The Hawaii Environmental Review Program has published for a 60-day public comment period a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) developed by Kauaʿi Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC). KIUC prepared the HCP in collaboration with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), to minimize and mitigate adverse effects on state and federally listed threatened and endangered species.

KIUC is seeking incidental take authorization from USFWS and DLNR for the continued operation of existing and new KIUC infrastructure. This authorization is needed because some KIUC infrastructure necessary to utility operations, including aerial powerlines and streetlights, is known to result in incidental take of certain state and federally listed species.

The HCP can be viewed and instructions for submitting comments can be found here.