[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23688-23689]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09297]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB051


Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of an Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 
10(a)(1)(B) Incidental Take Permit and Availability of a Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) for 
the Placer County Conservation Program.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has adopted U.S. Fish & 
Wildlife Service's (USFWS) Placer County Conservation Program Final 
Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (FEIS/EIR), 
issued a ROD, and prepared an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) (No. 25641) 
for the incidental take of California Central Valley (CCV) steelhead 
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Central Valley (CV) fall and late fall-run 
Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) associated with the proposed Placer 
County Conservation Program (PCCP). The PCCP was prepared by the local 
agencies that will become permittees (Placer County, City of Lincoln, 
South Placer Regional Transportation Authority, Placer County Water 
Agency, and Placer Conservation Authority) and describes Covered 
Activities and conservation activities in Placer County. The permit is 
issued for a duration of 50 years.

ADDRESSES: The incidental take permit, final environmental impact 
statement, and other related documents are available on the NMFS West 
Coast Region website at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/placer-county-conservation-program-biological-opinion. The 
Final EIS and ROD are available at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/laws-and-policies/esa-section-10-habitat-conservation-nepa-documents.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Neal McIntosh, Sacramento, CA, at 
phone number: (916) 930-5647, or via email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

ESA-Listed Species & Species of Concern Covered in This Notice

CCV steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
CV fall/late fall-run Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha)

Background

    The permittees are seeking coverage under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of 
the ESA for the implementation of the PCCP in Placer County in 
California's Central Valley. Western Placer County streams serve as an 
important source of water for fish, agriculture, and municipal uses in 
Placer County. These streams also provide valuable habitat, including 
critical habitat and essential fish habitat, for CCV steelhead and 
Chinook salmon. Implementation of the Covered Activities described in 
the PCCP may result in impacts to listed species and species of concern 
and their habitat within Placer County. Therefore, the permittees are 
required to work collaboratively with NMFS to minimize these impacts 
through implementation of the PCCP upon issuance of the Section 
10(a)(1)(B) Permit.
    On June 21, 2019, USFWS published a notice of availability of a 
draft joint HCP/NCCP and draft EIS/EIR for this project to the Federal 
Register for public comment and review with a 60-day public comment 
period (84 FR 29224). USFWS published a final EIS to the Federal 
Register on May 22, 2020, with a 30-day public comment period (85 FR 
31203). On December 2, 2020, consultation was initiated with NMFS for 
the issuance of an ITP for the PCCP. USFWS received several comments, 
and these comments were addressed as changes to the Final EIS/EIR or as 
a response in the Final EIS/EIR appendix. On March 12, 2021, NMFS 
notified the EPA of its adoption of USFWS's EIS/EIR, EPA published the 
notice of adoption on March 19, 2021. The requested permit has been 
issued under the authority of the ESA of 1973. This permit authorizes 
the incidental take of listed species as set forth in the PCCP and the 
ITP for a 50-year period.

Conservation Plan

    Section 10 of the ESA specifies that no permit may be issued unless 
an applicant submits an adequate conservation plan. The PCCP utilizes a 
combination of conservation measures that are expected to minimize and 
mitigate the impacts of take of the anadromous species addressed in the 
PCCP. The PCCP includes an administrative framework that supports the 
development, implementation, and refinement of the minimization and 
mitigation measures. The PCCP also includes a variety of protection 
measures designed to restore and maintain riverine, riparian, and 
upslope processes that create, restore, and maintain aquatic habitat. 
The PCCP's Conservation Strategy includes four main components: (1) 
Establishment of a reserve system of interconnected blocks of land 
(reserve system), (2) Stream protection, enhancement, and avoidance, 
(3) Wetland conservation and no overall net loss of wetland functions 
and services, and (4) Avoidance and minimization measures.
    Chapter 7 of the PCCP describes the monitoring and adaptive 
management framework for the PCCP. The framework will guide the 
development of a comprehensive monitoring program, which will be 
developed during the first five years of the PCCP implementation

[[Page 23689]]

and as individual parcels are acquired for the reserve system. The 
framework and final monitoring program are intended to verify take is 
not being exceeded, ensure compliance with PCCP requirements, assess 
the status of Covered Species and natural communities within the 
reserve system, evaluate the effects of management actions, and assess 
whether the PCCP's biological goals and objectives are being achieved.
    There are three main sources of funding for the PCCP: Plan 
development fees (includes land conversion fee, special habitat fees, 
and temporary effects fee), local funding, and state and Federal 
funding. NMFS considers the PCCP's development fees as an assured 
source of funding because Placer County and the City of Lincoln will 
adopt ordinances to implement the fees described in the habitat 
conservation plan.

Permit 25641

    NMFS authorizes the following lethal incidental takes of CCV 
steelhead (threatened) and CV fall- and late fall-run Chinook salmon 
(unlisted):
     Trapping and handling for research and monitoring: 5 CCV 
steelhead juveniles and 10 Chinook salmon per year;
     Fish capture and relocation: less than 3% incident 
mortality;
     Responses that result from habitat disturbance (i.e., 
contaminants, turbidity, construction disturbance, acoustic impacts, 
disturbance to riparian and riverine habitat; take measured via 
surrogate of permanent physical disturbance): 655 acres or temporary 
disturbance of 165 acres of combined riparian/riverine habitat; and
     Take of fish or eggs from other activities (measures via 
surrogate trail acreage): Approximately 50 acres of trails.
    To ensure that the mitigation and minimization strategies are 
effective, the PCCP incorporates a variety of monitoring, research, and 
reporting components that will provide feedback for use by adaptive 
management provisions. Based on this information, adjustments can be 
made to the conservation management activities set forth in chapter 5 
of the PCCP.
    Take authorization will become effective for the currently unlisted 
species covered by this permit concurrent with the listing of those 
species under the ESA.

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: April 28, 2021.
Margaret H. Miller,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-09297 Filed 5-3-21; 8:45 am]
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