[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 193 (Friday, October 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53164-53167]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21631]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2019-0091; FXES11140100000-190-FF01E00000]
Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Habitat
Conservation Plan; Receipt of Applications for Incidental Take Permits;
Klamath, Deschutes, Jefferson, Crook, Wasco, and Sherman Counties,
Oregon
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of a habitat
conservation plan (HCP) in support of incidental take permit (ITP)
applications received from the Deschutes Basin Board of Control (DBBC),
on behalf of its eight member irrigation districts, and the City of
Prineville (applicants). The eight irrigation districts that make up
the DBBC are Arnold, Central Oregon, Lone Pine, North Unit, Ochoco,
Swalley, Three Sisters, and Tumalo. The applicants have submitted
applications for ITPs to both the Service and the National Marine
Fisheries Service for the species under each agency's jurisdiction.
Applicants are seeking authorization for the incidental take of five
species that is expected to result from the storage, release,
diversion, and return of irrigation water by the DBBC member districts
and groundwater withdrawals, effluent discharges, and
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surface water diversions by the City of Prineville. Also available for
review is the Service's draft environmental impact statement (DEIS),
which was prepared, pursuant to NEPA, in response to the applications.
We are seeking public comments on the HCP and DEIS.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before
November 18, 2019. Comments submitted online at https://www.regulations.gov/ (see ADDRESSES) must be received by 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Time on November 18, 2019.
Public Meetings: The Service will host two open house public
meetings at the following times during the public comment and review
period:
Bend, OR: Tuesday, October 15, 2019, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Prineville, OR: Wednesday, October 16, 2019, from 6 a.m.
to 8 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents for Review: The documents this notice
announces, as well as any comments and other material that we receive,
will be available for public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-
2019-0091 at http://www.regulations.gov/. Documents will also be
available at https://www.fws.gov/Oregonfwo/articles.cfm?id=149489716.
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by the following
methods:
Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow instructions
for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2019-0091.
Public meetings: A computer will be available at the
public meetings to allow attendees to submit comments. The meetings
will be held at the following locations:
[cir] Mount Bachelor Village Resort & Event Center, 19717 Mt
Bachelor Drive, Bend, OR 97702.
[cir] Carey Foster Hall, Crook County Fairgrounds, 1280 Main
Street, Prineville, OR 97754.
Hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand delivery to Public
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2019-0091; U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: JAO/1N, Falls Church, VA
22041-3803.
We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post online any personal information that
you provide (see Public Availability of Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION). We request that you submit comments by only the methods
described above.
Reviewing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) comments on
the draft HCP and DEIS: See EPA's Role in the EIS Process under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bridget Moran, by telephone at 541-
383-7146, or by email at bridget_moran@fws.gov. Hearing or speech
impaired individuals may call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339
for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)
and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) received incidental take
permit (ITP) applications on August 30, 2019, from the Deschutes Basin
Board of Control (DBBC) member districts (Arnold, Central Oregon, Lone
Pine, North Unit, Ochoco, Swalley, Three Sisters, and Tumalo Irrigation
Districts) and the City of Prineville (applicants) in accordance with
the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, as amended (ESA; 16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicants prepared the draft Deschutes Basin
habitat conservation plan (HCP) in support of the ITP applications and
are seeking authorization for take of the federally threatened Oregon
spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)
from the Service, and take of the federally threatened Middle Columbia
River steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and the non-listed Middle
Columbia River spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and
sockeye salmon (O. nerka) from the NMFS. Hereafter, these five species
are collectively referred to as the ``covered species.''
The ITPs, if issued, would authorize take of the covered species
that may occur incidental to the storage, release, diversion, and
return of irrigation water by the DBBC member districts, and
groundwater withdrawals, effluent discharges, and surface water
diversions by the City of Prineville (the covered activities).
The HCP specifies the impacts that will likely result from the
taking of covered species and describes the steps the applicants will
take to minimize and mitigate such impacts. The HCP also discusses
alternative actions to the taking that were considered by the
applicants and the reasons why such alternatives are not being
utilized. The HCP also describes the covered species' life history and
ecology, as well as biological goals and objectives of the HCP,
adaptive management, monitoring, and funding assurances.
The Service prepared a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS)
in response to the ITP applications in accordance with the requirements
of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.). We are making the HCP and DEIS available for public review and
comment.
