[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 207 (Monday, October 27, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63935-63937]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25389]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2014-N187; FXES11120000-145-FF08ECAR00]


Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report/Environmental 
Impact Statement for a Proposed Amendment to the Coachella Valley 
Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Communities 
Conservation Plan, Riverside County, CA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of our final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report/
Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) to the approved and certified 
September 2007 Final Recirculated EIR/EIS for the Coachella Valley 
Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Communities 
Conservation Plan (CVMSHCP, or Plan), in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and its 
implementing regulations, as well as in compliance with the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The final Supplemental EIR/EIS 
considers the environmental effects associated with adding Desert Hot 
Springs and Mission Springs Water District (MSWD) as Permittees to the 
CVMSHCP, and amending the existing incidental take permit.

DATES: A Record of Decision will be signed no sooner than 30 days after 
the publication date of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
notice announcing this final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report/
Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS). We will accept comments 
received or postmarked on or before November 26, 2014.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may download copies of the final 
Supplemental EIR/EIS to the approved and certified September 2007 Final 
Recirculated EIR/EIS for the CVMSHCP and amended Plan on the Internet 
at http://www.cvmshcp.org. Alternatively, you may use one of the 
methods below to request hard copies or a CD-ROM of the documents. 
Please send your requests or comments by any one of the following 
methods, and specify ``CVMSHCP'' in your request or comment.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments or requests for copies 
or more information by one of the following methods.
     Email: [email protected]. Include CVMSHCP in the 
subject line of the message.
     U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Palm Springs 
Fish and Wildlife Office, Attn: Mr. Kennon A. Corey, Assistant Field 
Supervisor, 777 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, Suite 208, Palm Springs, CA 
92262.
     In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Telephone 760-322-
2070, to make an appointment during regular business hours to drop off 
comments or view received comments at address identified above.
     Fax to: Mr. Kennon A. Corey, Assistant Field Supervisor, 
760-322-4648, Attn: CVMSHCP.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jenness McBride, Division Chief, 
Coachella and Imperial Valleys, 777 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, Suite 
208, Palm Springs, CA 92262, telephone 760-322-2070. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339 to contact the above 
individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours 
a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with the above 
individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice announces the availability of 
the final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact 
Statement (Supplemental EIR/EIS) under NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 
for the proposed amendment to the Coachella Valley Multiple Species 
Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Communities Conservation Plan 
(CVMSHCP, or Plan). The amendment would add Desert Hot Springs and 
Mission Springs Water District (MSWD) as permittees to the Plan. This 
notice advises the public that we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), have received applications for incidental take permits 
pursuant to the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) from the City of Desert 
Hot Springs and Mission Springs Water District (MSWD), Riverside 
County, California. The Service, in cooperation and coordination with 
the Coachella Valley Conservation Commission (CVCC), has prepared a 
final Supplemental EIR/EIS, which includes responses to public comments 
received on the September 2013 draft Supplemental EIR/EIS, and the 
proposed amendment to the CVMSHCP to include Desert Hot Springs and 
MSWD as permittees to the Plan. The final Supplemental EIR/EIS

[[Page 63936]]

supplements the approved and certified September 2007 Final 
Recirculated EIR/EIS for the CVMSHCP (72 FR 63922; November 13, 2007), 
and analyzes the environmental effects associated with the approval of 
an amendment to add Desert Hot Springs and MSWD as permittees to the 
existing incidental take permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act.

Background

    Section 9 of the Act and Federal regulations at 50 CFR part 17 
prohibit the ``take'' of fish and wildlife species listed as endangered 
or threatened. Take of listed fish and wildlife is defined under the 
Act as to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, 
capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct'' (16 
U.S.C. 1538). Harm includes significant habitat modification or 
degradation that results in death or injury to listed wildlife species 
by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including 
breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). Under limited 
circumstances, we may issue permits to authorize incidental take of 
listed wildlife species, 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 at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. In 
addition to meeting other criteria, activities covered by an incidental 
take permit must not jeopardize the continued existence in the wild of 
federally listed wildlife or plants.

Previous Actions

    In February 2006, the Final CVMSHCP and associated Final EIR/EIS 
were released for review and approval by the participating 
jurisdictions and agencies as part of the application process to 
support the issuance of take authorizations by the Service. However, 
Desert Hot Springs voted to not approve the Plan in June 2006. 
Subsequently, the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) 
Executive Committee rescinded its approval of the Plan and directed 
that Desert Hot Springs be removed as a Permittee. A revised Plan and 
associated EIR/EIS were prepared and recirculated that removed Desert 
Hot Springs and made other modifications consistent with direction from 
the CVAG Executive Committee.
    The revised and recirculated CVMSHCP was approved and the 
associated Final Recirculated EIR/EIS was certified by CVAG and the 
CVCC in September 2007 and subsequently by all local Permittees by the 
end of October 2007. The State Permittees (Caltrans, Coachella Valley 
Mountains Conservancy, and California State Parks) approved the Plan 
and signed the Implementing Agreement in March 2008. The Final 
Recirculated CVMSHCP, which did not include Desert Hot Springs, 
received final State and Federal permits on September 9 and October 1, 
2008, respectively.
    In a reversal of their June 2006 decision, Desert Hot Springs City 
Council reconsidered their decision and unanimously approved a 
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in October 2007, to enter into 
negotiations for Desert Hot Springs to join the CVMSHCP as a Permittee. 
The MOU was subsequently approved by the CVCC, CVAG, and the County of 
Riverside in February 2008. Subsequent to Desert Hot Springs' decision, 
the MSWD has also made the decision to join the CVMSHCP as a Permittee. 
The addition of both entities as Permittees has been evaluated in the 
Supplemental EIR/EIS.

