPD) for the Harris Project, approving Alabama Power’s ten relicensing studies with FERC modifications. On May 13, 2019, Alabama Power filed Final Study Plans to incorporate FERC’s modifications and posted the Final Study Plans on the Harris relicensing website at www.harrisrelicensing.com. In the Final Study Plans, Alabama Power proposed a schedule for each study that included filing a voluntary Progress Update in October 2019 and October 2020. Alabama Power filed the first of two Progress Updates on October 31, 2019.2 Pursuant to the Commission’s Integrated Licensing Process (ILP) and 18 CFR § 5.15(c), Alabama Power filed its Harris Project Initial Study Report (ISR) on April 10,2020. Concurrently, and consistent with FERC’s April 12, 2019 SPD, Alabama Power is filing the Draft Threatened and Endangered Species Desktop Assessment (Draft Assessment) (Attachment 1). This filing also includes the stakeholder consultation for this study beginning May 2019 through March 2020 (Attachment 2). Stakeholders have until June 11, 2020 to submit their comments to Alabama Power on the Draft Assessment. Comments should be sent directly to [email protected]. Stakeholders may access the ISR, this Draft Assessment, and other study reports on FERC’s website (http://www.ferc.gov) by going to the “eLibrary” link and entering the docket number (P-2628). The ISR and study reports are also available on the Project relicensing website at https://harrisrelicensing.com. 1 Accession Number 20190412-3000 2 Accession Number 20191030-5053 Page 2 April 10, 2020 If there are any questions concerning this filing, please contact me at [email protected] or 205- 257-2251. Sincerely, Angie Anderegg Harris Relicensing Project Manager Attachment 1 – Draft Threatened and Endangered Species Desktop Assessment Attachment 2 –Threatened and Endangered Species Consultation Record (May 2019-March 2020) cc: Harris Stakeholder List Attachment 1 Draft Threatened and Endangered Species Desktop Assessment THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES DESKTOP ASSESSMENT R. L. HARRIS HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT FERC NO. 2628 Prepared by: ALABAMA POWER COMPANY BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA FEBRUARY 2020 THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES DESKTOP ASESSMENT R. L. HARRIS HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT FERC NO. 2628 ALABAMA POWER COMPANY BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 1.1 STUDY BACKGROUND ...............................................................................................2 2.0 METHODS ..........................................................................................................................7 3.0 RESULTS ............................................................................................................................8 3.1 RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER ................................................................................8 3.2 PALEZONE SHINER ....................................................................................................9 3.3 SPOTFIN CHUB ..........................................................................................................9 3.4 FINELINED POCKETBOOK MUSSEL ..........................................................................10 3.5 ALABAMA LAMPMUSSEL ........................................................................................11 3.6 CUMBERLAND BEAN ...............................................................................................11 3.7 FINE-RAYED PIGTOE MUSSEL .................................................................................12 3.8 PALE LILLIPUT MUSSEL ..........................................................................................13 3.9 RABBITSFOOT MUSSEL ...........................................................................................13 3.10 SNUFFBOX MUSSEL ................................................................................................14 3.11 SHINY PIGTOE MUSSEL ...........................................................................................15 3.12 SOUTHERN PIGTOE ..................................................................................................16 3.13 SLABSIDE PEARLYMUSSEL ......................................................................................17 3.14 INDIANA BAT ..........................................................................................................18 3.15 NORTHERN LONG-EARED BAT ................................................................................19 3.16 GRAY BAT ..............................................................................................................20 3.17 LITTLE AMPHIANTHUS ............................................................................................21 3.18 WHITE FRINGELESS ORCHID ...................................................................................22 3.19 PRICE’S POTATO BEAN ...........................................................................................23 3.20 MOREFIELD’S LEATHER FLOWER ............................................................................23 4.0 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................25 4.1 BIRDS ......................................................................................................................25 4.2 BATS .......................................................................................................................25 4.3 MUSSELS.................................................................................................................26 4.4 PLANTS ...................................................................................................................26 5.0 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................28 i TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT’D) LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1-1 FEDERALLY THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES POTENTIALLY OCCURRING IN ALABAMA COUNTIES IN THE R.L. HARRIS PROJECT VICINITY ............................................. 6 TABLE 4-1 HABITAT RANGES OF LISTED THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES THAT INTERSECT THE R.L. HARRIS PROJECT BOUNDARY ............................................................... 27 LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS APPENDIX B SPECIES HABITAT RANGE MAPS J:\535\028\Docs\Studies\Study Reports\T&E\2020-02-19 HAT 3 - TE Species Desktop Assessment DRAFT.docx FEBRUARY 2020 ii THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES DESKTOP ASESSMENT R. L. HARRIS HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT FERC NO. 2628 ALABAMA POWER COMPANY BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA 1.0 INTRODUCTION Alabama Power Company (Alabama Power) owns and operates the R.L. Harris Project (FERC Project No. 2628) (Harris Project), licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission). Alabama Power Company (Alabama Power) is relicensing the 135- megawatt (MW) Harris Project, and the existing license expires in 2023. The Harris Project consists of a dam, spillway, powerhouse, and those lands and waters necessary for the operation of the hydroelectric project and enhancement and protection of environmental resources. These structures, lands, and water are enclosed within the FERC Project Boundary. Under the existing Harris Project license, the FERC Project Boundary encloses two distinct geographic areas, described below. Harris Reservoir is the 9,870-acre reservoir (Harris Reservoir) created by the R.L. Harris Dam (Harris Dam). Harris Reservoir is located on the Tallapoosa River, near Lineville, Alabama. The lands adjoining the reservoir total approximately 7,392 acres and are included in the FERC Project Boundary (Figure 1-1). This includes land to 795 feet mean sea level (msl)1, as well as natural undeveloped areas, hunting lands, prohibited access areas, recreational areas, and all islands. 1 Also includes a scenic easement (to 800 feet msl or 50 horizontal feet from 793 feet msl, whichever is less, but never less than 795 feet msl). FEBRUARY 2020 -1- The Harris Project also contains 15,063 acres of land within the James D. Martin-Skyline Wildlife Management Area (Skyline WMA) located in Jackson County, Alabama (Figure 1-2). These lands are located approximately 110 miles north of Harris Reservoir and were acquired and incorporated into the FERC Project Boundary as part of the FERC-approved Harris Project Wildlife Mitigative Plan and Wildlife Management Plan. These lands are leased to, and managed by, the State of Alabama for wildlife management and public hunting and are part of the Skyline WMA (ADCNR 2016b). For the purposes of this study, “Lake Harris” refers to the 9,870-acre reservoir, adjacent 7,392 acres of Project land, and the dam, spillway, and powerhouse. “Skyline” refers to the 15,063 acres of Project land within