[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 98 (Friday, May 20, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29260-29261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12413]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2011-N062; 80221-1112-0000-F2]


Incidental Take Permit; San Bernardino County, CA; Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan, Draft Implementing Agreement, and Draft 
Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received an application from Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. 
(Applicant), for an incidental take permit under the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. We are considering issuing a 25-year 
permit to the Applicant that would authorize incidental take of the 
endangered Delhi Sands flower-loving fly incidental to activities 
related to operations and maintenance of storage and distribution 
facilities for petroleum products within the Colton and Colton North 
Terminals, and with habitat restoration and management on a proposed 
on-site conservation area located in the cities of Rialto and Colton, 
San Bernardino County, California. We request public comment on the 
proposed HCP, draft Implementing Agreement, and draft Environmental 
Assessment for the Applicant's proposed activities.

DATES: Send written comments on or before July 19, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to Jim Bartel, Field 
Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife 
Office, 6010 Hidden Valley Road, Suite 101, Carlsbad, CA 92011.You also 
may send comments by facsimile to (760) 431-5902.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Corey, Assistant Field Supervisor, 
at the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office address above; telephone (760) 
431-9440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application from Kinder 
Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (Applicant), for an incidental take permit 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. We are 
considering issuing a 25-year permit to the Applicant that would 
authorize take of the endangered Delhi Sands flower-loving fly 
(Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis) incidental to activities 
described in the Applicant's proposed Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). 
The permit, if issued, would authorize incidental take of the species 
associated with proposed site preparation, future construction, and 
routine operations and maintenance of storage and distribution 
facilities for petroleum products on approximately 20 acres (ac) (8 
hectares (ha)) within the Colton and Colton North Terminals, and with 
habitat restoration and management on a proposed approximately 20-ac 
(8-ha) on-site conservation area, located in the cities of Rialto and 
Colton, San Bernardino County, California.

Availability of Documents

    Documents available for public review include the Applicant's 
permit application, proposed HCP, and accompanying draft Implementing 
Agreement, and the Service's draft Environmental Assessment.
    For copies of the documents, please contact us by telephone at 
(760) 431-9440, or by letter to the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Copies are also available for 
public review, by appointment, during regular business hours at the 
Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office.

Background

    Section 9 of the Act and Federal regulations prohibit the ``take'' 
of fish and wildlife species Federally listed as endangered or 
threatened. Take of Federally listed fish or wildlife is defined under 
the Act as to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, 
capture, or collect listed species, or to attempt to engage in any such 
conduct (16 U.S.C. 1538). ``Harm'' includes significant habitat 
modification or degradation that actually kills or injures listed 
wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns such 
as breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). To ``harass'' 
includes the carrying out of an intentional or negligent act or 
omission that creates the likelihood of injury to wildlife by annoying 
it to such an extent as to significantly disrupt normal behavioral 
patterns such as breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). Under 
limited circumstances, we may issue permits to authorize incidental 
take, which the Act defines as take that is incidental to, and not the 
purpose of, the carrying out of otherwise lawful activities. 
Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened and 
endangered species are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. The incidental take permit, if 
issued, would confer assurances to the Applicant regarding the 
endangered Delhi Sands flower-

[[Page 29261]]

loving fly under the Service's ``No Surprises'' regulation at 50 CFR 
17.22(b)(5). Take authorization for the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly 
would become effective upon permit issuance.

Project Location

    The Applicant is proposing site preparation (vegetation clearing 
and grading), future construction, and routine operations and 
maintenance of storage and distribution facilities for petroleum 
products on approximately 20 ac (8 ha) within the existing Colton and 
Colton North Terminals and their respective pipeline easements in San 
Bernardino County, California. The Colton Terminal is located in Rialto 
and Colton, on the east side of Riverside Avenue, south of Slover 
Avenue, and north of Santa Ana Avenue. The Colton North Terminal is 
located in Colton, on the east side of Sycamore Avenue, and north and 
south of Slover Avenue. The pipeline easements for the terminals 
traverse the cities of Ontario, Fontana, Rialto, and Colton, from the 
western end of Ontario International Airport to the Santa Ana River. 
Land uses surrounding the terminals include petroleum facilities, city 
streets, vacant lands, a flood control channel (Rialto Creek), and the 
Colton Dunes Conservation Bank (operated by Vulcan Materials Company as 
a conservation bank for the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly).

