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Greene County Solar Facility Case No

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Greene County Solar Facility Case No Greene County Solar Facility Case No. 17-F-0617 Appendix 22-E Avian Cumulative Impact Assessment Report Article 10 Application Greene County Solar Facility Avian Cumulative Impact Assessment Report for the Greene County Solar Facility Coxsackie, Greene County, New York December 2019 Prepared for: Hecate Energy Greene 1 LLC, Hecate Energy Greene 2 LLC, and Hecate Energy Greene 3 LLC 621 W. Randolph Street Chicago, Illinois 60661 Prepared by: Tetra Tech, Inc. 301 Ellicott Street Buffalo, New York 14203 Greene County Solar Facility Avian Cumulative Impact Assessment Report TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 METHODS .................................................................................................................................................... 3 Study Project Identification......................................................................................................................3 Land Cover Assessment ......................................................................................................................... 3 Additional Reviews .................................................................................................................................. 4 ADDITIONAL DATA REVIEW ..................................................................................................................... 5 Agency Data ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Protected Species and Habitats .............................................................................................................. 5 Horned Lark.........................................................................................................................5 Grasshopper Sparrow ......................................................................................................... 6 Northern Harrier ................................................................................................................... 6 Short-eared Owl .................................................................................................................. 6 On-Site Grassland Bird Surveys .............................................................................................................. 6 Grassland Breeding Bird Survey ......................................................................................... 6 Winter Grassland Raptor Survey ......................................................................................... 7 NYSDEC Survey Data ......................................................................................................... 7 Literature Review ..................................................................................................................................... 8 Potential Effects on Grassland Birds ................................................................................... 8 DESKTOP REVIEW RESULTS ................................................................................................................... 9 Site Background Information ................................................................................................................... 9 Historical Land Use .............................................................................................................9 Coxsackie Creek Grassland Preserve ................................................................................ 9 Grassland Study Area ............................................................................................................................. 9 Facility and Cumulative Impacts to Grassland Habitat ...................................................... 10 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................. 12 Grassland Bird Use ............................................................................................................................... 12 Potential Effects to Grassland Birds ...................................................................................................... 13 CUMULATIVE EFFECT DETERMINATION .............................................................................................. 15 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 16 i Greene County Solar Facility Avian Cumulative Impact Assessment Report LIST OF TABLES Table 1. NLCD Land Cover Data for the Facility Area and Grassland Study Area..................................................11 LIST OF GRAPHICS Graphic 1. Changes in New York State’s Forest Land Area .................................................................................... 12 FIGURES Figure 1. Project Location and Evaluation Area ii Greene County Solar Facility Avian Cumulative Impact Assessment Report LIST OF ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS % percent AC alternating current BBA Breeding Bird Atlas C-CAP Coastal Change Analysis Program CHGE Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corporation CR County Route DC direct current Facility equipment and infrastructure associated with the Greene County Solar Facility Facility Area 827-acre area being leased ft feet GIS Geospatial Information System Grassland Study Area 100-mile radius around the Facility Area, but within New York State GSA Grassland Study Area Hecate Hecate Energy Greene 1 LLC, Hecate Greene 2 LLC, and Hecate Greene 3 LLC IPaC Information, Planning, and Conservation System kV kilovolts LOD limit of disturbance MW megawatt NLCD National Land Cover Data NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NYNHP New York Natural Heritage Program NYS New York State NYSDEC New York State Department of Environmental Conservation NYSDPS New York State Department of Public Service NLEB Northern Long-eared Bat PSS Preliminary Scoping Statement PV photovoltaic ROW right-of-way Tetra Tech Tetra Tech, Inc. US United States USFS United States Forest Service USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service USGS United States Geological Survey iii Greene County Solar Facility Avian Cumulative Impact Assessment Report INTRODUCTION Hecate Energy Greene 1 LLC, Hecate Energy Greene 2 LLC, and Hecate Energy Greene 3 LLC (Hecate) is proposing to construct the Greene County Solar Facility (the Facility), a 50-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic (PV) solar generation facility within approximately 827 acres of privately-owned land (Facility Area) pursuant to Article 10 of the Public Service Law. Facility components will occupy only approximately 379 acres. The Facility’s Stipulations, last dated on August 28, 2019, detail the components of each Article 10 Application Exhibit. The focus of this report is to satisfy Stipulation 22(d)(10). The full text of that Stipulation reads as follows: A cumulative impact analysis will be done to evaluate the actual and expected impacts from the construction, operation and maintenance of the Facility on federally and State-listed T&E species, particularly grassland birds, as they relate to proposed and operating solar energy projects with nameplate capacities greater than or equal to 5 MW occupying grassland habitat within 100 miles of the Facility Area based upon information provided by NYSDEC (Study Projects), but not beyond New York State borders (Grassland Study Area). The Co-Applicants are not required to perform any avian studies at the Study Projects. This analysis will include, at a minimum: (i) Examination of publicly available grassland habitat data on the Study Projects within the Grassland Study Area; (ii) Estimated take of state-listed birds at the Facility, if any, and a description of methods used and sources consulted to estimate take; (iii) Estimates of available grassland habitat within the Grassland Study Area, including the Coxsackie Flats Grasslands; (iv) Estimates of acres of grassland breeding bird habitat lost directly through installation of panels and other project components at the Study Projects, using best available information and through consultation with NYSDEC; (v) Estimates of acres of grassland habitat indirectly affected by the Study Projects due to functional loss/degradation of habitat, to the extent applicable; and (vi) Cumulative impacts of grassland habitat use, particularly potential impacts on state-listed grassland bird species, within the Facility Area. On behalf of Hecate, Tetra Tech, Inc. (Tetra Tech) completed desktop and field surveys to support an evaluation of the potential impacts from construction and operation of the Facility on any protected species with potential to occur near or within the Facility Area. Specific discussion and analysis of species protected at a federal or state level is provided under separate cover in the Habitat Assessment and Preliminary Impact Determination for Federal and State Protected Species (Tetra Tech 2019) (provided as Appendix 22-C to the Article 10 Application). That report is structured to provide an evaluation of the potential impacts and the preliminary impact determinations for each protected species, including potential impacts. Based on the details and conclusions provided in that report,
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