[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 183 (Friday, September 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53111-53114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20493]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2020-0101; FXES11140100000-212-FF01E0000]
Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Habitat Conservation
Plan for Thurston County, Washington
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; notice of public meetings; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of a habitat conservation plan developed by Thurston
County, Washington (applicant), in support of an application for an
incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant
is seeking authorization for the incidental take of six species,
expected to result from various County-permitted development
activities, as well as construction and maintenance of County-owned or
County-managed infrastructure, over the next 30 years. The incidental
take and other impacts would occur in Thurston County. This notice also
announces the availability of the Service's draft environmental impact
statement and the opening of the public comment period, which is
intended to satisfy the National Environmental Policy Act requirement
to evaluate the impacts of the proposed action on the human
environment. We are seeking public comments on the habitat conservation
plan and draft environmental impact statement.
DATES:
Submitting Comments: We will accept comments received or postmarked
on or before November 8, 2021. Comments submitted online at https://www.regulations.gov/ (see ADDRESSES) must be received by 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Time on November 8, 2021.
Public Meetings: The Service will hold two public meetings during
the public comment and review period. To help protect the public and
limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the public meetings will be
held virtually at the following times:
October 12, 2021 at 6 p.m.
October 14, 2021, at 6 p.m.
ADDRESSES:
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the
following methods:
Internet: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2020-0101.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R1-ES-2020-0101; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS:
PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post online any personal information that
you provide (see Public Availability of Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION). We
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request that you submit comments by only the methods described above.
For additional information about submitting comments, see Request for
Public Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
Public Meetings: A link and access instructions to the virtual
meetings will be posted to https://www.fws.gov/wafwo/ at least one week
prior to the first public meeting date.
Reviewing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) comments on
the draft HCP and DEIS: See EPA's Role in the EIS Process under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Curtis Tanner, by telephone at 360-
753-9440, or by email at Curtis_Tanner@fws.gov. Hearing or speech
impaired individuals may call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339
for TTY service.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)
has prepared a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to evaluate
an application for an incidental take permit (ITP) received on July 30,
2020, from Thurston County, Washington (applicant). In accordance with
the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, as amended (ESA; 16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the applicant is requesting authorization of
incidental take of the threatened Yelm pocket gopher (Thomomys mazama
yelmensis), Olympia pocket gopher (T. mazama pugetensis), Tenino pocket
gopher (T. mazama tumuli), and Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa); the
endangered Taylor's checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori);
and the Oregon vesper sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus affinis), which is
under review to determine if Federal listing under the ESA is warranted
(hereafter, covered species). If issued, the ITP would authorize take
of the covered species that may occur incidental to various County-
permitted development activities, as well as construction and
maintenance of County-owned or County-managed infrastructure, for a
period of 30 years. In support of the ITP application, the applicant
prepared the draft Thurston County habitat conservation plan (HCP),
which specifies the impacts that will likely result from the take of
covered species and describes the steps the applicant will take to
avoid, minimize, and mitigate such impacts.
The Service prepared a DEIS to evaluate the impacts of the proposed
ITP action on the human environment, consistent with the purpose and
goals of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) and pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's
implementing NEPA regulations at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. Additionally,
this DEIS was prepared consistent with the Department of the Interior
NEPA regulations (43 CFR part 46); longstanding federal judicial and
regulatory interpretations; and Adminstration priorities and policies
including Secretary's Order No. 3399 requiring bureaus and offices to
use ``the same application or level of NEPA that would have been
applied to a proposed action before the 2020 Rule went into effect.''
The DEIS will also be used by Thurston County to satisfy the
requirements of the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) as
provided in Revised Code of Washington 43.21C and SEPA implementing
regulations found at Washington Administrative Code 197-11. We are
making the HCP and DEIS available for public review and comment.
Background
Thurston County is seeking an ITP, and intends to implement the
Thurston HCP, to cover a variety of activities for which the County
issues permits or approvals, or activities the County otherwise carries
out under its jurisdiction as detailed in the HCP. These activities
include residential development, development of accessory structures,
installation, repair, or alteration of septic systems, commercial and
industrial development, public service facility construction,
transportation projects, transportation maintenance and other work
within County-owned road rights-of-way, landfill and solid waste
management, water resources management, and County parks, trails, and
land management. The covered activities would not include mining. The
proposed covered activities are described further in the DEIS and in
the HCP.
The species proposed for coverage under the Thurston HCP and ITP
include three subspecies of the Mazama pocket gopher (the Yelm pocket
gopher, Olympia pocket gopher, and the Tenino pocket gopher), Oregon
spotted frog, Taylor's checkerspot butterfly, and the Oregon vesper
sparrow. Each of the proposed covered species is known to occur in
Thurston County. Habitat loss and fragmentation are primary threats to
all proposed covered species. Habitat likely to be impacted is already
largely fragmented or degraded, and not currently managed for the
covered species.
