[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59732-59733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24752]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2011-N155; 20124-1112-0000-F2]
Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Habitat
Conservation Plan for Oncor Electric Delivery Facilities in 100 Texas
Counties
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; correction.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, correct a previously
published notice that announced the availability of the draft
environmental impact statement (DEIS) and the draft Oncor Electric
Delivery Company, LLC, habitat conservation plan (HCP). Due to an
inadvertent error, the prior notice mischaracterized the alternatives
evaluated in the draft environmental impact statement. We correct the
descriptions of the alternatives in this notice. The error was not in
the DEIS or the HCP, but only in our previous notice.
DATES: Comments: We must receive written comments on the draft
environmental impact statement and draft habitat conservation plan on
or before close of business (4:30 p.m. CDT) October 13, 2011.
Public meetings: Up to nine public meetings will take place
throughout Oncor's proposed 100-county permit area through September
28, 2011. Exact meeting locations and times will be announced in local
newspapers, on the Austin Ecological Services Office Web site (http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/AustinTexas/), and on Oncor's Web site (http://www.oncor-eis-hcp.com) at least 2 weeks prior to each meeting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Adam Zerrenner, Field Supervisor,
by U.S. mail at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 10711 Burnet Road,
Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758, or by phone at (512) 490-0057.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 15, 2011, we published a notice in the Federal Register (76
FR 41808) that announced that Oncor Electric Delivery Company, LLC, has
applied under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) (Act), for an incidental take
permit (ITP) (TE-40918A-0). The requested ITP, which would be in effect
for a period of 30 years if granted, would authorize incidental take of
11 federally listed species. The proposed incidental take would occur
in 100 Texas counties that comprise the Applicant's service area,
excluding Williamson and Travis counties and with the addition of
Runnels County, and would result from activities associated with
maintenance and repair of existing electric facilities and installation
and operation of new facilities.
The July 15, 2011, notice (76 FR 41808) provided information about
Oncor's draft habitat conservation plan (HCP) and our draft
environmental impact statement (DEIS) prepared under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). Please refer
to that notice for further information, including details about public
meetings, ways to obtain copies of the documents, and comment
submission.
Due to an inadvertent error, the July 15, 2011, Federal Register
notice did not accurately reflect the three alternatives explored in
the DEIS. Therefore, we correct our description of the alternatives
below in this document. Please note that all the documents we made
available from the date of publication of our earlier notice (July 15,
2011) are correct. If you already obtained any documents for review,
you do not need to get new copies. The only error was in the text of
our notice.
Alternatives
The DEIS examines three alternatives:
1. No Action--Project-Based Consultation--Project-by-project
consultations or ITPs. This alternative
[[Page 59733]]
would require Oncor to seek authorization on a project-by-project basis
to address incidental take resulting from their actions, as needed,
through section 7 of the Act or under section 10(a)(1)(B).
2. Preferred Alternative--Proposed Alternative with 30-year
Duration--Issuance of an ITP by the Service for covered activities in
the 100-county permit area, pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act.
This is the Applicant's preferred alternative. The activities that
would be covered by the ITP are general activities associated with new
construction, maintenance, and emergency response and restoration,
including stormwater discharges from construction sites, equipment
access, and surveying. Construction activities covered for new
facilities include new overhead transmission and distribution lines,
new support facilities such as substations and switching stations,
underground electric installation, and second-circuit addition on
existing structures. Maintenance activities would include vegetation
management within rights of way, expansion of existing support
facilities, line upgrades, insulator replacement, and maintenance of
underground electric facilities. The requested ITP will cover the 100-
county permit area. The requested term of the permit is 30 years.
To meet the requirements of a section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP, the
Applicant has developed and will implement the draft HCP, which
describes the conservation measures the Applicant has agreed to
undertake to minimize and mitigate for incidental take of the covered
species to the maximum extent practicable. As described in the draft
HCP, the Applicant anticipates that incidental take would not
appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of these
species in the wild.
3. Proposed Alternative with 50-year Duration--Issuance of an ITP
by the Service for covered activities in the 100-county permit area,
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. This alternative would
cover the same activities as the preferred alternative, but for a
longer period of time. The requested term of the permit is 50 years.
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 NEPA
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR
1506.6).
Joy E. Nicholopoulos,
Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2011-24752 Filed 9-26-11; 8:45 am]
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