Background
All eight water districts are quasi-municipal corporations formed
and operated according to Oregon State law to distribute water to
irrigators (patrons) within designated geographic boundaries and in
accordance with the individual water rights held by those patrons. The
City of Prineville operates City-owned infrastructure and provides
essential services--including public safety, municipal water supply,
and sewage treatment--for more than 9,000 residents. The applicants
have determined that continued operation of irrigation and essential
services requires ITPs to address unavoidable take of listed species,
which is ongoing.
The applicants have proposed a conservation program to avoid,
minimize, and mitigate for impacts to the covered species. The HCP
addresses the negative effects of the covered activities on the covered
species by reducing or eliminating those effects to the maximum extent
practicable, and by mitigating effects that cannot be eliminated
altogether. In general, negative effects on listed species can result
from direct harm or injury of individuals of the species, and through
changes in habitat that interfere with the essential life activities of
the species. Both types of effects are addressed in the HCP
conservation measures. The covered activities affect the covered
species primarily through changes in the hydrology (flow) of occupied
waters associated with the storage, release, diversion, and return of
irrigation water.
In the course of storing, releasing, diverting, and returning
irrigation water, the applicants alter the hydrology of the Deschutes
River and a number of its tributaries. In a similar fashion, the
pumping of groundwater for municipal water supply by the City of
Prineville affects the hydrology in one of those tributaries, the
Crooked River. These changes in hydrology alter habitat conditions for
the three species protected under the ESA, thereby creating the
potential for incidental take of the species.
The activities covered by the HCP cause changes in surface water
hydrology that alter the quantity and/or quality of aquatic habitats
for the listed species. The covered activities modify the timing and
magnitude of flow in the Deschutes River and a number of its
tributaries through the storage, release, diversion, and return of
irrigation water. In most cases, the hydrologic changes resulting from
irrigation activities have
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negative impacts on aquatic habitats for the covered species. When
flows are reduced, the total area of usable habitat for aquatic species
generally decreases and water temperatures typically increase to the
extent that habitat quality is negatively impacted. The HCP's
conservation measures will modify irrigation activities that reduce
instream flow (storage and diversion of water) to address the negative
effects. As a result, flows in the affected reaches will be higher than
they were historically (over the last 50+ years) in the winter, and
water temperatures (particularly peak summer temperatures) will be
lower.
The applicants have continued to refine the HCP based on technical
assistance from the Service and NMFS. The applicants recognize this
continued assistance in their transmittal memo provided with the ITP
applications, and note that they are considering certain additional
measures analyzed in the DEIS (under Alternatives 3 and 4) that are not
currently reflected in the proposed HCP, including the concept of a
habitat improvement fund for projects in the Upper Deschutes, and the
possibility of increasing winter flows below Wickiup Dam. The
applicants may choose to incorporate these and/or additional elements
analyzed in the DEIS into their HCP. Further discussions are also
needed about the permit structure itself, including what happens if one
or more permittees decide to relinquish their permit coverage. The
Service and NMFS anticipate addressing these remaining issues after the
public has had the opportunity to review and comment on both the HCP
and the DEIS.
Proposed Action
We propose to issue a 30-year permit for incidental take of the
Oregon spotted frog and bull trout if the HCP meets all section
10(a)(1)(B) permit issuance criteria. The permit would authorize take
of these two covered species incidental to the storage, release,
diversion, and return of irrigation water by the DBBC member districts
and groundwater withdrawals, effluent discharges, and surface water
diversions by the City of Prineville. NMFS will make an independent
decision regarding coverage for incidental take of the three species
under its jurisdiction.
Endangered Species Act
Section 9 of the ESA and its implementing regulations prohibit
``take'' of fish and wildlife species listed as endangered (16 U.S.C.
1538(a)(1)). In addition, section 4 of the ESA allows the Service and
NMFS to issue regulations that prohibit the take of any fish and
wildlife species listed as threatened (16 U.S.C. 1533(d)). Take
prohibition has been extended, in whole or in part, to the three
covered species that are listed as threatened. Under section 3 of the
ESA, the term ``take'' means to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot,
wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or attempt to engage in any
such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1538). Under section 10(a) of the ESA, the
Service may issue permits to authorize incidental take of listed fish
and wildlife species. ``Incidental take'' is defined by the ESA as take
that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an
otherwise lawful activity. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA contains
provisions for issuing ITPs 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, to the maximum extent practicable, minimize
and mitigate the impact of such taking;
3. The applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the HCP will
be provided;
4. The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the
survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
5. The applicant will carry out any other measures that the Service
may require as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes of the
HCP.
National Environmental Policy Act
In compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Service
prepared a DEIS, in which we analyze the proposed action and a
reasonable range of alternatives to the proposed action. Four
alternatives are analyzed in the DEIS.
