[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 179 (Wednesday, September 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55636-55638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23242]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2015-0069; FXES11130200000-156-FF02ENEH00]
Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Habitat Conservation
Plan; Paso Robles Phase II; Hays County, Texas
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
[[Page 55637]]
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), make
available the draft Environmental Assessment (dEA) for the Paso Robles
Phase II draft Habitat Conservation Plan (dHCP). Carma Paso Robles, LLC
(applicant), has applied to the Service for an incidental take permit
(ITP; TE-60266B-0) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(Act). The requested permit would authorize incidental take of the
federally listed golden-cheeked warbler as a result of activities
associated with the applicant's proposed clearing and construction of a
residential development (covered activities).
DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received or
postmarked on or before November 16, 2015. Comments submitted
electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES)
must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. Any
comments that we receive after the closing date may not be considered.
ADDRESSES: Availability of Documents:
Internet: You may obtain copies of all of the documents on the
Internet at the Service's Web site at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/AustinTexas/.
U.S. Mail: A limited number of CD-ROM and printed copies of the
draft EA and draft HCP are available, by request, from Mr. Adam
Zerrenner, Austin Ecological Services Field Office, 10711 Burnet Road,
Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758-4460; telephone 512-490-0057; fax 512-490-
0974. Please note that your request is in reference to the Paso Robles
Phase II HCP (TE-60266B-0).
The ITP application is available by mail from the Regional
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 1306, Room 6034,
Albuquerque, NM 87103.
In-Person: Copies of the draft EA and draft HCP are also available
for public inspection and review at the following locations, by
appointment and written request only, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 500 Gold Avenue SW., Room
6034, Albuquerque, NM 87102.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite
200, Austin, TX 78758.
Comment submission: You may submit written comments by one of the
following methods:
Electronically: Go to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal:
http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R2-ES-2015-
0069, which is the docket number for this notice. On the left side of
the screen, under the Document Type heading, click on the Notices link
to locate this document and submit a comment.
By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail or hand-
delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R2-ES-2015-0069;
Division of Policy, Performance, and Management Programs; U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC; 5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-
3803.
We request that you send comments by only the methods described
above. We will post all information received on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us (see the Public Availability of
Comments section for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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: We make available the dEA for the Paso
Robles Phase II dHCP. Carma Paso Robles, LLC (applicant), has applied
to the Service for an incidental take permit (ITP; TE-60266B-0) under
the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as amended. The requested
permit, which would be in effect for a period of 10 years, if granted,
would authorize incidental take of the federally listed golden-cheeked
warbler (Setophaga [= Dendroica] chrysoparia; GCWA). The proposed take
would occur on 114.4 acres of the 376-acre Paso Robles Phase II
development (permit area) in Hays County, Texas, as a result of
activities associated with the applicant's proposed clearing and
construction of a residential development (covered activities).
In accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), we advise the
public that:
1. We have gathered the information necessary to determine impacts
and formulate alternatives for the dEA related to potential issuance of
an ITP to the applicant; and
2. The applicant has developed a dHCP as part of the application
for an ITP, which describes the measures the applicant has agreed to
take to minimize and mitigate the effects of incidental take of GCWAs
to the maximum extent practicable pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of
the Act.
The dEA considers the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of
implementation of the dHCP, including the measures that will be
implemented to minimize and mitigate, to the maximum extent
practicable, the impacts of the incidental take of the covered species.
Proposed Action
The proposed action is the issuance of an ITP by the Service for
the covered activities in the permit area, pursuant to section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Act for a period of 10 years. The ITP would cover
``take'' of the covered species associated with the clearing and
construction of a residential development within the permit area.
To meet the requirements of a section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP, the
applicant has developed and proposes to implement its dHCP, which
describes the conservation measures the applicant has agreed to
undertake to minimize and mitigate for the impacts of the proposed
incidental take of the covered species to the maximum extent
practicable, and ensures that incidental take will not appreciably
reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of these species in
the wild.
The applicant proposes to mitigate with the purchase of 114.4 acres
of high-quality habitat, likely from a Service-approved habitat
conservation bank.
Alternatives
We considered two alternatives to the proposed action:
1. No Action--No ITP would be issued. Therefore, the applicant
would not implement the conservation measures described in the HCP.
2. Higher Mitigation Alternative--This alternative is similar to
the Proposed Action in that the Service would issue an ITP for the
proposed project. However, the HCP under this alternative would be
modified to increase the number of GCWA habitat conservation credits
the applicant would purchase to 359.6 acres. All other aspects of the
proposed project and the HCP would remain the same.
Public Availability of Comments
Written comments we receive become part of the public record
associated with this action. 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 request in your comment that we withhold
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to
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do so. We will not consider anonymous comments. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their
entirety.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Act and its
implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32) and NEPA and its
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: June 10, 2015.
Joy E. Nicholopoulos,
Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Editorial Note: This document was received at the Federal Register
on September 11, 2015.
[FR Doc. 2015-23242 Filed 9-15-15; 8:45 am]
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