Alta South Wind Energy Project (Project); California Endangered Species Act (CESA) Incidental Take Permit (ITP) No. 2081-2013-017-04, Major Amendment No. 2

Alta South Wind Energy Project (Project); California Endangered Species Act (CESA) Incidental Take Permit (ITP) No. 2081-2013-017-04, Major Amendment No. 2

The Project as approved by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and as originally issued to Alta Wind X, LLC; Alta Wind XI, LLC; Alta Wind XIII, LLC; and Alta Wind XIV, LLC (Permittees) for the Alta South Wind Energy Project in May 2013, involves the construction and installation of wind turbine generators (WTGs) and supporting infrastructure to operate them as a wind power generation facility. The ITP authorizes take of Bakersfield cactus (Opuntia basilaris var. treleasei) and desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), specises designated as endangered and threatened, respectively, under the California Endangered Species Act. Major Amendment No. 2 revises the Permittees and Contact Person information to reflect the transfer in ownership of the Alta South Wind Energy Project, extends the deadline for the required acquisition, protection and transfer of all Habitat Management lands and recordation of any required conservation easements from November 23, 2014 to May 23, 2015, removes the second phase of the Project, allows compliance monitoring to occur during the operation and maintenance (O&M) period only when ground-disturbing activities occur and reduces the reporting requirement during the O&M period from quarterly to annually. CDFW issued the ITP, Major Amendment No. 1 (which changed the Project Description to include two distinct phases), and Major Amendment No. 2 as a Responsible Agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) relying on the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), an EIR Addendum, and a Supplemental EIR prepared and certified for the Project by the lead agency, County of Kern.

Mojave, Tehachapi

Kern