[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 92 (Wednesday, May 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26364-26366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-10788]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 042304A]


Notice of Intent to Conduct Public Scoping and Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement Related to Two Joint State and Tribal 
Resource Management Plans for Puget Sound Region Hatchery Programs

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this 
notice advises the public that NMFS intends to gather information 
necessary to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS 
will identify effects on the human environment that may potentially 
result from implementation of two hatchery Resource Management Plans 
jointly proposed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and 
the Puget Sound Treaty Tribes (referred to as the co-managers) for NMFS 
evaluation and determination under the Endangered Species Act for 
threatened salmon. The Resource Management Plans are the proposed 
framework through which the co-managers would jointly manage Puget 
Sound region hatchery programs rearing steelhead and chinook, coho, 
pink, sockeye, and chum salmon while meeting conservation requirements 
specified under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
    NMFS provides this notice to (1) advise other agencies and the 
public of our intentions and, (2) obtain suggestions and information on 
the scope of issues to include in the EIS.

DATES: Written scoping comments are encouraged, and should be received 
at the appropriate address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 
5 p.m. Pacific daylight time on July 12, 2004. NMFS will hold four 
public scoping

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meetings. Each meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with a half-hour open house 
to accommodate informal discussion; presentations will begin at 6:30 
p.m.
    The meeting dates and locations are:
    June 7, 2004, 6 - 8:30 p.m., Public Utility District No. 1 of 
Skagit County, 1415 Freeway Drive, Mount Vernon, WA.
    June 8, 2004, 6 - 8:30 p.m., NOAA Office, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., 
Building 9 Auditorium, Seattle, WA.
    June 14, 2004, 6 - 8:30 p.m., Mary E. Theler Community Center, 2871 
NE State Route 3, Belfair, WA.
    June 15, 2004, 6 - 8:30 p.m., Jefferson County Public Library, 620 
Cedar Avenue, Port Hadlock, WA.

ADDRESSES: Address comments and requests for information related to 
preparation of the EIS, or requests to be added to the mailing list for 
this project, to Allyson Ouzts, NMFS, 525 N.E. Oregon Street, Suite 
510, Portland, OR 97232; facsimile (503) 872-2737. Comments may be 
submitted by e-mail to the following address: 
[email protected]. In the subject line of the e-mail, include 
the document identifier: Puget Sound Region Hatchery EIS. Comments and 
materials received will be available for public inspection, by 
appointment, during normal business hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allyson Ouzts, NMFS, by phone at (503) 
736-4736. In addition, further information regarding this project, 
including the co-managers' Resource Management Plans and their 
associated HGMPs may be found at: www.nwr.noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Species Listed in This Notice

    The following species and Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) 
under NMFS jurisdiction potentially would be affected by the proposed 
action:
    Puget Sound chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
    Hood Canal summer chum salmon (O. keta)
    Steller sea-lions (Eumetopias jubatus).
    Listed species regulated by the United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service that may be affected by the proposed action include bull trout 
(Salvelinus confluentus), bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), brown 
pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis), marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus 
marmoratus marmoratus), and Northern spotted owls (Strix occidentalis 
caurina).

