[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 58 (Monday, March 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16385-16387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06401]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R3-ES-2021-0005; FXES11140300000-212]


Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation 
Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit, Habitat 
Conservation Plan for the Hine's Emerald Dragonfly, Blanding's Turtle, 
Spotted Turtle, Leafy Prairie Clover, and Lakeside Daisy, Will County, 
Illinois

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment and information.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an 
application from Hanson Aggregates Midwest, Inc. d/b/a Hanson Material

[[Page 16386]]

Service (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the 
Endangered Species Act. We make available for public comment the 
applicant's habitat conservation plan (HCP) for continued limestone 
surface mining, submitted in support of the ITP application, for the 
Hine's emerald dragonfly, Blanding's turtle, spotted turtle, leafy 
prairie clover, and Lakeside Daisy (covered species). If approved, the 
ITP would be for a 30-year period and would authorize the incidental 
take of an endangered species, the Hine's emerald dragonfly, and 
species petitioned for Federal listing that are listed as endangered by 
the State of Illinois, the Blanding's turtle and spotted turtle. We 
also announce the availability of a draft environmental assessment, 
which has been prepared in response to the permit application in 
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act. We request public comment on the application and associated 
documents.

DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before 
April 28, 2021.

ADDRESSES: 
    Document availability: Electronic copies of the documents this 
notice announces, along with public comments received, will be 
available online in Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0005 at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Comment submission: In your comment, please specify whether your 
comment addresses the proposed HCP, draft EA, or any combination of the 
aforementioned documents, or other supporting documents. You may submit 
written comments by one of the following methods:
     Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for and submit 
comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0005.
     U.S. mail: Send comments to Public Comments Processing, 
Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0005; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 
5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/3W; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Louise Clemency, Field Supervisor, 
Chicago Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 230 S Dearborn, Suite 2938, Chicago, IL 60604-1507; telephone: 
1-312-485-9337.
    Individuals who are hearing impaired or speech impaired may call 
the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), have received an application from Hanson Aggregates Midwest, 
Inc. d/b/a Hanson Material Service (applicant) for an incidental take 
permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 
16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), for its habitat conservation plan (HCP) for 
the Hine's emerald dragonfly, Blanding's turtle, spotted turtle, leafy 
prairie clover, and lakeside daisy (project or HCP). The applicant's 
mining operation is located in Will County, Illinois and would consists 
of 49.6 acres of impacts to covered species habitat. The applicant has 
prepared a habitat conservation plan that describes their continued 
limestone surface mining operation and measures that the applicant 
would implement to avoid, minimize, and mitigate incidental take of the 
Hine's emerald dragonfly, Blanding's turtle, and spotted turtle. The 
HCP proposes to restore, enhance, and maintain 354 acres of covered 
species habitat on the 519 acres of land that will be protected in 
perpetuity by a deed restriction that may be converted to a 
conservation easement if a qualified entity agrees to hold the 
protected acreage. If approved, the ITP would be for a 30-year period 
and would authorize the incidental take of an endangered species, the 
Hine's emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana), and species petitioned 
for Federal listing that are listed as endangered by the State of 
Illinois, the Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) and spotted 
turtle (Clemmys guttata). The applicant has prepared a HCP that 
describes the actions and measures that the applicant would implement 
to avoid, minimize, and mitigate incidental take of the Hine's emerald 
dragonfly, Blanding's turtle, and spotted turtle, and impacts to leafy 
prairie clover and lakeside daisy. We also announce the availability of 
a draft environmental assessment (EA), which has been prepared in 
response to the permit application in accordance with the requirements 
of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.). We request public comment on the application and associated 
documents.

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA and its implementing regulations prohibit the 
``take'' of animal species listed as endangered or threatened. Take is 
defined under the ESA as to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, 
kill, trap, capture, or collect ``listed animal species,'' or to 
attempt to engage in such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1538). However, under 
section 10(a) of the ESA, we may issue permits to authorize incidental 
take of listed species. ``Incidental take'' is defined by the ESA as 
take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an 
otherwise lawful activity (16 U.S.C. 1539). Regulations governing 
incidental take permits for endangered and threatened species, 
respectively, are found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 50 CFR 
17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32. Impacts to plants do not fall under the 
definition of ``take,'' therefore, the Service cannot authorize 
incidental take of plants. However, the Service cannot issue an ITP 
that would jeopardize the continued existence or adversely modify the 
designated critical habitat of any listed species, including plants, so 
addressing listed plants in the HCP may be prudent.

Applicant's Proposed Project

    The applicant requests a 30-year ITP to take the federally 
endangered Hine's emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana), and species 
petitioned for Federal listing that are listed as endangered by the 
State of Illinois: The Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) and 
spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata). The applicant determined that take is 
reasonably certain to occur incidental to operation of expanded 
limestone surface mining located in Will County and consisting of 187 
acres of surface mining that will have direct impacts to 49.6 acres of 
covered species habitat. The proposed conservation strategy in the 
applicant's proposed HCP is designed to avoid, minimize, and mitigate 
the impacts of the surface mining expansion on the covered species. The 
biological goals and objectives are to minimize potential take of 
Hine's emerald dragonflies, Blanding's turtles, and spotted turtles 
through on-site minimization measures and to provide habitat 
conservation measures for Hine's emerald dragonflies, Blanding's 
turtles, and spotted turtles to offset any impacts from operations of 
the project. The estimated level of take from the project is 49.6 acres 
of Hine's emerald dragonfly adult critical habitat, three adult Hine's 
emerald dragonflies, 12 Blanding's turtles, and two spotted turtles 
over the 30-year ITP duration. To offset the impacts of the taking of 
Hine's emerald dragonflies, Blanding's turtles, and spotted turtles, 
the applicant proposes to avoid potential groundwater-related impacts 
from quarry dewatering, by instituting operational avoidance measures 
during the mining process, and implement species habitat maintenance, 
enhancement or restoration on 354 acres. Additionally, 519 acres of 
land will be permanently protected by a deed restriction and may be 
converted to a conservation easement if a qualified entity agrees to 
hold the protected acreage.

[[Page 16387]]

National Environmental Policy Act

    The issuance of an ITP is a Federal action that triggers the need 
for compliance with NEPA. We prepared a draft EA that analyzes the 
environmental impacts on the human environment resulting from three 
alternatives: A no-action alternative, the applicant's proposed action, 
and an early planning mitigation alternative.

Next Steps

    The Service will evaluate the permit application and the comments 
received to determine whether the application meets the requirements of 
section 10(a) of the ESA. We will also conduct an intra-Service 
consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA to evaluate the effects 
of the proposed take. After considering the above findings, we will 
determine whether the permit issuance criteria of section 10(a)(l)(B) 
of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service will issue the requested 
ITP to the applicant.

Request for Public Comments

    The Service invites comments and suggestions from all interested 
parties on the proposed HCP, draft EA and supporting documents during a 
30-day public comment period (see DATES). In particular, information 
and comments regarding the following topics are requested:
    1. The effects that implementation of any alternative could have on 
the human environment;
    2. Whether or not the significance of the impact on various aspects 
of the human environment has been adequately analyzed; and
    3. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the 
proposed action on the human environment including the Hine's Emerald 
Dragonfly, Blanding's Turtle, and the spotted turtle.

Availability of Public Comments

    You may submit comments by one of the methods shown under 
ADDRESSES. We will post on http://regulations.gov all public comments 
and information received electronically or via hardcopy. All comments 
received, including names and addresses, will become part of the 
administrative 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 your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can request in your 
comment that we 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 section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22) and the 
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 
1506.6; 43 CFR part 46).

Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2021-06401 Filed 3-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P