[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 172 (Friday, September 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53020-53023]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21198]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
RIN 0648-XD366
[FWS-R1-ES-2014-N095]
Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Proposed Washington
Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Lands Habitat Conservation
Plan, Washington
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Commerce; Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; announcement of meetings; request for
comment.
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SUMMARY: The Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) has
submitted applications to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) (together, the Services)
for incidental take permits (permits) for a term of 50 years, pursuant
to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The permit
applications address incidental take of listed species caused by WDNR
authorizations of shellfish aquaculture, log booming and storage, and
overwater structures undertaken by individuals, businesses, and
governmental agencies on 2.6 million acres of State-owned aquatic
lands, including marine and freshwater tidelands, shorelands, and
bedlands of the State of Washington. The proposed permits would
authorize take, incidental to otherwise lawful activities, of 29
species of fish and wildlife, including federally listed threatened and
endangered species. As required by the ESA, WNDR has prepared a Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP) designed to minimize and mitigate the impacts
to the maximum extent practicable, that will likely result from such
taking. A draft implementing agreement (IA) for the HCP has also been
prepared. The Services have jointly prepared a Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (DEIS) in accordance with requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The DEIS evaluates the impacts of, and
alternatives to, the proposed HCP and issuance of the permits. We are
announcing public meetings and requesting public comment on the DEIS,
proposed HCP, and the IA.
DATES: Written comments on the DEIS, proposed HCP and draft IA must be
received from interested parties no later than December 4, 2014. The
Services and the WDNR will conduct four public meetings to inform the
public about the DEIS, proposed HCP, and the IA. See SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section for meeting dates, times, and locations.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: The DEIS, HCP and related documents are
available electronically on the World Wide Web at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Salmon-Habitat/Habitat-Conservation-Plans/HCPs-in-Process.cfm and http://www.fws.gov/wafwo/.
Submitting Comments: You may submit written comments by any of the
following methods:
U.S. mail: Scott Anderson, National Marine Fisheries
Service, 510 Desmond Drive SE., Suite 103, Lacey, WA 98503; or Tim
Romanski, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 510 Desmond Drive SE., Suite
102, Lacey, WA 98503.
Email: WFWOComments@fws.gov. Include the identifier ``WDNR
Aquatic Lands HCP EIS'' in the subject line of the message.
Facsimile: 360-753-9518.
In-Person: Written comments will be accepted at the public
meetings, or can be dropped off during regular business hours at the
above address.
Comments and materials received will be available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above
address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Romanski, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 510 Desmond Drive SE., Suite 102, Lacey, WA 98503; telephone
360-753-9440; facsimile 360-753-9518; or email
TimRomanski@fws.gov; or Scott Anderson, National Marine
Fisheries Service, 510 Desmond Drive SE., Suite 103, Lacey, WA 98503;
telephone 360-753-5828; facsimile 360-753-9517; or email
scott.anderson@noaa.gov. If you use a telecommunications device for the
deaf, please call the Federal Information Relay Service TTY 800-877-
8339 or visit Federal Relay at http://www.federalrelay.us/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Meeting Information and Special Accommodation
The public meeting locations are physically accessible to people
with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation services
or other auxiliary aids should be made at least 7 working days prior to
the meeting date by contacting: Scott Anderson, National Marine
Fisheries Service, at telephone 360-753-5828; or email
scott.anderson@noaa.gov; or Tim Romanski, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, telephone 360-753-9440; facsimile 360-753-9518; or email
TimRomanski@fws.gov.
The four meetings will be held at the following locations listed
below:
1. Tuesday, October 7, 2014, 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Skagit Valley
College, Mount Vernon Campus, Angst Hall, Room A-125, 2405 East College
Way, Mount Vernon, WA 98273.
2. Thursday, October 9, 2014, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Cowlitz
County Public Utility District Office, 961 12th Avenue, Longview, WA
98632.