Alternative 1--No-action Alternative: No permit would be issued,
and the applicant's HCP would not be implemented. Under Alternative 1,
ongoing applicant activities would remain subject to take prohibition
for listed species under the ESA. Ongoing applicant activities or
future actions that may result in incidental take of federally listed
species would need to be authorized through separate ITP applications
submitted by each applicant under ESA section 10. This alternative
assumes continuation of the actions covered in the current ESA section
7 biological opinion for the Upper Deschutes River to address take of
the Oregon spotted frog, and of the actions covered in the current
Service and NMFS ESA section 7 consultation documents for the Deschutes
River Basin Projects to address effects to the Middle Columbia River
steelhead trout and bull trout, as well as other predictable current
and future conditions.
Alternative 2--Proposed Action, Deschutes Basin HCP: Under this
alternative, the Service and NMFS would issue 30-year ITPs to the
applicants for incidental take of covered species caused by covered
activities in the plan area, and the applicants would implement the
HCP. The HCP's conservation strategy modifies the timing and magnitude
of the storage, release, and diversion of irrigation water. Over the
30-year period, flows are modified to mimic more natural hydrography to
support the various life stages of the covered species.
Alternative 3--Enhanced Variable Streamflows: Under this
alternative, the Service and NMFS would issue ITPs to the applicants
for the same plan area, covered lands and waters, covered species,
covered activities, and permit term as described for the proposed
action, but with modifications to the HCP conservation strategy
including increased fall and winter flows in the Deschutes River below
Wickiup Dam, in-stream protection of uncontracted water releases on the
Crooked River for fish and wildlife, and the inclusion of a habitat
improvement fund for projects in the Upper Deschutes.
Alternative 4--Accelerated Schedule for Enhanced Variable
Streamflows: Under this alternative, the Service and NMFS would issue
ITPs to the applicants for the same plan area, covered lands and
waters, covered species, and covered activities as described for the
proposed action, but with a 20-year permit term and modifications to
the HCP conservation strategy for an accelerated schedule for increases
in fall and winter flows in the Deschutes River below Wickiup Dam, in-
stream protection of additional uncontracted water releases on the
Crooked River for fish and wildlife, and the habitat improvement fund
for projects in the Upper Deschutes.
The environmental consequences of each alternative were analyzed to
determine if significant impacts to the human environment would occur.
EPA's Role in the EIS Process
The EPA is charged with reviewing all Federal agencies' EISs and
commenting on the adequacy and acceptability of the environmental
impacts of proposed actions in EISs. Therefore, EPA is publishing a
notice in the Federal Register announcing this EIS, as required under
section 309 of the Clean Air Act. The publication date of EPA's notice
of availability is the official beginning of the public comment
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period. EPA's notices are published on Fridays.
EPA serves as the repository (EIS database) for EISs prepared by
Federal agencies. All EISs must be filed with EPA. You may search for
EPA comments on EISs, along with EISs themselves, at https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-public/action/eis/search.
Public Comments
You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods in
ADDRESSES. We specifically request information on the following:
1. Potential impacts to the human environment that may occur during
the permit term;
2. Biological information and relevant data concerning the covered
species and other wildlife;
3. Potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts that
implementation of the proposed HCP's mitigation/minimization measures
could have on the covered species, other endangered or threatened
species, associated ecological communities or habitats for such
species, and other aspects of the human environment;
4. Whether there are additional connected, similar, or reasonably
foreseeable cumulative actions and their possible impacts on the human
environment, including, without limitation, Oregon spotted frog, bull
trout, Mid-Columbia steelhead, chinook salmon, and sockeye salmon, all
of which were not identified in the DEIS;
5. The identification and evaluation of archaeological and historic
resources that the proposed project may affect;
6. Other possible reasonable alternatives to the proposed permit
action that the Service should consider, including additional or
alternative avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures; and
7. Other information relevant to the proposed HCP and impacts to
the human environment.
Public Availability of Comments
We will post on http://regulations.gov all public comments and
information received electronically. All comments we receive become
part of the administrative 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 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.
Reasonable Accommodations
Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order to attend and
participate in the public meetings should contact the Service's Bend
Field Office, using one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES as soon as
possible. In order to allow sufficient time to process requests, please
make contact no later than one week before the public meetings.
Information regarding this proposed action is available in alternative
formats upon request.
Authority
We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of
section 10 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA and its
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1503.1 and 1506.6).
Robyn Thorson,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-21631 Filed 10-3-19; 8:45 am]
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