[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12113-12114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05086]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-ES-2015-N192; FXES11120200000-167-FF02ENEH00]


Notice of Availability: Environmental Assessment and Draft 
Amended Oil and Gas Industry Conservation Plan for the American Burying 
Beetle in Oklahoma

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of documents; request for public 
comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the 
availability of an environmental assessment (EA), under the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, that evaluates the impacts of a draft 
amendment to the Oil and Gas Industry Conservation Plan (ICP) for 
incidental take of the federally listed American burying beetle 
resulting from oil and gas industry activities. The original ICP (2014 
ICP) was approved on May 21, 2014. The proposed amendment to the ICP 
will extend by 3 years the periods for signup, submission of individual 
project plans (IPPs), project construction, and ICP/permit duration. It 
also will provide date-certain deadlines, which will reduce confusion 
and simplify tracking for both permittees and the Service. In addition, 
we propose to delete language that limits coverage to projects that are 
fully contained within the ICP planning area. There is no change to the 
covered species, total amount of take authorized, or the planning area, 
which consists of 45 counties in Oklahoma. Individual oil and gas 
companies would continue to apply for Endangered Species Act permits 
for incidental take and agree to comply with the terms and conditions 
of the ICP.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received or 
postmarked on or before April 7, 2016. Any comments we receive after 
the closing date or not postmarked by the closing date may not be 
considered in the final decision on this action.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents:
     Internet: You may obtain copies of the EA and draft 
amendment to the ICP on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) 
Web site at www.fws.gov/southwest/es/oklahoma/ABBICP.
     U.S. Mail: A limited number of CD-ROM and printed copies 
of the EA and draft amendment to the ICP are available, by request, 
from the Field Supervisor, by mail at the Oklahoma Ecological Services 
Field Office, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK 74129; by phone at 918-581-
7458; or by fax at 918-581-7467. Please note that your request is in 
reference to the draft amended ICP for American burying beetle in 
Oklahoma.
     In-Person: Copies of the EA and draft amended ICP 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.:
    [cir] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 500 Gold Avenue SW., Room 
6034, Albuquerque, NM 87102.
    [cir] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK 
74129.
    Comment submission: You may submit comments by one of the following 
methods.
    [cir] U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oklahoma 
Ecological Services Field Office, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK 74129; by 
phone at 918-581-7458; or by fax at 918-581-7467.
    [cir] Electronically: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonna Polk, Field Supervisor, by U.S. 
mail at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oklahoma Ecological 
Services Field Office, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK 74129; or by phone 
at 918-581-7458.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), this notice advises the public 
that we, the Service, have gathered the information necessary to 
determine impacts of the EA and draft amendment to the ICP related to 
the proposed issuance of incidental take permits (ITPs) under section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), to 
oil and gas companies (applicants) who agree to the conditions in the 
draft amended ICP. The ICP is a habitat conservation plan (HCP) that 
covers take of the American burying beetle (ABB) in Oklahoma that is 
incidental to covered activities associated with geophysical 
exploration (seismic), development, extraction, or transport of crude 
oil, natural gas, and/or other petroleum products, as well as 
maintenance, operation, repair, and decommissioning of oil and gas 
pipelines and well field infrastructure, and will include measures 
necessary to minimize and mitigate impacts to the covered species and 
its habitat to the maximum extent practicable.
    The Service plans to amend the ICP to cover several changes. We 
plan to (1) extend the timeframe for oil and gas companies (industry) 
to apply for participation in the ICP; (2) extend the expiration date 
of the ICP and permits by 3 years; (3) extend the construction period 
to 3 years after permit issuance and approval of individual project 
plans (IPP); (4) extend operations and management coverage to the 
permit expiration date; (5) provide date-certain limits for each period 
to help industry and the Service simplify record-keeping; and (6) 
remove requirements that all projects must be completely within the 
planning area. Removing the restriction will expand the type of 
activities to include pipelines from other areas.
    Under the proposed amendment there are no proposed changes to the 
federally listed species. The American burying beetle (ABB) is the only 
species covered for incidental take in the draft amended ICP, and the 
total amount of take has not been increased. There are no changes to 
the process for applying for an incidental take permit or submission of 
individual project plans (IPPs), other than the removal of the 
requirement for the project to be entirely contained within the covered 
area. There are no changes to the covered area, which consists of the 
following 45 Oklahoma counties: Adair, Atoka, Bryan, Carter, Cherokee, 
Choctaw, Cleveland, Coal, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Garvin, Haskell, 
Hughes, Johnson, Kay, Latimer, Le Flore, Lincoln, Love, Marshall, 
Mayes, McClain, McCurtain, McIntosh, Murray, Muskogee, Noble, Nowata, 
Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Payne, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, 
Pottawatomie, Pushmataha, Rogers, Seminole, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner, 
and Washington.
    The 2014 ICP allows industry to apply for a permit to participate 
for the first two years from the date of approval and signature--May 
21, 2014. Construction is allowed for the first 2 years, and operations 
and maintenance for up to an additional 20 years. The estimates of 
potential impacts from industry activities for the ICP were based on

