[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 160 (Friday, August 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49824-49825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20349]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2012-N184; FXES11120200000F2-123-FF02ENEH00]
Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Habitat Conservation
Plan for TransCanada Keystone Pipeline's Gulf Coast Project in Oklahoma
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of the draft Environmental Assessment and draft Habitat
Conservation Plan for TransCanada Keystone Pipeline's (Keystone) Gulf
Coast Project in Oklahoma, under the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969. Keystone has applied for an incidental take permit under the
Endangered Species Act, that would authorize incidental take of the
American burying beetle.
DATES: To ensure consideration of your written comments, we must
receive them on or before close of business (4:30 p.m. CST) on
September 17, 2012.
ADDRESSES: To obtain documents for review, see Reviewing Documents in
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
Comments concerning the application, the draft Environmental
Assessment (DEA), or the draft Habitat Conservation Plan (DHCP) should
be submitted in writing, by one of the following methods:
Email: Keystone_HCP_OK@fws.gov; or
U.S. mail: Field Supervisor, Oklahoma Ecological Services Field
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK
74129.
Please refer to Permit number TE80492A-0 when submitting comments.
Please specify if comments are in reference to the DEA, DHCP, or both.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Dixie Porter, at the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office, 9014 E.
21st St., Tulsa, OK 74129, or by phone at 918-581-7458.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), we advise the public that:
1. We have gathered the information necessary to determine impacts
and formulate alternatives for the DEA related to the potential
issuance of an incidental take permit (ITP) to TransCanada Keystone
Pipeline, LP (applicant, Keystone); and
2. The applicant has developed a DHCP as part of the application
for an ITP (TE80492A-0), which describes the measures Keystone has
agreed to undertake to minimize and mitigate the effects of incidental
take of the federally listed American burying beetle (Nicrophorus
americanus; ABB) to the maximum extent practicable, pursuant to section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).
The requested ITP, which would be in effect for a period of 50 years if
granted, would authorize incidental take of the ABB (covered species)
resulting from activities associated with construction, maintenance,
operation, and repair (both routine and emergency) of Keystone's Gulf
Coast Project and associated activities (covered activities). As
described in the DHCP, the proposed incidental take would occur within
the ABB's range in Oklahoma as identified by the Service, which
includes portions of Creek, Okfuskee, Seminole, Hughes, Coal, Atoka,
and Bryan Counties, Oklahoma (permit area). The DEA considers the
direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of the proposed action of
permit issuance, including the measures that would be implemented to
minimize and mitigate such impacts to the maximum extent practicable.
Background
The Keystone XL Pipeline Project was previously proposed by
TransCanada, with a request for a Presidential Permit. The U.S.
Department of State (DOS) published a notice of intent (NOI) to prepare
an environmental impact statement in the Federal Register on January
28, 2009 (74 FR 5019), and public scoping meetings were conducted in
connection with the applicant's requested Presidential Permit. The
proposed Keystone XL Pipeline Project extended from Canada to the Gulf
Coast. A draft environmental impact statement was prepared by the DOS
[EIS No. 20110290, Final EIS, DOS] for the Keystone XL Pipeline
Project. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice
of availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on April
20, 2010 (75 FR 51458). On August 26, 2011, the DOS published a notice
of availability (76 FR 53525) of the final EIS and announced public
meetings to solicit comments for the Secretary of State's (or her
designee) consideration of the Keystone XL Pipeline with a notice that
no decision would be made until the completion of a thorough review
process. The EPA published its notice of availability of the final EIS
in the Federal Register on September 2, 2011 (76 FR 54767). A
Presidential Memorandum dated February 1, 2012, directed the Department
of State to issue a denial of the Keystone XL Pipeline Presidential
Permit application (77 FR 5614; February 3, 2012).
Keystone continued to develop the Gulf Coast portion of the
project, including working with the Service towards the development of
an HCP for the ABB. The Gulf Coast Project in this HCP follows the same
route as the previously proposed Keystone XL's Gulf Coast Segment.
Because the majority of impacts were previously analyzed in the final
EIS developed for the Keystone XL pipeline project, a DEA, that
includes the analysis from that EIS by reference, has been prepared in
response to the application for an ITP for the ABB.
Proposed Action
The proposed action involves the issuance of an ITP by the Service
for incidental take of the ABB associated with the construction,
maintenance, operation, and repair of the pipeline and associated
facilities occurring within the permit area. To meet the requirements
of a section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP, the applicant has developed and proposes
to implement its DHCP, which describes the conservation measures
TransCanada has agreed to undertake to minimize and mitigate for the
impacts of the proposed incidental take of the covered species to the
maximum extent practicable, and ensures that incidental
[[Page 49825]]
take will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and
recovery of the ABB in the wild.
Other Alternatives Considered
Our proposed action is approving the applicant's DHCP and issuance
of an ITP for take associated with the applicant's covered activities.
As required by NEPA, the DEA considers the consequences to the human
environmental of the proposed HCP and two alternatives; the No Action
Alternative and a Reduced Permit Duration Alternative. Under the No
Action Alternative, Keystone would not apply for and we would not issue
an ITP. The No-Action Alternative does not meet Keystone's need for
take authorization and would not provide any conservation benefits for
the ABB.
Under the Reduced Permit Duration Alternative, the applicant would
employ the same avoidance and minimization measures described under the
Proposed Alternative, but they would pursue an ITP only for
construction and restoration activities, not to exceed 5 years. This
alternative would not meet Keystone's need for incidental take
authorization for operation and maintenance activities post-
construction. Additionally, this alternative provides less conservation
benefit for the covered species than would the Proposed Action.
Reviewing Documents
You may obtain copies of the DEA and DHCP on the Service's Web site
at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/Oklahoma/.
Alternatively, you may obtain CD-ROMs with electronic copies of
these documents by writing to Dr. Dixie Porter, Field Supervisor, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK 74129; calling
918-581-7458; or faxing 918-581-7467. A limited number of printed
copies of the DEA and DHCP are also available, by request, from Dr.
Porter. Copies of the DEA and DHCP are also available for public
inspection and review by appointment only, during normal business hours
(8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CST) at the following locations:
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; and
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa,
OK 74129.
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.
Persons wishing to review the Keystone XL Pipeline Project final EIS
may obtain a copy from the Department of State's Web site at: http://keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/archive/dos_docs/feis/index.htm.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments we receive become part of the public record. Requests
for copies of comments will be handled in accordance with the Freedom
of Information Act, NEPA, and Service and Department of the Interior
policies and procedures. Before including your address, phone number,
email 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 to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee 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
17.32), and the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4371 et
seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Joy E. Nicholopoulos,
Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2012-20349 Filed 8-16-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P