Overcoming Challenges to Conducting Meaningful Cumulative Impact Analysis

With numerous efforts underway to develop and clarify permit programs to potentially authorize take of federally-listed species, eagles, and even migratory birds for wind energy projects – it is foreseeable that the number... [ view full abstract ]

With numerous efforts underway to develop and clarify permit programs to potentially authorize take of federally-listed species, eagles, and even migratory birds for wind energy projects – it is foreseeable that the number of wind energy facility operators pursuing take authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will significantly increase in the near future. “Take” permits will require an evaluation of potential impacts, including cumulative impact analysis, to federally protected species.

There are inherent challenges to cumulative impact analysis, including lack of an established framework; lack of data or clear understanding of the study area; budget and schedule limitations; and challenges associated with communication, collaboration, and other external factors. As a result, cumulative impact analysis is often one of the most challenging aspects of preparing an impact assessment document and has also been the grounds for legal challenges to federal agency decisions.

This presentation will share lessons learned on conducting defensible cumulative impact analysis, using the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Buckeye Wind Power Project as a case study. The Buckeye Wind Power Project received the first Incidental Take Permit issued to a wind energy project for take of the federally-endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). The EIS successfully withstood a challenge of the NEPA analysis, with the U.S. District Court concluding that the USFWS was within their rights in issuing the Incidental Take Permit. This presentation describes the steps used to conduct a cumulative impact analysis for bats for the Buckeye Wind power project; how challenges of multiple jurisdictions, community concerns, and synergistic effects were handled; and the “key ingredients”, identified through this experience, for a defensible cumulative impact analysis.