[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46173-46174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15277]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2023-0076; FXES11140800000-234-FF08EVEN00]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Habitat
Conservation Plan and Draft Categorical Exclusion; Blacklake Sewer
System Consolidation Project, San Luis Obispo County, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Nipomo Community Service District (Applicant)
for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act.
The Applicant requests the ITP to take the California red-legged frog
(Rana draytonii) incidental to the construction of a new lift station
and associated facilities to decommission the existing Blacklake
Wastewater Reclamation Facility, in San Luis Obispo County, California.
We request public comment on the application, which includes the
Applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and the Service's
preliminary determination that the proposed permitting action may be
eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on
Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
regulations, the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations,
and the DOI Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary
determination, we prepared a draft environmental action statement and
low-effect screening form, both of which are also available for public
review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and
Federal agencies.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before August 18,
2023.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: The documents this notice announces, as well
as any comments and other materials that we receive, will be available
for public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0076 at
https://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by any of the following methods:
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0076.
[[Page 46174]]
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R8-ES-2023-0076; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275
Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kirby Bartlett, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, [email protected] (by electronic mail), or at the
Ventura Fish and Wildlife office (by telephone) at 805-644-1766.
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in
the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
announce receipt of an application from Nipomo Community Service
District (Applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.). The Applicant requests the ITP to take the California red-legged
frog (Rana draytonii) incidental to activities associated with the
decommissioning of the Blacklake Wastewater Reclamation Facility (WRF)
and the construction of a lift station to divert wastewater in San Luis
Obispo County, California. We request public comment on the
application, which includes the Applicant's proposed habitat
conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's preliminary determination
that this proposed ITP qualifies as ``low effect,'' and may qualify for
a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental
Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations (40 CFR
1501.4), the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations (43
CFR part 46), and the DOI's Departmental Manual (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). To
make this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft environmental
action statement and low-effect screening form, both of which are also
available for public review.
Background
The Service listed the California red-legged frog as threatened on
May 23, 1996 (61 FR 25813). Section 9 of the ESA prohibits ``take'' of
fish and wildlife species listed as endangered (16 U.S.C. 1538), where
take is defined to include the following activities: ``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). Under section
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)(B)), we may issue permits
to authorize take of listed fish and wildlife species that is
incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful
activity. Regulations governing incidental take permits for endangered
and threatened species are in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at
50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, respectively. Issuance of an ITP also must not
jeopardize the existence of federally listed fish, wildlife, or plant
species. The permittee would receive assurances under our ``No
Surprises'' regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)).
Applicant's Proposed Activities
The Applicant has applied for a permit for incidental take of
California red-legged frog. The take would occur in association with
activities necessary for the decommissioning of the Blacklake WRF and
the construction of a lift station to divert wastewater. The California
red-legged frog has a known breeding population adjacent to the
Blacklake WRF, in a wastewater effluent pond on a private golf course.
The proposed decommissioning of the Blacklake WRF will result in the
elimination of the primary water source maintaining the adjacent
effluent storage pond. Therefore, it is assumed that it will no longer
provide suitable aquatic breeding habitat for the species.
The HCP includes avoidance and minimization measures for the
California red-legged frog and mitigation for unavoidable loss of
occupied habitat. The Applicant has proposed a one-time fixed payment
to fund conservation activities for the California red-legged frog to
compensate for unavoidable impacts.
Public Availability of Comments
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 in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able
to do so.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the
Applicant's proposed project would individually and cumulatively have a
minor effect on the California red-legged frog and the human
environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily determined that the
proposed ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would be a ``low-effect'' ITP
that individually or cumulatively would have a minor effect on the
species and may qualify for application of a categorical exclusion
pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations,
DOI's NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. A ``low-
effect'' ITP is one that would result in (1) minor or nonsignificant
effects on species covered in the HCP; (2) nonsignificant effects on
the human environment; and (3) impacts that, when added together with
the impacts of other past, present, and reasonable foreseeable actions,
would not result in significant cumulative effects to the human
environment.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the application and the comments received
to determine whether to issue the requested ITP. We will also conduct
an intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA to
evaluate the effects of the proposed take. After considering the
preceding and other matters, we will determine whether the permit
issuance criteria of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA have been met. If
met, the Service will issue the ITP.
Authority
The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (50 CFR 17.32) and the National Environmental Policy Act
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR parts
1500-1508 and 43 CFR part 46).
Stephen P. Henry,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura,
California.
[FR Doc. 2023-15277 Filed 7-18-23; 8:45 am]
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