[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 30 (Wednesday, February 13, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3804-3805]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02163]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R1-ES-2018-N077; FXES11140100000-189-FF01E00000]


Request for Renewal of the Incidental Take Permit and Habitat 
Conservation Plan for Incidental Take of Hawaiian Stilts; Cyanotech 
Aquaculture Facility, Hawaii

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received an application from Cyanotech (applicant) for a renewal of an 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The 
applicant is requesting renewal of their ITP and their 2002 habitat 
conservation plan (HCP) for Hawaiian stilt at the Cyanotech aquaculture 
facility at Keahole Point, Hawaii. If renewed, the ITP would authorize 
the take of the Hawaiian stilt that may occur incidental to the 
operation and maintenance of the aquaculture facility. The ITP 
application includes a HCP renewal document describing the actions and 
measures the applicant will implement to avoid, minimize, mitigate, and 
monitor incidental take of the species. We are making the HCP renewal 
and the NEPA environmental action statement for categorical exclusion, 
available for public review and comment.

DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by 
March 15, 2019.

ADDRESSES: To request further information or submit written comments, 
please use one of the following methods, and note that your information 
request or comments are in reference to the Cyanotech HCP and the 
proposed renewal of the ITP:
     Internet: Documents may be viewed on the internet at 
http://www.fws.gov/pacificislands/.
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``Cyanotech HCP'' in 
the subject line of the message.
     U.S. Mail: Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana 
Boulevard, Room 3-122, Honolulu, HI 96850.
     Fax: 808-792-9581, Attn: Field Supervisor. Include 
``Cyanotech HCP'' in the subject line of the message.
     In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Comments and 
materials received will be available for public inspection, by 
appointment, during normal business hours at the Pacific Islands Fish 
and Wildlife Office (address above). Written comments can be dropped 
off during regular business hours on or before the closing date of the 
public comment period (see DATES).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jodi Charrier, Endangered Species 
Biologist, by mail at the address in ADDRESSES; by telephone at 808-
792-9400; or by email at [email protected]. If you use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf, please call the Federal Relay 
Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Service has received an ITP application 
from Cyanotech in accordance with the requirements of the Endangered 
Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicant is requesting 
renewal of an ITP to authorize incidental take of the endangered 
Hawaiian stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni), hereafter referred to 
as the covered species or Hawaiian stilt. If renewed, the ITP would 
authorize take of the covered species that may occur incidental to the 
operation and maintenance of the Cyanotech aquaculture facility for an 
additional 19 years, until 2035. The ITP application includes a HCP 
renewal document describing the actions and measures the applicant will 
implement to avoid, minimize, mitigate, and monitor incidental take of 
the covered species. We are making the ITP application, including the 
NEPA environmental action statement for a categorical exclusion 
available for public review and comment.

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the take of fish and wildlife 
species listed as endangered or threatened under section 4 of the ESA. 
Under the ESA, the term ``take'' means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, 
shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage 
in any such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)). The term ``harm,'' as defined 
in our regulations, includes significant habitat modification or 
degradation that results in death or injury to 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 authorize take of federally listed species, provided the 
take 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 ESA 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 applicant will prepare a conservation plan that, to the 
maximum extent practicable, identifies the steps the applicant will 
take to minimize and mitigate the impact of such taking;
    (3) The applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the plan 
will be provided;
    (4) The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the 
survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and

[[Page 3805]]

    (5) The applicant will carry out any other measures that the 
Service may require as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes 
of the plan.

Proposed Action

    The Service proposes to issue the requested ITP based on the 
applicant's commitment to implement the renewed 2002 HCP for Hawaiian 
stilt at the Cyanotech aquaculture facility, Keahole Point, Hawaii. On 
March 18, 2002, the Service approved Cyanotech's HCP and issued an ITP 
with a duration of 3 years for take of the endangered Hawaiian stilt 
incidental to ongoing operations and maintenance activities of the 
aquaculture facility. In September 2006, the Service permitted a 10-
year extension of the ITP, which expired in March 2016. The 2006 ITP 
authorizes take of the covered species so long as the total number of 
stilts fledged at off-site locations is greater than the number of 
stilts incidentally taken over the ten-year permit term. In October 
2015, Cyanotech submitted an application for renewal of the ITP and the 
HCP for an additional 19 years, until 2035. This request is being 
considered pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA.
    Cyanotech proposes to continue normal microalgae operations, daily 
monitoring and maintenance at its aquaculture facility, and 
implementation of minimization measures described in their 2002 HCP and 
2006 HCP amendment until 2035. All provisions for reporting, 
monitoring, adaptive management, and funding assurances from the 
original HCP will be maintained. Cyanotech currently has a net 
mitigation offset of 32 fledglings, and incidental take is not expected 
to exceed 1 stilt fledgling per year. Therefore, it is expected that 
the current offset of 32 fledglings is sufficient to compensate for 
take of an additional 20 Hawaiian stilt fledglings over the 19-year 
permit renewal term. No additional compensatory mitigation is being 
proposed.

National Environmental Policy Act Compliance

    The proposed issuance of an ITP is a Federal action that triggers 
the need for compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq). Pursuant to 
NEPA, we prepared an Environmental Action Statement (EAS) to analyze 
the environmental impacts of the proposed Federal action of issuing the 
requested ITP and implementation of the conservation program under the 
HCP.
    Based on the EAS, we have preliminarily determined that the 
proposed renewal of the ITP and HCP would have minor or negligible 
effects on the species covered in the HCP. Therefore, we determined 
that the proposed HCP permit renewal qualifies for a categorical 
exclusion under NEPA, as provided by the Department of the Interior 
NEPA regulations (43 CFR part 46).

Public Availability of Comments

    All comments and materials we receive become part of the public 
record associated with this action. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable 
information in your comments, you should be aware that your entire 
comment--including your personally identifiable information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your 
comment to withhold your personally identifiable information from 
public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. 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. Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting 
documentation, will be available for public inspection by appointment, 
during normal business hours, at our Pacific Islands Field Office (see 
ADDRESSES).

Authority

    We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of 
section 10(c) of the ESA and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 
and 17.32) and NEPA and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

Katherine B. Hollar,
Acting Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-02163 Filed 2-12-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P