[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 118 (Monday, June 20, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39952-39954]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14567]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2016-N091; FXES11120808BYD-167-FF08FBDTOO]


Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Valley 
Elderberry Longhorn Beetle and Giant Garter Snake; South River Pump 
Station, Yolo County, California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of permit application; proposed 
low-effect habitat conservation plan; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received an application from the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation 
District (applicant) for a 5-year incidental take permit under the 
endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The application 
addresses the potential for ``take'' of two listed animals, the valley 
elderberry longhorn beetle and giant garter snake, likely to result 
from the construction of a new flood protection levee and raised all-
weather access road around the existing South River Pump Station. The 
applicant would implement a conservation program to minimize and 
mitigate the project activities, as described in the applicant's low-
effect habitat conservation plan (HCP). We request comments on the 
application package, which includes the HCP and our preliminary 
determination that the HCP qualifies as a ``low-effect'' HCP, eligible 
for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969, as amended (NEPA). We discuss our basis for this determination 
in our environmental action statement (EAS), also available for public 
review.

DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by 
July 20, 2016.

ADDRESSES: 
    Submitting Comments: Please address written comments to Lori Rinek, 
Section 10 Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bay-Delta Fish 
and Wildlife Office, 650 Capitol Mall, Suite 8-300, Sacramento, CA 
95814. Alternatively, you may send comments by facsimile to (916) 930-
5654.
    Reviewing Documents: You may obtain copies of the HCP and EAS from 
the individuals in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, or from the Bay-
Delta Fish and Wildlife Office Web site at http://www.fws.gov/sfbaydelta. Copies of these documents are also available for public 
inspection, by appointment, during regular business hours, at the Bay-
Delta Fish and Wildlife Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lori Rinek, at the address shown above 
or at (916) 930-5603.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    We have received an application from the Sacramento Regional County 
Sanitation District (applicant) for a 5-year incidental take permit 
under the

[[Page 39953]]

endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The application 
addresses the potential for ``take'' of two listed animals, the valley 
elderberry longhorn beetle and giant garter snake, likely to result 
from the construction of a new flood protection levee and raised all-
weather access road around the existing South River Pump Station. Below 
we refer to both species, collectively, as the covered species. The 
applicant would implement a conservation program to minimize and 
mitigate the project activities, as described in the applicant's low-
effect habitat conservation plan (HCP). We request comments on the 
application package, which includes the HCP, and our preliminary 
determination that the HCP qualifies as a ``low-effect'' HCP, eligible 
for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969, as amended (NEPA). We discuss our basis for this determination 
in our environmental action statement (EAS), also available for public 
review.

Background Information

    Section 9 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544 et seq.) and our 
regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 17) prohibit the 
taking of fish and wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened 
under section 4 of the Act. Take of federally listed fish or wildlife 
is defined under the Act as to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, 
wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect listed species, or attempt to 
engage in such conduct. The term ``harass'' is defined in the 
regulations as to carry out actions that create the likelihood of 
injury to listed species to such an extent as to significantly disrupt 
normal behavioral patterns, which include, but are not limited to, 
breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). The term ``harm'' is 
defined in the regulations as significant habitat modification or 
degradation that results in death or injury of listed species by 
significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including 
breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). However, under 
specified circumstances, the Service may issue permits that allow the 
take of federally listed species, provided that the take that occurs is 
incidental to, but not the purpose of, an otherwise lawful activity.
    Regulations governing permits for endangered and threatened species 
are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, respectively. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 
Act contains provisions for issuing such incidental take permits to 
non-Federal entities for the take of endangered and threatened species, 
provided the following criteria are met:
    (1) The taking will be incidental;
    (2) The applicants will, to the maximum extent practicable, 
minimize and mitigate the impact of such taking;
    (3) The applicants will develop a proposed HCP and ensure that 
adequate funding for the HCP will be provided;
    (4) The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the 
survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
    (5) The applicants will carry out any other measures that the 
Service may require as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes 
of the HCP.

