[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 7, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 800-802]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-00034]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-AY22


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed 
Endangered Status for the Georgetown Salamander and Salado Salamander

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of availability and reopening of comment 
period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
reopening of the public comment period on our August 22, 2012 (77 FR 
50768), proposed listing rule for the Georgetown salamander (Eurycea 
naufragia) and Salado salamander (Eurycea chisholmensis) under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. We also announce the 
availability of the City of Georgetown's final ordinances for water 
quality and urban development. We are reopening the comment period to 
allow all interested parties an opportunity to comment simultaneously 
on the proposed rule and the new city ordinances. Comments previously 
submitted need not be resubmitted, as they will be fully considered in 
preparation of the final rule.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published August 22, 
2013, at 77 FR 50768, is reopened. The comment period end date is 
January 22, 2014. We request that comments be submitted by 11:59 p.m. 
Eastern Time on the closing date.

ADDRESSES: Document availability: You may obtain copies of the City of 
Georgetown's final ordinances, the proposed rule, the 6-month 
extension, and other supporting documents on the

[[Page 801]]

Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2012-
0035, at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/austintexas/ESA_Sp_Salamanders.html, or by mail from the Austin Ecological Services Field 
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Submitting comments: You may submit written comments by one of the 
following methods:
    (1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035, 
which is the docket number for the proposed listing rule. Then, in the 
Search panel on the left side of the screen, under the Document Type 
heading, check on the Proposed Rules link to locate this document. You 
may submit a comment by clicking on ``Comment Now!''
    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035; Division of Policy and 
Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax 
Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
    We request that you send comments only by the methods described 
above. We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This 
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide 
us (see the Public Comments section below for more information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Zerrenner, Field Supervisor, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Austin Ecological Services Field Office, 
10711 Burnet Rd, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758; by telephone 512-490-
0057; or by facsimile 512-490-0974. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 22, 2012, we published in the Federal Register a proposed 
rule (77 FR 50768) to list the Austin blind salamander (Eurycea 
waterlooensis), Georgetown salamander (Eurycea naufragia), Jollyville 
Plateau salamander (Eurycea tonkawae), and Salado salamander (Eurycea 
chisholmensis) as endangered species under the Endangered Species Act 
of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). For a description 
of previous Federal actions concerning these salamanders, please refer 
to the proposed rule. That proposal had a 60-day comment period, ending 
October 22, 2012. We held a public meeting and hearing in Round Rock, 
Texas, on September 5, 2012, and a second public meeting and hearing in 
Austin, Texas, on September 6, 2012. On January 25, 2013, we reopened 
the public comment period on the August 22, 2012, proposed listing and 
critical habitat designation, announced the availability of a draft 
economic analysis, and published an amended required determinations 
section of the proposal (78 FR 5385). On August 20, 2013, we published 
a final rule listing the Austin blind salamander as endangered and the 
Jollyville Plateau salamander as threatened (78 FR 51278) and provided 
notice of extension of our final determination for the Georgetown and 
Salado salamanders pursuant to section 4(b)(6) of the Act and reopened 
the comment period (78 FR 51129). That comment period closed on 
September 19, 2013.
    Since that time, the City of Georgetown, Texas, has prepared and 
finalized ordinances for the Georgetown salamander. All 14 of the known 
Georgetown salamander locations are within the City of Georgetown's 
jurisdiction for residential and commercial development. The enacted 
ordinances are directed at alleviating threats to the Georgetown 
salamander from urban development by requiring geologic assessments 
prior to construction, establishing occupied site protections through 
stream buffers, maintaining water quality through best management 
practices, developing a water quality management plan for the City of 
Georgetown, and monitoring occupied spring sites by an adaptive 
management working group. The Service would like to consider the 
ordinances in its final listing determination. As such, we are 
reopening the comment period to allow the public an opportunity to 
provide comment on the application of the City of Georgetown's 
ordinances to our determination of status under section 4(a)(1) of the 
Act, and the likelihood of implementation and effectiveness of the 
ordinances.
    For more detailed information or to obtain copies of the City of 
Georgetown's new ordinances, go to http://www.regulations.gov and 
search for Docket Number FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035, http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/austintexas/ESA_Sp_Salamanders.html, or you may obtain 
copies by mail from the Austin Ecological Field Services Office (see 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Public Comments

    We will accept written comments and information during this 
reopened comment period on our proposed listing for the Georgetown and 
Salado salamanders that was published in the Federal Register on August 
22, 2012 (77 FR 50768). We will consider information and 
recommendations from all interested parties. We intend that any final 
action resulting from this proposal be as accurate as possible and 
based on the best available scientific and commercial data. Therefore, 
we request comments or information from other concerned governmental 
agencies, Native American tribes, the scientific community, industry, 
general public, and other interested parties. We particularly seek 
comments regarding application of the City of Georgetown's ordinances 
to our determination of status under section 4(a)(1) of the Act, 
particularly comments or information to help us assess the certainty 
that the ordinances will be effective in conserving the Georgetown 
salamander and will be implemented.
    If you previously submitted comments or information on the proposed 
rule, please do not resubmit them. We have incorporated them into the 
public record, and we will fully consider them in the preparation of 
our final determination. Our final determination concerning this 
proposed listing will take into consideration all written comments and 
any additional information we received.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed 
rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We request that you 
send comments only by the methods described in ADDRESSES.
    If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire 
comment--including any personal identifying information--will be posted 
on the Web site. We will post all hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov as well. If you submit a hardcopy comment that 
includes personal identifying information, you may request at the top 
of your document that we withhold this information from public review. 
However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting 
documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will be available 
for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-
R2-ES-2012-0035, or by appointment, during normal business hours, at 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Austin Ecological Services Field 
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may obtain copies of 
the proposed rule on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at 
Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035, or

[[Page 802]]

by mail from the Austin Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: December 30, 2013.
 Stephen Guertin,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-00034 Filed 1-6-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P