[Federal Register: October 26, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 206)]
[Notices]
[Page 65646-65647]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26oc10-82]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2010-N235; 1112-0000-81440-F2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Permit, Santa
Barbara County, CA
AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have
received an application from Pacific Renewable Energy Generation LLC
(applicant) for an incidental take permit under the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are considering issuing an incidental
take permit (ITP) that would authorize the applicant's take of the
federally endangered El Segundo Blue Butterfly incidental to otherwise
lawful activities that would result in the loss of Coast Buckwheat,
which serves as butterfly habitat. We invite comments from the public
on the application, which includes the Geotechnical Boring Project
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), and on our preliminary determination
that the HCP qualifies as a low-effect plan that is eligible for a
categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
November 26, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may download a copy of the HCP, draft Environmental
Action Statement, Low-Effect Screening Form, and related documents on
the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/ventura/, or you may request
documents by U.S. mail or phone (see below). Please address written
comments to Diane K. Noda, Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B,
Ventura, CA 93003. You may alternatively send comments by facsimile to
(805) 644-3958.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jen Lechuga, HCP Coordinator, at the
Ventura address above, or by telephone at (805) 644-1766 extension 224.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application from Pacific
Renewable Energy Generation LLC for an incidental take permit under the
Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). We are considering issuing an incidental
take permit (ITP) that would authorize the applicant's take of the
federally endangered El Segundo Blue Butterfly (Euphilotes battoides
allyni) incidental to otherwise lawful activities that would result in
the loss of 356 plants of Coast Buckwheat, which serves as habitat for
El Segundo Blue Butterfly near the west end of the Santa Ynez
Mountains, 7 miles south of Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, California.
We invite comments from the public on the application and associated
documents, and on our preliminary determination that the HCP qualifies
as a low-effect plan eligible for categorical exclusion under NEPA.
Background
The El Segundo Blue Butterfly was listed as endangered on June 1,
1976 (41 FR 22041). The Gaviota Tarplant was listed as endangered on
March 20, 2000 (65 FR 14888) and has been listed as endangered under
the state of California's Endangered Species Act (California Fish and
Game Code, Sections 2050 et seq.) since January 1990. Section 9 of the
Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and our implementing Federal regulations
in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17 prohibit the
``take'' of fish or wildlife species listed as endangered or
threatened. Take of listed fish or wildlife is defined under the Act as
``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). However, under limited circumstances, we issue permits to
authorize incidental take. ``Incidental Take'' is defined by the Act as
take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out of an
otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental take
permits for threatened and endangered species are, respectively, in the
Code of Federal Regulations at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22. Issuance of an
ITP also must not jeopardize the existence of federally listed fish,
wildlife, or plant species.
The Act's take prohibitions do not apply to federally listed plant
species on private lands unless such take would be in violation of
State law. In addition to meeting other criteria, the HCP's proposed
actions must not jeopardize the existence of federally listed fish,
wildlife, or plants. The applicant has submitted an application to the
California Department of Fish and Game for an incidental take permit
pursuant to the California Endangered Species Act.
The applicant proposes to conduct 43 geotechnical borings about 8
miles northwest of Point Conception, near the west end of the Santa
Ynez Mountains, and 7 miles south of Lompoc, Santa Barbara County,
California. The geotechnical borings will provide the data necessary to
develop and complete the design and engineering plans for the Lompoc
Wind Energy Project. Phase II of the Lompoc Wind Energy Project would
involve the construction and operation of wind turbines. Any potential
impacts to listed species caused by the construction and operation of
the Lompoc Wind Energy Project will be addressed through a subsequent
consultation or permitting process under the Act. The geotechnical
boring project is viewed as a discrete action because it does not
guarantee that Phase II would occur. The proposed project would result
in temporary direct impacts to 0.69 acres of El Segundo Blue Butterfly
habitat and 0.64 acres of the Gaviota Tarplant habitat.
The applicant proposes to implement the following measures to
minimize and mitigate for the loss of El Segundo Blue Butterfly habitat
and Gaviota Tarplant within the permit area: (1) Establish a permanent
conservation area that will preserve 712 coast buckwheat plants through
a conservation easement and provide for the management of the area; (2)
restore degraded native Central Coastal Scrub and Grassland habitats
within the conservation area; (3) enhance 0.49 acres of Gaviota
Tarplant; (4) design access routes to boring sites to minimize impacts
to Gaviota Tarplant areas; (5) minimize ground disturbance; (6) use
silt fencing and soil salvaging techniques to minimize impacts to the
El Segundo Blue Butterfly and Gaviota Tarplant; (7) avoid flight season
of the El Segundo Blue Butterfly; (8) conduct dust control, relocation
of El Segundo Blue Butterflies, staging, and boundary delineation to
minimize El Segundo Blue Butterfly impacts; and (9) conduct ongoing
monitoring for both species to track compliance with the permit, the
effects of the permitted activities, and effectiveness of the
mitigation measures.
In the proposed HCP, the applicant considers two alternatives to
the taking
[[Page 65647]]
of the El Segundo Blue Butterfly and Gaviota Tarplant. The No Action
alternative would maintain current conditions, the project would not be
implemented, no impacts to the El Segundo Blue Butterfly and Gaviota
Tarplant would occur, and an incidental take permit application would
not be submitted to the Service. The second alternative would involve
helicopter access to the site, which would eliminate the risk of
driving over the listed plant species.
We are requesting comments on our preliminary determination that
the applicant's proposal will have a minor or negligible effect on the
species covered in the plan, and that the plan qualifies as a ``low-
effect'' HCP as defined by our Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook
(November 1996). We base our determination that the HCP qualifies as a
low-effect HCP on the following three criteria: (1) Implementation of
the applicant's project description in the HCP would result in minor or
negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, and candidate species
and their habitats; (2) implementation of the HCP would result in minor
or negligible effects on other environmental values or resources; and
(3) impacts of the HCP--considered together with the impacts of other
past, present, and reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects--
would not result, over time, in cumulative effects to the environmental
values or resources that would be considered significant. Based upon
our analysis of these criteria, we have made a preliminary
determination that the approval of the HCP and issuance of an ITP
qualify for categorical exclusions under the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.), as provided by the Department of Interior Manual (516 DM 2
Appendix 2 and 516 DM 8). Based upon our review of public comments that
we receive in response to this notice, this preliminary determination
may be revised.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the HCP and comments we receive to determine
whether the ITP application meets the requirements of section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Act and implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22). We
will also evaluate whether issuance of a section 10(a)(1)(B) permit
would comply with section 7 of the Act by conducting an intra-Service
section 7 consultation. We will use the results of this consultation,
in combination with the above findings, in our final analysis to
determine whether or not to issue an ITP. If the requirements are met,
we will issue the ITP to the applicant for the incidental take of the
El Segundo Blue Butterfly. We will make the final permit decision no
sooner than 30 days after the date of this notice.
Public Comments
If you wish to comment on the permit application, HCP, and
associated documents, you may submit comments by any one of the methods
in ADDRESSES.
Public Availability of Comments
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 can
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.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: October 19, 2010.
Diane K. Noda,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura,
California.
[FR Doc. 2010-27002 Filed 10-25-10; 8:45 am]
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