[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 9 (Thursday, January 13, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2390-2391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-756]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 010605C]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries), 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 Washington County, Oregon has submitted 
pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NOAA Fisheries 
promulgated a protective rule for 14 threatened salmon and steelhead 
Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs). The RMP would affect six ESUs 
of threatened salmonids identified in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this document. The ESA 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 Washington County RMP for review and comment 
before a final approval or disapproval is made by NOAA Fisheries.

DATES: Written comments on the draft RMP must be received at the 
appropriate address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. 
Pacific Standard Time on February 14, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Dr. Nancy Munn, Habitat 
Conservation Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, 525 NE Oregon 
Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97232.
    Comments may also be faxed to 503-231-6893. Copies of the entire 
RMP are available on the Internet at: http://www.co.washington.or.us/limit10, 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 six 
salmon ESUs:
    Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha); threatened Upper 
Willamette River (UWR), and Lower Columbia River (LCR).
    Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss); threatened Upper Willamette River 
(UWR), and Lower Columbia River (LCR).
    Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch); proposed as threatened Oregon 
Coast (OC).
    Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta); threatened Columbia River (CR).

Background

    Washington County, Department of Land Use and Transportation, 
Operations and Maintenance Division, submitted the RMP for routine road 
maintenance activities that might affect certain salmonid ESUs listed 
or proposed as threatened within the boundaries of Washington County. 
The RMP was designed so that routine road maintenance activities would 
be

[[Page 2391]]

protective of salmonids and their habitat.
    As specified in the July 10, 2000, ESA 4(d) rule for salmon and 
steelhead (65 FR 42422) under limit 10(i), take prohibitions to 
threatened 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. NOAA Fisheries 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, NOAA Fisheries must publish notification in the Federal 
Register announcing the program's availability for public review and 
comment.
    The Washington County RMP submittal includes a cover letter 
addressed to D. Robert Lohn, Regional Administrator of NOAA Fisheries, 
and a statement of commitment from Washington County 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 description of Washington County's Riparian Management 
Areas and their gravel road maintenance and dust abatement program. 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 Oregon coast tributaries that are within the City 
of Portland. Part 2 also includes maps (most found in Attachment 3) and 
tables that describe 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, 
referring to distribution maps for steelhead and chinook found in 
Attachment 4. A list of relevant reports is provided in Part 4. In Part 
5, the RMP summarizes the training, monitoring, and reporting elements 
of the RMP. In Part 6, the RMP makes an affirmative conclusion that the 
program is substantially similar to or better than ODOT's program, 
referring to a table in Attachment 1 that compares the two programs.
    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. Washington County's best management practices 
(Attachment 2) includes some activities that differ from ODOT's. These 
include best management practices for surface work, ditch shaping and 
cleaning, and sweeping/flushing. The RMP provides information in 
Attachment 1 to support the assertion that Washington County'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 NOAA Fisheries' 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 NOAA 
Fisheries to be in accordance with the salmon and steelhead 4(d) rule 
(65 FR 424222, July 10, 2000).

    Dated: January 7, 2005.
Phil Williams,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-756 Filed 1-12-05; 8:45 am]
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