[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 41 (Monday, March 2, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12324-12326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04236]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-ES-2020-N033; FXES11140200000-201-FF02ENEH00]


Application for an Incidental Take Permit; Low-Effect Habitat 
Conservation Plan for the Four Corners Water Development Project, 
Pueblo of Santa Clara, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), make 
available an application for an incidental take permit (ITP) supported 
by a low-effect habitat conservation plan (LEHCP) for the Four Corners 
Water Development Project, Pueblo of Santa Clara, Rio Arriba County, 
New Mexico. The Pueblo of Santa Clara has applied to the Service for an 
ITP under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The requested 
ITP, which would be in effect for a period of 20 years, if granted, 
would authorize incidental take of the federally endangered Rio Grande 
silvery minnow. In accordance with National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) requirements, we have determined that the proposed action 
qualifies for a categorical exclusion as low effect. We are accepting 
comments on the permit application, proposed LEHCP, and draft NEPA 
screening form.

DATES: Submission of comments: We will accept comments received or 
postmarked on or before April 1, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining documents: You may obtain copies of the ITP 
application, the LEHCP, or other related documents by going to the 
Service's website at https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/NewMexico/. 
Alternatively, a limited number of CD-ROM and printed copies of the 
LEHCP are available, by request, from the Project Leader, New Mexico 
Ecological Services Field Office, 2105 Osuna Road NE, Albuquerque, NM 
87113; telephone 505-346-2525; fax 505-346-2543. Please note that your 
request is in reference to the Pueblo of Santa Clara LEHCP.
    The ITP application is available by mail from the Regional 
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 1306, Room 6034, 
Albuquerque, NM 87103. Copies of the LEHCP 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.:
     U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 500 Gold Avenue SW, Room 
6034, Albuquerque, NM 87102.
     U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2105 Osuna Rd NE, 
Albuquerque, NM 87113.

Submitting Comments

    You may submit written comments by one of the following methods:
     By email: [email protected]. Please note that your request is 
in reference to the Pueblo of Santa Clara HCP.
     By hard copy: Project Leader, New Mexico Ecological 
Services Field Office, 2105 Osuna Rd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113; 
telephone 505-346-2525; fax 505-346-2542. Please note that your request 
is in reference to the Pueblo of Santa Clara LEHCP.
    We request that you submit comments by only the methods described 
above. Generally, we will post any personal information you provide us 
(see the Public Availability of Comments section for more information).

[[Page 12325]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seth Willey, Acting Project Leader, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2105 Osuna Rd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113 
or (505) 761-4781.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), make available an application for an incidental take permit 
(ITP) supported by a low-effect habitat conservation plan (LEHCP) for 
the Four Corners Water Development Project, Pueblo of Santa Clara, Rio 
Arriba County, New Mexico. The Pueblo of Santa Clara has applied to the 
Service for an ITP under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 
amended. The requested ITP, which would be in effect for a period of 20 
years, if granted, would authorize incidental take of the Rio Grande 
silvery minnow (Hybognathus amarus; silvery minnow), which is listed as 
an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 
amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The potential incidental take 
would be associated with the pumping of up to 1 million gallons per day 
from four existing shallow alluvial wells within the proposed plan 
area. This action, when considered alone, has minor effects on the 
silvery minnow. However, removal of this groundwater may have small 
impacts on the volume of the spring runoff that would reach downstream 
in low flow years, which, when combined with the cumulative effects of 
other existing and future water management actions, could affect the 
threshold flows needed for successful silvery minnow spawning and 
recruitment in the permit area. In accordance with National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) requirements, 
we have determined that the proposed action qualifies for a categorical 
exclusion as low effect. We are accepting comments on the permit 
application, proposed LEHCP, and draft NEPA screening form supporting 
using a categorical exclusion.