Proposed Project

    The draft HCP addresses potential effects to the covered species 
that may result from the proposed activities. The applicant seeks 
incidental take authorization for covered activities within the 136.4-
acre South River Pump Station site, located at 30030 South River Road, 
in Sacramento County, California. The federally threatened valley 
elderberry longhorn beetle (Desmocerus californicus dimorphus) (VELB) 
and the federally threatened giant garter snake (Thamnophis gigas) 
(GGS) are the covered species in the applicant's proposed HCP.
    The applicant would seek incidental take authorization for these 
two covered species and would receive assurances under our ``No 
Surprises'' regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)).

Proposed Covered Activities

    Construction of a new flood protection levee and raised all-weather 
access road will result in the permanent removal of 23 elderberry 
shrubs, considered potential habitat for the VELB, and temporary 
impacts to 10.775 acres of riparian scrub, ruderal, annual grassland, 
agricultural crop, and urban vegetation communities considered upland 
habitat for GGS. The following actions are proposed as the ``covered 
activities'' under the HCP: Site preparation; tree removal; 
transplanting elderberry shrubs, embankment degrade; excavation of 
inspection trench and borrow material; construction of the levee; 
construction and removal of temporary access road (if needed); 
construction of access roads, maintenance roads, and a permanent access 
road for the borrow site; and site restoration. The applicant seeks a 
5-year permit to cover the activities associated with this proposed 
construction within the 136.4-acre project site.

Proposed Mitigation Measures

    The applicant proposes to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the effects 
to the covered species associated with the covered activities by fully 
implementing the HCP. The applicant will satisfy the mitigation 
requirements by purchasing 55 VELB credits from a USFWS-approved 
conservation bank and transplanting the removed elderberry shrubs to 
the conservation bank, and by restoring temporarily impacted upland GGS 
habitat to pre-project conditions within the same calendar year (Option 
1). If final restoration of a portion of the temporarily impacted 
upland GGS habitat occurs the calendar year following the initial 
impact, then the applicant will satisfy additional mitigation 
requirements by dedicating 0.780 acre of created GGS habitat at the 
South Stone Lake Giant Garter Snake Mitigation Preserve or through the 
purchase of mitigation credits from a USFWS-approved conservation/
mitigation bank (Option 2). To minimize effects to VELB, the applicant 
is proposing to implement the avoidance and minimization measures 
outlined in the Formal Programmatic Consultation for Projects with 
Relatively Small Effects on the VELB (USFWS 1996a) and the Conservation 
Guidelines for the VELB (USFWS 1999a). To minimize effects to GGS, the 
applicant is proposing to implement the avoidance, minimization, and 
conservation measures as specified in Appendix C of the Programmatic 
Formal Consultation for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 404 Permitted 
Projects with Relatively Small Effects on the Giant Garter Snake within 
Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Fresno, Merced, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, 
Stanislaus, Sutter and Yolo Counties, California (USFWS 1997).

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    Our proposed action (see below) is approving the applicant's HCP 
and issuance of an incidental take permit for take resulting from 
implementation of the covered activities. As required by the Act, the 
applicant's HCP considers alternatives to the take under the proposed 
action. The HCP considers the environmental consequences of two 
alternatives to the proposed action: (1) The No Action Alternative; and 
(2) the West Borrow Site Alternative.
No Action Alternative
    Under the No-Action Alternative, we would not issue an incidental 
take permit, the applicant would not build the flood protection levee 
and access road, the elderberry shrubs and upland GGS habitat would not 
be disturbed, and the applicant would not implement proposed mitigation 
measures. While this No-Action Alternative would avoid take of the 
covered species, it is considered infeasible because should a

[[Page 39954]]