Background

    NEPA requires Federal agencies to conduct an environmental analysis 
of their proposed actions to determine if the actions may affect the 
human environment. According to NMFS' NEPA environmental review 
procedures (NAO-216.6), NMFS' action of evaluating the co-managers' 
Resource Management Plans for ESA compliance is a major Federal action 
subject to environmental review under NEPA. Therefore, NMFS is seeking 
public input on the scope of the required NEPA analysis, including the 
range of reasonable alternatives and the associated impacts of any 
alternatives.
    The ESA contains several sections that set the foundation for 
managing listed species. Section 9(a)(1) of the ESA makes it illegal 
for any person subject to United States jurisdiction to ``take'' ESA 
listed Pacific salmon without authorization from NMFS. The term 
``take'' is defined under the ESA as to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, 
shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, collect, or to attempt to engage in 
any such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)). NMFS' definition of harm 
includes significant habitat modification or degradation where it kills 
or injures fish or wildlife by significantly impairing essential 
behavioral patterns, which include breeding, feeding, spawning, 
migrating, rearing, and sheltering (64 FR 60727, November 8, 1999).
    Section 4(d) of the ESA discusses the treatment of species listed 
as threatened. It states that, whenever a species is listed as 
threatened, the Secretary ``shall issue such regulations as he deems 
necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of the 
species.'' Such protective regulations may include any or all of the 
prohibitions that apply automatically to protect endangered species 
under ESA section 9.
    In 2000, NMFS applied the ESA section 9 take prohibitions to 
several threatened salmonid species. However, NMFS also provided some 
exceptions to the application of these section 9 take prohibitions. 
These exceptions are referred to as 4(d) limits; they specify 
categories of activities to which section 9 take prohibitions may not 
apply when activities contribute to conserving listed salmonids or are 
governed by programs that adequately limit impacts on listed salmonids.
    Under Limit 6 of the 4(d) Rule, State and Tribal governments 
conducting jointly-managed hatchery or fishery activities would not be 
subject to the ESA section 9 take prohibitions provided that activities 
are implemented under a Resource Management Plan that meets the 
requirements of Limit 6. For NMFS to determine that a Resource 
Management Plan meets the requirements of Limit 6, the plan must 
clearly state its intended scope and area of impact and define 
management objectives consistent with the criteria referenced in Limit 
6 of the 4(d) rule.
    The co-managers have jointly submitted to NMFS two Resource 
Management Plans for Puget Sound region hatcheries. One plan describes 
hatchery programs that produce chinook salmon. The other plan describes 
hatchery programs that produce steelhead, and coho, sockeye, pink, and 
chum salmon. Appended to the overarching Resource Management Plans are 
117 individual Hatchery and Genetic Management Plans (HGMPs) for each 
hatchery program. The HGMPs describe each hatchery program in more 
detail, including specific measures proposed by the co-managers to 
minimize the risk of adversely affecting Puget Sound chinook salmon and 
Hood Canal summer chum salmon. NMFS listed both salmon species as 
threatened in March 1999 (64 FR 14308). The Puget Sound chinook salmon 
Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU; NMFS' application of distinct 
population segment to salmon) includes all naturally spawned spring, 
summer, and fall runs of chinook salmon in the Puget Sound region from 
the North Fork Nooksack River, extending into south Puget Sound, Hood 
Canal, and the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, including the Elwha 
River on the Olympic Peninsula. This ESU is located in portions of 
Clallam, Island, King, Kitsap, Jefferson, Mason, Pierce, San Juan, 
Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, and Whatcom Counties in Washington State. 
The Hood Canal summer chum salmon ESU includes all naturally spawned 
summer-run chum in tributaries to Hood Canal and Discovery, Sequim, and 
Dungeness Bays in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca. This ESU is 
located in portions of Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason Counties 
of Washington State.
    NMFS will conduct an environmental review of the Resource 
Management Plans and prepare an EIS. The EIS will consider potential 
impacts on listed and non-listed species and their habitats, water 
quality and quantity, socioeconomics, and environmental justice. The 
EIS could also include information regarding potential impacts on other 
components of the human environment, including air quality, 
transportation, and cultural resources.
    NMFS will rigorously explore and objectively evaluate a full range 
of

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reasonable alternatives in the EIS including the proposed action 
(implementation of the co-managers' Resource Management Plans) and a No 
Action alternative. Additional alternatives could include at least the 
following: (1) a decrease in artificial production in selected programs 
that have a primary goal of augmenting fisheries, and (2) an increase 
in artificial production in selected programs that have a primary goal 
of augmenting fisheries.
    Comments and suggestions are invited from all interested parties to 
ensure that the EIS considers the full range of related issues and 
alternatives to the proposed action. NMFS requests that comments be as 
specific as possible. In particular, NMFS requests information 
regarding: other possible alternatives; the direct, indirect, and 
cumulative impacts that implementation of the proposed Resource 
Management Plans could have on endangered and threatened species and 
their communities and habitats; potential adaptive management and/or 
monitoring provisions; funding issues; baseline environmental 
conditions in Clallam, Island, King, Kitsap, Jefferson, Mason, Pierce, 
San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, and Whatcom Counties; other 
plans or projects that might be relevant to this proposed project; and 
potential methods to minimize and mitigate for impacts.
    Written comments concerning the proposed action and its 
environmental review should be directed to NMFS as described above (see 
ADDRESSES). All comments and materials received, including names and 
addresses, will become part of the administrative record and may be 
released to the public. Questions may be directed to Allyson Ouzts with 
NMFS at (503) 736-4736.
    The environmental review of this project will be conducted in 
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), National 
Environmental Policy Act Regulations (40 CFR 1500 parts 1508), and 
other appropriate Federal laws and regulations, and policies and 
procedures of NMFS for compliance with those regulations.

    Dated: May 7, 2004.
Phil Williams,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-10788 Filed 5-11-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S