[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 91 (Friday, May 12, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22153-22155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09366]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2014-0048; FF06E220000-178-FXES11140600000]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Incidental Take 
Permit Application; Draft Habitat Conservation Plan for the R-Project 
Transmission Line and Draft Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) has applied for an 
incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the 
R-Project transmission line in north-central Nebraska. If issued, the 
permit would authorize the take of the federally endangered American 
burying beetle incidental to the construction, operation, and 
maintenance of the transmission line. We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (Service), announce the availability of the following documents 
related to the NPPD incidental take permit application for review and 
comment by the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and local 
governments: Draft Habitat Conservation Plan for the R-Project 
Transmission Line in Nebraska (HCP); Draft Environment Impact Statement 
of the R-Project HCP (DEIS); Draft Migratory Bird Conservation Plan 
(MBCP); and Draft Restoration Management Plan.

DATES: Comment submission: Written comments must be submitted by July 
11, 2017.
    Public meetings: We are holding three public meetings to share 
information and allow the public to provide oral and written comments 
on the DEIS and draft HCP. The meetings will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 
p.m. on:
     Monday, June 12, 2017--Sutherland, NE.
     Tuesday, June 13, 2017--Thedford, NE.
     Wednesday, June 14, 2017--Burwell, NE.
    Persons needing reasonable accommodations to attend and participate 
in the public meetings should contact Eliza Hines (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT). To allow sufficient time to process requests, 
please call no later than one week before the meeting.

ADDRESSES: Document availability: The draft HCP, DEIS, draft MBCP and 
draft Restoration Management Plan are available via the Internet at the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.regulations.gov) in Docket No. FWS-R6-
ES-2014-0048. Information regarding the DEIS and accompanying documents 
is available in alternative formats upon request (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT). Documents will also be available for public 
inspection by appointment (call 308-382-6468 extension 204) during 
normal business hours at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Nebraska 
Field Office, 9325 South Alda Road, Wood River, NE 68883.
    Submitting comments: To send written comments, please use one of 
the following methods, and note that your information requests or 
comments are in reference to the draft HCP. Please specify which 
documents your comment addresses: the DEIS, draft HCP, draft MBCP, or 
draft Restoration Management Plan.
     Internet: Submit comments at http://www.regulations.gov to 
Docket Number FWS-R6-ES-2014-0048.
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R6-ES-2014-0048; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: 
BPHC; 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    Public meetings: The public meetings discussed above in DATES will 
be held at the following locations in Nebraska:
     Burwell: American Legion Hall, 657 G Street, Burwell, NE 
68823.
     Sutherland: Village Municipal Offices, 1200 First Street, 
Sutherland, NE 69165.
     Thedford: Thomas County Fairgrounds, 8386 Hwy 83, 
Thedford, NE 69166.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eliza Hines, 308-382-6468 extension 
204 (phone) or [email protected] (email). If you use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speech 
disabled, please call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We received an application from NPPD for an 
incidental take permit to authorize the incidental take of the 
federally endangered American burying beetle resulting from the 
construction, operation, and maintenance of the proposed R-Project 
transmission line and substations. The 345-kilovolt R-Project 
transmission line would be approximately 225 miles long in north-
central Nebraska. As part of its application, NPPD prepared a draft HCP 
that describes actions to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts of 
incidental take of the American burying beetle. NPPD also prepared a 
Draft Restoration Management Plan to outline

[[Page 22154]]

restoration plans for beetle habitat as well as other habitats impacted 
by the R-Project. Additionally, NPPD developed a MBCP to address 
impacts to migratory birds and bald and golden eagles in a good faith 
effort to comply with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and 
Golden Eagle Protection Act.
    In the DEIS, we analyze the potential impacts to the natural and 
human environment from implementing the proposed HCP and issuing the 
permit and from implementing the two alternatives to the proposed 
action. The DEIS also identifies alternatives that we considered but 
eliminated from further analysis.

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA prohibits take of fish and wildlife species 
listed as endangered (16 U.S.C. 1538). Under section 3 of the ESA, the 
term ``take'' means to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, 
kill, trap, capture, or collect, or attempt to engage in any such 
conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)). The term ``harm'' is defined in title 
50 of the Code of Federal Regulations as ``an act which actually kills 
or injures wildlife. Such acts may include significant habitat 
modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures wildlife 
by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including 
breeding, feeding, or sheltering'' (50 CFR 17.3). The term ``harass'' 
is defined in the regulations as ``an intentional or negligent act or 
omission which creates the likelihood of injury to wildlife by annoying 
it 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).
    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 
incidental take permits to non-Federal entities for the incidental take 
of endangered and threatened species, provided the following criteria 
are met:
     The taking will be incidental.
     The applicant will minimize and mitigate, to the maximum 
extent practicable, 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.
     The applicant will carry out any other measures that the 
Secretary of the Interior may require as being necessary or appropriate 
for the purposes of the HCP.
Regulations governing permits for endangered species are at 50 CFR 
17.22.
    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.) requires that Federal agencies conduct an environmental analysis 
of their proposed actions to determine whether the actions may 
significantly affect the human environment. Under NEPA and its 
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500 et seq.), Federal agencies must 
also compare effects of a reasonable range of alternatives to the 
proposed action. In these analyses, the Federal agency will identify 
potentially significant direct, indirect, and cumulative effects, as 
well as possible mitigation for any significant effects, on biological 
resources, land use, air quality, water resources, socioeconomics, 
environmental justice, cultural resources, and other environmental 
resources that could occur with the implementation of the proposed 
action and alternatives. In accordance with NEPA, we prepared a DEIS to 
analyze the impacts to the natural and human environment that may occur 
if the Service were to issue the permit and NPPD were to implement the 
proposed R-Project HCP. We announced scoping for the DEIS in the 
Federal Register of October 30, 2014 (79 FR 64619).

