[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14734-14735]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6078]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XB058
Incidental Take Permit and Habitat Conservation Plan for
PacifiCorp Klamath Hydroelectric Project Interim Operations
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Final
Environmental Assessment (EA) on the application from PacifiCorp Energy
(PacifiCorp or applicant) for an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) and
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for take of a threatened species in
accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA).
NMFS and PacifiCorp have also developed an implementing agreement (IA)
which details how NMFS and PacifiCorp will work together to implement
the HCP. This notice also announces that NMFS has made a decision to
issue an ITP to PacifiCorp for the covered activities described in
their HCP, and has authorized the incidental take of Southern Oregon/
Northern California Coast (SONCC) Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU)
coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) as a result of operation and
maintenance of its Klamath Hydroelectric Project (Project) in and near
the Klamath River in Southern Oregon and Northern California, and
implementation of the HCP during a ten-year period. This notice is
provided under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations and
NMFS ESA permit regulations to inform the public that the Final EA HCP,
responses to public comments, and associated documents are available
for review; and NMFS has made a decision to issue the ITP.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, or to receive
a copy of the documents, please call Lisa Roberts, Fisheries Biologist,
NMFS, at (707) 825-5178.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
Copies of the Final EA, HCP, IA, and associated documents are
available for public inspection during regular business hours at the
Northern California National Marine Fisheries Office located at: 1655
Heindon Road, Arcata, CA 95521 (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
The Final EA, HCP, and IA are also available electronically for review
on the NMFS Southwest Region Web site at: http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/nepa.htm.
Background
Section 9 of the Federal ESA prohibits the take of fish or wildlife
species listed as endangered or threatened by either the FWS or NMFS
(16 U.S.C. 1538). The ESA defines the term ``take'' as: ``harass, harm,
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to
attempt to engage in any such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)). NMFS has
defined ``harm'' as an act which actually kills or injures fish or
wildlife, and such acts may include ``significant habitat modification
or degradation which actually kills or injures fish or wildlife by
significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including
breeding, spawning, rearing, migrating, feeding, or sheltering'' (50
CFR 222.102). Pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA (16 U.S.C.
1539(a)(1)(B)), NMFS may issue ITPs authorizing the take of listed
species if, among other things, such taking is incidental to, and not
the purpose of, otherwise lawful activities.
To receive an ITP under the ESA, an applicant must prepare an HCP
that specifies the following: (1) the impact which will likely result
from the taking; (2) steps the applicant will take to minimize and
mitigate the impacts; (3) funding available to implement the steps; (4)
what alternative actions to the taking the applicant considered and the
reasons why these alternatives were not used; and (5) any other
measures NMFS may require as being necessary or appropriate for
purposes of the HCP (16
[[Page 14735]]
U.S.C. 1539(a)(2)(A)). To issue a permit, NMFS must find that: (1) the
taking will be incidental; (2) the applicant will minimize and mitigate
impacts of the taking to the maximum extent practicable; (3) the
applicant will ensure adequate funding for the HCP; (4) the taking will
not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of
the species in the wild; and (5) the applicant will meet other measures
required by NMFS. Regulations governing issuance of NMFS-issued permits
can be found at 50 CFR 222.301 through 307.
The applicant requested an ITP from NMFS for the SONCC coho salmon
ESU. The Final PacifiCorp HCP for the Project includes a series of
conservation measures to minimize and mitigate the effects of operation
of the Project on potential incidental take of SONCC ESU coho salmon
during the 10-year permit term. In general, the Covered Activities
under the ITP and HCP include the following: (1) Operate and maintain
the spill gates at Link River dam for regulation and releases of flows
from Link River dam for purposes of hydroelectric generation, (2)
Operate and maintain the East Side and West Side canals, penstocks,
turbines, and powerhouse facilities, (3) Operate and maintain Keno dam,
spill gates, and fish ladder, (4) Regulate the water level upstream of
Keno dam in accordance with the agreement with the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation (Reclamation) (per PacifiCorp's existing Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) license) and for irrigation withdrawal
activities, (5) Operate and maintain J.C. Boyle dam, fish bypass
system, water conveyance system, (6) Maintain an instream flow release
from the J.C. Boyle dam to the river of not less than 100 cfs (per
PacifiCorp's existing FERC license), (7) Regulate flows from J.C. Boyle
dam and powerhouse during normal operations such that ramping rates of
flow in the river do not exceed 9 inches per hour (as measured at the
United States Geological Survey (USGS) gage located 0.5 mile downstream
of the J.C. Boyle powerhouse) per PacifiCorp's existing FERC license,
(8) Operate and maintain Copco No. 1 and Copco No. 2 dams, water
conveyance systems, turbines, and powerhouse facilities, (9) Operate
and maintain Iron Gate dam (and associated appurtenances), penstocks,
turbines, and powerhouse facilities, (10) Regulate releases from Iron
Gate dam in accordance with NMFS' biological opinion on Reclamation's
Klamath Project operations which identifies instream flow and ramping
rate requirements (as measured at the USGS gage located 0.5 mile
downstream of Iron Gate dam), and (11) Regulate water levels at Keno,
J.C. Boyle, Copco, and Iron Gate reservoirs.
The stated biological goals of PacifiCorp's HCP are to: (1) Offset
biological effects of blocked habitat upstream of Iron Gate dam by
enhancing the viability of the Upper Klamath coho salmon population,
(2) Enhance coho salmon spawning habitat downstream of Iron Gate dam,
(3) Improve instream flow conditions for coho salmon downstream of Iron
Gate dam, (4) Improve water quality for coho salmon downstream of Iron
Gate dam, (5) Reduce disease incidence and mortality in juvenile coho
salmon downstream of Iron Gate dam, (6) Enhance migratory and rearing
habitat for coho salmon in the Klamath River mainstem corridor, and (7)
Enhance and expand rearing habitat for coho salmon in key tributaries.
A Notice of Availability (NOA) of the draft environmental
assessment, habitat conservation plan, implementing agreement, receipt
of application for the ITP, and notice of a public meeting was
published in the Federal Register on May 4, 2011 (76 FR 25307). The
public review period occurred for 60 days, and no oral comments were
received at a public meeting held in Redding, California on June 29,
2011. A total of eleven (11) individual comment letters were received
by the July 5, 2011 public comment deadline. Two separate individual
comment letters were received after the public comment deadline, and
responses to concerns raised in these letters have been provided
separately from the final environmental assessment. NMFS reviewed the
comments received and identified 79 separate comments regarding either
the Draft EA or the HCP. A response to each of the comments received
during the public comment period is included in the Final EA.
National Environmental Policy Act
The proposed permit issuance triggered the need for compliance with
NEPA and accordingly NMFS prepared a NEPA document. The Final EA
analyzes the proposed action and one other alternative (No Action).
Under the proposed action, NMFS would issue the ITP and PacifiCorp
would implement its HCP within the Klamath River basin. Under the No
Action Alternative, the requested ITP would not be issued, and
PacifiCorp would not implement the HCP. NMFS is responsible for
compliance under NEPA and is providing notice of the availability of
the Final EA and is making available for public review the responses to
comments on the Draft EA.
Dated: March 6, 2012.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-6078 Filed 3-12-12; 8:45 am]
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