[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 176 (Thursday, September 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55855-55856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19934]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-ES-2019-N174; FXES11140200000F2-201-FF02ENEH00]


Draft Environmental Assessment and Habitat Conservation Plan for 
the Endangered American Burying Beetle; City of Oklahoma City's Second 
Atoka Pipeline Project, in Six Oklahoma Counties

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce via 
a Federal Register notice the availability of a draft environmental 
assessment (dEA) under the National Environmental Policy Act, and 
habitat conservation plan (HCP) for construction of a public water 
supply pipeline, the Second Atoka Pipeline Project, in six Oklahoma 
counties. Under the Endangered Species Act, the City of Oklahoma City 
and the Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust (applicants) applied for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) to cover incidental take of the American 
burying beetle (ABB) from activities associated with construction of 
the pipeline project. The applicants have proposed an HCP that would be 
implemented to address project impacts on the ABB. The dEA evaluates 
the impacts of, and alternatives to, implementation of the proposed 
HCP. We seek public comment on the dEA and the requested Service 
approval of the HCP and ITP.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received or 
postmarked by October 13, 2020. Any comments we receive after the 
closing date may not be considered in final decisions on the Service's 
action.

ADDRESSES: Accessing Documents:
    Internet: DEA and HCP: You may obtain electronic copies of these 
documents from the Service's website at https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/oklahoma/
    U.S. Mail: You may obtain the documents at the following addresses.

[[Page 55856]]

In your request for documents, please reference the Oklahoma City draft 
EA/HCP.
    DEA and HCP: A limited number of CD-ROM and printed copies of the 
dEA and HCP are available, by request, from Ms. Jonna Polk, Field 
Supervisor, Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK 74129; telephone 918-581-
7458; facsimile 918-581-7467.
    ITP application: 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.
    Submitting Comments: Regarding any of the documents available for 
review, you may submit written comments by one of the following 
methods. In your comments, please reference the Oklahoma City draft EA/
HCP.
    Email: [email protected].
    Facsimile: 918-581-7467, Attn: Oklahoma City HCP EA.
    U.S. Mail: Field Supervisor, Oklahoma Ecological Services Field 
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK 
74129.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonna Polk, Field Supervisor, by U.S. 
mail at the Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office (address above), 
or by phone at 918-581-7458. If you use a telecommunications device for 
the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The City of Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma 
City Water Utilities Trust (applicants) have applied to the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service (Service) for an incidental take permit (ITP) 
under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 
amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The requested ITP, which would 
be in effect for a period of 8 years, if granted, would authorize 
incidental take of the federally endangered American burying beetle 
(ABB; Nicrophorus americanus) during otherwise lawful activities 
associated with construction of a public water supply pipeline, the 
Second Atoka Pipeline Project. The project extends in a largely 
straight course from Atoka Lake to Lake Stanley Draper and passes 
through Atoka, Cleveland, Coal, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, and Seminole 
Counties, Oklahoma. The entire project is approximately 100 miles in 
length, of which 78.4 miles would occur within the known range of the 
ABB. Activities potentially causing take include site preparation; 
construction of the pipeline, pump stations, and other ancillary 
facilities; use of temporary work areas; construction of pipe stockpile 
sites and contractor yards; construction and maintenance of access 
roads; removal of surge facilities; post-construction restoration 
activities; and hydrostatic testing of the installed pipeline. The 
applicants have proposed a habitat conservation plan (HCP) that would 
be implemented to address project impacts to the ABB.
    We are notifying the public of the applicant's proposal of an HCP 
and request to the Service for an ITP to cover incidental take of the 
ABB associated with construction of the Second Atoka Pipeline Project. 
In addition, we are notifying the public of the Service's preparation 
of a draft environmental assessment (EA) regarding impacts of the 
requested action or feasible alternatives, of an opportunity for public 
comment on our action, and of our intention to finalize the EA after 
consideration of public comment.

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 the entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting 
documentation used in preparing the EA, will be available for public 
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the 
Service's Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma 
(see ADDRESSES section).

Authority

    We publish this notice in compliance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.), and its implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and 
section 10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 
16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 
and 17.32).

Amy Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2020-19934 Filed 9-9-20; 8:45 am]
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