[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 71 (Friday, April 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19822-19824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7821]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XH15


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
and Habitat Conservation Plan

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

ACTION: Notice; availability of documents for public comment and public 
hearings.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and draft habitat conservation 
plan (HCP) for public review and comment. The City of Portland (City) 
has submitted an application to the National Marine Fisheries Service 
(NMFS) for an incidental take permit under section 10 of the Endangered 
Species Act (ESA) of 1973 as amended. The HCP also serves as the basis 
of an application to NMFS that they take steps under the ESA to limit 
the application of the prohibition against take of listed salmon and 
steelhead so that it does not apply to the continued operation and 
maintenance of the Bull Run water supply system.

DATES: Written comments on the draft HCP, Implementation Agreement and 
DEIS will be accepted for a period of 60 days, ending at 5 p.m. Pacific 
Time on May 27, 2008. Written comments may be sent by mail, facsimile, 
or e-mail to the addresses listed below.

ADDRESSES: Please address written comments to Nancy Munn, National 
Marine Fisheries Service, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd, Suite 1100, Portland, 
Oregon 97232, facsimile (503) 231-6893. Please send e-mail comments to: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, or to receive 
the documents on CD ROM, please contact Nancy Munn, Project Manager, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, (503) 231-6269.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The documents being made available include: 
(1) the proposed habitat

[[Page 19823]]

conservation plan; (2) the proposed Implementing Agreement; and (3) the 
draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). This notice is provided 
pursuant to the ESA and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969, as amended. The NMFS is furnishing this notice to allow other 
agencies and the public an opportunity to review and comment on these 
documents. All comments received will become part of the public record 
for this action. Hard bound copies of the conservation plan, 
Implementation Agreement, and DEIS are available for viewing, or 
partial or complete duplication, at all Oregon State libraries and the 
main Multnomah County Library in Portland, Oregon.

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA and Federal regulations prohibit the 
unauthorized ``taking'' of a species listed as endangered or 
threatened. The term take is defined under the ESA to mean harass, 
harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or 
to attempt to engage in any such conduct. Harm is defined to include 
significant habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills 
or injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral 
patterns, including breeding, feeding, and sheltering (50 CFR 17.3, 50 
CFR 222.102). NMFS further defines harm to include significant habitat 
modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures fish or 
wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, 
including breeding, feeding, spawning, migrating, rearing, and 
sheltering (64 FR 60727). The NMFS may issue incidental take permits, 
under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA, to take listed species incidental 
to, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful activities. NMFS 
regulations governing permits for federally endangered and threatened 
species are promulgated under 50 CFR 222.307. NMFS also may issue a 
rule under section 4(d) of the ESA, providing for the conservation of 
threatened species while authorizing incidental take under certain 
conditions. The Bull Run watershed has been used by the City for water 
supply since 1895. The City's water system provides water to residents 
and businesses within the City as well as to a number of surrounding 
communities. As a result of the listing of several salmon and steelhead 
species in Oregon State in the mid to late 1990s, the City was 
concerned about compliance with the ESA and other Federal regulations, 
and water supply reliability and affordability. The presence and 
operation of the water system infrastructure creates impacts on habitat 
for several species of listed fish because of changes in river flow, 
river temperature, and aquatic and riparian habitat. The City's 
conservation plan includes 49 habitat conservation measures to protect 
and improve water quality and habitat for aquatic species within the 
boundaries of the Sandy River Basin.
    The City has applied to: (1) obtain an incidental take permit, 
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA for endangered, threatened 
and covered species; and, (2) request from the NMFS a limitation on the 
application of the prohibition against take, pursuant to section 4(d) 
of the ESA for identified threatened species only, for activities 
associated with the continued operation and maintenance of the Bull Run 
water supply system. The activities associated with the continued 
operation and maintenance of the Bull Run water supply system are 
described in the draft HCP and Implementing Agreement and serve as 
documentation that the conservation plan meets the requirements of 
section 4(d) as well as section 10. Each of these activities is 
represented as an alternative in the DEIS. Activities proposed for 
coverage under the incidental take permits or for a limitation on the 
application of the prohibition against take include the following: (1) 
operation, maintenance, and repair of the water system; (2) 
implementation of habitat conservation, research, and monitoring 
measures; and (3) incidental land management activities. The proposed 
incidental take permits would authorize the take of the following 
federally threatened species incidental to otherwise lawful activities: 
Lower Columbia River chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus shawytscha), Lower 
Columbia River steelhead (O. mykiss), Lower Columbia River coho salmon 
(O. keta), and Columbia River chum salmon (O. keta).
    The draft HCP also includes conservation measures and effects 
analyses for 18 fish and wildlife species under the jurisdiction of the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The species included are those most 
likely to be affected by water system operations and/or benefited by 
measures designed for the anadromous fish.
    The proposed duration of the incidental take permit and 
conservation plan would be 50 years, though many aspects of the plan's 
conservation strategy are intended to benefit aquatic species and their 
habitat long into the future. The NMFS formally initiated an 
environmental review of the project through publication of a Notice of 
Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal 
Register on March 27, 2006 (71 FR 15168). That document also announced 
a public scoping period during which interested parties were invited to 
provide written comments expressing their issues or concerns relating 
to the proposal and to attend one of two public scoping meetings held 
in Portland, Oregon. Based on public scoping comments, NMFS has 
prepared a DEIS to analyze the effects of alternatives on the human 
environment. Implementation of the City's conservation plan, including 
issuance of the associated incidental take permits from NMFS for 
threatened species is Alternative 2 in the DEIS. Three other 
alternatives are analyzed in the DEIS including: Alternative 1, no 
action, in that the incidental take permit would not be issued to the 
City; and Alternative 3, providing fish passage facilities at the two 
dams on the Bull Run River.
    This document is provided pursuant to the ESA and NEPA regulations. 
NMFS will evaluate the application, associated documents, and comments 
submitted thereon to determine whether the applications meet the 
requirements of the ESA and NEPA. The NMFS will revise the DEIS in a 
Final Environmental Impact Statement. The NMFS' decisions whether to 
issue an incidental take permit or limits on the application of the 
prohibition against take will be made upon completion of the Endangered 
Species Act determinations and Final Environmental Impact Statement and 
associated Record of Decision.

Public Meetings

    The NMFS has scheduled two public meetings to receive comments from 
the public concerning the DEIS and draft HCP. (1) Monday April 28, 
2008, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., East Portland Community Center, 
Multipurpose Room 1, 740 SE 106th Ave, Portland, Oregon(2) Tuesday, 
April 29, 2008, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Lovejoy Room, Portland City 
Hall, 1221 SW 4th Ave., Portland, Oregon.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Nancy Munn, (503) 231-6893 at 
least 5 working days prior to the meeting date.


[[Page 19824]]


    Dated: April 7, 2008.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-7821 Filed 4-10-08; 8:45 am]
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