The HCP includes measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts
to covered species, along with an analysis of projected impacts to
covered species. As it is not practical to express the anticipated take
(or to monitor take-related impacts) in terms of number of individuals
of each species, the HCP uses habitat, measured as habitat area or as
``functional-acre'' values, as a surrogate for quantifying impacts to
each covered species and related conservation outcomes. The functional-
acre approach weights habitat acreage by currently available
information on covered species' distribution, habitat condition, and
landscape position in relationship to priority habitat areas. This
approach provides greater weight to both impacts and mitigation
occurring in or near areas that are a priority for conservation of the
covered species.
Through the HCP, the county would permit or conduct covered
activities that cause take of covered species, monitor the amount and
extent of take, and ensure mitigation on permanently protected sites to
fully offset impacts of the taking on covered species. The HCP
conservation program includes performance standards for conservation
lands and minimization measures tailored to the best available
information for each species.
Impacts to Mazama pocket gopher subspecies would result from HCP-
covered development and maintenance activities within habitat in their
respective ranges. Due to more limited exposure to covered activities,
impacts to the Oregon spotted frog, Taylor's checkerspot butterfly, and
Oregon vesper sparrow would be caused by a smaller number of HCP-
covered development and maintenance activities taking place in
respective habitats for each species, which have relatively localized
ranges in Thurston County.
Measures to minimize impacts of the taking on covered species are
primarily tied to reducing the extent of habitat impacts through
within-site project design, along with additional species-specific
measures for each group of covered activities, described in the HCP. To
mitigate unavoidable impacts to covered species, Thurston County
proposes to permanently protect and manage habitat occupied by covered
species by establishing new permanent habitat reserves, acquiring
permanent conservation easements on working lands, and enhancing and
permanently maintaining habitat quality on existing reserves
(collectively ``conservation lands''). The addition of conservation
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lands would occur incrementally during HCP implementation at a pace
that meets or exceeds the amount and extent of impacts to each covered
species.
The Thurston HCP includes funding assurances, monitoring, adaptive
management, and changed circumstance provisions to help ensure that
biological goals for the covered species are achieved. Annual reports
would confirm the amount, type, and location of impacts and mitigation,
as well as the status of monitoring, adaptive management, changed
circumstances, and funding. The proposed conservation program and
expected effects of HCP implementation on the covered species and their
designated critical habitats are described in greater detail in the
Thurston HCP and in the DEIS.
Endangered Species Act
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits ``take'' of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered under section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1538 and 16
U.S.C. 1533, respectively). The ESA implementing regulations extend,
under certain circumstances, the prohibition of take to threatened
species (50 CFR 17.31). Under section 3 of the ESA, the term ``take''
means to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect, or attempt to engage in any such conduct'' (16
U.S.C. 1532(19)). The term ``harm'' is defined by regulation as ``an
act which actually kills or injures wildlife.'' Such act may include
significant habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills
or injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral
patterns, including breeding, feeding, or sheltering'' (50 CFR 17.3).
Under section 10(a) of the ESA, the Service may issue permits to
authorize incidental take of listed fish and wildlife species.
``Incidental take'' is defined by the ESA as take that is incidental
to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity.
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA contains provisions for issuing ITPs to
non-Federal entities for the take of endangered and threatened species,
provided the following criteria are met:
1. The taking will be incidental;
2. The applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable, minimize
and mitigate the impact of such taking;
3. The applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the plan
will be provided;
4. The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the
survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
5. The applicant will carry out any other measures that the Service
may require as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes of the
HCP.
Anticipated Permits and Authorizations
In addition to the requested ITP, Thurston County will manage
covered activities to comply with all other applicable laws, including
without limitation Washington State endangered and protected species
regulations; the Washington State Growth Management Act, which includes
State and local protection of historic and cultural resources
implemented through the County's Comprehensive Plan; the Washington
State Shoreline Management Act; the Washington State Hydraulic Code;
Thurston County Critical Area Ordinances; State and local requirements
for administrative procedures; and other regulations. Individual
projects conducted under the HCP will undergo individual review by the
County for compliance with local codes and further public review, as
appropriate, through the Washington SEPA.
National Environmental Policy Act
In compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Service
prepared a DEIS, in which we analyze the proposed action and a
reasonable range of alternatives to the proposed action. The
environmental consequences of each alternative, including the effects
of those alternatives when combined with reasonably foreseeable future
actions and environmental trends, were analyzed to determine if
significant impacts to the human environment would occur. Three
alternatives are analyzed in detail in the DEIS.
Alternative 1--No-Action Alternative: The Service would not issue
incidental take authorization to the County, and the County would not
implement the HCP. The County would continue to conduct, permit, and
approve activities on a case-by-case basis in compliance with Federal,
State, and local requirements, including the Thurston County Critical
Areas code. The County and individual project proponents would continue
to evaluate each project to ensure unauthorized take of listed species
is avoided. The County would not implement a coordinated, County-wide
conservation program for ESA-listed species. This alternative is the
current situation in Thurston County.
