[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 7, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 800-802]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-00034]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-AY22
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed
Endangered Status for the Georgetown Salamander and Salado Salamander
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of availability and reopening of comment
period.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
reopening of the public comment period on our August 22, 2012 (77 FR
50768), proposed listing rule for the Georgetown salamander (Eurycea
naufragia) and Salado salamander (Eurycea chisholmensis) under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. We also announce the
availability of the City of Georgetown's final ordinances for water
quality and urban development. We are reopening the comment period to
allow all interested parties an opportunity to comment simultaneously
on the proposed rule and the new city ordinances. Comments previously
submitted need not be resubmitted, as they will be fully considered in
preparation of the final rule.
DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published August 22,
2013, at 77 FR 50768, is reopened. The comment period end date is
January 22, 2014. We request that comments be submitted by 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Time on the closing date.
ADDRESSES: Document availability: You may obtain copies of the City of
Georgetown's final ordinances, the proposed rule, the 6-month
extension, and other supporting documents on the
[[Page 801]]
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2012-
0035, at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/austintexas/ESA_Sp_Salamanders.html, or by mail from the Austin Ecological Services Field
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Submitting comments: You may submit written comments by one of the
following methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035,
which is the docket number for the proposed listing rule. Then, in the
Search panel on the left side of the screen, under the Document Type
heading, check on the Proposed Rules link to locate this document. You
may submit a comment by clicking on ``Comment Now!''
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035; Division of Policy and
Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax
Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
We request that you send comments only by the methods described
above. We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide
us (see the Public Comments section below for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Zerrenner, Field Supervisor, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Austin Ecological Services Field Office,
10711 Burnet Rd, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758; by telephone 512-490-
0057; or by facsimile 512-490-0974. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On August 22, 2012, we published in the Federal Register a proposed
rule (77 FR 50768) to list the Austin blind salamander (Eurycea
waterlooensis), Georgetown salamander (Eurycea naufragia), Jollyville
Plateau salamander (Eurycea tonkawae), and Salado salamander (Eurycea
chisholmensis) as endangered species under the Endangered Species Act
of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). For a description
of previous Federal actions concerning these salamanders, please refer
to the proposed rule. That proposal had a 60-day comment period, ending
October 22, 2012. We held a public meeting and hearing in Round Rock,
Texas, on September 5, 2012, and a second public meeting and hearing in
Austin, Texas, on September 6, 2012. On January 25, 2013, we reopened
the public comment period on the August 22, 2012, proposed listing and
critical habitat designation, announced the availability of a draft
economic analysis, and published an amended required determinations
section of the proposal (78 FR 5385). On August 20, 2013, we published
a final rule listing the Austin blind salamander as endangered and the
Jollyville Plateau salamander as threatened (78 FR 51278) and provided
notice of extension of our final determination for the Georgetown and
Salado salamanders pursuant to section 4(b)(6) of the Act and reopened
the comment period (78 FR 51129). That comment period closed on
September 19, 2013.
Since that time, the City of Georgetown, Texas, has prepared and
finalized ordinances for the Georgetown salamander. All 14 of the known
Georgetown salamander locations are within the City of Georgetown's
jurisdiction for residential and commercial development. The enacted
ordinances are directed at alleviating threats to the Georgetown
salamander from urban development by requiring geologic assessments
prior to construction, establishing occupied site protections through
stream buffers, maintaining water quality through best management
practices, developing a water quality management plan for the City of
Georgetown, and monitoring occupied spring sites by an adaptive
management working group. The Service would like to consider the
ordinances in its final listing determination. As such, we are
reopening the comment period to allow the public an opportunity to
provide comment on the application of the City of Georgetown's
ordinances to our determination of status under section 4(a)(1) of the
Act, and the likelihood of implementation and effectiveness of the
ordinances.
For more detailed information or to obtain copies of the City of
Georgetown's new ordinances, go to http://www.regulations.gov and
search for Docket Number FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035, http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/austintexas/ESA_Sp_Salamanders.html, or you may obtain
copies by mail from the Austin Ecological Field Services Office (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Public Comments
We will accept written comments and information during this
reopened comment period on our proposed listing for the Georgetown and
Salado salamanders that was published in the Federal Register on August
22, 2012 (77 FR 50768). We will consider information and
recommendations from all interested parties. We intend that any final
action resulting from this proposal be as accurate as possible and
based on the best available scientific and commercial data. Therefore,
we request comments or information from other concerned governmental
agencies, Native American tribes, the scientific community, industry,
general public, and other interested parties. We particularly seek
comments regarding application of the City of Georgetown's ordinances
to our determination of status under section 4(a)(1) of the Act,
particularly comments or information to help us assess the certainty
that the ordinances will be effective in conserving the Georgetown
salamander and will be implemented.
If you previously submitted comments or information on the proposed
rule, please do not resubmit them. We have incorporated them into the
public record, and we will fully consider them in the preparation of
our final determination. Our final determination concerning this
proposed listing will take into consideration all written comments and
any additional information we received.
You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed
rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We request that you
send comments only by the methods described in ADDRESSES.
If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire
comment--including any personal identifying information--will be posted
on the Web site. We will post all hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov as well. If you submit a hardcopy comment that
includes personal identifying information, you may request at the top
of your document that we withhold this information from public review.
However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will be available
for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-
R2-ES-2012-0035, or by appointment, during normal business hours, at
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Austin Ecological Services Field
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may obtain copies of
the proposed rule on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at
Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035, or
[[Page 802]]
by mail from the Austin Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: December 30, 2013.
Stephen Guertin,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-00034 Filed 1-6-14; 8:45 am]
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