Draft Environmental Assessment
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Thunder Ranch Wind Environmental Assessment July 12, 2019 Draft Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Issuance of an Eagle Incidental Take Permit for Thunder Ranch Wind Prepared by Stantec Consulting Services Inc. for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southwest Region, Division of Migratory Bird Management 500 Gold SW - 8th Floor; Albuquerque NM U.S. Department of the Interior 2019 I Thunder Ranch Wind Environmental Assessment July 12, 2019 Contents List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ............................................................................................. V Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose and Need ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Authorities ........................................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Background ...................................................................................................................... 2 1.3.1 Project Area .............................................................................................................. 2 1.3.2 Eagle Information and Surveys to Date .......................................................................... 6 1.4 Scoping, consultation and coordination ........................................................................... 6 1.5 Tribal coordination ........................................................................................................... 6 Proposed Action and Alternatives ....................................................................................... 7 2.1 Proposed Action ............................................................................................................... 7 2.1.1 Avoidance and Minimization Measures (Appendix A; Section 7) ........................... 7 2.1.2 Post-Construction Monitoring (Appendix A; Section 8) .......................................... 7 2.1.3 Adaptive Management (Appendix A; Section 8)...................................................... 8 2.2 Alternative 1: No Action ................................................................................................. 8 2.3 Other Alternatives ............................................................................................................ 9 2.3.1 Alternative 2: Deny Permit ....................................................................................... 9 Affected Environment .......................................................................................................... 9 3.1 Bald Eagle ...................................................................................................................... 10 3.1.1 Eagle Risk Assessment ........................................................................................... 10 3.1.2 Eagle Use Surveys .................................................................................................. 10 3.1.3 Eagle Nest Surveys ................................................................................................. 11 3.2 Golden Eagle .................................................................................................................. 13 3.3 Migratory Birds .............................................................................................................. 13 II Thunder Ranch Wind Environmental Assessment July 12, 2019 3.4 Species Listed under the Endangered Species Act ......................................................... 14 3.5 Cultural and Socio-economic Interests .......................................................................... 14 3.6 Climate Change .............................................................................................................. 16 Environmental Consequences ............................................................................................ 16 4.1 Proposed Action ............................................................................................................. 16 4.1.1 Bald eagle................................................................................................................ 16 4.1.2 Golden eagle ........................................................................................................... 18 4.1.3 Migratory Birds ....................................................................................................... 18 4.1.4 Species Listed under the Endangered Species Act ................................................. 18 4.2 Alternative 1 – No Action .............................................................................................. 19 4.2.1 Bald eagle................................................................................................................ 19 4.2.2 Golden eagle ........................................................................................................... 19 4.2.3 Migratory Birds ....................................................................................................... 19 4.2.4 Species Listed under the Endangered Species Act ................................................. 19 4.3 Comparison of Effects of Alternatives ........................................................................... 19 4.4 Cumulative Effects ......................................................................................................... 21 Mitigation and Monitoring ................................................................................................. 22 5.1 Voluntary mitigation ...................................................................................................... 22 5.2 Monitoring immediately post-construction .................................................................... 22 5.3 Staff and subcontractor training ..................................................................................... 23 5.4 Post-permit operations staff monitoring ......................................................................... 23 5.5 Five-year post-permit issuance monitoring and reviews................................................ 23 List of Preparers ............................................................................................................................ 24 References ..................................................................................................................................... 25 III Thunder Ranch Wind Environmental Assessment July 12, 2019 List of Tables Table 1. Birds of Conservation Concern in Project vicinity and Project area based on eBird and Applicant Bird and Bat Risk Assessment. .................................................................................... 13 Table 2. Comparison of alternatives for Thunder Ranch Wind. ................................................... 20 List of Figures Figure 1. Project Layout ................................................................................................................. 3 Figure 2. Project Groundcover ........................................................................................................ 4 Figure 3. Water Features ................................................................................................................. 5 Figure 4. 2016-2017 Nest Survey Area ........................................................................................ 12 Figure 5. Project Location within the Central Flyway Eagle Management Unit.......................... 15 Appendices Appendix A: Eagle Conservation Plan for Thunder Ranch Wind ................................................. A Appendix B: Eagle Risk Assessment .............................................................................................. B Appendix C: Tribal Coordination ................................................................................................... C Appendix D: Section 7 Biological Evaluation ............................................................................... D IV Thunder Ranch Wind Environmental Assessment July 12, 2019 List of Acronyms and Abbreviations APLIC Avian Power Line Interaction Committee BCC Birds of Conservation Concern BCR Bird Conservation Region CFR Code of Federal Regulations EA Environmental Assessment ECP Eagle Conservation Plan EIS Environmental Impact Statement EMU Eagle Management Unit EOP Eagle Observation Point(s) ESA Endangered Species Act GE General Electric IPaC Information for Planning and Consultation ITP Incidental Take Permit km2 square kilometer(s) LAP Local Area Population lbs. pounds m meter(s) mi2 square miles MW megawatt(s) NEPA National Environmental Policy Act O&M Operations and Maintenance PEIS Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement WIRF Wildlife Incident Reporting Form V Thunder Ranch Wind Environmental Assessment July 12, 2019 Introduction This Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared to analyze the environmental consequences of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issuing an incidental take permit (ITP) for the take of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) associated with the proposed project, Thunder Ranch Wind (or, the Project) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 United States Code [U.S.C.] §§ 4321–4347). Issuance of an ITP by the Service for take that is incidental to otherwise lawful activities under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act; 16 U.S.C. §§