[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 160 (Friday, August 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49824-49825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20349]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-ES-2012-N184; FXES11120200000F2-123-FF02ENEH00]


Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Habitat Conservation 
Plan for TransCanada Keystone Pipeline's Gulf Coast Project in Oklahoma

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the 
availability of the draft Environmental Assessment and draft Habitat 
Conservation Plan for TransCanada Keystone Pipeline's (Keystone) Gulf 
Coast Project in Oklahoma, under the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969. Keystone has applied for an incidental take permit under the 
Endangered Species Act, that would authorize incidental take of the 
American burying beetle.

DATES: To ensure consideration of your written comments, we must 
receive them on or before close of business (4:30 p.m. CST) on 
September 17, 2012.

ADDRESSES: To obtain documents for review, see Reviewing Documents in 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Comments concerning the application, the draft Environmental 
Assessment (DEA), or the draft Habitat Conservation Plan (DHCP) should 
be submitted in writing, by one of the following methods:
    Email: [email protected]; or
    U.S. mail: Field Supervisor, Oklahoma Ecological Services Field 
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK 
74129.
    Please refer to Permit number TE80492A-0 when submitting comments. 
Please specify if comments are in reference to the DEA, DHCP, or both.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Dixie Porter, at the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office, 9014 E. 
21st St., Tulsa, OK 74129, or by phone at 918-581-7458.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), we advise the public that:
    1. We have gathered the information necessary to determine impacts 
and formulate alternatives for the DEA related to the potential 
issuance of an incidental take permit (ITP) to TransCanada Keystone 
Pipeline, LP (applicant, Keystone); and
    2. The applicant has developed a DHCP as part of the application 
for an ITP (TE80492A-0), which describes the measures Keystone has 
agreed to undertake to minimize and mitigate the effects of incidental 
take of the federally listed American burying beetle (Nicrophorus 
americanus; ABB) to the maximum extent practicable, pursuant to section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). 
The requested ITP, which would be in effect for a period of 50 years if 
granted, would authorize incidental take of the ABB (covered species) 
resulting from activities associated with construction, maintenance, 
operation, and repair (both routine and emergency) of Keystone's Gulf 
Coast Project and associated activities (covered activities). As 
described in the DHCP, the proposed incidental take would occur within 
the ABB's range in Oklahoma as identified by the Service, which 
includes portions of Creek, Okfuskee, Seminole, Hughes, Coal, Atoka, 
and Bryan Counties, Oklahoma (permit area). The DEA considers the 
direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of the proposed action of 
permit issuance, including the measures that would be implemented to 
minimize and mitigate such impacts to the maximum extent practicable.

Background

    The Keystone XL Pipeline Project was previously proposed by 
TransCanada, with a request for a Presidential Permit. The U.S. 
Department of State (DOS) published a notice of intent (NOI) to prepare 
an environmental impact statement in the Federal Register on January 
28, 2009 (74 FR 5019), and public scoping meetings were conducted in 
connection with the applicant's requested Presidential Permit. The 
proposed Keystone XL Pipeline Project extended from Canada to the Gulf 
Coast. A draft environmental impact statement was prepared by the DOS 
[EIS No. 20110290, Final EIS, DOS] for the Keystone XL Pipeline 
Project. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice 
of availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on April 
20, 2010 (75 FR 51458). On August 26, 2011, the DOS published a notice 
of availability (76 FR 53525) of the final EIS and announced public 
meetings to solicit comments for the Secretary of State's (or her 
designee) consideration of the Keystone XL Pipeline with a notice that 
no decision would be made until the completion of a thorough review 
process. The EPA published its notice of availability of the final EIS 
in the Federal Register on September 2, 2011 (76 FR 54767). A 
Presidential Memorandum dated February 1, 2012, directed the Department 
of State to issue a denial of the Keystone XL Pipeline Presidential 
Permit application (77 FR 5614; February 3, 2012).
    Keystone continued to develop the Gulf Coast portion of the 
project, including working with the Service towards the development of 
an HCP for the ABB. The Gulf Coast Project in this HCP follows the same 
route as the previously proposed Keystone XL's Gulf Coast Segment. 
Because the majority of impacts were previously analyzed in the final 
EIS developed for the Keystone XL pipeline project, a DEA, that 
includes the analysis from that EIS by reference, has been prepared in 
response to the application for an ITP for the ABB.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action involves the issuance of an ITP by the Service 
for incidental take of the ABB associated with the construction, 
maintenance, operation, and repair of the pipeline and associated 
facilities occurring within the permit area. To meet the requirements 
of a section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP, the applicant has developed and proposes 
to implement its DHCP, which describes the conservation measures 
TransCanada has agreed to undertake to minimize and mitigate for the 
impacts of the proposed incidental take of the covered species to the 
maximum extent practicable, and ensures that incidental

[[Page 49825]]

take will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and 
recovery of the ABB in the wild.

Other Alternatives Considered

    Our proposed action is approving the applicant's DHCP and issuance 
of an ITP for take associated with the applicant's covered activities. 
As required by NEPA, the DEA considers the consequences to the human 
environmental of the proposed HCP and two alternatives; the No Action 
Alternative and a Reduced Permit Duration Alternative. Under the No 
Action Alternative, Keystone would not apply for and we would not issue 
an ITP. The No-Action Alternative does not meet Keystone's need for 
take authorization and would not provide any conservation benefits for 
the ABB.
    Under the Reduced Permit Duration Alternative, the applicant would 
employ the same avoidance and minimization measures described under the 
Proposed Alternative, but they would pursue an ITP only for 
construction and restoration activities, not to exceed 5 years. This 
alternative would not meet Keystone's need for incidental take 
authorization for operation and maintenance activities post-
construction. Additionally, this alternative provides less conservation 
benefit for the covered species than would the Proposed Action.

Reviewing Documents

    You may obtain copies of the DEA and DHCP on the Service's Web site 
at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/Oklahoma/.
    Alternatively, you may obtain CD-ROMs with electronic copies of 
these documents by writing to Dr. Dixie Porter, Field Supervisor, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK 74129; calling 
918-581-7458; or faxing 918-581-7467. A limited number of printed 
copies of the DEA and DHCP are also available, by request, from Dr. 
Porter. Copies of the DEA and DHCP are also available for public 
inspection and review by appointment only, during normal business hours 
(8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CST) at the following locations:
     Department of the Interior, Natural Resources Library, 
1849 C. St. NW., Washington, DC 20240;
     U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 500 Gold Avenue SW., Room 
6034, Albuquerque, NM 87102; and
     U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa, 
OK 74129.
    Persons wishing to review the application may obtain a copy by 
writing to the Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. 
Box 1306, Room 6034, Albuquerque, NM 87103.

Persons wishing to review the Keystone XL Pipeline Project final EIS 
may obtain a copy from the Department of State's Web site at: http://keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/archive/dos_docs/feis/index.htm.

Public Availability of Comments

    All comments we receive become part of the public record. Requests 
for copies of comments will be handled in accordance with the Freedom 
of Information Act, NEPA, and Service and Department of the Interior 
policies and procedures. Before including your address, phone number, 
email 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 can ask us to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee we will be able to 
do so. We will not consider anonymous comments. All submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their 
entirety.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 
17.32), and the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4371 et 
seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

Joy E. Nicholopoulos,
Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2012-20349 Filed 8-16-12; 8:45 am]
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