[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 178 (Monday, September 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 56584]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-20111]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA456]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has prepared a final 
environmental assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) describing the potential effects of Stockton East Water 
District's (District) proposed Calaveras River Habitat Conservation 
Plan (HCP). The Calaveras River HCP was prepared and submitted by the 
District and describes their ongoing operations and monitoring 
activities in the Calaveras River.

ADDRESSES: The incidental take permit, final environmental assessment, 
and other related documents are available on the NMFS West Coast Region 
website at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/calaveras-river-habitat-conservation-plan-and-environmental-assessment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Monica Gutierrez, Sacramento, CA, at 
phone number: (916) 930-3657, via fax: (916) 930-3629, or via email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

ESA-Listed Species Covered in This Notice

    Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): winter-run Chinook 
salmon, spring-run Chinook salmon, and fall/late fall-run Chinook 
salmon.
    California Central Valley (CCV) steelhead (O. mykiss).

Background

    The District is seeking coverage under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 
Endangered Species Act (ESA) for their ongoing operations and 
monitoring program in the lower Calaveras River in California's Central 
Valley. The Calaveras River, a tributary to the San Joaquin River, 
serves as an important source of water for fish, agriculture, and 
municipal uses in Calaveras and San Joaquin counties. The District 
manages the water resources within the Calaveras River during non-flood 
control periods for their respective constituents. The Calaveras River 
provides valuable habitat for CCV steelhead and Chinook salmon. The 
District's operations may result in impacts to listed species and their 
habitat within the Calaveras River. Therefore, the District is required 
to work collaboratively with NMFS to minimize these impacts through 
implementation of the HCP upon issuance of the Section 10(a)(1)(B) 
Permit.
    On September 30, 2019, a notice of receipt was published in the 
Federal Register (84 FR 51518) that a request for a permit for the 
incidental take of winter-run Chinook salmon, spring-run Chinook 
salmon, fall/late fall-run Chinook salmon, and CCV steelhead associated 
with the activities as described in the Calaveras River HCP, had been 
submitted by the District. In addition, the draft EA was available for 
45-day public comment period. NMFS received several comments and these 
comments were addressed as changes to the final EA or as a response in 
the final EA appendix. The requested permit has been issued under the 
authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. This permit authorizes 
the incidental take of listed species as set forth in the HCP and the 
permit for a 50-year period.

Authority

    Section 9 of the ESA and Federal regulations prohibit the `taking' 
of a species listed as endangered or threatened. The ESA defines 
``take'' to mean harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, 
capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct. NMFS 
may issue permits, under limited circumstances to take listed species 
incidental to, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful activities. 
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA provides for authorizing incidental take 
of listed species. NMFS regulations governing permits for threatened 
and endangered species are promulgated at 50 CFR 222.307.

    Dated: September 8, 2020.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-20111 Filed 9-11-20; 8:45 am]
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