[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 181 (Monday, September 21, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48057-48058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-22655]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XR66


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 Clackamas 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 four 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 
Clackamas 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 October 21, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Dr. Anne Mullan, Habitat 
Conservation Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1201 NE Lloyd 
Blvd, Suite 1100, Portland, Oregon 97232. Comments may also be faxed to 
(503) 231-6893. Copies of the entire RMP are available online with this 
title, Best Management Practices for Routine Road Maintenance 
Application, at: http://www.clackamas.us/transportation/library.htm. 
Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the Internet.

[[Page 48058]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Anne Mullan at phone number (503) 
231-6267, or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 42422, 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 42422, July 10, 2000).

Species Covered in this Notice

    This notice is relevant to the following five threatened salmon 
ESUs:Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha); threatened Upper 
Willamette River (UWR), and Lower Columbia River (LCR). Steelhead 
(Oncorhynchus mykiss); threatened Upper Williamette River (UWR), 
threatened Lower Columbia River (LCR). Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus 
kisutch); threatened Lower Columbia River (LCR).
    Clackamas County, Department of Transportation and Development, 
submitted the RMP for routine road maintenance activities that might 
affect certain salmonid ESUs listed as threatened within the boundaries 
of Clackamas County. 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) 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 Clackamas County RMP submittal includes a cover letter 
addressed to the Regional Administrator of NOAA Fisheries, and a 
statement of commitment from Clackamas County to implement the RMP. In 
Parts 1 through 3, the RMP provides the responsible entity and legal 
authority for the program and provides a description of the program, 
including a description of Clackamas County's Riparian Management Areas 
and their Restricted Area Zones. 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 within the 
County boundaries. Part 3 also includes tables that describe various 
habitat parameters such as culverts that block fish passage, riparian 
condition, and water quality condition. In Part 4, the RMP describes 
the listed species distribution and status, referring to distribution 
maps for steelhead and chinook found in Appendix B. A list of relevant 
reports is provided in Part 5. In Part 6, the RMP summarizes the 
training, monitoring, and reporting elements of the RMP and the RMP 
makes an affirmative conclusion that the program is identical to ODOT's 
program, referring to Table 5 comparing the two programs.
    The RMP defines activities that 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. Clackamas County's asserts that their practices 
are as effective as ODOT's practices at protecting fish and their 
habitat because they are adopting the ODOT Best Management Practices. 
They differ only in the width of the Restricted Activity Zones 
delineated for each river or stream in the area covered by this RMP. 
These will be 150 feet on each side of the road or stream for Clackamas 
County's Road Maintenance Program, while ODOT uses a 250 foot width 
zone to review actions for additional protection. However, as the 
county road network is much denser, the narrower zones provide 
comparable protection to the ODOT program. Approval or disapproval of 
the RMP will depend on NOAA Fisheries' findings after public review and 
comment.

    Dated: September 15, 2009.
Therese Conant,
Acting Division Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-22655 Filed 9-18-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S