[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 222 (Wednesday, November 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72047-72048]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29409]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE221


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Application for one new enhancement of survival permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received an application 
for a new enhancement of survival permit and a request for entry into 
an associated proposed Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement (Agreement) 
between the applicant and NMFS. The proposed Enhancement of Survival 
Permit and Agreement are intended to promote the survival and recovery 
of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Information 
NMFS received as a part of the application is available to the public 
as a matter of public record and is available upon request by 
contacting the NMFS California Coastal Office in Santa Rosa, 
California.

DATES: Comments or requests for a public hearing on the action proposed 
in the application or related matters must be received at the 
appropriate address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. 
Pacific standard time on December 18, 2015.

ADDRESSES:  You may submit comments on this document and requests for a 
public hearing, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2015-0149, by either of the 
following methods:
    Electronic Submission: Submit electronic public comments via the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2015-0149. Click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, 
complete the required fields. Enter or attach your comments.

--OR--
    Mail, Email, Fax: Submit written comments and requests for a public 
hearing to California Coastal Office, NMFS, 777 Sonoma Avenue, Room 
325, Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Comments and requests may also be submitted 
via fax to 707-578-3435 or by email to 
[email protected] (include permit number 20032 
in the subject line of the fax or email).
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be

[[Page 72048]]

considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Wilson, Santa Rosa, CA (ph.: 707-
578-8555), Fax: 707-578-3435, email: 
[email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Species Covered in This Notice

    The following listed species are covered in this notice:

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): Threatened California 
Coastal (CC).
Coho salmon (O. kisutch): Endangered Central California Coast (CCC).
Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened Central California Coast (CCC).

Authority

    Enhancement of Survival Permits are issued in accordance with 
section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and regulations 
governing listed fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 222-227). NMFS 
issues permits based on findings that such permits: (1) Are applied for 
in good faith; (2) if granted and exercised, would not operate to the 
disadvantage of the listed species that are the subject of the permit; 
and (3) are consistent with the purposes and policy of section 2 of the 
ESA. The authority to take listed species is subject to conditions set 
forth in the permits.
    Under a Safe Harbor Agreement, participating landowners voluntarily 
undertake management activities on their property to enhance, restore, 
or maintain habitat benefiting species listed under the Act (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.). Safe Harbor Agreements, and the subsequent Enhancement 
of Survival Permits that are issued pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of 
the Act, encourage private and other non-Federal property owners to 
implement conservation efforts for listed species by assuring property 
owners that they will not be subjected to increased property use 
restrictions as a result of their efforts to attract listed species to 
their property or to increase the numbers or distribution of listed 
species already on their property. Application requirements and 
issuance criteria for Enhancement of Survival Permits through Safe 
Harbor Agreements are found in 50 CFR 222.308(b), 222.308(c) and June 
17, 1999 (64 FR 32717). These permits allow any necessary future 
incidental take of covered species above the mutually agreed-upon 
baseline conditions for those species in accordance with the terms and 
conditions of the permits and accompanying agreements.
    An interested party may submit written data, views, arguments, or a 
request for a hearing with respect to the action proposed in the 
application or related matters. Anyone requesting a hearing on a matter 
pursuant to this notice should set out the specific reasons why a 
hearing on that matter would be appropriate (see ADDRESSES). Such 
hearings are held at the discretion of the Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries, NMFS.

Application Received

Permit 20032

    The Sonoma County Water Agency (Applicant) is requesting an 
Enhancement of Survival Permit and approval of the associated proposed 
Agreement that was developed by NMFS and the Applicant. The Enhancement 
of Survival Permit will facilitate implementation of the Agreement that 
is expected to promote the recovery of the Covered Species on non-
federal properties within Dry Creek below Warm Springs Dam, a tributary 
to the Russian River in Sonoma County, California. The proposed 
duration of the Agreement and the associated Enhancement of Survival 
Permit is 35 years. The proposed Enhancement of Survival Permit would 
authorize the incidental taking of the Covered Species associated with 
routine viticulture activities and the potential future return of any 
property included in the Agreement to the Elevated Baseline Conditions. 
Under this Agreement, individual landowners (Cooperators) may include 
their properties by entering into a Cooperative Agreement with the 
Applicant. Each Cooperative Agreement will specify the restoration and/
or enhancement, and management activities to be carried out on that 
specific property and a timetable for implementing those activities. 
All Cooperative Agreements will be reviewed by NMFS to determine 
whether the proposed activities will result in a net conservation 
benefit for the Covered Species and meet all required standards of the 
Safe Harbor Policy (64 FR 32717). Upon NMFS approval, the Applicant 
will issue a Certificate of Inclusion to the Cooperator. Each 
Certificate of Inclusion will extend the incidental take coverage 
conferred by the Enhancement of Survival permit to the Cooperator. 
Certificates of Inclusion will be valid for a minimum of 10 years, but 
no longer than term of the Enhancement of Survival permit.
    The Agreement requires that each enrolled property adopt an 
Elevated Baseline Condition. Elevated Baseline levels for the Covered 
Species will be determined by completing the Elevated Baseline Habitat 
Worksheet (Table 1 in Attachment 3 of the Agreement), which will be 
completed by the Applicant. NMFS will review each Elevated Baseline 
determination prior to the Applicant issuing a Certificate of Inclusion 
to the Cooperator. The Agreement also contains a monitoring component 
that requires the Applicant to ensure that the Cooperators are in 
compliance with the terms and conditions of the Agreement and that the 
Elevated Baseline levels of habitat for the Covered Species occurs on 
the Enrolled Property. Results of these monitoring efforts will be 
provided to NMFS by the Applicant in annual reports for the duration of 
the 35-year permit term.
    Upon approval of this Agreement, and consistent with the NMFS's 
Safe Harbor Policy (64 FR 32717), NMFS would issue an Enhancement of 
Survival Permit to the Applicant. The Enhancement of Survival Permit 
will authorize those Cooperators who have been issued a Certificate of 
Inclusion to take Covered Species incidental to the implementation of 
the management activities specified in the Agreement, incidental to 
other lawful uses of the property including Routine Viticulture 
Activities, and to return to baseline conditions if desired. In 
addition to meeting other criteria, actions to be performed under an 
Enhancement of Survival Permit must not jeopardize the existence of 
federally listed species.
    This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA. NMFS 
will evaluate the application, associated documents, and comments 
submitted to determine whether the application meets the requirements 
of section 10(a) of the ESA and Federal regulations. The final permit 
decisions will not be made until after the end of the 30-day comment 
period. NMFS will publish notice of its final action in the Federal 
Register.

    Dated: November 12, 2015.
Perry Gayaldo,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-29409 Filed 11-17-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P