3. Monday, October 13, 2014, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Pierce County
Public Library, Processing and Administration Center, Rooms B and C,
3005 112th Street E, Tacoma, WA 98446.
4. Wednesday, October 15, 2014, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., City of
Pasco Senior Center, Multi-Purpose Room North, 1315 N 7th Avenue,
Pasco, WA 99301.
Statutory Authority
Section 9 of the ESA and its implementing Federal regulations
prohibit the ``taking'' of a species listed as endangered or
threatened. The term ``take'' is defined under the ESA to mean harass,
harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or
to attempt to engage in any such
[[Page 53021]]
conduct. Harass is defined as an intentional or negligent act or
omission which creates the likelihood of injury to wildlife by annoying
it to such an extent as to significantly disrupt normal behavioral
patterns, including breeding, feeding, and sheltering. ``Harm'' is
defined by FWS regulation to include significant habitat modification
or degradation where it actually kills or injures wildlife by
significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including
breeding, feeding, and sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). NMFS' definition of
harm includes significant habitat modification or degradation where it
actually kills or injures fish or wildlife by significantly impairing
essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, spawning,
migrating, rearing, and sheltering (64 FR 60727; November 8, 1999) (50
CFR 222.102).
Section 10 of the ESA and the implementing regulations provide that
the Services may issue permits, under limited circumstances, to allow
the take of listed species incidental to, and not the purpose of,
otherwise lawful activities. The FWS regulations governing permits for
endangered species are promulgated in 50 CFR 17.22; regulations
governing permits for threatened species are promulgated in 50 CFR
17.32. The NMFS regulations governing permits for threatened and
endangered species are promulgated at 50 CFR 222.307.
Background
The WDNR has submitted applications to the Services for permits
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. As required by section
10(a)(2)(A) of the ESA, WDNR has developed an HCP designed to minimize
and mitigate the impacts that will likely result from incidental take,
of 29 species addressed in the HCP, that is reasonably certain to be
caused by activities authorized by WDNR on State-owned aquatic lands.
This HCP addresses multiple species and habitats, and encompasses the
entirety of the 2.6 million acres of aquatic lands managed by WDNR.
Nearly all the marine and freshwater bedlands, approximately 70 percent
of the shorelands of navigable lakes and rivers, and approximately 30
percent of the tidelines in Washington are owned and managed by the
State. WDNR is seeking two permits for incidental take of species under
the respective jurisdictions of NMFS and the FWS. Each Permit would
have a term of 50 years to run concurrently with the HCP. This term
ensures that WDNR will be able to implement the defined conservation
strategies and monitoring efforts for all activities covered by the HCP
that currently exist on State-owned aquatic lands.
The Services formally initiated public scoping for the proposed HCP
and EIS through publication of a Notice in the Federal Register on
October 24, 2006 (71 FR 62251). That notice announced a public scoping
period during which interested parties were invited to provide written
comments expressing their issues or concerns relating to the proposal,
and to attend five public scoping meetings held between October 24,
2006, and November 8, 2006, at various locations in Washington.
Utilizing the public scoping comments, the Services have prepared a
DEIS to analyze the effects of the alternatives on the human
environment. The DEIS, proposed HCP, and IA documents are now available
for public review and comment with this notice.
Covered Activities
WDNR's goal in developing this HCP is to provide a process for
management of State-owned aquatic lands that meets the applicable
requirements of the ESA and WDNR's responsibilities to manage aquatic
lands for a balance of public uses and environmental protection. This
includes ensuring that the effects of the specific WDNR activities
included in the permit will be mitigated to the maximum extent
practicable, and that there is no appreciable reduction in the
likelihood of the survival or recovery of a covered species in the wild
due to permitted incidental take or habitat degradation. The HCP
provides a method for habitat management on State-owned aquatic lands
that supports species recovery and reduces the risk of extinction. The
HCP focuses on a set of activities that WDNR can affect both how and
where they occur on State-owned aquatic lands. Three general categories
of authorized activities are included in the HCP: Shellfish
aquaculture, log booming and storage, and overwater structures.
