[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 65 (Thursday, April 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13308-13310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06501]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2019-N002; FXES11140800000-190-FF08E00000]
Draft City of Rancho Palos Verdes Natural Community Conservation
Plan and Habitat Conservation Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment,
City of Rancho Palos Verdes, Los Angeles County, California
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
recirculation of the draft Natural Community Conservation Plan/Habitat
Conservation Plan (NCCP/HCP) and draft environmental assessment (draft
EA), which evaluates the impacts of, and alternatives to, the proposed
City of Rancho Palos Verdes (City of RPV) NCCP/HCP. The recirculation
is necessary to maximize public review because, while the document
provided during the initial 60-day comment period was the document
considered by the City of RPV Council at their March 29, 2018, Council
Meeting, it did not include changes accepted by City of RPV Council via
late correspondence at the Council Meeting, nor did it include
technical and clarifying edits made after the Council Meeting. We
request review and comment on the City of RPV NCCP/HCP and the draft EA
from local, State, and Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
May 6, 2019.
[[Page 13309]]
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the City of RPV NCCP/
HCP and the draft EA by the following methods. Please specify that your
request pertains to the City of RPV NCCP/HCP.
Email: katiel@rpvca.gov.
Internet: http://www.rpvca.gov/490/Palos-Verdes-Nature-Preserve-NCCP-PUMP-H.
U.S. Mail: A limited number of CD-ROM and printed copies
are available, by request, from the following locations:
[cir] Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, 2177 Salk Avenue, Suite
250, Carlsbad, CA 92008;
[cir] Rancho Palos Verdes City Hall (see address under In-Person,
below).
In-Person: Copies are available for public inspection and
review at the following locations, by appointment and written request
only:
[cir] Rancho Palos Verdes City Hall, 30940 Hawthorne Blvd., Rancho
Palos Verdes, CA 90275 (telephone: 310-554-5267; 7:30 a.m. to 5:30
p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday);
and
[cir] Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, 916 Silver Spur
Road, Suite 207, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274 (9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday).
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the
following methods:
Email: fw8cfwocomments@fws.gov; please include ``City of
RPV NCCP/HCP'' in the subject line.
U.S. Mail: Karen Goebel, Attn: City of RPV NCCP/HCP (use
the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office address under Obtaining
Documents).
Telephone: Karen Goebel, 760-431-9440.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Beth Woulfe, 760-431-9440.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), announce the recirculation of the draft Natural Community
Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan (NCCP/HCP) and draft
environmental assessment (draft EA), which evaluates the impacts of,
and alternatives to, the proposed City of Rancho Palos Verdes (City of
RPV) NCCP/HCP. We initially announced the availability of the City of
RPV NCCP/HCP for review and comment on October 31, 2018, with a comment
period that ended on December 31, 2018 (83 FR 54769). The recirculation
is necessary to maximize public review because, while the document
provided during the initial 60-day comment period was the document
considered by the City of RPV Council at their March 29, 2018, Council
Meeting, it did not include changes accepted by City of RPV Council via
late correspondence at the Council Meeting, nor did it include
technical and clarifying edits made after the Council Meeting. The City
of RPV NCCP/HCP was submitted by the City of RPV in support of an
application under section 10 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), for a permit authorizing the
incidental take of 10 covered species resulting from covered projects/
activities and a permit under the State of California's Natural
Community Conservation Planning Act of 2002. We request review and
comment on the City of RPV NCCP/HCP and the draft EA from local, State,
and Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public. The proposed City of RPV
NCCP/HCP plan area is located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Los
Angeles County, California.
Introduction
Under section 10(c) of the ESA and under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), this notice advises
the public of the receipt and availability for public review of the
draft City of RPV NCCP/HCP and draft EA, which evaluates the impacts
of, and alternatives to, the City of RPV NCCP/HCP, submitted with an
application for a permit to authorize the incidental take of federally
listed covered species resulting from covered projects/activities
within the plan area. The Service is the Lead Agency pursuant to NEPA.
The proposed Federal action is issuance of an incidental take permit
(ITP) under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA to the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes and their habitat manager, Palos Verdes Peninsula Land
Conservancy.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits ``take'' of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered under section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1538, 1533,
respectively). Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA provides for the issuance
of a permit for the taking of listed fish and wildlife species that is
incidental to, and not the purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise
lawful activity (``incidental take''). The ESA implementing regulations
extend, under certain circumstances, the prohibition of take to
threatened species (50 CFR 17.31). Regulations governing permits for
endangered and threatened species are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32. For
more about the HCP program, go to http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/hcp.pdf.
Under section 10(a) of the ESA, the Service may issue permits to
authorize incidental take of listed fish and wildlife species. Section
10(a)(2)(B) of the ESA contains criteria for issuing ITPs to non-
Federal entities for the take of endangered and threatened species,
provided the following criteria are met:
The taking will be incidental;
The applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable,
minimize and mitigate the impact of such taking;
The applicant will develop an HCP and ensure that adequate
funding for the plan will be provided;
The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of
the survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
The applicant will carry out any other measures that the
Secretary may require as being necessary or appropriate for the
purposes of the HCP.