Proposed Amendments

    The amendment to reinstate Desert Hot Springs proposes that the 
Plan provisions and boundaries be revised according to the February 
2006 CVMSHCP, with modifications as described in the September 2007 
Final Recirculated CVMSHCP to provide for the Riverside County Flood 
Control and Water Conservation District's future flood control 
facility. Therefore, the current Conservation Area boundaries would be 
amended to include private lands within Desert Hot Springs' city limits 
and restore the original boundaries of the Upper Mission Creek/Big 
Morongo Canyon and Whitewater Canyon Conservation Areas within Desert 
Hot Springs' city limits. Adding Desert Hot Springs as a Permittee 
requires a Major Amendment to the CVMSHCP in accordance with the 
requirements outlined in Section 6.12.4 of the Plan. The procedures 
outlined in Section 6.12.4 state that major amendments require the same 
process to be followed as the original CVMSHCP approval, including 
California Environmental Quality Act and NEPA compliance.
    In addition, MSWD, not previously a participating agency, has also 
applied to join the CVMSHCP as a Permittee. MSWD and Desert Hot Springs 
have proposed that a number of infrastructure projects be included as 
Covered Activities under the Plan. Covered Activities include certain 
activities carried out or conducted by Permittees, Participating 
Special Entities, Third Parties Granted Take Authorization, and others 
within the CVMSHCP Plan Area, as described in Section 7 of the CVMSHCP, 
that will receive Take Authorization under the Service's section 
10(a)(1)(B) permit and the State NCCP Permit, provided these activities 
are otherwise lawful. Examples of Desert Hot Springs proposed Covered 
Activities include roadway improvement projects. Examples of MSWD 
proposed Covered Activities include construction of wells, water 
storage facilities, water transmission lines, recycled water lines, and 
sewer lines. Refer to Table 2-1 and 2-2 in the Supplemental EIR/EIS for 
Desert Hot Springs and MSWD Covered Activities list, respectively.
    Covered activities will increase the existing permitted take by 34 
acres, but inclusion of Desert Hot Springs and MSWD will expand 
conservation area boundaries in Desert Hot Springs to include 770 acres 
of land to be managed consistent with the CVMSHCP's conservation goals 
and objectives. Fifteen of the 27 Covered Species and 5 of the 27 
Natural Communities will be affected by the Major Amendment. Additional 
amounts of take, in acres, for Covered Species and Natural Communities 
are listed in Table 4.1-1 and 4.1-2 in the Supplemental EIR/EIS, 
respectively.

National Environmental Policy Act Compliance

    The Service issued a notice of intent (NOI) to prepare a draft 
Supplemental EIR/EIS in the Federal Register on Wednesday, March 30, 
2011 (76 FR 17666) and a notice of availability of the Draft 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Proposed Amendment to the CVMSHCP on September 6, 2013 (78 FR 
54906), which included a 45-day review public review period. The Draft 
Supplemental EIR/EIS analyzed the potential environmental impacts that 
may result from the Federal action of authorizing 34 additional acres 
of incidental take anticipated to occur with the addition of Desert Hot 
Springs and MSWD as permittees to the CVMSHCP, and identified various 
alternatives. We received seven comment letters on the draft 
Supplemental EIR/EIS. A response to each comment received in these 
letters has been included in the final Supplemental EIR/EIS and 
revisions to the CVMSHCP have been made based on those comments. The 
analysis provided in the Final Supplemental EIR/EIS is intended to 
accomplish the following: Inform the public of the Service's proposed 
action and

[[Page 63937]]

alternatives, and address public comments received on the draft 
Supplemental EIR/EIS.

Public Review

    The Service invites the public to comment on the permit 
applications, revised CVMSHCP, and final Supplemental EIR/EIS during 
the public comment period (see DATES). If you wish to comment, you may 
submit your comments to the address listed in ADDRESSES. 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 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 will evaluate the applications, associated documents, and 
comments submitted to determine whether the application meets the 
requirements of section 10(a) of the Act. The Service will then prepare 
a Record of Decision. A permit decision will be made no sooner than 30 
days after the publication of the Environmental Protection Agency's 
Final EIS notice in the Federal Register and completion of the Record 
of Decision.

    Dated: October 20, 2014.
Alexandra Pitts,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region, Sacramento, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2014-25389 Filed 10-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-55-P