Shellfish aquaculture includes the operations, facilities and
structures that WDNR authorizes on State-owned aquatic lands associated
with the commercial planting and harvesting of shellfish. The
harvesting of wildstock shellfish is not covered.
Log booming and storage includes placing logs into and taking them
out of the water, assembling and disassembling of log rafts before or
after their movement in water-borne commerce, and water-based sorting
and temporary holding of the logs. Log storage includes the water
storage of logs in rafts or other preparation for shipment in water-
borne commerce. The use of aquatic lands for these activities occurs as
part of larger commercial logging operation, and because the activities
are closely related, WDNR frequently combines the two activities into a
single authorization.
Overwater structures are defined as structures built over, under,
or floating on the water associated with recreation, industry, or
habitation. The group is broken into two categories: Single element
structures, meaning those with only one associated structure such as a
private pier; and multiple element structures that contain a complex of
interrelated structures at a single facility, such as a commercial
marina or shipping terminal. Activities associated with overwater
structures typically occur year-round, with heavier use of recreational
facilities occurring in the summer. While a majority of the structures
are permanent, structures such as mooring buoys, floating docks, or
rafts may be removed in the winter. Although authorizations for
overwater structures vary in duration, the structures themselves may
remain indefinitely. This is particularly true for multiple-element
structures, where the structures are often valuable enough to remain in
place across multiple lease terms and business operators.
Covered Species
The Aquatic Lands HCP addresses 29 listed and non-listed species of
fish, birds, and other animals. The FWS has jurisdiction for 15 of the
covered species, including the marbled murrelet (Brachyamphus
marmoratus), western snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus),
black tern (Chlidonias niger), harlequin duck (Histrionicus
histrionicus), common loon (Gavia immer), Columbia spotted frog (Rana
luteiventris), northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens), Oregon spotted
frog (Rana pretiosa), western toad (Bufo boreas), Pacific pond turtle
(Actinemys marmorata), Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata), bull
trout (Salvelinus confluentus), coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus
clarki clarki), kokanee salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), and white sturgeon
(Acipenser transmontanus). The marbled murrelet, western snowy plover,
and bull trout are listed as threatened under the ESA. The Oregon
spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) is a species proposed for listing as
threatened or endangered.
The NMFS has jurisdiction for 14 of the covered species including
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho salmon (Oncorhynchus
kisutch), chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus
nerka), pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), steelhead trout
(Oncorhynchus mykiss),
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green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), eulachon (Thaleichthys
pacificus), Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi), Pacific sand lance
(Ammodytes hexapterus), surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus), bocaccio
rockfish (Sebastes paucispinis), canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger),
yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus), and southern resident orca
(Orcinus orca). Chinook, chum, coho, sockeye, and steelhead trout have
one or more evolutionary significant units that are designated as
endangered or threatened under the ESA. In addition, the yelloweye
rockfish, canary rockfish, eulachon, and green sturgeon are listed as
threatened under the ESA. The southern resident orca and bocaccio are
listed as endangered under the ESA.
Covered Lands
The Aquatic Lands HCP covers those lands directly owned by the
State of Washington and managed by WDNR that underlie navigable
freshwater, marine, and estuarine waters within the State of
Washington. Under Federal law, Washington received title to those lands
upon Statehood, and the State asserted ownership in Article XVII,
Section 1 of the Washington State Constitution. This HCP does not cover
aquatic lands that were sold into private ownership, managed by
agencies other than WDNR, or are under waters that are not navigable
for establishing State title.
Navigable waters are those lands that are capable of serving as a
highway for commerce in their natural and ordinary condition, using
customary modes of travel and trade on water. WDNR presumes all bodies
of water meandered by a government surveyor to be navigable for the
purpose of establishing State title, unless declared otherwise by a
court. If there is a dispute about whether a water body is navigable
for the purpose of vesting title in the State, the judiciary makes the
final determination.