[[Page 12114]]

recent history of development at the time of development and industry 
predictions. However, industry activity and impacts have been less than 
expected due to reduced petroleum prices and market conditions, and the 
amount of take issued under the 2014 ICP has been significantly lower 
than anticipated (32,234 acres allowed, with only 395 acres approved as 
of January 11, 2016). The 2014 ICP is only open for new applications 
through May 21, 2016, and incidental take authorized through the ICP is 
unlikely to approach the 32,234 acres allowed by that date.
    The amendment will extend by 3 years the period for ICP signup, 
submission of IPPs, and construction after IPP approval. All 
applications under the amended ICP must be received by May 20, 2019, 
but may be approved after that date. Once approved and permitted, the 
permit holder must still submit their IPPs for approval by the Oklahoma 
Ecological Services Office prior to construction under the permit. 
Under the amended plan, IPPs must be received by May 20, 2022, and all 
construction related to IPPs must be completed by May 20, 2025. 
Operation and maintenance activities are authorized until the permit 
expires on May 20, 2039. Therefore, incidental take issued under this 
ICP may occur across a maximum of 25 years. All incidental take 
coverage provided by the amended ICP will end when the ICP and permits 
expire on May 20, 2039, regardless of when the individual permits or 
IPP applications were approved. Providing date-certain limits for each 
period will reduce confusion and simplify tracking for both permittees 
and the Service.
    We also propose to remove all language that limits coverage to 
projects that are fully contained within the ICP planning area. 
Projects that extend beyond the planning area can apply for coverage 
for the portion that is within the planning area. This is with the 
understanding that the amended ICP will not provide any Endangered 
Species Act coverage or National Environmental Policy Act analysis for 
the portions of the projects that are outside the planning area. The 
change in timelines and allowing coverage for projects that are not 
fully contained within the ICP planning area are the only revisions to 
the ICP and EA. There are no changes to the biological opinion (BO).
    We have assessed the potential impacts of the amendment to the ICP 
and reviewed the associated environmental assessment (EA) and BO for 
industry-related activities within the eastern Oklahoma planning area. 
Extending the same level of take over additional years is expected to 
reduce potential impacts to local habitat and ABB populations. Much of 
the oil and gas related impacts are temporary and can be restored 
within 2-5 years. Spreading the impacts over up to 11 years would allow 
temporary soil disturbance initiated in the first few years to be 
partially or fully restored before impacts from later projects have 
begun. The ABB is an annual species, and reducing take in any year 
should allow more adult beetles to survive into the next year. 
Incidental take authorized through the extension would not be 
increased, is a very small percentage of the total ABB habitat, and 
would not change the BO determination that the take would not 
jeopardize the continued existence of the ABB.
    Permittees with existing ICP permits are bound by the terms and 
conditions of their existing permits. If they want the extended 
timeframes or reduced restrictions regarding being completely contained 
within the ICP Planning Area, they must apply for an amendment to their 
permit.

Background

    Potential impacts as a result of the extension are not expected to 
increase beyond those already identified in the EA. Environmental 
consequences were reviewed for the ICP extension and potential impacts 
to the following resources were evaluated: Geology, Soils, Water 
Resources, Water Quality, Air Quality, Vegetation, Wetlands, General 
Wildlife, Threatened and Endangered Species, Land Use, Aesthetics and 
Noise, Socioeconomics, Environmental Justice, Tribal jurisdiction, and 
Cultural Resources. Minor benefits in the areas of Water Resources, 
Water Quality, Air Quality, Vegetation, Wetlands, General Wildlife, 
Threatened and Endangered Species, Land Use, Aesthetics, and Noise 
could occur, because any impacts of oil and gas construction activity 
would be spread out over up to 11 years. Local impacts of project-
related soil disturbance such as removal of vegetation, erosion, and 
dust may be reduced, and some recovery of natural resources could be 
expected if spread out over additional years.
    The ICP extension is not expected to significantly affect oil and 
gas activity, but would help support industry activity by streamlining 
compliance with the ESA, while continuing conservation efforts for the 
ABB. The 3-year ICP extension is not expected to trigger any new 
environmental consequences, or any new impacts to local economies or 
cultural resources. Nor are there any expected changes to direct, 
indirect, and cumulative effects. The ICP extension would not authorize 
any additional activities or incidental take. The same types and 
quantities of activities previously described in the EA are expected to 
occur with the 3-year extension. Based on the 2014 ICP, construction-
related impacts could occur for up to 11 years (5 years from permit 
issuance, up to 3 additional years for IPP approval, and up to 3 years 
from IPP approval for construction) instead of for the original 2-year 
timeframe, and operation and maintenance-related impacts would occur 
over 25 years instead of the original 22 years.

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 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 ESA (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22) and NEPA 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 
1506.6).

    Dated: February 2, 2016.
Benjamin N. Tuggle,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2016-05086 Filed 3-7-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P