Final Scoping Report for the Environmental Impact Statement for an Eagle Take Permit for Phase I of the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project April 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mountain-Prairie Region This page intentionally left blank Table of Contents Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................... iii Section 1.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Project Overview ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose of the USFWS Action ...................................................................................... 2 1.3 Scoping Overview ......................................................................................................... 3 Section 2.0 Scoping Activities ............................................................................................................. 4 2.1 Scoping Announcements .............................................................................................. 4 2.1.1 Notice of Intent ................................................................................................. 4 2.1.2 Press Release .................................................................................................. 4 2.1.3 Newspaper Notices .......................................................................................... 4 2.2 Project Website and Social Media ................................................................................ 5 2.3 Public Scoping Meetings ............................................................................................... 5 2.4 Stakeholder Coordination .............................................................................................. 6 2.5 Cooperating Agency Coordination ................................................................................ 6 2.7 Tribal Coordination ........................................................................................................ 7 Section 3.0 Summary of Comments Received ................................................................................... 8 3.1 NEPA and EIS Processes ............................................................................................. 8 3.2 Statements of Opposition and Statements of Support .................................................. 8 3.3 Purpose and Need ........................................................................................................ 8 3.4 Alternatives ................................................................................................................... 8 3.4.1 Avoidance and Minimization ............................................................................ 9 3.4.2 Siting ................................................................................................................ 9 3.4.3 Mitigation........................................................................................................ 10 3.4.4 Monitoring ...................................................................................................... 10 3.4.5 Adaptive Management ................................................................................... 11 3.5 Eagle Conservation Plan and Eagle Take Permit ....................................................... 11 3.6 Eagles and Eagle Data ............................................................................................... 12 3.7 Wildlife ........................................................................................................................ 12 3.8 Additional Resource Areas .......................................................................................... 12 3.9 Construction and Decommissioning ............................................................................ 13 Section 4.0 Next Steps in the Planning Process .............................................................................. 14 Tables Table 1. Newspaper Notice Publication Details ....................................................................................... 5 Table 2. Public Scoping Meeting Details ................................................................................................. 6 Scoping Report for the EIS for an Eagle Take Permit for Phase I of the CCSM Project April 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Page i Table of Contents Appendices Appendix A Notice of Intent Appendix B USFWS Press Release, Newspaper Advertisement, and Newspaper Affidavits Appendix C Scoping Meeting Materials and Photographs Appendix D Stakeholder, Cooperating Agency, and Tribal Consultation Letters Appendix E List of Scoping Comments Appendix F Confidential: Stakeholder, Agency, and Tribal Mailing Lists April 2014 Scoping Report for the EIS for an Eagle Take Permit for Phase I of the CCSM Project Page ii U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Table of Contents List of Abbreviations Abbreviation Definition ACP Advanced Conservation Practice APP Avian Protection Plan BBCS Bird and Bat Conservation Strategy BGEPA Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act BLM Bureau of Land Management BLM FEIS BLM’s Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project Final Environmental Impact Statement BLM ROD BLM’s Record of Decision for the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project and Approved Visual Resource Management Plan Amendment on Public Lands Administered by the Bureau of Land Management Rawlins Field Office, Carbon County, Wyoming CCSM Project Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project CDNST Continental Divide National Scenic Trail CFR Code of Federal Regulations DEIS Draft Environmental Impact Statement EA Environmental Assessment ECP Eagle Conservation Plan EIS Environmental Impact Statement ETP Eagle Take Permit FEIS Final Environmental Impact Statement FR Federal Register NEPA National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 NGO non-governmental organization NHPA National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 NOI Notice of Intent PCW Power Company of Wyoming LLC ROD Record of Decision ROW Right-of-Way USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Scoping Report for the EIS for an Eagle Take Permit for Phase I of the CCSM Project April 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Page iii Table of Contents This page intentionally left blank April 2014 Scoping Report for the EIS for an Eagle Take Permit for Phase I of the CCSM Project Page iv U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Section 1.0, Introduction Section 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Project Overview The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for an Eagle Take Permit (ETP) for Phase I of the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project (CCSM Project) in Carbon County, Wyoming. The EIS will analyze the environmental impacts associated with an application for a programmatic ETP for Phase I of the CCSM Project and other reasonable alternatives. As proposed by the permit applicant, Power Company of Wyoming LLC (PCW), Phase I of the CCSM Project would consist of approximately 500 wind turbines, capable of producing 1,000 to 1,500 megawatts of wind energy, and a variety of supporting infrastructure. Some bald and golden eagles that inhabit or migrate through the CCSM Project area may be killed or otherwise adversely affected by CCSM Project development and operation. PCW has indicated that it will apply to the USFWS for an ETP under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) for the potential take of golden eagles from Phase I of the CCSM Project. The Phase I Wind Development would occur in the western portions of both the Chokecherry and the Sierra Madre areas. The northern portion of the application area, termed Chokecherry, is situated entirely east of State Highway 71. Under the development scenario proposed by PCW, the Chokecherry area would be divided east-west by a haul road that would be built to serve construction and operation of the CCSM Project. The southern portion of the application area is termed Sierra Madre. Sierra Madre is divided by State Highway 71, and the majority of the wind development acreage would be located west of this highway. The CCSM Project would be situated on a “checkerboard” area of land-ownership in south- central Wyoming, where alternating sections of land are privately owned and federally administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with a small amount of State land interspersed. As a result, approximately half of the CCSM Project would be located on federal lands and would require Right-of Way (ROW) Grants from the BLM. The BLM review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) for ROW Grants for the CCSM Project consists of two stages of review: in 2012, the BLM completed a Final Environmental Impact Statement (BLM FEIS) and Record of Decision (BLM ROD) for the full project (BLM FEIS and ROD), and in 2014, the BLM is conducting detailed NEPA review of PCW’s site-specific plans of development for Phase I of the CCSM Project. Phase II of the CCSM Project, which could be applied for at a later date, would consist of an additional 500 wind turbines. The USFWS intends to address impacts of Phase II of the CCSM Project as a reasonably foreseeable future action in the cumulative impacts section of its EIS. Additionally, the USFWS would conduct further NEPA review of Phase II if and when an ETP application for Phase II is submitted.