[Federal Register: September 12, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 178)]
[Notices]
[Page 53038-53040]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12se08-80]
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DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2008-N0136; 80221-1112-0000-F2]
Coyote Springs Investment Planned Development Project Multiple-
Species Habitat Conservation Plan
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; final environmental impact statement
and multi-species habitat conservation plan.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the
Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) as the lead agency, together with
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) as cooperating agencies, advise the public of the availability of
the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the application from
Coyote Springs Investment LLC (CSI) for a Section 10 incidental take
permit pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(ESA), a section 404 permit under the Clean Water Act, and
reconfiguration of CSI private and lease lands in Lincoln County. In
addition, the EIS includes the proposed action of BLM issuing a right-
of-way within the BLM utility corridor, located west of U.S. Highway 93
in Lincoln County for the construction of detention basins.
This notice also announces the availability of the CSI Multiple-
Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP), which CSI has submitted as
part of their incidental take permit application, and Implementing
Agreement (legal contract for the MSHCP). The permit would authorize
the incidental take of specified covered species over 40 years,
including some that may become federally-listed during the term of the
permit. The permit is needed because take of species could occur during
CSI's proposed urban development activities located in a 21,454-acre
area in southern Lincoln County, Nevada. In addition, take of species
could occur during recreation and resource management activities within
the 13,767-acre proposed Coyote Springs Investment Conservation Lands
(CSICL) in Clark and Lincoln counties. The CSICL is an area leased by
CSI from BLM, which would be managed for the conservation of the desert
tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) and other covered species specified in
the CSI MSHCP.
This notice is provided pursuant to applicable NEPA regulations (40
CFR 1506.6) to inform the public of the proposed action, and to make
available for 30 days' review the final EIS, CSI MSHCP, and
Implementing Agreement.
DATES: A Record of Decision will be signed no sooner than 30 days after
the publication of the Environmental Protection Agency notice. Comments
on the final EIS must be received on or before October 14, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Robert D. Williams, Field
Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office,
1340 Financial Boulevard, Suite 234, Reno, Nevada 89502, and fax number
(775) 861-6301.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert D. Williams, Field Supervisor,
Fish and Wildlife Service, Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office, 4701 N.
Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130, telephone (702) 515-5230
and fax number (702) 515-5231.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
Copies of the EIS, CSI MSHCP, and Implementing Agreement are
available
[[Page 53039]]
for public review during regular business hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
at the Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office in Las Vegas, Nevada (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Copies are also available during the
public comment period at the following libraries: (1) Clark County
Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, Nevada 89119; (2) Moapa
Valley Library, 350 N. Moapa Valley Boulevard, Overton, Nevada 89040;
(3) Washoe County Library, Downtown Main Branch, 301 South Center
Street, Reno, Nevada 89501; (4) Lincoln County Library, 63 Main Street,
Pioche, Nevada 89043; and (5) Alamo Branch Library, 100 North First
Street, Alamo, Nevada 89001.
Individuals wishing copies of the EIS, CSI MSHCP, and Implementing
Agreement should contact the Service by telephone (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT) or by letter (see ADDRESSES). These documents also
are available on the Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office Web site at http:/
/www.fws.gov/nevada/highlights.
Background Information
Section 9 of the Federal ESA of 1973, as amended and Federal
regulations prohibit the take of fish and wildlife species listed as
endangered or threatened (16 U.S.C. 1538). The term ``take'' means to
harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or
collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1532).
Harm includes significant habitat modification or degradation that
actually kills or injures listed wildlife by significantly impairing
essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, and
sheltering [50 CFR 17.3(c)]. Under limited circumstances, we may issue
permits to authorize incidental take of listed fish or wildlife; i.e.,
take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful
activity. Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened
and endangered species are found in 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22,
respectively.
Although take of listed plant species is not prohibited under the
Federal ESA, and therefore cannot be authorized under an incidental
take permit, plant species may be included on a permit in recognition
of the conservation benefits provided to them under a habitat
conservation plan. All species included on an incidental take permit
would receive assurances under the Services ``No Surprises'' regulation
50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5).
The EIS analyzes the impacts of the proposed implementation of the
CSI MSHCP by the Applicant (CSI). The Applicant seeks a 40-year
incidental take permit for covered activities within a proposed 21,454-
acre development area located in southern Lincoln County, Nevada. The
development area extends approximately nine miles north of the Lincoln
County-Clark County line. The CSI MSHCP also would cover approximately
13,767 acres of leased land in Lincoln County (approximately 7,548
acres) and Clark County (approximately 6,219 acres). The leased lands
would be designated as the CSICL and would be managed for the
conservation of species, habitat, and waters of the United States
(WOUS).
