Appendix a Eagle Conservation Plan
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Appendix A Leaning Juniper I Eagle Take Permit Application Eagle Conservation Plan Leaning Juniper I Wind Facility Eagle Conservation Plan Gilliam County, OR Submitted to: U.S. Fish and Wildlife USFWS, Pacific Region Migratory Bird Permit Office 911 NE 11th Avenue Portland, OR 97232-4181 Submitted by: PacifiCorp 1407 West North Temple, Suite 110 Salt Lake City, UT 84116 December 2019 Leaning Juniper Wind Facility Eagle Conservation Plan Confidential Business Information Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE .................................................................................... 6 1.1 History and Description .................................................................................................. 6 1.2 Corporate Policy ........................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Purpose of the Eagle Conservation Plan ...................................................................... 11 1.4 Contents of the Eagle Conservation Plan ..................................................................... 11 1.5 Regulatory Framework ................................................................................................. 11 2.0 SITE SUITABILITY AND PRE-CONSTRUCTION SURVEYS ......................................... 13 2.1 Existing Conditions ....................................................................................................... 13 2.2 Pre-Construction Field Surveys .................................................................................... 13 2.2.1 Fixed-Point Avian Use Surveys ............................................................................. 13 2.2.2 Raptor Nest Surveys ............................................................................................. 15 2.3 Post-Construction Avian Fatality Monitoring ................................................................. 19 2.3.1 Standardized Avian Carcass Searches ................................................................. 19 2.4 Comparison to Other Regional Projects ....................................................................... 23 3.0 RISK ASSESSMENT ....................................................................................................... 24 3.1 Collision ........................................................................................................................ 24 3.1.1 Eagle Fatality Predictions ...................................................................................... 25 3.1.2 Electrocution .......................................................................................................... 25 3.1.3 Disturbance and Displacement ............................................................................. 25 3.1.4 Habitat Fragmentation ........................................................................................... 25 3.2 Categorizing Site According to Risk ............................................................................. 26 3.2.1 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 26 3.3 Cumulative Effects ........................................................................................................ 26 4.0 AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION OF RISKS IN PROJECT DESIGN .......................... 28 4.1 Site Selection and Project Design ................................................................................ 28 4.2 Construction ................................................................................................................. 29 4.3 Post-Construction Grading, Erosion Control, and Project Clean-up ............................. 30 4.4 Operations and Maintenance ....................................................................................... 30 4.5 Decommissioning and Restoration ............................................................................... 32 5.0 EAGLE FATALITY MONITORING .................................................................................. 33 5.1 Standardized Carcass Surveys .................................................................................... 33 5.2 Bias Correction Surveys ............................................................................................... 33 Leaning Juniper Wind Facility Eagle Conservation Plan Confidential Business Information 5.2.1 Searcher Efficiency Trials ...................................................................................... 34 5.2.2 Carcass Removal Trials ........................................................................................ 35 5.2.3 Adjusted Fatality Estimates ................................................................................... 35 5.2.4 Detection Procedures and Protocols ..................................................................... 36 5.3 Annual Reports ............................................................................................................. 36 5.4 Long-term Monitoring ................................................................................................... 37 6.0 COMPENSATORY MITIGATION AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT ............................. 38 6.1 Compensatory Mitigation through Power Pole Retrofitting ........................................... 38 6.1.1 Methods for Identifying Power Poles to Retrofit .................................................... 38 6.1.2 Tracking Retrofit Work during the Permit Term ..................................................... 39 6.1.3 Post-Installation of Retrofit Monitoring .................................................................. 39 6.2 Tiered Mitigation Approach with Adaptive Management .............................................. 39 7.0 LITERATURE CITED ....................................................................................................... 41 Leaning Juniper Wind Facility Eagle Conservation Plan Confidential Business Information List of Tables Table 1-1. Turbine Locations at the Leaning Juniper I Wind Facility ........................................ 7 Table 2-1. Seasonal Golden Eagle Observations .................................................................. 14 Table 2-2. Eagle Nest Locations, 10-mile Radius of the Leaning Juniper Wind I Facility ....... 17 Table 6-2. Anticipated Conservation Measures using Adaptive Management ....................... 40 List of Figures Figure 1-1. Leaning Juniper I Wind Project Location ................................................................. 9 Figure 2-2. Leaning Juniper I Wind Project Golden Eagle Nest Locations .............................. 18 List of Appendices Appendix A Leaning Juniper I Wind Energy Facility Avian Protection Plan Appendix B Analysis of the Repowering of the Leaning Juniper Wind Facility Appendix C Leaning Juniper Wildlife Incident Reporting and Handling System Appendix D PacifiCorp Renewable Resources Retrofit Plan for Washington and Oregon Wind Energy Projects Leaning Juniper Wind Facility Eagle Conservation Plan Confidential Business Information List of Acronyms and Abbreviations APLIC Avian Power Line Interaction Committee BGEPA Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act CFR Code of Federal Regulations CI confidence interval CRM Collision Risk Model CUP conditional use permit EA environmental assessment ECP Eagle Conservation Plan ECP Guidance Eagle Conservation Plan Guidance, Module 1 – Land-based Wind Energy, Version 2 eagle take permit Eagle Incidental Take Permit EMU eagle management unit FAA Federal Aviation Administration ft feet GE General Electric Gilliam County Gilliam County Planning Department GPS Global Positioning System Guidelines Land-based Wind Energy Guidelines kV kilovolt LAP local area population m meters MBTA Migratory Bird Treaty Act MET tower meteorological tower mi miles min minute MW megawatt NEPA National Environmental Policy Act O&M operations and maintenance ODFW Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife OLE Office of Law Enforcement PPM PPM Energy, Inc. Project Leaning Juniper I Wind Facility REA resource equivalency analysis RSA rotor-swept area SPUT special purpose utility permit TAC Technical Advisory Committee USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service WEST Western EcoSystems Technology WIRHS Wildlife Incident Reporting and Handling System Leaning Juniper Wind Facility Eagle Conservation Plan Confidential Business Information 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE PacifiCorp owns and operates the 67-turbine, 100.5-megawatt (MW) Leaning Juniper I Wind Facility (Project) in Gilliam County, Oregon. The Project has been operational since 2006. PacifiCorp is upgrading the turbine nacelles and rotors. The current rotor diameter is 77 meters (m) and a 119-m overall turbine height; the upgraded equipment will have a 91-m rotor diameter and 133-m overall turbine height. The new, larger rotor diameter may change the risk to bald (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) and other avian species of colliding with turbine blades due to this increased size of the rotor-swept area (RSA)/hazard area. Existing ancillary facilities and support structures, such as turbine tower sections, onsite substations, collector lines, and operations and maintenance (O&M) buildings are anticipated to be upgraded. Access to the turbines is by existing public roads and access roads constructed for the Project, or existing roads improved to accommodate project requirements. PacifiCorp is submitting this eagle conservation plan (ECP) as part of an eagle incidental