[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 58 (Monday, March 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16385-16387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06401]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R3-ES-2021-0005; FXES11140300000-212]
Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation
Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit, Habitat
Conservation Plan for the Hine's Emerald Dragonfly, Blanding's Turtle,
Spotted Turtle, Leafy Prairie Clover, and Lakeside Daisy, Will County,
Illinois
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment and information.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an
application from Hanson Aggregates Midwest, Inc. d/b/a Hanson Material
[[Page 16386]]
Service (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the
Endangered Species Act. We make available for public comment the
applicant's habitat conservation plan (HCP) for continued limestone
surface mining, submitted in support of the ITP application, for the
Hine's emerald dragonfly, Blanding's turtle, spotted turtle, leafy
prairie clover, and Lakeside Daisy (covered species). If approved, the
ITP would be for a 30-year period and would authorize the incidental
take of an endangered species, the Hine's emerald dragonfly, and
species petitioned for Federal listing that are listed as endangered by
the State of Illinois, the Blanding's turtle and spotted turtle. We
also announce the availability of a draft environmental assessment,
which has been prepared in response to the permit application in
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act. We request public comment on the application and associated
documents.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before
April 28, 2021.
ADDRESSES:
Document availability: Electronic copies of the documents this
notice announces, along with public comments received, will be
available online in Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0005 at http://www.regulations.gov.
Comment submission: In your comment, please specify whether your
comment addresses the proposed HCP, draft EA, or any combination of the
aforementioned documents, or other supporting documents. You may submit
written comments by one of the following methods:
Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for and submit
comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0005.
U.S. mail: Send comments to Public Comments Processing,
Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0005; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/3W; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Louise Clemency, Field Supervisor,
Chicago Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 230 S Dearborn, Suite 2938, Chicago, IL 60604-1507; telephone:
1-312-485-9337.
Individuals who are hearing impaired or speech impaired may call
the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), have received an application from Hanson Aggregates Midwest,
Inc. d/b/a Hanson Material Service (applicant) for an incidental take
permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA;
16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), for its habitat conservation plan (HCP) for
the Hine's emerald dragonfly, Blanding's turtle, spotted turtle, leafy
prairie clover, and lakeside daisy (project or HCP). The applicant's
mining operation is located in Will County, Illinois and would consists
of 49.6 acres of impacts to covered species habitat. The applicant has
prepared a habitat conservation plan that describes their continued
limestone surface mining operation and measures that the applicant
would implement to avoid, minimize, and mitigate incidental take of the
Hine's emerald dragonfly, Blanding's turtle, and spotted turtle. The
HCP proposes to restore, enhance, and maintain 354 acres of covered
species habitat on the 519 acres of land that will be protected in
perpetuity by a deed restriction that may be converted to a
conservation easement if a qualified entity agrees to hold the
protected acreage. If approved, the ITP would be for a 30-year period
and would authorize the incidental take of an endangered species, the
Hine's emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana), and species petitioned
for Federal listing that are listed as endangered by the State of
Illinois, the Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) and spotted
turtle (Clemmys guttata). The applicant has prepared a HCP that
describes the actions and measures that the applicant would implement
to avoid, minimize, and mitigate incidental take of the Hine's emerald
dragonfly, Blanding's turtle, and spotted turtle, and impacts to leafy
prairie clover and lakeside daisy. We also announce the availability of
a draft environmental assessment (EA), which has been prepared in
response to the permit application in accordance with the requirements
of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.). We request public comment on the application and associated
documents.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA 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 (16 U.S.C. 1539). Regulations governing
incidental take permits for endangered and threatened species,
respectively, are found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 50 CFR
17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32. Impacts to plants do not fall under the
definition of ``take,'' therefore, the Service cannot authorize
incidental take of plants. However, the Service cannot issue an ITP
that would jeopardize the continued existence or adversely modify the
designated critical habitat of any listed species, including plants, so
addressing listed plants in the HCP may be prudent.
Applicant's Proposed Project
The applicant requests a 30-year ITP to take the federally
endangered Hine's emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana), and species
petitioned for Federal listing that are listed as endangered by the
State of Illinois: The Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) and
spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata). The applicant determined that take is
reasonably certain to occur incidental to operation of expanded
limestone surface mining located in Will County and consisting of 187
acres of surface mining that will have direct impacts to 49.6 acres of
covered species habitat. The proposed conservation strategy in the
applicant's proposed HCP is designed to avoid, minimize, and mitigate
the impacts of the surface mining expansion on the covered species. The
biological goals and objectives are to minimize potential take of
Hine's emerald dragonflies, Blanding's turtles, and spotted turtles
through on-site minimization measures and to provide habitat
conservation measures for Hine's emerald dragonflies, Blanding's
turtles, and spotted turtles to offset any impacts from operations of
the project. The estimated level of take from the project is 49.6 acres
of Hine's emerald dragonfly adult critical habitat, three adult Hine's
emerald dragonflies, 12 Blanding's turtles, and two spotted turtles
over the 30-year ITP duration. To offset the impacts of the taking of
Hine's emerald dragonflies, Blanding's turtles, and spotted turtles,
the applicant proposes to avoid potential groundwater-related impacts
from quarry dewatering, by instituting operational avoidance measures
during the mining process, and implement species habitat maintenance,
enhancement or restoration on 354 acres. Additionally, 519 acres of
land will be permanently protected by a deed restriction and may be
converted to a conservation easement if a qualified entity agrees to
hold the protected acreage.
[[Page 16387]]
National Environmental Policy Act
The issuance of an ITP is a Federal action that triggers the need
for compliance with NEPA. We prepared a draft EA that analyzes the
environmental impacts on the human environment resulting from three
alternatives: A no-action alternative, the applicant's proposed action,
and an early planning mitigation alternative.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the permit application and the comments
received to determine whether the application meets the requirements of
section 10(a) of the ESA. We will also conduct an intra-Service
consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA to evaluate the effects
of the proposed take. After considering the above findings, we will
determine whether the permit issuance criteria of section 10(a)(l)(B)
of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service will issue the requested
ITP to the applicant.
Request for Public Comments
The Service invites comments and suggestions from all interested
parties on the proposed HCP, draft EA and supporting documents during a
30-day public comment period (see DATES). In particular, information
and comments regarding the following topics are requested:
1. The effects that implementation of any alternative could have on
the human environment;
2. Whether or not the significance of the impact on various aspects
of the human environment has been adequately analyzed; and
3. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the
proposed action on the human environment including the Hine's Emerald
Dragonfly, Blanding's Turtle, and the spotted turtle.
Availability of Public Comments
You may submit comments by one of the methods shown under
ADDRESSES. We will post on http://regulations.gov all public comments
and information received electronically or via hardcopy. All comments
received, including names and addresses, will 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.
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 the
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR
1506.6; 43 CFR part 46).
Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2021-06401 Filed 3-26-21; 8:45 am]
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