Implementation of the City of RPV NCCP/HCP is intended to maximize
conservation for covered species while providing cost-savings and
reducing potential time-delays associated with processing individual
ITPs for each covered project/activity within the plan area.
Proposed Action
The proposed action is the issuance of an ITP by the Service to
City of Rancho Palos Verdes and their habitat manager, Palos Verdes
Peninsula Land Conservancy, for the incidental take of covered species
from identified covered projects/activities, including the avoidance,
minimization, and mitigation of impacts to covered species within the
8,616.6-acre plan area for 40 years. The proposed City of RPV NCCP/HCP
is a conservation plan for the following 10 species:
Federally Listed as Endangered
Palos Verdes blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis)
El Segundo blue butterfly (Euphilotes battoides allyni)
Federally Listed as Threatened
Coastal California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica)
Unlisted
Cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus)
Aphanisma (Aphanisma blitoides)
South coast saltscale (Atriplex pacifica)
Catalina crossosoma (Crossosoma californicum)
Island green dudleya (Dudleya virens ssp. insularis)
Santa Catalina Island desert-thorn (Lycium brevipes var. hassei)
[[Page 13310]]
Woolly seablite (Suaeda taxifolia)
There are 17 City of Rancho Palos Verdes projects/activities and 5
private projects/activities proposed to be covered by the ITP. The City
of Rancho Palos Verdes projects/activities include landslide abatement,
drainage improvement, dewatering wells, road and canyon repairs, fuel
modification, and maintenance; private projects/activities include
development, remedial grading, and fuel modification. Public use is
also identified as a conditionally allowable use. Potential impacts to
covered species include disruption of normal behavior by covered
projects/activities and injury or death due to construction activities.
The City of RPV NCCP/HCP provides a comprehensive approach to the
conservation and management of these species and their habitat within
the plan area.
The plan area includes the entire boundary of the City of Rancho
Palos Verdes. The plan area is constant for all of the alternatives
analyzed in the draft EA. The City of RPV NCCP/HCP quantifies the
expected loss of habitat and the proposed mitigation, including
management and monitoring of the preserve.
Alternatives
We considered five alternatives in the draft EA: (1) No Action
Alternative; (2) Alternative A, Peninsula NCCP Working Group
Alternative; (3) Alternative B, Landowner Alternative; (4) Alternative
C, The City of Rancho Palos Verdes' Alternative; and (5) Alternative D,
The Proposed Action.
Under the No Action Alternative, the City of RPV NCCP/HCP would not
move forward for approval and an ITP would not be issued. All projects/
activities proposed in the City of RPV NCCP/HCP would continue to be
reviewed in accordance with existing State land use and environmental
regulations. Alternative A was developed by the working group, which
consisted of stakeholders within the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, and
included the largest preserve area, totaling about 1,559.1 acres.
Alternative B was developed by the major landowners in 1999 and
proposed the smallest preserve area of all of the alternatives.
Alternative C was developed by the City of Rancho Palos Verdes and was
a compromise of Alternative A and B. The preserve size under
Alternative C is slightly larger than that under the Proposed Action
(Alternative D), but the total amount of coastal sage scrub habitat
under Alternative C is slightly lower than that in the Proposed Action
(Alternative D).
The Proposed Action (Alternative D) is the same as Alternative C,
with the following exceptions: (1) A 27.0-acre parcel in the Upper
Filiorum property has been removed from the preserve and is now
identified as a covered project, including the associated dedication of
30 acres of functional and connected habitat; (2) 40.0 acres of a
former archery range property have been removed from the preserve due
to landslide and legal constraints; and (3) 61.5 acres of Malaga Canyon
have been purchased by the City of Rancho Palos Verdes and have been
incorporated into the preserve. The preserve in Alternative D totals
1,402.4 acres.
Request for Comments
Consistent with section 10(c) of the ESA, we invite your submission
of written comments, data, or arguments with respect to the City of
Rancho Palos Verdes' permit application, the City of RPV NCCP/HCP, and
proposed permitting decision.
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 may request in your comment that we withhold
your personal identifying 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.
Next Steps
Issuance of an incidental take permit is a Federal proposed action
subject to compliance with NEPA. We will evaluate the application,
associated documents, and any public comments we receive to determine
whether the application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the
ESA. If we determine that those requirements are met, we will issue a
permit to the applicant for the incidental take of the covered species.
We will make our final permit decision no sooner than 30 days after the
public comment period closes.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32)
and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40
CFR 1506.6).
Scott Sobiech,
Acting Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, Carlsbad,
California.
[FR Doc. 2019-06501 Filed 4-3-19; 8:45 am]
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