[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 247 (Friday, December 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 94409-94411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31037]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2016-N181]; [FXES11140800000-178-FF08E00000]


City of San Diego Vernal Pool Habitat Conservation Plan and Draft 
Environmental Impact Report/Statement; San Diego County, California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the 
availability of a draft environmental impact report/statement (EIS/
EIR), which evaluates the impacts of, and alternatives to, the proposed 
City of San Diego Vernal Pool Habitat Conservation Plan (VPHCP). The 
VPHCP was submitted by the City of San Diego in support of an 
application under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, for a 
permit authorizing the incidental take of federally listed covered 
species resulting from covered activities. We request review and 
comment on the VPHCP and the draft EIS/EIR from local, State, and 
Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public.

DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by 
February 21, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents:
     Internet: You may obtain copies of the draft EIR/EIS and 
draft VPHCP on the City's Web site at https://www.sandiego.gov/planning/programs/mscp/vphcp.
     U.S. Mail: A limited number of CD-ROM and printed copies 
of the draft EIR/EIS and draft VPHCP are available, by request, from 
the Field Supervisor, by mail at the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, 
2177 Salk Avenue, Suite 250, Carlsbad, CA 92008; by phone at (760) 431-
9440; or by fax at (760) 431-9624. Please note that your request is in 
reference to the City of San Diego VPHCP.
     In-Person: Copies of the draft EIR/EIS and draft VPHCP 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, 2177 Salk Avenue, Suite 250, 
Carlsbad, CA 92008.
    [cir] Department of the Interior, Natural Resources Library, 1849 C 
St. NW., Washington, DC 20240.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit written comments by one of the 
following methods:

[[Page 94410]]

    [cir] U.S. Mail: Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
2177 Salk Avenue, Suite 250, Carlsbad, CA 92008.
    [cir] Fax: Field Supervisor, 760-431-9624.
    [cir] Email: [email protected]; please include ``Vernal Pool 
HCP'' in the subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: G. Mendel Stewart, by mail at the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, 2177 Salk Avenue, Suite 250, Carlsbad, CA 
92008; or by phone at (760) 431-9440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), announce the availability of a draft environmental impact 
report/statement (EIR/EIS), which evaluates the impacts of, and 
alternatives to, the proposed City of San Diego Vernal Pool Habitat 
Conservation Plan (VPHCP). The VPHCP was submitted by the City of San 
Diego (City) in support of an application under section 10 of the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), for a permit 
authorizing the incidental take of federally listed covered species 
resulting from covered activities. The proposed VPHCP plan area 
encompasses 206,124 acres in the southwestern portion of San Diego 
County, within the State of California.

Introduction

    Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), this 
notice advises the public of the availability for public review of the 
VPHCP EIR/EIS, which evaluates the impacts of, and alternatives to, the 
proposed City of San Diego VPHCP for incidental take of federally 
listed covered species resulting from covered activities within the 
Plan area. This document has been prepared as a joint EIR/EIS due to 
the combined local, State, and Federal discretionary actions and 
permits associated with the VPHCP. Co-lead agencies are the City, 
pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and the 
Service, pursuant to NEPA, as further described in the draft EIR/EIS. 
The proposed Federal action is issuance of an incidental take permit 
(ITP) under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA to the City of San Diego. 
With this notice, we continue the HCP process, which started through a 
notice in the Federal Register on December 20, 2011 (76 FR 78942), in 
which we announced the preparation of the HCP and NEPA document.

