[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 30 (Wednesday, February 13, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3804-3805]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02163]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R1-ES-2018-N077; FXES11140100000-189-FF01E00000]
Request for Renewal of the Incidental Take Permit and Habitat
Conservation Plan for Incidental Take of Hawaiian Stilts; Cyanotech
Aquaculture Facility, Hawaii
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have
received an application from Cyanotech (applicant) for a renewal of an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The
applicant is requesting renewal of their ITP and their 2002 habitat
conservation plan (HCP) for Hawaiian stilt at the Cyanotech aquaculture
facility at Keahole Point, Hawaii. If renewed, the ITP would authorize
the take of the Hawaiian stilt that may occur incidental to the
operation and maintenance of the aquaculture facility. The ITP
application includes a HCP renewal document describing the actions and
measures the applicant will implement to avoid, minimize, mitigate, and
monitor incidental take of the species. We are making the HCP renewal
and the NEPA environmental action statement for categorical exclusion,
available for public review and comment.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
March 15, 2019.
ADDRESSES: To request further information or submit written comments,
please use one of the following methods, and note that your information
request or comments are in reference to the Cyanotech HCP and the
proposed renewal of the ITP:
Internet: Documents may be viewed on the internet at
http://www.fws.gov/pacificislands/.
Email: pifwo_admin@fws.gov. Include ``Cyanotech HCP'' in
the subject line of the message.
U.S. Mail: Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana
Boulevard, Room 3-122, Honolulu, HI 96850.
Fax: 808-792-9581, Attn: Field Supervisor. Include
``Cyanotech HCP'' in the subject line of the message.
In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Comments and
materials received will be available for public inspection, by
appointment, during normal business hours at the Pacific Islands Fish
and Wildlife Office (address above). Written comments can be dropped
off during regular business hours on or before the closing date of the
public comment period (see DATES).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jodi Charrier, Endangered Species
Biologist, by mail at the address in ADDRESSES; by telephone at 808-
792-9400; or by email at pifwo_admin@fws.gov. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf, please call the Federal Relay
Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Service has received an ITP application
from Cyanotech in accordance with the requirements of the Endangered
Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicant is requesting
renewal of an ITP to authorize incidental take of the endangered
Hawaiian stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni), hereafter referred to
as the covered species or Hawaiian stilt. If renewed, the ITP would
authorize take of the covered species that may occur incidental to the
operation and maintenance of the Cyanotech aquaculture facility for an
additional 19 years, until 2035. The ITP application includes a HCP
renewal document describing the actions and measures the applicant will
implement to avoid, minimize, mitigate, and monitor incidental take of
the covered species. We are making the ITP application, including the
NEPA environmental action statement for a categorical exclusion
available for public review and comment.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the take of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered or threatened under section 4 of the ESA.
Under the ESA, the term ``take'' means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt,
shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage
in any such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)). The term ``harm,'' as defined
in our regulations, includes significant habitat modification or
degradation that results in death or injury to listed species by
significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including
breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3).
However, under specified circumstances, the Service may issue
permits that authorize take of federally listed species, provided the
take is incidental to, but not the purpose of, an otherwise lawful
activity. Regulations governing permits for endangered and threatened
species are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, respectively. Section
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA contains provisions for issuing such incidental
take permits to non-Federal entities for the take of endangered and
threatened species, provided the following criteria are met:
(1) The taking will be incidental;
(2) The applicant will prepare a conservation plan that, to the
maximum extent practicable, identifies the steps the applicant will
take to minimize and mitigate the impact of such taking;
(3) The applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the plan
will be provided;
(4) The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the
survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
[[Page 3805]]
(5) The applicant will carry out any other measures that the
Service may require as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes
of the plan.
Proposed Action
The Service proposes to issue the requested ITP based on the
applicant's commitment to implement the renewed 2002 HCP for Hawaiian
stilt at the Cyanotech aquaculture facility, Keahole Point, Hawaii. On
March 18, 2002, the Service approved Cyanotech's HCP and issued an ITP
with a duration of 3 years for take of the endangered Hawaiian stilt
incidental to ongoing operations and maintenance activities of the
aquaculture facility. In September 2006, the Service permitted a 10-
year extension of the ITP, which expired in March 2016. The 2006 ITP
authorizes take of the covered species so long as the total number of
stilts fledged at off-site locations is greater than the number of
stilts incidentally taken over the ten-year permit term. In October
2015, Cyanotech submitted an application for renewal of the ITP and the
HCP for an additional 19 years, until 2035. This request is being
considered pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA.
Cyanotech proposes to continue normal microalgae operations, daily
monitoring and maintenance at its aquaculture facility, and
implementation of minimization measures described in their 2002 HCP and
2006 HCP amendment until 2035. All provisions for reporting,
monitoring, adaptive management, and funding assurances from the
original HCP will be maintained. Cyanotech currently has a net
mitigation offset of 32 fledglings, and incidental take is not expected
to exceed 1 stilt fledgling per year. Therefore, it is expected that
the current offset of 32 fledglings is sufficient to compensate for
take of an additional 20 Hawaiian stilt fledglings over the 19-year
permit renewal term. No additional compensatory mitigation is being
proposed.
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
The proposed issuance of an ITP is a Federal action that triggers
the need for compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq). Pursuant to
NEPA, we prepared an Environmental Action Statement (EAS) to analyze
the environmental impacts of the proposed Federal action of issuing the
requested ITP and implementation of the conservation program under the
HCP.
Based on the EAS, we have preliminarily determined that the
proposed renewal of the ITP and HCP would have minor or negligible
effects on the species covered in the HCP. Therefore, we determined
that the proposed HCP permit renewal qualifies for a categorical
exclusion under NEPA, as provided by the Department of the Interior
NEPA regulations (43 CFR part 46).
Public Availability of Comments
All comments and materials we receive become part of the public
record associated with this action. Before including your address,
phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable
information in your comments, you should be aware that your entire
comment--including your personally identifiable information--may be
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your
comment to withhold your personally identifiable information from
public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. 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. Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation, will be available for public inspection by appointment,
during normal business hours, at our Pacific Islands Field Office (see
ADDRESSES).
Authority
We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of
section 10(c) of the ESA and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22
and 17.32) and NEPA and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Katherine B. Hollar,
Acting Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-02163 Filed 2-12-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P