[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 83 (Monday, April 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18859-18860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09019]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2018-N032; FF08ESMF00-FXES11140800000-189]


Final Environmental Impact Statement, Final Habitat Conservation 
Plan; Yolo County, California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of final environmental impact statement 
and final habitat conservation plan.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the 
availability of a joint final environmental impact statement and final 
environmental impact report (final EIS/EIR) under the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1967, as amended. We also announce the 
availability of the final habitat conservation plan (HCP) and 
California natural community conservation plan. These documents were 
prepared in support of a permit application submitted to us under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. We will use these documents 
to inform our decision regarding issuance of the permit.

DATES: A record of decision will be signed no sooner than 30 days after 
the publication of this notice of availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the HCP and final EIS/EIR are available 
at http://www.fws.gov/sacramento. Copies of these documents are also 
available for public inspection, during regular business hours, at the 
Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, W 2605, 
Sacramento, CA 95825.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Address any questions to Mike Thomas, 
Chief, Conservation Planning Division, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife 
Office, (916) 414-6600, [email protected]; or Eric Tattersall, 
Assistant Field Supervisor, (916) 414-6600, [email protected]. If 
you use a telecommunications device for the deaf, please call the 
Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The County of Yolo; the Cities of Davis, 
West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland; and the Yolo Habitat 
Conservancy (collectively, the applicants) have applied for a 50-year 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 
as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicants prepared the 
final Yolo Habitat Conservation Plan and Natural Community Conservation 
Plan (HCP) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA and the 
California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act of 2002.

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and our Federal 
regulations (50 CFR part 17) prohibit the taking of fish and wildlife 
species listed as endangered or threatened under section 4 of the ESA. 
Regulations governing permits for endangered and threatened species are 
at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, respectively. For more information about the 
Federal habitat conservation plan program, go to http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/hcp.pdf.

Proposed Action Alternative

    The Service would issue an ITP to the applicants for a period of 50 
years for certain covered activities. The applicants have requested an 
ITP for 12 covered species.

Plan Area

    The HCP includes all lands within Yolo County, approximately 
653,549 acres, and 1,174 acres in Solano County for a total combined 
area of 654,723 acres.

Covered Activities

    The applicants are requesting incidental take authorization for 12 
covered species that could be affected by covered activities identified 
in the HCP. The HCP covers the following five general categories of 
covered activities (collectively, Covered Activities):
    1. Urban projects and activities, which include general urban 
development, urban public services, infrastructure, and utilities, and 
urban projects in rural areas.
    2. Rural projects and activities, which include general rural 
development, rural public services, infrastructure, and utilities, 
agricultural economic development, aggregate mining, and open space.
    3. Public and private operations and maintenance activities.
    4. Conservation strategy implementation, which includes habitat 
restoration, management, and enhancement activities throughout the 
reserve system.
    5. Neighboring landowner agreements.

Covered Species

    Twelve species are included in the HCP as Covered Species. They 
include ESA-listed and non-ESA-listed species.
ESA Threatened
California tiger salamander (Central Valley Distinct Population Segment 
(DPS)) (Ambystoma californiense)
Valley elderberry longhorn beetle (Desmocerus californicus dimorphus)
Giant garter snake (Thamnophis gigas)
Western yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus occidentalis)
ESA Endangered
Least Bell's vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus)
Palmate-bracted bird's beak (Cordylanthus palmatus)
Non-ESA-Listed
Western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata)
Swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni)
White-tailed kite (Elanus leucurus)
Western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea)
Bank swallow (Riparia riparia)
Tricolored blackbird (Agelaius tricolor)

National Environmental Policy Act Compliance

    The final EIS/EIR was prepared to analyze the impacts of issuing an 
ITP based on the HCP and to inform the public of the proposed action, 
alternatives, and associated impacts and to disclose any irreversible 
commitments of resources. The final EIS/EIR analyzes three alternatives 
in addition to the proposed action described above. The other 
alternatives include a no-action (i.e., no ITP) alternative, a reduced 
take alternative, and a reduced development alternative. The final EIS/
EIR includes all comments received on the draft EIS/EIR, draft HCP/
NCCP, and responses to those comments.

[[Page 18860]]

Public Review

    The Service published a notice of intent to prepare a joint 
environmental impact statement and environmental impact report in the 
Federal Register on October 21, 2011 (76 FR 65527), announcing a 45-day 
public scoping period, during which the public was invited to provide 
written comments and attend two public scoping meetings, which were 
held on November 7, 2011, in West Sacramento, California. The Service 
published a notice of availability (NOA) of the draft EIS/EIR and draft 
HCP/NCCP in the Federal Register on June 1, 2017 (82 FR 25302). The NOA 
announced a 90-day public comment period, during which the public was 
invited to provide written comments and attend two public meetings, 
which were held on June 27, 2017, and June 29, 2017. In accordance with 
NEPA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will announce the final 
EIS in the Federal Register.

Next Steps

    Issuance of an ITP is a Federal proposed action subject to 
compliance with NEPA. We will evaluate the application, associated 
documents, and the public comments we received to determine whether the 
requirements of NEPA regulations and section 10(a) of the ESA have been 
met. If we determine that those requirements are met, we will issue a 
Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days after the EPA publishes 
notice of the final EIS in the Federal Register. Subsequently, we will 
issue a permit to the applicant for the incidental take of the Covered 
Species.

Authority

    We publish this notice under the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347 et seq.), and its implementing 
regulations at 40 CFR 1500-1508, as well as in compliance with section 
10(c) of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its 
implementing regulations at 40 CFR 17.22.

Michael Fris,
Assistant Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific 
Southwest Region, Sacramento, California.
[FR Doc. 2018-09019 Filed 4-27-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P