[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30264-30265]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12720]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2015-N059; FXES11120000-156-FF08ECAR00]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Incidental Take 
Permit Application; Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan and 
Associated Documents; County of San Diego, California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received an application from Main 16, LP. (applicant) for a 5-year 
incidental take permit for the endangered San Diego fairy shrimp 
pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We 
are requesting comments on the permit application and on the 
preliminary determination that the proposed HCP qualifies as a ``low-
effect'' Habitat Conservation Plan, eligible for a categorical 
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 
as amended. The basis for this determination is discussed in the 
environmental action statement (EAS) and associated low-effect 
screening form, which are also available for public review.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before June 26, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the 
following methods:
     U.S. Mail: Field Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, 2177 Salk Avenue, Suite 250, 
Carlsbad, CA 92008.
     Fax: Field Supervisor, 760-431-9624.
    Obtaining Documents: To request copies of the application, proposed 
HCP, and EAS, contact the Service immediately, by telephone at 760-431-
9440 or by letter to the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (see 
ADDRESSES). Copies of the proposed HCP and EAS also are available for 
public inspection during regular business hours at the Carlsbad Fish 
and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Karen A. Goebel, Assistant Field 
Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES); 
telephone 760-431-9440. If you use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf (TDD), please call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), have received an application from Main 16, LP. (applicant) 
for a 5-year incidental take permit for one covered species pursuant to 
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., Act). The application addresses the potential 
``take'' of the endangered San Diego fairy shrimp in the course of 
activities associated with the construction of the Main 16, LP. Ramona 
commercial development project in unincorporated San Diego County, 
California. A conservation program to avoid, minimize, and mitigate for 
project activities would be implemented as described in the proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) by the applicant.
    We are requesting comments on the permit application and on the 
preliminary determination that the proposed HCP qualifies as a ``low-
effect'' Habitat Conservation Plan, eligible for a categorical 
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 
as amended. The basis for this determination is discussed in the 
environmental action statement (EAS) and associated low-effect 
screening form, which are also available for public review.

Background

    Section 9 of the Act and its implementing Federal regulations 
prohibit the ``take'' of animal species listed as endangered or 
threatened. Take 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). However, under section 10(a) of the Act, the Service may issue 
permits to authorize incidental take of listed species. ``Incidental 
take'' is defined by the Act as take that is incidental to, and not the 
purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity. Regulations 
governing incidental take permits for threatened and endangered 
species, respectively, are found at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32.
    The applicant requests a 5-year permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of 
the Act. If we approve the permit, the applicant anticipates taking San 
Diego fairy shrimp (Branchinecta sandiegonensis) as a result of 
permanent impacts to 0.01 acre (ac) of habitat the species uses for 
breeding, feeding, and sheltering. The take would be incidental to the 
applicant's activities associated with the construction of the Main 16, 
LP. Ramona commercial development project in San Diego County, 
California, and includes the purchase of two vernal pool/basin with 
fairy shrimp conservation credits (i.e., 0.2 ac of vernal pool basin 
and 1.8 ac of associated watershed) at the Ramona Grasslands 
Conservation Bank (Bank).
    The Main 16, LP. Ramona project proposes to grade 2.5 ac to 
construct commercial buildings and an associated parking lot. The 
project would include all construction activities related to site 
preparation (grading and/or compaction), facilities construction, and 
site finish (landscaping). The project will permanently impact 0.01 ac 
of ponded basin and associated watershed occupied by San Diego fairy 
shrimp as a result of the development activities.