Land leased and owned by the Applicant occupies most of the eastern
portion of Coyote Spring Valley straddling the Pahranagat Wash and the
Kane Springs Wash in Lincoln County. This area is bordered by the
Delamar Mountains to the north, the Meadow Valley Mountains to the
east, and U.S. Highway 93 to the west. The leased land in Clark County
is bordered by State Route 168 to the south. The surrounding land is
primarily owned and managed by the BLM and Service. South of the
development area, CSI privately-owned lands are being developed in
Clark County and are covered under the existing Clark County Multiple
Species Habitat Conservation Plan.
The Applicant has requested a permit for two federally listed
species, the threatened desert tortoise (Mojave population) and the
endangered Moapa dace (Moapa coriacea) and three species that are not
listed under the Federal ESA at the current time: banded Gila monster
(Heloderma suspectum cinctum), Virgin River chub (Gila seminuda) (Muddy
River population), and the Western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia
hypugaea).
Proposed covered activities and projects within the CSI MSHCP fall
within six categories: Community development and construction
activities; recreational facilities and open space; utility
infrastructure; water supply infrastructure; flood control structures
development and maintenance (including stormwater management); and
resource management features (including re-alignment of the existing
land ownership, subject to BLM approval and compliance with applicable
laws, to minimize impacts to desert tortoise and management of the
CSICL).
The CSI MSHCP's proposed conservation strategy is designed to
minimize and mitigate the impacts of covered activities, contribute to
the recovery of listed covered species, and protect and enhance
populations of non-listed covered species. The strategy provides for
the designation and management of a conservation area for species,
habitat and WOUS on approximately 13,767 acres. Other conservation
measures include: (1) Development and implementation of a long-term
protection plan for the Moapa dace and Virgin River chub; (2) payment
of mitigation fees, in the amount of $800 per acre of disturbance for
the development of private land, which would be used to fund research
on the covered species and management of the CSICL, and other
mitigation measures as described in the CSI MSHCP; and (3) creation of
a wash buffer zone easement within the development area.
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
Proposed permit issuance triggers the need for compliance with
NEPA. As lead agency, the Service has prepared an EIS that analyzes
alternatives associated with issuance of the incidental take permit.
Cooperating agencies to the final EIS include the Corps and BLM. The
EIS analyzes the Corps' issuance of a section 404 permit to CSI under
the Clean Water Act for the proposed urban development on 21,454-acres
of private land and for the proposed detention basins on BLM-
administered land in Lincoln County. The EIS also addresses BLM's
proposed reconfiguration of the CSI private and BLM leased lands and
issuance of a right-of-way to CSI for the construction of detention
basins on up to 244 acres of BLM-administered land within the utility
corridor located west of U.S. Highway 93 in Lincoln County. The
proposed detention basins on BLM-administered land are not included as
a covered activity in the CSI MSHCP but would be subject to a section 7
formal consultation under ESA.
Public Involvement
A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS was published in the
Federal Register for this project on December 4, 2001 (66 FR 63065). A
second NOI was published on September 12, 2006 (71 FR 53704) and
scoping meetings were held on September 26 and 27, 2006, in Alamo and
Moapa, Nevada, respectively. A third NOI was published on November 2,
2006 (71 FR 64555) to reopen the public comment period and to correct
inaccurate contact information provided in the September 12, 2006
notice. On November 2, 2007, a NOA of the draft CSI MSHCP, draft EIS,
and draft Implementing Agreement was published in the Federal Register
(72 FR 62229). A 60-day public comment period on the draft documents
closed on January 2, 2008, with individual extensions granted until
[[Page 53040]]
January 14, 2008, as requested by several entities.
Public Comments
The Service and Applicant invite the public to comment on the final
EIS, CSI MSHCP, and Implementing Agreement during a 30-day public
comment period beginning on the date of this notice. Before including
your address, phone number, e-mail 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 may ask us in your
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
The Service will evaluate the application, associated documents,
and comments submitted to determine whether the application meets the
requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA. A permit decision will be
made no sooner than 30 days after the publication of the EIS and
completion of the Record of Decision.
This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal
ESA and regulations for implementing NEPA, as amended (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: August 28, 2008.
Richard E. Sayers,
Acting Deputy Regional Director, California and Nevada Region,
Sacramento, CA.
[FR Doc. E8-21284 Filed 9-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P