[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 142 (Thursday, July 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43062-43064]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-17407]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2014-N151; FXES11120000-145-FF08ECAR00]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; NewMark Merrill
Companies Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Low-Effect
Habitat Conservation Plan and Associated Documents; San Bernardino
County, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have
received an application from NewMark Merrill Companies (applicant) for
a 5-year incidental take permit (permit). The application includes the
applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), as required by
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). If approved, the
permit would authorize incidental take of the endangered Delhi Sands
flower-loving fly in the course of routine construction activities
associated with the construction of a commercial retail development
bounded by West San Bernardino Avenue, Riverside Avenue, and Willow
Avenue in the City of Rialto, California. We invite public comment on
the permit application and proposed HCP, and on our preliminary
determination that the HCP qualifies as ``low-effect'' for a
categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act. To
make this determination, we used our environmental action statement and
low-effect screening form, which are also available for review.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
August 25, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may request a copy of the
incidental take permit application, proposed HCP, and associated
documents by email, telephone, fax, or U.S. mail (see below). These
documents are also available for public inspection by appointment
during normal business hours at the office below. Please send your
requests or comments by any one of the following methods, and specify
``Walmart Commercial Retail HCP'' in your request or comment.
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments or requests for more
information by any of the following methods:
Email: ken_corey@fws.gov. Include ``Walmart Commercial Retail
HCP'' in the subject line of your message.
Telephone: Kennon A. Corey, Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office,
760-322-2070.
Fax: Kennon A. Corey, Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office, 760-
322-4648, Attn.: Walmart Commercial Retail HCP.
U.S. Mail: Kennon A. Corey, Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office,
Attn.: Walmart Commercial Retail HCP, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
777 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, Suite 208, Palm Springs, CA 92262.
In-Person Viewing or Pickup of Documents, or Delivery of Comments:
Call 760-322-2070 to make an appointment during regular business hours
at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kennon A. Corey, Assistant Field
Supervisor, Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office; telephone 760-332-
2070. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), please
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
The applicant, NewMark Merrill Companies, requests an incidental
take permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. If we approve the
permit, the applicant anticipates taking Delhi Sands
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flower-loving fly (Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis) as a result of
minor disturbances to habitat the subspecies uses for breeding,
feeding, and sheltering. Take of Delhi Sands flower-loving fly would be
incidental to the applicant's routine activities associated with the
construction of a commercial retail facility in the City of Rialto, San
Bernardino County, California. We published a final rule to list the
Delhi Sands flower-loving fly as endangered on September 23, 1993 (58
FR 49881). A 5-year review of the species was published in March 2008.
Background
Section 9 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and our implementing
Federal regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR
17 prohibit the ``take'' of wildlife species listed as endangered or
threatened. Take of listed wildlife is defined under the Act as ``to
harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or
collect listed species, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct''
(16 U.S.C. 1538). ``Harm'' includes significant habitat modification or
degradation that actually kills or injures listed wildlife by
significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns such as breeding,
feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). Under limited circumstances, we
may issue permits to authorize incidental take of listed wildlife
species, which the Act defines as take that is incidental to, and not
the purpose of, the carrying out of otherwise lawful activities.
Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened and
endangered species are at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. In
addition to meeting other criteria, activities covered by an incidental
take permit must not jeopardize the continued existence in the wild of
federally listed wildlife or plants.
Applicant's Proposal
The applicant requests a 5-year permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of
the Act. If we approve the permit, the applicant anticipates taking
Delhi Sands flower-loving fly (Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis) as
a result of the building of a commercial retail facility which would
permanently impact 2.4 acres of low-quality habitat for the subspecies.
The take would be incidental to the applicant's routine construction
activities associated with the construction of the commercial retail
facility, south of West San Bernardino Avenue, east of South Willow
Avenue, and west of South Riverside Avenue, in the City of Rialto, San
Bernardino County, California.
A portion of the commercial retail facility project is on Delhi
Sands soils. This soil type, which consists of fine wind-blown sand
deposits, along with sparse native shrubs and annual plants, defines
the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly habitat. A single male Delhi Sands
flower-loving fly was detected on the site during pre-project surveys.
Less than 5 percent of the species' historic range is left, found in a
few disjunct locations in southwestern San Bernardino and northwestern
Riverside Counties. Development and exclusion by invasive plant species
continue to be threats to this species. Conservation banks, like the
Colton Dunes Conservation Bank, are this species' best chance at
recovery.
