[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 241 (Tuesday, December 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81215-81216]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27582]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2020-N126; FXES11140200000-201-FF02ENEH00]
Draft Amendment to the Environmental Assessment/Habitat
Conservation Plan Previously Associated With the 440-acre Schlumberger
Property for Concordia University, Texas
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: Concordia University has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service for an amended incidental take permit (ITP) under the
Endangered Species Act. The requested amended ITP, if granted, would
authorize incidental take of the Jollyville Plateau salamander, in
addition to the already existing ITP for golden-cheeked warbler. The
proposed incidental take would result from activities associated with
otherwise lawful activities, including construction, operation, and
maintenance of Concordia University, that result in water quality and
habitat degradation. Under the National Environmental Policy Act, we
invite public comment on the draft environmental assessment on the
proposed amended habitat conservation plan and application.
DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received or
postmarked on or before January 14, 2021. We may not consider any
comments we receive after the closing date in the final decision on
this action.
ADDRESSES: Accessing Documents:
Internet: The dEA and HCP: You may obtain electronic copies of
these documents at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/AustinTexas/.
U.S. Mail: You may obtain the documents by writing to the following
addresses. In your request for documents, please reference Concordia
University HCP and ITP Amendment (TE827597-4).
DEA and HCP: A limited number of CD-ROM and printed copies
of the dEA and HCP are available, by request, from Mr. Jacob Ogdee;
Austin Ecological Services Field Office; U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service; 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200; Austin, TX 78758; telephone 512-
490-0057; fax 512-490-0974.
ITP application: The ITP application is available from the
Assistant Regional Director--Ecological Services; U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service; P.O. Box 1306, Room 6034; Albuquerque, NM 87103;
Attention: Environmental Review Branch.
Submitting Comments: Regarding any of the three documents available
for review, you may submit written comments by one of the following
methods. In your comments, please reference Concordia University HCP
and ITP Amendment (TE-827597-4).
Email: FW2_AUES_Consult@fws.gov.
U.S. Mail: 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.
We request that you send comments by only one of the methods
described above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Zerrenner Field Supervisor, by
mail at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200,
Austin, TX 78758; via phone at 512-490-0057 or via the Federal Relay
Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), make available a draft environmental assessment (dEA) under
the National Environmental Policy Act for the Habitat Conservation Plan
for an Endangered Species Act Section 10(a)(1)(B) Incidental Take
Permit for the Golden-cheeked Warbler Previously Associated with the
440-acre Schlumberger Property to Include Incidental Take of the
Jollyville Plateau Salamander Due to Activities Associated with the
Construction, Operation, and Maintenance of Concordia University Texas,
in Travis County, Texas. Concordia University applied for an amendment
to their existing HCP and incidental take permit (ITP) under the
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) that would add
authorization for incidental take of the Jollyville Plateau salamander
(Eurycea tonkawae) to the already permitted incidental take of golden-
cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia). The dEA evaluates the impacts
of, and alternatives to, implementation of the proposed HCP.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations prohibit the ``take'' of animal species listed as
endangered or threatened. Take is defined under the ESA as to ``harass,
harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect
listed animal species, or to attempt to engage in such conduct'' (16
U.S.C. 1538). However, under section 10(a) of the ESA, we may issue
permits to authorize incidental take of listed 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. Regulations
governing such take of endangered and threatened species, respectively,
are found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR
17.32.
Alternatives
Proposed Action
The proposed action involves the issuance of an amended ITP by the
Service for the covered activities in the permit area, under section
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. The ITP would cover ``take'' of the covered
species associated with construction, operation, and maintenance of
Concordia University within the permit area. An application for an ITP
must include a HCP that describes the conservation measures the
applicant has agreed to undertake to minimize and mitigate for the
impacts of the proposed taking of covered species to the maximum extent
practicable. The applicant will fully implement the HCP if approved by
the Service. The terms of the HCP and ITP will also ensure that
incidental take will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of
[[Page 81216]]
the survival and recovery of the species in the wild.
No Action Alternative
We have considered one alternative to the proposed action as part
of this process: No Action. Under a No Action alternative, the Service
would not issue the requested amended ITP, and applicant either would
not continue with the construction, operation, and maintenance of
Concordia University or would conduct those activities in a manner that
avoids incidental take. Therefore, the applicant would not implement
the conservation measures described in the HCP.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the EA, HCP, and comments we receive, to determine
whether the ITP application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of
the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). We will also evaluate whether
issuance of an ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would comply with section
7 of the ESA by conducting an intra-Service section 7 consultation. We
will use the results of this consultation, in combination with the
above findings, in our final analysis to determine whether to issue an
ITP. If all necessary requirements are met, we will issue the ITP to
the applicant.
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 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.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA and its
implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32) and the National
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2020-27582 Filed 12-14-20; 8:45 am]
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