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Pakini Nui Wind Farm Final Federal Habitat Conservation Plan for Pakini Nui Wind Farm JULY 2019 PREPARED FOR Tawhiri Power LLC PREPARED BY SWCA Environmental Consultants FINAL FEDERAL HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN FOR PAKINI NUI WIND FARM Prepared for Tawhiri Power LLC 1291 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Suite 213 Foster City, California 94404 Attn: Steven Pace (650) 358-1550, ext. 11 Prepared by SWCA Environmental Consultants 307a Kamani Street Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96813 (808) 548-7922 www.swca.com July 19, 2019 Final Federal Habitat Conservation Plan for Pakini Nui Wind Farm EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Pakini Nui Wind Farm, located near South Point on the Island of Hawai‘i, is a 20.5-megawatt (MW) operating wind energy facility (Project). Construction of the Project began in August 2006 and was completed in April 2007. The Project, consisting of 14 General Electric 1.5-MW SE turbines, began operations on April 3, 2007. Tawhiri Power LLC (Tawhiri) owns and operates the Project. As of May 20, 2019, three Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) fatalities have been observed at the Project Area. This species is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), 16 United States Code 1531-1544, and also Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS) §195D. The first Hawaiian hoary bat fatality was found on August 31, 2013, during a scheduled search the first week of initiating a weekly monitoring effort. The second Hawaiian hoary bat was found on March 1, 2016, and the third Hawaiian hoary bat was found on April 12, 2018. Prior to the weekly searches, Tawhiri performed monthly searches of all turbines starting at the beginning of commercial operations on April 4, 2007. During this monthly search period, no fatalities of state and ESA listed species were found. The Hawaiian hoary bat is the only state and ESA listed species that has been found at the Pakini Nui Wind Farm. Based on desktop risk assessments and avian field surveys (SWCA 2015a, 2015b, 2019), Tawhiri has determined that the Pakini Nui Wind Farm has the potential for incidental take of three species due to continued operation of the Project. All three species are state and ESA federally listed. These three species, which make up the Covered Species discussed in this Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) (see Section 3), and the requested take amounts are listed below: Hawaiian hoary bat (ʻōpeʻapeʻa; federally and state endangered); 26 bats Hawaiian petrel (ʻuaʻu; Pterodroma sandwichensis; federally and state endangered); 3 petrels Hawaiian goose (nēnē; Branta sandvicensis; federally and state endangered); 3 nēnē No other listed, proposed, or candidate species have been found or are known or expected to be present in the Project Area, with the exception of the federally and state-listed band-rumped storm-petrel (Oceanodroma castro). The band-rumped storm-petrel was state listed as endangered prior to 1998 and federally listed as endangered on September 30, 2016. This species is exceptionally rare on Hawai‘i Island, and because the risk of death or injury is discountable, it is not included as a Covered Species. ESA Section 9 prohibits take, unless authorized as incidental take under Section 10. Incidental take as a result of collision with turbines, the meteorological (met) tower, vehicles, etc. may occur as a result of the operation of the Project. Therefore, to comply with the ESA and HRS, and to avoid future potential violations of ESA Section 9 and the HRS §195D take prohibition, Tawhiri is voluntarily preparing this HCP and applying to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for an incidental take permit (ITP), in accordance with Sections 10(a)(1)(B) and 10(a)(2) of the ESA, and to the Hawai‘i Division of Forestry and Wildlife for an incidental take license (ITL), pursuant to HRS §195D. This HCP has been prepared to fulfill regulatory requirements of both the ITP and ITL applications. This HCP contains operational minimization measures—most notably, low wind speed curtailment—and mitigation measures to offset the impacts of potential incidental take. Mitigation for the Hawaiian hoary bat consists of habitat improvement at the Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park (HVNP). Habitat improvement includes removing invasive plant species and planting desired native species. Mitigation for the Hawaiian petrel consists of predator trapping, predator surveillance, and fence maintenance around a Hawaiian petrel nesting colony in HVNP. Mitigation for nēnē is for predator control and nest protection at a breeding pen located at Pi‘ihonua. All mitigation measures were developed with the intention of providing a net ecological benefit to the species in alignment with state and federal recovery goals. i Final Federal Habitat Conservation Plan for Pakini Nui Wind Farm This page intentionally left blank. ii Final Federal Habitat Conservation Plan for Pakini Nui Wind Farm CONTENTS Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................... i 1 Introduction and Project Overview .................................................................................................... 9 1.1 Applicant .................................................................................................................................... 12 1.2 Project Description ..................................................................................................................... 12 1.3 Purpose and Need ....................................................................................................................... 14 1.4 Covered Activities ...................................................................................................................... 14 1.5 Permit Area and Plan Area ......................................................................................................... 15 1.6 Incidental Take Permit/Incidental Take License Duration ......................................................... 17 2 Regulatory Framework ...................................................................................................................... 17 2.1 Endangered Species Act ............................................................................................................. 17 2.2 Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Chapter 195D .................................................................................... 19 2.3 National Environmental Policy Act ............................................................................................ 21 2.4 Migratory Bird Treaty Act .......................................................................................................... 21 3 Ecology of the Covered Species and Band-Rumped Storm-Petrel ................................................ 22 3.1 Hawaiian Hoary Bat ................................................................................................................... 22 3.1.1 Population, Biology, and Distribution .............................................................................. 22 3.1.2 Threats .............................................................................................................................. 23 3.1.3 Known Fatalities at Hawaiian Wind Farms ...................................................................... 24 3.1.4 Known Occurrences in the South Point Area ................................................................... 25 3.2 Hawaiian Petrel ........................................................................................................................... 26 3.2.1 Population, Biology, and Distribution .............................................................................. 26 3.2.2 Threats .............................................................................................................................. 27 3.2.3 Known Fatalities at Hawaiian Wind Farms ...................................................................... 27 3.2.4 Known Occurrences in the South Point Area ................................................................... 28 3.3 Nēnē ............................................................................................................................................ 30 3.3.1 Population, Biology, and Distribution .............................................................................. 30 3.3.2 Threats .............................................................................................................................. 30 3.3.3 Known Fatalities at Hawaiian Wind Farms ...................................................................... 31 3.3.4 Known Occurrences in the South Point Area ................................................................... 31 3.4 Band-Rumped Storm-Petrel........................................................................................................ 33 3.4.1 Population, Biology, and Distribution .............................................................................. 33 3.4.2 Threats .............................................................................................................................. 34 3.4.3 Known Fatalities at Other Hawaiian Wind Farms ............................................................ 34 3.4.4 Known Occurrences in the South Point Area ................................................................... 34 4 Take Analyses ..................................................................................................................................... 34 4.1 Hawaiian Hoary Bat
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