[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 86 (Monday, May 5, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23696-23697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11061]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 042303A]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the availability of a Routine Road 
Maintenance Program (RMP) that the City of Portland, Oregon, Office of 
Transportation, has submitted pursuant to the Endangered Species Act 
(ESA). NMFS promulgated a protective rule for 14 threatened salmon and 
steelhead Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs). The RMP would affect 
seven ESUs of threatened salmonids identified in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION: The 4(d) rule provides for limits on ESA take prohibitions 
for the various activities set out in the rule. The RMP addresses the 
limit for routine road maintenance activities of any state, city, 
county or port. This Notice serves to notify the public of the 
availability of the City of Portland RMP for review and comment before 
a final approval or disapproval is made by NMFS.

DATES: Written comments on the draft RMP must be received no later than 
5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (see ADDRESSES) on June 4, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Dr. Nancy Munn, Habitat 
Conservation Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, 525 NE Oregon 
Street, Suite 500, Portland, Oregon 97232.
    Comments may also be faxed to 503-231-6893. Copies of the entire 
RMP are available on the Internet at: http://www.portlandtransportation.org/CurrentNews/InterimRoadMaintenanceProgram.pdf, or from the address posted on that 
site. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via email or the 
Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Nancy Munn at phone number: 503-
231-6269, or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is relevant to the following 
seven threatened salmon ESUs:
    Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha); threatened Upper 
Willamette River (UWR), and Lower Columbia River (LCR).
    Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss); threatened Upper Willamette River 
(UWR), Lower Columbia River (LCR), Snake River Basin (SRB), and Middle 
Columbia River (MCR).
    Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta); threatened Columbia River (CR).

Background

    The City of Portland, Office of Transportation, submitted the RMP 
for routine road maintenance activities that might affect certain 
salmonid ESUs listed as threatened within the boundaries of the City of 
Portland. The RMP was designed so that routine road maintenance 
activities would be protective of salmonids and their habitat.
    As specified in the July 10, 2000, ESA 4(d) rule for salmon and 
steelhead (65 FR 42422, July 10, 2000) under limit 10(i), take 
prohibitions to threatened

[[Page 23697]]

species of salmonids do not apply to routine road maintenance 
activities of a state, county, city or port that complies with a 
program that is substantially similar to that contained in the Oregon 
Department of Transportation (ODOT) Routine Road Maintenance Water 
Quality and Habitat Guide Best Management Practices (Guide, July 1999), 
and that is determined to meet or exceed the protections provided in 
the ODOT Guide. NMFS may approve a routine road maintenance program of 
any state, city, county or port that contains management practices that 
are equivalent to or better than those in the ODOT Guide. Prior to 
final approval of a routine road maintenance program, NMFS must publish 
notification in the Federal Register announcing the program's 
availability for public review and comment.
    The City of Portland RMP submittal includes a cover letter 
addressed to D. Robert Lohn, Regional Administrator of NMFS, and a 
statement of commitment from the City of Portland to implement the RMP. 
In Part 1, the RMP provides the responsible entity and legal authority 
for the program and provides a description of the program, including a 
comparison with ODOT's best management practices. In Part 2, the RMP 
provides a description of the geographic area to which the program 
applies, including an analysis of the environmental baseline of the 
watersheds of the lower Columbia River and the lower Willamette River, 
and tributaries to the Willamette River within the City of Portland. 
Part 2 also includes maps and tables that depict various habitat 
parameters such as culverts that block fish passage, riparian 
condition, and water quality condition. In Part 3 , the RMP describes 
the listed species distribution and status, including distribution maps 
for steelhead and chinook. The RMP also provides information on fish 
use within lower Willamette River and its tributary. A bibliography of 
relevant reports are provided in Part 4. In Part 5, the RMP makes an 
affirmative conclusion that the program is substantially similar to or 
better than ODOT's program, and summarizes the training, monitoring, 
and reporting elements of the RMP.
    The RMP defines what activities are routine road maintenance. These 
consist of maintenance activities that are conducted on currently 
serviceable structures, facilities, and equipment, involve no expansion 
of or change in use, and do not result in significant negative 
hydrological impact. The City of Portland best management practices 
(Part 1b) includes three activities that differ from ODOT's. Best 
management practices for surface work, sweeping/flushing, and snow/ice 
removal/sanding differ from ODOT's best management practices. The RMP 
provides information to support the assertion that the City of 
Portland's practices for these activities are as effective or more 
effective than ODOT's practices at protecting fish and their habitat. 
Approval or disapproval of the RMP will depend on NMFS findings after 
public review and comment.

Authority

    Under section 4 of the ESA, the Secretary of Commerce is required 
to adopt such regulations as he deems necessary and advisable for the 
conservation of species listed as threatened. The ESA salmon and 
steelhead 4(d) rule (65 FR 424222, July 10, 2000) identifies specific 
categories of activities that contribute to the conservation of listed 
salmonids and sets out the criteria for such activities. The rule 
further provides that the prohibitions of paragraph (a) of the rule do 
not apply to activities associated with routine road maintenance 
provided that a state or local program has been approved by NMFS to be 
in accordance with the salmon and steelhead 4(d) rule (65 FR 424222, 
July 10, 2000).

    Dated: April 28, 2003.
Phil Williams,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-11061 Filed 5-2-03; 8:45 am]
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