To mitigate for take of the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly at the
proposed project site, the applicant proposes to mitigate for the
permanent take of 2.4 acres of low quality habitat by preserving 2
acres of habitat occupied by the subspecies. The applicant's proposed
HCP also contains the following proposed measures to minimize the
impact to the habitat adjacent to the street improvements:
Fence work areas to exclude personnel from areas where
habitat may be impacted.
Require environmental awareness training for all workers.
Confine construction activities to the project site and
existing developed areas.
Require that all construction activities be completed
during the time period October through June only (i.e., outside of the
Delhi Sands flower-loving fly flight season, with a 2-week buffer on
either side).
Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan Alternatives
In the proposed HCP, the applicant considers alternatives to the
taking of Delhi Sands flower-loving fly under the proposed action. Our
proposed action under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969 is to issue an incidental take permit to the applicant, who would
implement the HCP. If we approve the permit, take of Delhi Sands
flower-loving fly would be authorized for the applicant's routine
construction activities associated with the development. The
applicant's proposed HCP identifies a no-action alternative that would
not result in incidental take of Delhi Sands flower-loving fly.
However, the no-action alternative would not contribute to the
applicant's plans for expanding Walmart's retail opportunities in the
Rialto area. In addition, we consider that conserving lands in the
Colton Dunes Conservation Bank is of higher conservation value than
simply avoiding impacts at the proposed project site. The habitat at
the proposed project site is degraded and fragmented from other habitat
by roads. By contrast, the Conservation Bank is a 150-acre area of
high-quality habitat occupied by the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly
which is actively managed for the subspecies and is contiguous to other
conservation lands.
Our Preliminary Determination
We invite comments on our preliminary determination that our
proposed action, based on the applicant's proposed activities,
including the proposed minimization and mitigation measures, would have
a minor or negligible effect on Delhi Sands flower-loving fly, and that
the HCP qualifies as ``low effect'' as defined by our Habitat
Conservation Planning Handbook (November 1996).
We base our determination that a HCP qualifies as a low-effect plan
on the following three criteria:
(1) Implementation of the HCP would result in minor or negligible
effects on federally listed, proposed, and candidate species and their
habitats;
(2) Implementation of the HCP would result in minor or negligible
effects on other environmental values or resources; and
(3) Impacts of the 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 that would be considered significant.
As more fully explained in our environmental action statement and
associated low-effect screening form, the applicant's proposed HCP
qualifies as a low-effect HCP for the following reasons:
The project would have minor or negligible effects on the
Delhi Sands flower-loving fly because the low-quality impacted area
would be small in size, would be mitigated by the purchase of
conservation credits in the Colton Dunes Conservation Bank, and would
not affect the continued viability of the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly
in the Colton Recovery Unit.
The project would have minor or negligible effects on
other environmental resources or values because it is a highly
disturbed site with no other known sensitive species or resources.
Impacts of the HCP would not result, over time, in
cumulative effects to other significant environmental values or
resources, because it is a relatively small infill project and
[[Page 43064]]
mitigation measures were developed and will be implemented as part of
project approval by the City of Rialto to address the identified
environmental effects. The mitigation measures include preservation of
2 acres of occupied Delhi Sands flower-loving fly habitat within the
Colton Dunes Conservation Bank to offset impacts to the subspecies.
Therefore, our proposed issuance of the requested incidental take
permit qualifies as a categorical exclusion under NEPA, as provided by
the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 2 Appendix 1, 516 DM 6
Appendix 1, and 516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). Based on our review of public
comments that we receive in response to this notice, we may revise this
preliminary determination.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the proposed HCP and comments we receive to
determine whether the permit application meets the requirements and
issuance criteria under section 10(a) of the Act. We will also evaluate
whether issuance of a section 10(a)(1)(B) incidental take permit would
comply with section 7 of the Act by conducting an internal Service
consultation. We will use the results of this consultation, in
combination with the above findings, in our final analysis to determine
whether or not to issue a permit. If the requirements and issuance
criteria under section 10(a) are met, we will issue the permit to the
applicant for incidental take of Delhi Sands flower-loving fly.
Public Comments
If you wish to comment on the permit application, proposed HCP, and
associated documents, you may submit comments by any of the methods
noted in the ADDRESSES section.
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 may
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.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
G. Mendel Stewart,
Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, Carlsbad,
California.
[FR Doc. 2014-17407 Filed 7-23-14; 8:45 am]
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