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA prohibits ``take'' of fish and wildlife 
species listed as endangered under section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1538, 1533, 
respectively). The ESA implementing regulations extend, under certain 
circumstances, the prohibition of take to threatened species (50 CFR 
17.31). Regulations governing permits for endangered and threatened 
species are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32. For more about the HCP program, 
go to http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/hcp.pdf.
    Under section 10(a) of the ESA, the Service may issue permits to 
authorize incidental take of listed fish and wildlife species. 
``Incidental take'' is defined by the ESA as take that is incidental 
to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity. 
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA contains provisions for issuing ITPs to 
non-Federal entities for the take of endangered and threatened species, 
provided the following criteria are met:
     The taking will be incidental;
     The applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable, 
minimize and mitigate the impact of such taking;
     The applicant will develop an HCP and ensure that adequate 
funding for the plan will be provided;
     The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of 
the survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
     The applicant will carry out any other measures that the 
Secretary may require as being necessary or appropriate for the 
purposes of the HCP.
    The purpose of issuing an ITP to the City would be to permit 
incidental take of the covered species resulting from local development 
authorized by the City and conditioned on the City's minimization and 
mitigation of the impacts of such take in accordance with an approved 
VPHCP. Implementation of the VPHCP is intended to maximize the benefits 
of conservation measures for covered species and eliminate expensive 
and time-consuming efforts associated with processing individual ITPs 
for each project within the City's proposed plan area.
    The proposed VPHCP includes measures intended to minimize and 
mitigate the impacts of the taking to the maximum extent practicable 
from residential, commercial, and other development activities within 
the proposed plan area.
    The proposed VPHCP is a conservation plan for seven threatened and 
endangered vernal pool species that do not currently have Federal 
coverage under the City of San Diego's Multiple Species Conservation 
Program Subarea Plan (MSCP SAP) and the species' associated vernal pool 
habitat. The VPHCP would complement the City's existing MSCP SAP by 
conserving additional lands. The VPHCP will conserve vernal pool 
resources within the existing City of San Diego's Multi-Habitat 
Planning Area (MHPA). The species covered include the San Diego fairy 
shrimp, Riverside fairy shrimp, San Diego button celery, spreading 
navarretia, San Diego mesa mint, California Orcutt grass, and Otay mesa 
mint. The VPHCP would provide a comprehensive approach to the 
protection and management of the vernal pool preserve areas within the 
206,124-acre plan area.

Alternatives

    We are considering three alternatives as part of this process:
    No Action Alternative: No ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would be 
issued to the City. Instead, activities involving take of the covered 
species would require individual permits or ESA section 7 consultations 
if a Federal nexus exists under the current ESA regulations; for non-
Federal projects that lack a Federal nexus, take activities would 
require individual ITPs under section 10 of the ESA.
    Proposed Action Alternative: This alternative is issuance of an ITP 
by the Service for covered species in the HCP plan area, with a 
duration of 30 years. Incidental take authorized by the requested ITP 
would result from covered activities. The covered activities under the 
VPHCP are expected to include residential, commercial, and industrial 
development; airport operation; road and utility maintenance and 
construction; trail use; and vernal pool restoration and enhancement. 
Once fully implemented, the VPHCP would expand the City's existing 
Multi-Habitat Planning Area (MHPA) by adding approximately 275 acres of 
lands with valuable vernal pool resources. The VPHCP would conserve an 
additional 8 vernal pool complexes and an additional 226 pools, 
totaling 2.8 acres of basin area or 9 percent more vernal pool habitat 
than what is currently conserved within the MHPA. Once adopted, vernal 
pool lands within the MHPA would be subject to the provisions of the 
VPHCP, in addition to the City's MSCP SAP and other existing land use 
and biological resource plans, policies, and regulations.
    Expanded Conservation Alternative: Once fully implemented, the 
Expanded Conservation Alternative would expand the City's existing MHPA 
by adding approximately 508 acres of lands with valuable vernal pool 
resources. The Expanded Conservation Alternative would conserve an 
additional 9 vernal pool complexes within the Plan Area and conserve an 
additional 277 pools (11 percent more vernal pool habitat),

[[Page 94411]]

totaling 3.3 acres of basin area, beyond what is currently conserved 
within the MHPA. All other aspects of the Expanded Conservation 
Alternative would be the same as the Proposed Action Alternative.

Request for Comments

    Consistent with section 10(c) of the ESA, we invite your submission 
of written data, views, or arguments with respect to the City's permit 
application, VPHCP, and permitting decision.

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 may 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: December 19, 2016.
Alexandra Pitts,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region, Sacramento, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2016-31037 Filed 12-22-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P