Proposed Action

    We propose to issue a 50-year permit for incidental take of the 
American burying beetle if NPPD's HCP meets all the section 10(a)(1)(B) 
permit issuance criteria. The permit would authorize take of the 
American burying beetle incidental to the proposed construction, 
operation, and maintenance, including emergency repairs, of the R-
Project. NPPD would avoid the incidental take of other federally listed 
species by implementing avoidance measures presented in the draft HCP.
    The permit area for the HCP is determined by the geographical area 
within which incidental take is expected to occur. The proposed permit 
area includes 1 mile on each side of the R-Project centerline from 
Stapleton, Nebraska, north to the Thedford Substation. The permit area 
also includes 4 miles on each side of the centerline from the Thedford 
Substation east to a new Holt County Substation. The varying permit 
area width incorporates all potential incidental take that may occur 
outside the transmission line right-of-way resulting from construction 
access, temporary work areas, staging sites, fly yards, or other ground 
disturbance from construction and maintenance.
    The proposed R-Project transmission line would be constructed with 
tubular steel monopoles and steel lattice towers. Tubular steel 
monopoles require large equipment for installation and would be used 
where adequate access and established roads exist. Steel lattice towers 
would be used in the Sandhills where access routes are limited or do 
not exist. Lattice towers can be constructed with less overall effect 
on the surrounding area because smaller equipment and helicopter 
construction can be used.
    The draft HCP describes a number of measures that NPPD would 
implement to avoid and minimize the incidental take of the beetle 
during construction, operations, and maintenance of the R-Project. 
Measures associated with restoration of beetle habitat, as well as 
other habitats, are outlined in the Restoration Management Plan. The 
HCP also commits NPPD to provide mitigation lands to conserve beetle 
habitat to fully offset temporary and permanent impacts of the 
remaining take. With these measures, construction of the R-Project 
would permanently destroy 33 acres of American burying beetle habitat 
and temporarily disturb an additional 1,250 acres of American burying 
beetle habitat over the term of the permit. NPPD would work with the 
Service to secure at least 500 acres of occupied American burying 
beetle habitat in perpetuity.

Alternatives Analyzed in the DEIS

    In the DEIS, we also evaluate the effects on the natural and human 
environment from two alternatives to the proposed action: (1) No action 
(i.e., no permit issuance), and (2) construction of the R-Project using 
only steel tubular monopole structures. Construction of tubular steel 
monopoles would require access roads to support heavy equipment. NPPD 
would construct temporary access routes where adequate ones do not 
exist. Associated levels of ground disturbance would require the permit 
to authorize higher levels of incidental take of the American burying 
beetle, and an associated HCP would need to expand conservation 
measures to minimize and fully offset the impacts of the incidental 
take.
    The DEIS considers the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of 
the two action alternatives, including measures intended to avoid, 
minimize, and mitigate such impacts. The DEIS also identifies 
alternative routing options that the Service considered but eliminated 
from detailed analysis.

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    The Service invites comments and suggestions from interested 
parties on the content of the DEIS. In particular, information and 
comments regarding the following topics are requested:
    1. The direct, indirect, or cumulative effects that implementation 
of either action alternative could have on the natural and human 
environment.
    2. Whether or not the impact on various aspects of the natural and 
human environment have been adequately analyzed.
    3. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the 
proposed action on the natural and human environment.

Role of the Environmental Protection Agency in the EIS Process

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged under 
section 309 of the Clean Air Act to review all Federal agencies' 
environmental impact statements (EISs) and to comment on the adequacy 
and acceptability of the environmental impacts of proposed actions in 
the EISs.
    EPA also administers the database for EISs prepared by Federal 
agencies and provides notice of their availability in the Federal 
Register. The EIS database provides information about EISs prepared by 
Federal agencies, as well as EPA's comments concerning the EISs. All 
EISs are filed with EPA, which publishes a notice of availability each 
Friday in the Federal Register.
    For more information, see http://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/eisdata.html. You may search for EPA comments on EISs, along with EISs 
themselves, at https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-public/action/eis/search.

Public Comments

    Written comments received 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 for incidental take 
permits (50 CFR 17.22) and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its 
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR part 46).

Michael G. Thabault,
Assistant Regional Director-Ecological Services, Mountain-Prairie 
Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lakewood, Colorado.
[FR Doc. 2017-09366 Filed 5-11-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P