Appendix A Scoping Report Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Addressing the Issuance of Incidental Take Permits for Four Wind Energy Projects in Hawai‘i U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office Appendix A Table of Contents Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Addressing the Issuance of Incidental Take Permits for Four Wind Energy Projects in Hawai‘i ........................................................... 1 Abbreviations and Acronyms ...................................................................................... 3 Chapter 1 ........................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Service Regulatory Background .................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Project Overview .............................................................................................................................. 2 1.2.1 Auwahi Wind ............................................................................................................................. 4 1.2.2 Kawailoa Wind Power .............................................................................................................. 5 1.2.3 Kaheawa Wind Power II .......................................................................................................... 5 1.2.4 Pakini Nui Wind Farm .............................................................................................................. 6 1.3 Purpose of the Service Action ....................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................ 8 Scoping Activities ......................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Internal and Agency Scoping ......................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Public Scoping Announcements.................................................................................................. 10 2.2.1 Notice of Intent ........................................................................................................................ 10 2.2.2 Press Release ......................................................................................................................... 10 2.2.3 Social Media ............................................................................................................................ 11 2.3 Stakeholder Coordination ............................................................................................................. 11 2.4 Public Scoping Meetings .............................................................................................................. 12 2.4.1 Format and Content ............................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 3 ...................................................................................................................... 14 Summary of Comments Received ............................................................................. 14 3.1 Relevant Issues ............................................................................................................................. 14 3.2 For or Against Certain Actions ..................................................................................................... 17 3.3 Relating to the NEPA Approach .................................................................................................. 19 3.4 Issues Considered but Eliminated from Further Analysis ....................................................... 20 Chapter 4 ...................................................................................................................... 24 Next Steps in the NEPA Process ............................................................................... 24 Tables Table A-1. The four applicants and projects that are the focus of the PEIS. ................................. 3 Table A-2. Estimated change in authorized take requested for the Hawaiian hoary bat, the Hawaiian petrel, and the Hawaiian goose, per project applicant. ................................................... 4 Table A-3. Internal scoping meetings held to discuss the scope of the proposed actions. ............ 9 Table A-4. Local news media that received the Service press release on May 31, 2018. ........... 10 Table A-5. List of elected officials notified of the PEIS public scoping period. ........................ 11 Table A-6. List of other stakeholders notified of the PEIS public scoping period. ..................... 12 Table A-7. Dates, locations, and number of attendees for the three public scoping meetings. .. 12 Table A-8. List of organizations that commented during the scoping period. ............................ 14 Attachments Attachment A Notice of Intent Attachment B Press Release and Select Social Media Postings Attachment C Scoping Meeting Materials and Photographs Attachment D Compilation of Scoping Comments, Indexed Attachment E Confidential: Stakeholder, Agency, and Interested Members of the Public Mailing Lists ii Abbreviations and Acronyms Abbreviation Definition CEQ Council on Environmental Quality CFR Code of Federal Regulations State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, DLNR-DOFAW Division of Forestry and Wildlife DOI Department of the Interior EIS Environmental Impact Statement ESA Endangered Species Act FR Federal Register HCP Habitat Conservation Plan HRS Hawaii Revised Statutes ITL Incidental Take License ITP Incidental Take Permit kV kilovolt KWP II Kaheawa Wind Power II LLC Limited Liability Company MW Megawatt NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NOI Notice of Intent PEIS Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement PONC Public Open Space Natural Preservation Commission Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) USC United States Code iii Final PEIS Addressing Issuance of ITPs for Appendix A Four Wind Energy Projects in Hawaiʻi Chapter 1 Introduction The United States Department of the Interior (DOI), Fish and Wildlife Service (hereafter referred to as the “Service”) is preparing a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with three habitat conservation plan amendments and one new habitat conservation plan (HCP), and the issuance of the associated four Incidental Take Permits (ITPs). The issuance of the four ITPs are separate decisions to be made by the Service. However, all four projects have similar geography, impacts to endangered species, and proposed minimization and mitigation measures. Under the Final Guidance for Effective Use of Programmatic NEPA Reviews published on December 23, 2014 (79 Federal Register [FR] 76986–76990), a combined programmatic NEPA analysis is the most efficient and comprehensive way to consider the impacts of these four actions. The applicants are four separate private companies, namely, Auwahi Wind, LLC, Kawailoa Wind, LLC, Kaheawa Wind Power II, LLC, and Tawhiri Power, LLC. The applicants are developing their separate HCPs or HCP Amendment and ITP applications to comply with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (87 Stat. 884, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The HCPs will likely address impacts associated with wind energy facility operations and maintenance activities on the Hawaiian Islands of Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi. All four wind energy facilities are land-based and are already constructed and in operation. As part of the NEPA environmental review process the Service held three public scoping meetings, one each on the islands of Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi, to obtain public and stakeholder input and to comply with environmental regulations. This Scoping Report provides a project overview, purpose of the Services’ action, and documents the scoping process that occurred for the PEIS. This report also provides a summary of all comments received by July 2, 2018. 1.1 Service Regulatory Background The Service is dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The Service responsibilities include enforcing federal wildlife laws, protecting endangered species, managing migratory birds, restoring nationally significant fisheries, conserving and restoring wildlife habitat, such as wetlands, helping foreign governments with their international conservation efforts, and distributing money to states’ fish and wildlife agencies through the Wildlife Sport Fish and Restoration program. The ESA is one of the key pieces of legislation for the Service. Section 9 of the ESA prohibits “take” of fish and wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened. Under section 3 of the ESA, the term “take” means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or attempt to engage in any such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)). The term “harm” is further defined by regulation in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) as an act that actually kills or injures wildlife. Such act may include significant habitat modification or degradation where