[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 118 (Wednesday, June 20, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33977-33978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-11963]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA87


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Proposed modication of permit 1235.

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SUMMARY: NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has received a 
request from the City of Seattle (the City) to amend its Permit 1235 
(Permit) authorizing take of Puget Sound chinook salmon incidental to 
the operation of the City's watershed supply and management system. 
NMFS is requesting comments on whether Permit 1235 if amended as 
requested would still meet the statutory criteria for issuance of an 
incidental take permit.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed permit amendment must be 
received at the appropriate address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) no 
later than 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time July 20, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Matthew Longenbaugh, 
Habitat Conservation Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, 510 
Desmond Drive, Suite 103, Lacey, WA 98503. Comments may also be faxed 
to 360-753-9517. Comments will be accepted via email at 
[email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Longenbaugh at phone number 
360-753-7761, or e-mail: [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and 
its implementing regulations, take - defined to 
include harm and harassment as well as activities such as killing and 
capture - of endangered species is prohibited, absent a permit or other 
exception. By regulation, NMFS has applied the prohibition of take to 
threatened Puget Sound chinook salmon. In 2000, NMFS issued Incidental 
Take Permit 1235 (Permit) authorizing take of Puget Sound chinook 
salmon incidental to the operation of the City's water supply system. 
The City's Cedar River Watershed Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), 
required for issuance of an incidental take permit, and supporting 
documents by NMFS analyzed the effects of the City's activities, not 
only to the listed Puget Sound chinook salmon but also to several 
species that were not listed under the ESA in 2000. The HCP and the 
Implementing Agreement (IA) signed by the City and NMFS, among others, 
provide that the Permit's authorization for incidental take of unlisted 
species becomes effective for that species upon its listing and 
subsequent application of the take prohibition. However, until the 
species is listed and take is prohibited, the City needs no Federal 
authorization to take individual members of that unlisted species.
    On March 1, 2007, the City requested that the Permit no longer 
include one species of salmon, the Cedar River

[[Page 33978]]

sockeye, that remains unlisted. In conjunction with this, the City also 
wishes to remove as covered activities the interim sockeye hatchery and 
the planned permanent sockeye hatchery, included in the HCP.
    NMFS believes that this proposed change could qualify as a minor 
modification, pursuant to section 12.1 of the IA, because it appears 
that none of the remaining operations covered by the Permit would 
change and the City would remain obligated to continue all of the 
Permit's other mitigation measures. Further, NMFS believes that removal 
of the sockeye and the interim and planned hatcheries from the Permit 
will have no effect on operation of those hatcheries. Separate 
agreements, namely the Landsburg Mitigation Agreement signed by the 
City, NMFS and the State of Washington, as well a court settlement with 
the Muckleshoot Tribe, require that the City continue sockeye hatchery 
operations with the same mitigation measures and adaptive management 
that would be required under the Permit.
    However, NMFS wishes to ensure that the Permit, without the Cedar 
River sockeye as a covered species and the interim and planned 
hatcheries as covered activities, is still consistent with the 
statutory issuance criteria contained in section 10 of the ESA. 
Accordingly, NMFS will treat the requested change as if it were an 
amendment pursuant to 12.2 of the IA, including conducting any required 
environmental reviews. NMFS therefore seeks comment on Permit 1235 as 
it would operate without including the Cedar River sockeye and the 
interim and planned hatcheries. NMFS is particularly interested in 
information regarding whether this change would alter the operations 
that will still be covered by the Permit, and whether the mitigation 
measures for those remaining operations will need modification.

Authority

    Under section 10(a)(1)(b) of the ESA, the Secretary of Commerce is 
authorized to issue permits for incidental take of ESA-listed species. 
The regulations that describe procedures for issuing these permits are 
found at 50 CFR 222.307.

    Dated: June 14, 2007.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-11963 Filed 6-19-07; 8:45 am]
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