significant flood event occur along the Sacramento River, sewer service 
could be impacted for thousands of customers in the communities that 
Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District serves. For this reason, 
the No-Action Alternative has been rejected.
West Borrow Site Alternative
    Under the West Borrow Site Alternative, the borrow material 
necessary to construct the flood protection levee would be procured 
from an agricultural field located to the west of the project site, and 
an alternative haul road would need to be constructed. The West Borrow 
Site Alternative would impact the same number of elderberry shrubs and 
acreage of GGS upland habitat as the Proposed Action Alternative. In 
addition to those impacts, there would be 0.422 acre of GGS aquatic 
habitat impacts associated with construction of the alternative haul 
road, as well as an additional 19.58 acres of GGS upland habitat 
impacts. For this reason, the West Borrow Site Alternative has been 
rejected.
Proposed Action
    Under the Proposed Action Alternative, we would issue an incidental 
take permit for the applicant's proposed project, which includes the 
activities described above. The Proposed Action Alternative would 
result in the permanent removal of 23 elderberry shrubs, considered 
potential habitat for the VELB and temporary impacts to 10.775 acres of 
upland habitat for GGS. To mitigate for these effects, the applicant 
proposes to purchase 55 VELB credits from a USFWS-approved conservation 
bank and transplant the removed elderberry shrubs to the conservation 
bank, and restore temporarily impacted upland GGS habitat to pre-
project conditions within the same calendar year (Option 1). If final 
restoration of a portion of the temporarily impacted upland GGS habitat 
occurs the calendar year following the initial impact, then the 
applicant will satisfy additional mitigation requirements, in addition 
to what is proposed in Option 1, by dedicating 0.780 acre of created 
GGS habitat at the South Stone Lake Giant Garter Snake Mitigation 
Preserve or through the purchase of mitigation credits from a USFWS-
approved conservation/mitigation bank (Option 2).

National Environmental Policy Act

    We made a preliminary determination that the applicants' project, 
including the mitigation measures, will individually and cumulatively 
have a minor or negligible effect on the species covered in the HCP. 
Therefore, issuance of the ITP is a ``low-effect'' action and qualifies 
as a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) (40 CFR 1506.6), as provided by the Department of the Interior 
Manual (516 DM 2 Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6 Appendix 1).
    Determination of whether a habitat conservation plan qualifies as a 
low effect is based on the following three criteria: (1) Implementation 
of the proposed HCP would result in minor or negligible effects on 
federally listed, proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; 
(2) implementation of the proposed HCP would result in minor or 
negligible effects on other environmental values or resources; and (3) 
impacts of the HCP, considered together with the other past, present, 
and reasonably foreseeable projects, would not result, over time, in 
cumulative effects to environmental values or resources that would be 
considered significant. Based upon the preliminary determinations in 
the EAS, we do not intend to prepare further NEPA documentation. We 
will consider public comments when making the final determination on 
whether to prepare an additional NEPA document on the proposed action.

Public Comments

    We request data, comments, new information, or suggestions from the 
public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific 
community, Tribes, industry, or any other interested party on this 
notice. We particularly seek comments on the following:
    (1) Our preliminary determination that the applicant's proposal 
will have a minor or negligible effect on the valley elderberry 
longhorn beetle and giant garter snake and the HCP qualifies as a low-
effect HCP.
    (2) Biological information concerning the species;
    (3) Relevant data concerning the species;
    (4) Additional information concerning the range, distribution, 
population size, and population trends of the species;
    (5) Current or planned activities in the subject area and their 
possible impacts on the species; and
    (6) Identification of any other environmental issues that should be 
considered with regard to the proposed project and permit action.
    You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods 
listed above in ADDRESSES. Comments and materials we receive, as well 
as supporting documentation we used in preparing the EAS, will be 
available for public inspection by appointment, during normal business 
hours, at our office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, or other personal 
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--might 
be made publicly available at any time. While you can 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 permit application, including the HCP and 
comments we receive, to determine whether the application meets the 
requirements of section 10(a) of the Act. We will also evaluate whether 
issuance of the incidental take permit would comply with section 
7(a)(2) of the Act by conducting an intra-Service consultation pursuant 
to section 7(a)(2) of the Act. If the requirements are met, we will 
issue a permit to the applicant for the incidental take of the valley 
elderberry longhorn beetle and giant garter snake from the 
implementation of the covered activities described in the low-effect 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the valley elderberry longhorn beetle and 
giant garter snake, South River Pump Station, Sacramento, California. 
We will make the final permit decision no sooner than 30 days after 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.

Authority

    We publish this notice under the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347 et seq.; NEPA), and its 
implementing regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 
CFR 1500-1508, as well as in compliance with section 10(c) of the 
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544 et seq.; Act).

Kaylee Allen,
Field Supervisor, Bay-Delta Fish and Wildlife Office, Sacramento, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2016-14567 Filed 6-17-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P