While State ownership in saltwater is well established, the extent
of State-owned aquatic lands underlying freshwater is less established,
because the navigability of some waterbodies has yet to be analyzed or
adjudicated. In addition, because State ownership, and thus WDNR's
management authority, generally follows gradual changes in the boundary
of the water body caused by natural accretion, erosion, and reliction,
the location of waterbodies managed by WDNR may change over time.
The WDNR manages approximately 2.6 million acres of submerged land,
including the attached biological communities (submerged aquatic
vegetation and infauna). State-owned aquatic land extends 3 miles
waterward into the Pacific Ocean, and includes submerged lands and
resources to the center of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Haro Strait,
Boundary Pass, and the Strait of Georgia; the aquatic lands and
resources surrounding the San Juan Archipelago; and the lands and
resources underlying Puget Sound, Hood Canal, and navigable rivers and
lakes across the State.
Alternatives
The following is a brief summary of the three alternatives
evaluated in the DEIS and HCP (for details, refer to those documents):
Alternative 1: No-action--Under this alternative, WDNR would not
implement a HCP, and permits would not be issued by the Services. The
WDNR would continue managing and leasing State-owned aquatic lands in
accordance with current practices, but no specific management
strategies would be implemented by WDNR to ensure compliance with the
ESA. The WDNR would not conduct a direct evaluation under the ESA of
the effects of its management actions, nor would it consider the
cumulative effects of its activities. WDNR would manage requests for
uses of State-owned aquatic lands on a site-by-site basis. Currently,
many use authorization agreements issued by Washington DNR require the
implementation of practices designed to protect environmental
resources. Additionally, Washington DNR has various programs currently
in place that help conserve habitat (e.g., the Aquatic Reserves
Program, Derelict Vessel Removal Program, and the Aquatic Lands
Restoration Program). However, the degree of habitat protection, and
the frequency and consistency of implementation, would not be assured
over time without a HCP and permits because WDNR would not be committed
to a fully funded HCP and a legally binding permit.
Alternative 2: Proposed Action--Under this alternative, WDNR would
implement the proposed HCP, and the Services would issue permits
covering three general categories of activities (shellfish aquaculture,
log booming and storage, and overwater structures) in freshwater,
estuarine, and marine environments, provided all legal requirements are
met (see the Covered Activities section above). A specific conservation
program would be implemented through the HCP to ensure compliance with
the ESA.
Alternative 3: HCP for Marine Areas Only--Under this alternative,
WDNR would implement an HCP, and the Services would issue permits for
covered activities only in marine and estuarine environments, provided
all legal requirements are met. The activities, species, and area
covered under this alternative would generally be a subset of those
included under Alternative 2, and the HCP would focus on those species
most likely to be affected. The HCP would not cover the Columbia
spotted frog, Oregon spotted frog, northern leopard frog, western toad,
Pacific pond turtle, or black tern, because in Washington State, these
species occur only in freshwater habitats. Washington DNR would
implement all of the elements of the HCP operating conservation program
to ensure compliance with the ESA, but in marine and estuarine areas
only. WDNR's habitat protection and restoration programs and actions
would be applied toward compensation for unavoidable impacts from
authorized uses in marine and estuarine waters only. In freshwater
areas, WDNR would manage State-owned aquatic lands as described for
Alternative 1, No Action, so there would not be the added protections
of the HCP for the freshwater activities.
Public Availability of Comments
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we use in preparing the final EIS, will become part of
the public record and will be available for public inspection by
appointment, during regular business hours, at the Service's Washington
Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES). Before including your
address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment(s), you should be aware that your entire
comment(s)--including your personal identifying information--may be
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your
comment(s) 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 in accordance with the requirements of
section 10 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539) and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et
seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
[[Page 53023]]
Dated: August 25, 2014.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
Dated: August 25, 2014.
Richard R. Hannan,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 2014-21198 Filed 9-4-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P; 4310-55-P