[Federal Register: October 20, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 203)]
[Notices]
[Page 62307-62308]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20oc08-80]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2008-N0262; 81430-1112-0000-F2]
Proposed Low Effect Habitat Conservation for West Colton Terminal
Temporary Ethanol Transloading Facility, City of Rialto, County of San
Bernardino, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: West Colton Rail Terminal, LLC (applicant) has applied to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for a 3-year incidental take
permit for one covered species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The application
addresses the potential for ``take'' of the endangered Delhi Sands
flower-loving fly (Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis, ``DSF'')
associated with construction of an ethanol unloading facility in the
City of Rialto, San Bernardino County, California. A conservation
program to mitigate for impacts of the project on the DSF would be
implemented as described in the proposed West Colton Terminal Temporary
Ethanol Transloading Facility Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan
(HCP).
We are requesting comments on the permit application and on the
preliminary determination that the proposed HCP qualifies as a ``Low-
Effect'' Habitat Conservation Plan, eligible for a categorical
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969,
as amended. The basis for this determination is discussed in the
Environmental Action Statement (EAS) and the associated Low Effect
Screening Form, which are also available for public review.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before November 19,
2008.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to the Field Supervisor, Fish
and Wildlife Service, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, 6010 Hidden
Valley Road, Suite 101, Carlsbad, California 92011. Written comments
may be sent by facsimile to (760) 918-0638.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Karen Goebel, Assistant Field
Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES);
telephone: (760) 431-9440.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
Individuals wishing copies of the proposed HCP and EAS should
immediately contact the Service by telephone at (760) 431-9440 or by
letter to the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office. Copies of the proposed
HCP and EAS also are available for public inspection during regular
business hours at the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office [see
ADDRESSES].
Background
Section 9 of the Act and its implementing Federal regulations
prohibit the take of animal species listed as endangered or threatened.
Take is defined under the Act as to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot,
wound, kill, trap, capture or collect listed animal species, or attempt
to engage in such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1538). However, under section
10(a) of the Act, the Service may issue permits to authorize incidental
take of listed species. ``Incidental take'' is defined by the Act as
take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an
otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental take
permits for threatened
[[Page 62308]]
and endangered species, respectively, are found in the Code of Federal
Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32.
The applicant (West Colton Rail Terminal, LLC or WCRT) is seeking a
permit for take of the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly during the life of
the permit. This species is referred to as the ``DSF'' in the proposed
HCP. The DSF is restricted to the Delhi Soils formations within western
Riverside and San Bernardino counties in California.
The applicant proposes to construct an ethanol unloading facility
on 2.1 acres of land located between the north end of Sycamore Street
and South Date Avenue in the City of Rialto, San Bernardino County,
California. Approximately 0.21 acre of the project site is considered
occupied by the DSF, and we anticipate that all DSF within the 0.21
acre area would be lost during project construction. The purpose of the
project is to eliminate truck traffic from local highways currently
resulting from trucking the ethanol from the City of Carson to the
Colton area gasoline blending terminals. The project will eliminate the
over 60-mile truck trip for approximately 40 trucks per day and reduce
truck travel to a few thousand yards per load.
The applicant proposes to mitigate impacts to the DSF associated
with the covered activities by fully implementing the HCP. The purpose
of the proposed HCP's conservation program is to promote biological
conservation of the DSF. WCRT proposes to mitigate impacts to DSF by
contributing to a habitat management endowment for a conservation
parcel known as the ``Owl Property'', which is located northwest of the
intersection of Riverside Avenue and Resource Drive in the City of
Rialto. WCRT's contribution will fully fund an endowment for DSF
habitat management in perpetuity.
The Proposed Action consists of the issuance of an incidental take
permit and implementation of the proposed HCP, which includes measures
to minimize and mitigate impacts of the project on DSF. Three
alternatives to the taking of the listed species under the Proposed
Action are considered in the proposed HCP. Under the Original Design
Alternative, additional DSF habitat would be impacted at the project
site to more efficiently meet the operational goals of the project.
Under the Alternate Location Alternative, no DSF habitat would be
impacted, but other environmental impacts would be unavoidable. Under
the No Action Alternative, no DSF habitat would be impacted or
conserved, and truck traffic would not be reduced.
The Service has made a preliminary determination that approval of
the proposed HCP qualifies as a categorical exclusion under NEPA, as
provided by the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM8) and as a
``low-effect'' plan as defined by the Habitat Conservation Planning
Handbook (November 1996). Determination of Low-effect Habitat
Conservation Plans is based on the following three criteria: (1)
Implementation of the proposed HCP would result in minor or negligible
effects on federally listed, proposed, and candidate species and their
habitats; (2) Implementation of the proposed HCP would result in minor
or negligible effects on other environmental values or resources; and
(3) Impacts of the proposed HCP, considered together with the impacts
of other past, present and reasonably foreseeable similarly situated
projects, would not result, over time, in cumulative effects to
environmental values or resources which would be considered
significant.
Based upon this preliminary determination, we do not intend to
prepare further NEPA documentation. We will consider public comments in
making the final determination on whether to prepare such additional
documentation.
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
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.
This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act. We
will evaluate the permit application, the proposed HCP, and comments
submitted thereon to determine whether the application meets the
requirements of section 10(a) of the Act. If the requirements are met,
we will issue a permit to West Colton Rail Terminal, LLC for the
incidental take of the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly from construction
of an ethanol unloading facility in the City of Rialto, San Bernardino
County, California.
Dated: October 14, 2008.
Jim A. Bartel,
Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, Carlsbad,
California.
[FR Doc. E8-24883 Filed 10-17-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P