[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 179 (Wednesday, September 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55636-55638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23242]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-ES-2015-0069; FXES11130200000-156-FF02ENEH00]


Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Habitat Conservation 
Plan; Paso Robles Phase II; Hays County, Texas

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

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ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), make 
available the draft Environmental Assessment (dEA) for the Paso Robles 
Phase II draft Habitat Conservation Plan (dHCP). Carma Paso Robles, LLC 
(applicant), has applied to the Service for an incidental take permit 
(ITP; TE-60266B-0) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(Act). The requested permit would authorize incidental take of the 
federally listed golden-cheeked warbler as a result of activities 
associated with the applicant's proposed clearing and construction of a 
residential development (covered activities).

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received or 
postmarked on or before November 16, 2015. Comments submitted 
electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES) 
must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. Any 
comments that we receive after the closing date may not be considered.

ADDRESSES: Availability of Documents:
    Internet: You may obtain copies of all of the documents on the 
Internet at the Service's Web site at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/AustinTexas/.
    U.S. Mail: A limited number of CD-ROM and printed copies of the 
draft EA and draft HCP are available, by request, from Mr. Adam 
Zerrenner, Austin Ecological Services Field Office, 10711 Burnet Road, 
Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758-4460; telephone 512-490-0057; fax 512-490-
0974. Please note that your request is in reference to the Paso Robles 
Phase II HCP (TE-60266B-0).
    The ITP application is available by mail from the Regional 
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 1306, Room 6034, 
Albuquerque, NM 87103.
    In-Person: Copies of the draft EA and draft HCP are also available 
for public inspection and review at the following locations, by 
appointment and written request only, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.:
     U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 500 Gold Avenue SW., Room 
6034, Albuquerque, NM 87102.
     U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 
200, Austin, TX 78758.
    Comment submission: You may submit written comments by one of the 
following methods:
     Electronically: Go to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: 
http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R2-ES-2015-
0069, which is the docket number for this notice. On the left side of 
the screen, under the Document Type heading, click on the Notices link 
to locate this document and submit a comment.
     By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail or hand-
delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R2-ES-2015-0069; 
Division of Policy, Performance, and Management Programs; U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC; 5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-
3803.
    We request that you send comments by only the methods described 
above. We will post all information received on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any 
personal information you provide us (see the Public Availability of 
Comments section for more information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Zerrenner, Field Supervisor, by 
U.S. mail at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 
200, Austin, TX 78758 or by phone at (512) 490-0057.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We make available the dEA for the Paso 
Robles Phase II dHCP. Carma Paso Robles, LLC (applicant), has applied 
to the Service for an incidental take permit (ITP; TE-60266B-0) under 
the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as amended. The requested 
permit, which would be in effect for a period of 10 years, if granted, 
would authorize incidental take of the federally listed golden-cheeked 
warbler (Setophaga [= Dendroica] chrysoparia; GCWA). The proposed take 
would occur on 114.4 acres of the 376-acre Paso Robles Phase II 
development (permit area) in Hays County, Texas, as a result of 
activities associated with the applicant's proposed clearing and 
construction of a residential development (covered activities).
    In accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), we advise the 
public that:
    1. We have gathered the information necessary to determine impacts 
and formulate alternatives for the dEA related to potential issuance of 
an ITP to the applicant; and
    2. The applicant has developed a dHCP as part of the application 
for an ITP, which describes the measures the applicant has agreed to 
take to minimize and mitigate the effects of incidental take of GCWAs 
to the maximum extent practicable pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of 
the Act.
    The dEA considers the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of 
implementation of the dHCP, including the measures that will be 
implemented to minimize and mitigate, to the maximum extent 
practicable, the impacts of the incidental take of the covered species.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action is the issuance of an ITP by the Service for 
the covered activities in the permit area, pursuant to section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the Act for a period of 10 years. The ITP would cover 
``take'' of the covered species associated with the clearing and 
construction of a residential development 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 the applicant 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 take will not appreciably 
reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of these species in 
the wild.
    The applicant proposes to mitigate with the purchase of 114.4 acres 
of high-quality habitat, likely from a Service-approved habitat 
conservation bank.

Alternatives

    We considered two alternatives to the proposed action:
    1. No Action--No ITP would be issued. Therefore, the applicant 
would not implement the conservation measures described in the HCP.
    2. Higher Mitigation Alternative--This alternative is similar to 
the Proposed Action in that the Service would issue an ITP for the 
proposed project. However, the HCP under this alternative would be 
modified to increase the number of GCWA habitat conservation credits 
the applicant would purchase to 359.6 acres. All other aspects of the 
proposed project and the HCP would remain the same.

Public Availability of Comments

    Written comments we receive become part of the public record 
associated with this action. 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 request in your comment that we withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to

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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 and its 
implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32) and NEPA and its 
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: June 10, 2015.
Joy E. Nicholopoulos,
Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
    Editorial Note: This document was received at the Federal Register 
on September 11, 2015.

[FR Doc. 2015-23242 Filed 9-15-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-55-P