Kaheawa Wind Power II Topic of DLNR Meeting

The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) will hold a public hearing to receive public testimony on the Draft Habitat Conservation Plan for Kaheawa Wind Power II Wind Generation Facility (KWPII).

The public hearing is March 17, 2010, at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Whale Foundation 300 Ma‘alaea Road, Suite 211, The Harbor Shops at Ma‘alaea, on Maui.

KWPII is proposing to develop a 21 megawatt (MW) wind farm on approximately 143 acres of state conservation district lands, southeast of the existing 30 MW Kaheawa wind power project (KWPI), which is operated by a sister entity under First Wind LLC.

KWPII is seeking an incidental take license (ITL) and accompanying habitat conservation plan (HCP), as part of Chapter 195D Hawai‘i Revised Statutes; Conservation of Aquatic Life, Wildlife and Plants.

The HCP addresses take of four threatened and/or endangered species related to KWPII operation, the ‘Ua‘u, Hawaiian Petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis), A‘o, Newells Shearwater (Puffinus aruicularis newelli), Nēnē (Branta Sandwichensis) and ‘Ope‘ape‘a (Lasiurus cinereus semotu).

The HCP outlines measures to minimize, avoid, and mitigate for take of each species covered in the ITL and HCP, and measures to provide a net recovery benefit to each species.

Copies of the Draft HCP and ITL are available for review at the Hawai‘i State Library, the Wailuku Public Library, and online at http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dofaw in the Announcements section.

Anyone who wants to provide testimony, or who is unable to attend the public hearing, may send written testimony  to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, 1151 Punchbowl Street, Room 325, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96813, Attention Habitat Conservation Planning Associate, no later than March 23, 2010.