Project Information

    The Applicant is proposing a variety of projects located both on 
and off the terminals. These projects are as follows:
    (1) Clearance of all vegetation for future developments on several 
of the vacant parcels located on the Colton and Colton North Terminals.
    (2) Construction of the Calnev Expansion Project, a new 16-inch- 
(41-centimeter-) diameter multiple-product pipeline in Colton. This 
project also includes the construction of a new electrical transmission 
line located just east of the Colton North Terminal.
    (3) Future development of approximately 6.19 ac (2.5 ha) in the 
westernmost area of the Sycamore North Parcel.
    (4) Routine operations and maintenance of all facilities, including 
excavations, inspections, and repairs to all the Applicant's pipelines 
and facilities located within the species' habitat. The combined total 
length of pipeline to be covered under the permit would be 
approximately 26 miles.
    (5) Inspection, repair (if necessary), and permanent reburial of 
the exposed portion of Line Section 111, which is located on lands 
owned by Union Pacific east of the Colton North Terminal.
    (6) The placement of Southern California Edison (SCE) substation 
facilities (i.e., electrical transmission line tower, access roads, 
etc.) off site, within lands owned by the Union Pacific Railroad 
Company, just outside the northeastern boundary of the Colton North 
Terminal.
    Based on the results of focused surveys, we consider undeveloped 
portions of the proposed project area, which contain habitat of varying 
suitability, as occupied by the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly. 
Therefore, we have determined that the Applicant's proposed activities 
would result in incidental take of the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly. 
No other Federally listed species are known to occupy the site.
    To minimize and mitigate incidental take of the Delhi Sands flower-
loving fly within the project area, the Applicant proposes to set aside 
approximately 20 ac (8 ha) as a permanent, on-site conservation area. 
The Applicant would fund the restoration and management of the 
conservation area for the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly through an 
agreement with the Riverside Land Conservancy, a nonprofit land trust.

National Environmental Policy Act

    We have prepared the draft Environmental Assessment under the 
National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.), to analyze the impacts of authorizing incidental take of the 
Delhi Sands flower-loving fly, based on the Applicant's application for 
an incidental take permit and the proposed HCP included with the 
application. The proposed HCP describes the Applicant's proposed 
development activities and the measures the Applicant will undertake to 
minimize and mitigate the effects of incidental take to the maximum 
extent practicable. The proposed issuance of an incidental take permit 
is a Federal action requiring Service compliance with NEPA and its 
implementing regulations at 40 CFR 1506.6. Our draft Environmental 
Assessment analyzes the environmental consequences of three 
alternatives: (1) The ``Proposed Action,'' which would result in 
Service issuance of an incidental take permit and implementation of the 
Applicant's proposed HCP; (2) an ``Other Compensation Lands'' 
alternative, which would involve permit issuance and implementation of 
a HCP based on the purchase of credits at the Colton Dunes Conservation 
Bank; and (3) a ``No Action'' alternative, which would not involve 
Service issuance of an incidental take permit or the Applicant's 
implementation of a HCP, would not result in impacts to the Delhi Sands 
flower-loving fly, and would not establish any additional conservation.

Public Review

    We invite the public to comment on the proposed HCP, draft 
Implementing Agreement, and draft Environmental Assessment during our 
60-day comment period (see DATES). Please direct comments to the 
Service contact listed in the ADDRESSES section, and any questions to 
the Service contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, 
or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should 
be aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you may 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

Next Steps

    We provide this notice under section 10(a) of the Act and Service 
regulations for implementing NEPA. We will evaluate the application, 
associated documents, and any public comments we receive to determine 
whether the application meets the requirements of NEPA regulations and 
section 10(a) of the Act. If we determine that those requirements are 
met, we will issue a permit to the Applicant for the incidental take of 
Delhi Sands flower-loving fly. We will make our final permit decision 
no sooner than 60 days after the date of this notice.

Michael Fris,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region, Sacramento, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2011-12413 Filed 5-19-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P