[[Page 30265]]

    To minimize take of San Diego fairy shrimp by the Main 16, LP. 
Ramona commercial development project and offset impacts to its 
habitat, the applicant proposes to mitigate for permanent impacts to 
approximately 0.01 ac of occupied San Diego fairy shrimp habitat 
through the purchase of two vernal pool/basin with San Diego fairy 
shrimp conservation credits at the Bank. The applicant's proposed HCP 
also contains the following proposed measures to minimize the effects 
of development activities on the San Diego fairy shrimp:
     Grading limits will be delineated with construction 
fencing and silt fencing to ensure that impact limits do not extend 
beyond the allowed limits of development.
     A biologist will monitor grading of the site daily (or as 
determined necessary by the monitoring biologist) and provide a letter 
summarizing compliance with the construction limits of the proposed 
project to the Service within 1 month of completion of project grading.
     The project construction contractor will conduct grading 
outside the rainy season (October 1 through March 31). If grading is to 
be done after October 1 and ponding of the basins has not occurred, the 
applicant will submit a proposed grading strategy for review and 
approval by the Service that will ensure that indirect impacts are 
avoided to the existing basins located immediately adjacent to the 
project site. No grading will occur during this timeframe without 
written concurrence from the Service.
     Avoidance of long-term indirect impacts to fairy shrimp-
occupied basins immediately adjacent to the site will be achieved by 
ensuring that flows from the project site are directed away from basins 
immediately off site to the west and have been adequately treated 
through the use of best management practices (BMPs) during construction 
and throughout the life of the project. These BMPs include treating all 
flows on site through the use of a retention/infiltration basin prior 
to outletting into the storm drain system.
    The above described impacts and mitigation will occur within 
designated critical habitat for the San Diego fairy shrimp. No other 
listed species or designated critical habitat occurs within the project 
site.

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    The Proposed Action consists of the issuance of an incidental take 
permit and implementation of the proposed HCP, which includes measures 
to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to the San Diego fairy shrimp. 
If we approve the permit, take of San Diego fairy shrimp would be 
authorized for the applicant's activities associated with the 
construction of the Main 16, LP. Ramona commercial development project. 
In the proposed HCP, the applicant considers alternatives to the taking 
of San Diego fairy shrimp under the proposed action. Because of the 
small size of the site and the need to avoid both the basins and 
watershed of the basins, an alternative site plan that would have 
maintained some of the ponded basins on site (i.e., a reduced footprint 
alternative) was not feasible. The Applicant also considered the No 
Action Alternative. Under the No Action Alternative, no San Diego fairy 
shrimp habitat would be impacted or conserved.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that approval of 
the proposed HCP qualifies as a categorical exclusion under NEPA, as 
provided by the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 2 Appendix 1 
and 516 DM 6 Appendix 1) and as a ``low-effect'' plan as defined by the 
Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook (November 1996).
    We base our determination that a HCP qualifies as a low-effect plan 
on the following three criteria:
    (1) Implementation of the HCP would result in minor or negligible 
effects on federally listed, proposed, and candidate species and their 
habitats, including designated critical habitat;
    (2) Implementation of the HCP would result in minor or negligible 
effects on other environmental values or resources; and
    (3) Impacts of the HCP, considered together with the impacts of 
other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable similarly situated 
projects, would not result, over time, in cumulative effects to 
environmental values or resources that would be considered significant.

Based upon this preliminary determination, we do not intend to prepare 
further NEPA documentation. We will consider public comments in making 
the final determination on whether to prepare such additional 
documentation.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the proposed HCP and comments we receive to 
determine whether the permit application meets the requirements and 
issuance criteria under section 10(a) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.). We will also evaluate whether issuance of a section 10(a)(1)(B) 
incidental take permit would comply with section 7 of the Act by 
conducting an intra-Service consultation. We will use the results of 
this consultation, in combination with the above findings, in our final 
analysis to determine whether or not to issue a permit. If the 
requirements and issuance criteria under section 10(a) are met, we will 
issue the permit to the applicant for incidental take of San Diego 
fairy shrimp.

Public Comments

    If you wish to comment on the permit application, proposed HCP, and 
associated documents, you may submit comments by any of the methods 
noted in the ADDRESSES section.

Public Availability of Comments

    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.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

G. Mendel Stewart,
Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, Carlsbad, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2015-12720 Filed 5-26-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-55-P