Billing Code 4333–15
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2024–0070; FXES11140300000–245–FF03E00000]
Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan; Receipt
of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit; Alliant Energy, Iowa and
Minnesota
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment and information.
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received an
application from Alliant Energy’s Interstate Power and Light Company and Wisconsin
Power and Light Company (Alliant; applicant), for an incidental take permit (ITP) under
the Endangered Species Act, for wind facilities in Iowa and Minnesota (project). The
applicant requests the ITP for the take of four bat species incidental to the otherwise
lawful activities associated with the project. The applicant proposes a conservation
program to minimize and mitigate for the unavoidable incidental take as described in
their habitat conservation plan (HCP). The Service requests public comment on the
application, which includes the applicant’s proposed HCP, and the Service’s draft
environmental assessment, prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.
The Service provides this notice to seek comments from the public and Federal, Tribal,
State, and local governments.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before [INSERT
DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: Electronic copies of the documents this notice
announces, along with public comments received, will be available online in Docket No.
FWS-R3-ES-2024-0070 at https://www.regulations.gov.

Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the documents, you
may do so in writing by one of the following methods:
•

Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for
submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2024-0070.

•

U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3ES-2024-0070; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike,
MS: PRB/3W; Falls Church, VA 22041–3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kraig McPeek, Field Supervisor,
Illinois-Iowa Ecological Services Field Office, by email at kraig_mcpeek@fws.gov or by
telephone at 309–757–5800, extension 202; or Andrew Horton, Regional HCP
Coordinator, by email at andrew_horton@fws.gov or by telephone at 612–713–5337.
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications
relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered
within their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United
States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), have received an application from Alliant Energy’s Interstate Power and Light
Company and Wisconsin Power and Light Company (Alliant; applicant), for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), for its eight wind facilities in Iowa and one facility in
Minnesota (project). The applicant requests the ITP, which would be for a 30-year period,
for the take of the four covered bat species in table 1, incidental to the otherwise lawful
activities associated with the project.
Common name
Indiana bat
Northern long-eared bat

Table 1—Covered species
Scientific name
Myotis sodalis
Myotis septentrionalis

Federal listing status
Endangered
Endangered

Tricolored bat
Little brown bat

Perimyotis subflavus
Myotis lucifugus

Proposed endangered
Under review for listing

The applicant proposes a conservation program to minimize and mitigate for the
unavoidable incidental take as described in their habitat conservation plan (HCP). The
Service requests public comment on the application, which includes the applicant’s
proposed HCP, and the Service’s draft environmental assessment, prepared pursuant to
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The Service
provides this notice to seek comments from the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and
local governments.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA and its implementing regulations prohibit the “take” of
animal species listed as endangered or threatened. Take is defined under the ESA as to
“harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect [listed animal
species], or to attempt to engage in such conduct” (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)). However, under
section 10(a) of the ESA, we may issue permits to authorize incidental take of listed
species. “Incidental take” is defined by the ESA as take that is incidental to, and not the
purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental
take permits for endangered and threatened species, respectively, are found in the Code
of Federal Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32.
Applicant’s Proposed Project
The applicant requests a 30-year ITP for take of the four covered species in table
1. The applicant determined that the covered activities (operation, refurbishment, and
repowering) of the wind projects are reasonably certain to result in incidental take of
these covered species. The authorized level of take from the covered activities over the
30-year project duration is expected to be 123 Indiana bats; 246 northern long-eared bats;
2,520 tricolored bats; and 3,536 little brown bats.

The proposed conservation strategy in the applicant’s proposed HCP is designed
to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the impacts of the covered activities on the covered
species. The biological goals and objectives are to minimize potential take of the covered
species through on-site minimization measures and to provide habitat conservation
measures for the covered species to offset the impact of the taking. On-site minimization
measures have been designed based on the apparent risk level of each project, and
include feathering turbines when wind is below manufacturer’s cut-in speed, below 4.0
meters per second (m/s), and below 5.0 m/s during periods of highest bat risk, as
described in table 5.1 in the HCP. Minimization measures will be implemented nightly
from sunset to sunrise. To offset the impacts of the taking, the applicant proposes to
protect and restore known maternity colony habitat for the covered species. The Service
requests public comments on the permit application, which includes a proposed HCP, and
an EA prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
The applicant’s HCP describes the activities that will be undertaken to implement
the project, as well as the mitigation and minimization measures proposed to address the
impacts to the covered species. Pursuant to NEPA, the EA analyzes the impacts the ITP
issuance would have on the covered species and the environment.
National Environmental Policy Act
The issuance of an ITP is a Federal action that triggers the need for compliance
with NEPA. We prepared a draft EA that analyzes the environmental impacts on the
human environment resulting from three alternatives: A no-action alternative, the
applicant’s proposed action, and a more restrictive alternative consisting of feathering at
a rate of wind speed that results in less impacts to bats.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the permit application and the comments received to

determine whether the application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA.
We will also conduct an intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA to
evaluate the effects of the proposed take. After considering the above findings, we will
determine whether the permit issuance criteria of section 10(a)(l)(B) of the ESA have
been met. If met, the Service will issue the requested ITP to the applicant.
Request for Public Comments
The Service invites comments and suggestions from all interested parties during a
30-day public comment period (see DATES). In particular, information and comments
regarding the following topics are requested:
•

The direct, indirect, or cumulative effects that implementation of any
alternative could have on the human environment.

•

Whether or not the significance of the impact on various aspects of the
human environment has been adequately analyzed.

•

Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the
proposed action on the human environment.

Availability of Public Comments
You may submit comments by one of the methods shown under ADDRESSES.
We will post on https://regulations.gov all public comments and information received
electronically or via hardcopy. All comments received, including names and addresses,
will become part of the administrative record associated with this action. Before
including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including
your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time.
While you can request in your comment that we withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. All
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying

themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be made
available for public disclosure in their entirety.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22) and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and
its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR part 46).

Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director,
Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2024-15594 Filed: 7/15/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 7/16/2024]