National Environmental Policy Act Requirements

    In accordance with the requirements of NEPA, we advise the public 
that:
    1. We have determined that the proposed permit action qualifies for 
categorical exclusion as low effect. We are accepting comments on the 
permit application and draft NEPA screening form supporting use of a 
categorical exclusion; and
    2. The applicant has developed a LEHCP in support of an application 
for an ITP, which describes the measures the applicant has volunteered 
to take to minimize and mitigate the effects of incidental take of the 
silvery minnow to the maximum extent practicable pursuant to section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA.
    As described in the LEHCP, the potential incidental take of silvery 
minnow could occur within the Rio Grande from Cochiti Dam downstream to 
the headwaters of Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico, and could 
result from otherwise lawful activities.

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA and our implementing regulations in the Code 
of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR part 17 prohibit the ``take'' of 
fish or wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened. Take of 
listed fish or wildlife is defined under the ESA as ``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)). However, under 
limited circumstances, we issue permits to authorize incidental take--
i.e., take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of--the carrying 
out of an otherwise lawful activity.
    Regulations governing incidental take permits for endangered and 
threatened wildlife species are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, 
respectively. In addition to meeting other criteria, the take 
authorized by an incidental take permit must not jeopardize the 
existence of federally listed fish, wildlife, or plants.

Proposed Action

    The ITP would cover incidental ``take'' of the silvery minnow 
associated with the pumping of up to 1 million gallons per day (mgd) 
from four existing shallow alluvial wells within the permit area (the 
``covered activities''). The proposed action is the issuance of an ITP 
by the Service for the covered activities in the permit area, pursuant 
to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA.
    The requested term of the permit is 20 years. To meet the 
requirements of a section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP, the applicant has developed 
and proposes to implement its LEHCP, which describes the actions to 
reduce or avoid impacts the applicant has agreed to undertake. These 
actions are designed to minimize and mitigate for the impacts of the 
potential incidental take of the silvery minnow, to the maximum extent 
practicable, and ensure that incidental take will not appreciably 
reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of this species in 
the wild.
    The applicant proposes to minimize and mitigate impacts to the 
silvery minnow by modifying pumping operations when flow condition are 
likely to result in the estimated densities of silvery minnow in the 
permit area to be below those considered self-sustaining. That is, when 
the May/June runoff flows that cross downstream stream gauges are low. 
The Pueblo of Santa Clara will suspend the proposed new pumping amount 
for 1 week in May when the forecasted total May-June runoff volume of 
the Rio Grande at Otowi Bridge Gauge is at or below the threshold value 
of approximately 205,010 acre-feet. The runoff volume during the months 
of May and June for the Rio Grande at Otowi Bridge Gage in New Mexico 
is estimated in the Basin Data Reports that are released each year in 
April and May by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources 
Conservation Service and National Water Climate Center (online at 
https: https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/basin.html). The cessation of the 
up to 1 million gallons per day of groundwater pumping under those 
specified threshold conditions would result in an increase of up to 
21.5 acre-feet of surface water runoff that would contribute to spring 
runoff during low-flow years.

Next Steps

    We have made a preliminary determination that the applicant's 
LEHCP, including the proposed mitigation and minimization measures has 
(1) minor or negligible effects on federally listed or candidate 
species and their habitats and (2) minor or negligible effects on other 
environmental values or resources. We will evaluate the permit 
application, the LEHCP, associated documents, and comments we receive 
to determine whether the permit application meets the requirements of 
the ESA, NEPA, and implementing regulations. If we determine that all 
requirements are met, we will approve the LEHCP and issue the ITP under 
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA to the Pueblo of Santa Clara for take of 
silvery minnow in accordance with the terms of the LEHCP and specific 
terms and conditions of the authorizing permit. We will not make our 
final decision until after the 30-day comment period ends, and we will 
fully consider all comments we receive during the public comment 
period.

Public Availability of Comments

    All comments we receive become part of the public record associated 
with this action. Requests for copies of comments will be handled in 
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, NEPA, and Service and 
Department of the Interior policies and procedures. Before including 
your address, phone number,

[[Page 12326]]

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 can ask us to withhold your personal identifying 
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.

Authority

    We provide this notice under the authority of section 10(c) of the 
ESA and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32) and NEPA 
(42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 
1506.6).

    Dated: February 24, 2020.
Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-04236 Filed 2-28-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P