Alternative 2--Proposed Action: The Service would, in accordance
with applicable law, issue the requested ITP to Thurston County for the
incidental take of covered species by the covered activities. The
County would implement the Thurston County HCP and its conservation
program, including, without limitation, implementation of minimization
measures for covered activities; mitigation measures to fully offset
the impacts of the taking on covered species; monitoring and reporting
requirements. The County would also provide funding for HCP
implementation. Under Alternative 2, mitigation would be achieved, in
part, through the execution of conservation easements on working
agricultural lands, the enhancement of existing conservation reserves,
and the establishment of new conservation reserves.
Alternative 3--Modified HCP: The Service would, in accordance with
applicable law, issue an ITP to Thurston County with the same permit
area, permit term, covered species, covered activities, and many of the
HCP elements described for the Proposed Action. This alternative
explores whether the HCP could be modified to provide higher
conservation value to covered species by acquiring new habitat reserves
and managing them to achieve the highest habitat quality. Conservation
easements would not be executed on working agricultural lands, and
enhancement of existing conservation reserves would not be part of the
mitigation strategy. Under this Alternative, fewer acres of new
conserved habitat may be needed to fully offset the impacts of the
taking to covered species.
EPA's Role in the EIS Process
The EPA is charged with reviewing all Federal agencies' EISs and
commenting on the adequacy and acceptability of the environmental
impacts of proposed actions. Therefore, EPA is publishing a notice in
the Federal Register announcing this DEIS, as required under section
309 of the Clean Air Act. The publication date of EPA's notice of
availability is the official beginning of the public comment period.
EPA serves as the repository (EIS database) for EISs prepared by
Federal agencies. You may search for EPA comments on EISs, along with
EISs themselves, at https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-public/action/eis/search.
Public Comments
You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods in
ADDRESSES. We specifically request information on the following:
1. Biological information, analysis, and relevant data concerning
the covered species, other wildlife, and ecosystems.
2. Potential effects that the proposed permit action could have on
the covered species, and other endangered or
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threatened species, and their habitats, including the interaction of
the effects of the project with climate change and other stressors.
3. Adequacy of the proposed actions to minimize and mitigate the
impact of the taking on covered species, including but not limited to
best management practices, conservation easements, establishment of new
reserves, reserve habitat enhancement, and adaptive management
procedures.
4. Potential effects that the proposed permit action could have on
other aspects of the human environment, including effects on plants and
animals, water resources, and aesthetic, historic, cultural, economic,
social, environmental justice, climate change, or health effects.
5. The alternatives analysis conducted by the Service, including
the alternatives analyzed, the range of alternatives analyzed, and the
alternatives considered but not analyzed in detail.
6. The presence of historic properties--including archaeological
sites, buildings and structures, historic events, sacred and
traditional areas, and other historic preservation concerns--in the
proposed permit area, which are required to be considered in project
planning by the National Historic Preservation Act.
7. Reasonably foreseeable environmental trends and planned actions
in the plan area and their possible impacts on the affected
environment, including the covered species, as well as any connected
actions that are closely related and should be discussed in the same
DEIS.
8. The alternatives, information, and analyses submitted during the
public scoping period and the summary thereof (40 CFR 1502.17),
appended to the DEIS.
9. Other information relevant to the Thurston HCP and its impacts
on the human environment.
To help protect the public and limit the spread of the COVID-19
virus, two public meetings will be conducted online to accommodate best
practices and local guidelines in place at the time this notice was
prepared. See DATES and ADDRESSES for the dates and times of the
virtual public meetings. The virtual public meetings will provide
Thurston County and the Service an opportunity to present information
pertinent to the Thurston HCP and for the public to ask questions on
the HCP and DEIS. No opportunity for oral comments will be provided.
Written comments may be submitted by the methods listed in ADDRESSES.
Reasonable Accommodations
Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order to attend and
participate in either of the public meetings should contact the
Service's Washington Fish and Wildlife Office, using one of the methods
listed in ADDRESSES as soon as possible. In order to allow sufficient
time to process requests, please make contact no later than one week
before the desired public meeting. Information regarding this proposed
action is available in alternative formats upon request.
Public Availability of Comments
You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods
listed in ADDRESSES. Before including your address, phone number, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--might 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. 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.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as references for
supporting documentation we used in preparing the DEIS, will be
available for public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2020-
0101 at http://www.regulations.gov/ (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
Next Steps and Decision To Be Made
After public review and comment, we will evaluate the permit
application, associated documents, and any comments received, to
determine whether the permit application meets the requirements of
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. We will also evaluate whether issuance
of the requested ITP would comply with section 7 of the ESA. The
Service expects to have a Final EIS for publication in the Federal
Register by early 2022. At least 30 days after the FEIS is available,
we expect the record of decision will be completed in accordance with
applicable timeframes established in 40 CFR 1506.11, and the Regional
Director will issue a decision on the requested ITP. The current
estimate for the issuance of a record of decision is March 2022. This
estimate assumes that there are no significant outstanding issues
requiring resolution.
Authority
We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of
section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539(c)) and NEPA and its
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1503.1 and 1506.6).
Hugh Morrison,
Deputy Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-20493 Filed 9-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P