[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 136 (Friday, July 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41808-41810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17811]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2011-N084; 20124-1112-0000-F2]
Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Habitat
Conservation Plan for Oncor Electric Delivery Facilities in 100 Texas
Counties
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of documents and announcement of public
hearings.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of the draft environmental impact statement and the draft
Oncor Electric Delivery Company, LLC habitat conservation plan, under
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Oncor has applied for an
incidental take permit (TE-40918A-0) under the Endangered Species Act
of 1973, as amended, to authorize incidental take of 11 Federally
listed species (covered species) in 100 Texas counties.
DATES: Comment period: To ensure consideration, we must receive written
comments on or before close of business (4:30 p.m. CDT) October 13,
2011.
Public meetings: Nine public meetings, located throughout Oncor's
proposed 100-county permit area, will be held between August 1, 2011,
and September 28, 2011. Exact meeting locations and times will be
announced in local newspapers, on the Austin Ecological Services Office
Web site (http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/
[[Page 41809]]
AustinTexas/), and on Oncor's Web site (www.oncor-eis-hcp.com) at least
2 weeks prior to each meeting.
ADDRESSES: To find out how to obtain documents for review and where to
submit comments, see Reviewing Documents and Submitting Comments in
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Adam Zerrenner, Field Supervisor,
by U.S. mail at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 10711 Burnet Road,
Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758, or by phone at (512) 490-0057.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969 (NEPA), this notice advises the public that:
(1) We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have gathered
the information necessary to determine impacts and formulate
alternatives for the draft environmental impact statement (dEIS)
related to the potential issuance of an incidental take permit (ITP) to
Oncor Electric Delivery Company, LLC (Applicant; Oncor), and
(2) That the Applicant has developed a draft habitat conservation
plan (dHCP) which describes the measures Oncor has agreed to undertake
to minimize and mitigate the effects of incidental take of Federally
listed species to the maximum extent practicable, pursuant to section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; Act).
Oncor has applied for an ITP (TE-40918A-0) under section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. The requested ITP, which would be in effect for
a period of 30 years if granted, would authorize incidental take of the
following 11 Federally listed species (covered species): Large-fruited
sand-verbena (Abronia macrocarpa), Texas poppy-mallow (Callirhoe
scabriuscula), Navasota ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes parksii), Pecos
sunflower (Helianthus paradoxus), American burying beetle (Nicrophorus
americanus), Houston toad (Bufo houstonensis), whooping crane (Grus
americana), golden-cheeked warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia), black-
capped vireo (Vireo atricapilla), red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides
borealis), and Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus). The
proposed incidental take would occur in 100 Texas counties that
comprise the Applicant's service area, excluding Williamson and Travis
counties, and with the addition of Runnels County, and would result
from activities associated with maintenance and repair of existing
electric facilities and installation and operation of new facilities.
Background
Our initial notice of intent to prepare an EIS and hold public
scoping meetings published in the Federal Register on September 22,
2009 (74 FR 48285). A summary of comments provided during the 2009
scoping period, which included meetings held at nine locations
throughout the proposed 100-county permit area, is available at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/AustinTexas/.
The dHCP for maintenance and construction activities for Oncor and
the conservation program described in the dHCP were developed through a
collaborative effort between the Service, the Applicant, and the
Applicant's consultants, and also through outreach to potential
interest groups, nonprofit organizations, and other stakeholders.
The Austin Ecological Services Office Web site (http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/AustinTexas/) contains information on meetings, documents,
and the status of the process.
Alternatives
We are considering three alternatives as part of this process: The
no action alternative, the applicant's preferred alternative, and a
project-by-project alternative:
1. No Action--No ITP would be issued. This alternative would
require the Applicant to avoid activities within the proposed permit
area that would, or potentially would, result in incidental take of any
Federally listed species. The Applicant would continue to perform those
activities that would not, or would not be expected to, result in
violation of the Act.
2. Preferred Alternative--Issuance of an ITP by the Service for
covered activities in the 100-county permit area, pursuant to section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. This is the Applicant's preferred alternative.
The activities that would be covered by the ITP are general activities
associated with new construction, maintenance, and emergency response
and restoration, including stormwater discharges from construction
sites, equipment access, and surveying. Construction activities covered
for new facilities include new overhead transmission and distribution
lines, new support facilities such as substations and switching
stations, underground electric installation, and second-circuit
addition on existing structures. Maintenance activities would include
vegetation management within rights of way, expansion of existing
support facilities, line upgrades, insulator replacement, and
maintenance of underground electric facilities. The requested ITP will
cover the 100-county permit area. The requested term of the permit is
30 years.
To meet the requirements of a section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP, the
Applicant has developed and will implement the dHCP, which describes
the conservation measures the Applicant has agreed to undertake to
minimize and mitigate for incidental take of the covered species to the
maximum extent practicable. As described in the HCP, the Applicant
anticipates that incidental take would not appreciably reduce the
likelihood of the survival and recovery of these species in the wild.
3. Project-Based Consultation--Project-by-project consultations or
ITPs. This alternative would require Oncor to seek authorization on a
project-by-project basis to address incidental take resulting from
their actions, as needed, through section 7 or under section
10(a)(1)(B).
Section 9 of the Act and its implementing regulations prohibit the
``taking'' of threatened and endangered species. However, under limited
circumstances, we may issue permits to take listed wildlife species
incidental to, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful activities.
Reviewing Documents and Submitting Comments
You may obtain copies of the dEIS and dHCP by going to http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/AustinTexas/. Alternatively, you may obtain
compact disks with electronic copies of these documents by writing to
Mr. Adam Zerrenner, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758; calling (512) 490-0057;
or faxing (512) 490-0974. A limited number of printed copies of the
dEIS and dHCP are also available, by request, from Mr. Zerrenner.
Copies of the dEIS and dHCP are also available for public inspection
and review at the following locations (by appointment only at
government offices):
--Department of the Interior, Natural Resources Library, 1849 C. St.,
NW., Washington, DC 20240.
--U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 500 Gold Avenue, SW., Room 6034,
Albuquerque, NM 87102.
--U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200, Austin,
TX 78758.
Persons wishing to review the application may obtain a copy by
writing to the Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O.
Box 1306, Room 6034, Albuquerque, NM 87103.
[[Page 41810]]
Written comments may be submitted to Mr. Adam Zerrenner (see
above). We will also accept written and oral comments at any of the
nine public meetings (see DATES).
Public Availability of Comments
Written comments we receive become part of the public record
associated with this action. 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 request in your comment that we withhold
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will not consider anonymous
comments. All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be made available for public
disclosure in their entirety.
Authority: We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Act
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR
17.22) and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Joy E. Nicholopoulos,
Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2011-17811 Filed 7-14-11; 8:45 am]
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