[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 183 (Friday, September 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53111-53114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20493]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2020-0101; FXES11140100000-212-FF01E0000]


Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Habitat Conservation 
Plan for Thurston County, Washington

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; notice of public meetings; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of a habitat conservation plan developed by Thurston 
County, Washington (applicant), in support of an application for an 
incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant 
is seeking authorization for the incidental take of six species, 
expected to result from various County-permitted development 
activities, as well as construction and maintenance of County-owned or 
County-managed infrastructure, over the next 30 years. The incidental 
take and other impacts would occur in Thurston County. This notice also 
announces the availability of the Service's draft environmental impact 
statement and the opening of the public comment period, which is 
intended to satisfy the National Environmental Policy Act requirement 
to evaluate the impacts of the proposed action on the human 
environment. We are seeking public comments on the habitat conservation 
plan and draft environmental impact statement.

DATES: 
    Submitting Comments: We will accept comments received or postmarked 
on or before November 8, 2021. Comments submitted online at https://www.regulations.gov/ (see ADDRESSES) must be received by 11:59 p.m. 
Eastern Time on November 8, 2021.
    Public Meetings: The Service will hold two public meetings during 
the public comment and review period. To help protect the public and 
limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the public meetings will be 
held virtually at the following times:
     October 12, 2021 at 6 p.m.
     October 14, 2021, at 6 p.m.

ADDRESSES: 
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the 
following methods:
     Internet: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2020-0101.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R1-ES-2020-0101; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: 
PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This 
generally means that we will post online any personal information that 
you provide (see Public Availability of Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION). We

[[Page 53112]]

request that you submit comments by only the methods described above. 
For additional information about submitting comments, see Request for 
Public Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Public Meetings: A link and access instructions to the virtual 
meetings will be posted to https://www.fws.gov/wafwo/ at least one week 
prior to the first public meeting date.
    Reviewing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) comments on 
the draft HCP and DEIS: See EPA's Role in the EIS Process under 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Curtis Tanner, by telephone at 360-
753-9440, or by email at [email protected]. Hearing or speech 
impaired individuals may call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339 
for TTY service.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) 
has prepared a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to evaluate 
an application for an incidental take permit (ITP) received on July 30, 
2020, from Thurston County, Washington (applicant). In accordance with 
the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, as amended (ESA; 16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the applicant is requesting authorization of 
incidental take of the threatened Yelm pocket gopher (Thomomys mazama 
yelmensis), Olympia pocket gopher (T. mazama pugetensis), Tenino pocket 
gopher (T. mazama tumuli), and Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa); the 
endangered Taylor's checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori); 
and the Oregon vesper sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus affinis), which is 
under review to determine if Federal listing under the ESA is warranted 
(hereafter, covered species). If issued, the ITP would authorize take 
of the covered species that may occur incidental to various County-
permitted development activities, as well as construction and 
maintenance of County-owned or County-managed infrastructure, for a 
period of 30 years. In support of the ITP application, the applicant 
prepared the draft Thurston County habitat conservation plan (HCP), 
which specifies the impacts that will likely result from the take of 
covered species and describes the steps the applicant will take to 
avoid, minimize, and mitigate such impacts.
    The Service prepared a DEIS to evaluate the impacts of the proposed 
ITP action on the human environment, consistent with the purpose and 
goals of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.) and pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's 
implementing NEPA regulations at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. Additionally, 
this DEIS was prepared consistent with the Department of the Interior 
NEPA regulations (43 CFR part 46); longstanding federal judicial and 
regulatory interpretations; and Adminstration priorities and policies 
including Secretary's Order No. 3399 requiring bureaus and offices to 
use ``the same application or level of NEPA that would have been 
applied to a proposed action before the 2020 Rule went into effect.''
    The DEIS will also be used by Thurston County to satisfy the 
requirements of the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) as 
provided in Revised Code of Washington 43.21C and SEPA implementing 
regulations found at Washington Administrative Code 197-11. We are 
making the HCP and DEIS available for public review and comment.

Background

    Thurston County is seeking an ITP, and intends to implement the 
Thurston HCP, to cover a variety of activities for which the County 
issues permits or approvals, or activities the County otherwise carries 
out under its jurisdiction as detailed in the HCP. These activities 
include residential development, development of accessory structures, 
installation, repair, or alteration of septic systems, commercial and 
industrial development, public service facility construction, 
transportation projects, transportation maintenance and other work 
within County-owned road rights-of-way, landfill and solid waste 
management, water resources management, and County parks, trails, and 
land management. The covered activities would not include mining. The 
proposed covered activities are described further in the DEIS and in 
the HCP.
    The species proposed for coverage under the Thurston HCP and ITP 
include three subspecies of the Mazama pocket gopher (the Yelm pocket 
gopher, Olympia pocket gopher, and the Tenino pocket gopher), Oregon 
spotted frog, Taylor's checkerspot butterfly, and the Oregon vesper 
sparrow. Each of the proposed covered species is known to occur in 
Thurston County. Habitat loss and fragmentation are primary threats to 
all proposed covered species. Habitat likely to be impacted is already 
largely fragmented or degraded, and not currently managed for the 
covered species.
    The HCP includes measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts 
to covered species, along with an analysis of projected impacts to 
covered species. As it is not practical to express the anticipated take 
(or to monitor take-related impacts) in terms of number of individuals 
of each species, the HCP uses habitat, measured as habitat area or as 
``functional-acre'' values, as a surrogate for quantifying impacts to 
each covered species and related conservation outcomes. The functional-
acre approach weights habitat acreage by currently available 
information on covered species' distribution, habitat condition, and 
landscape position in relationship to priority habitat areas. This 
approach provides greater weight to both impacts and mitigation 
occurring in or near areas that are a priority for conservation of the 
covered species.
    Through the HCP, the county would permit or conduct covered 
activities that cause take of covered species, monitor the amount and 
extent of take, and ensure mitigation on permanently protected sites to 
fully offset impacts of the taking on covered species. The HCP 
conservation program includes performance standards for conservation 
lands and minimization measures tailored to the best available 
information for each species.
    Impacts to Mazama pocket gopher subspecies would result from HCP-
covered development and maintenance activities within habitat in their 
respective ranges. Due to more limited exposure to covered activities, 
impacts to the Oregon spotted frog, Taylor's checkerspot butterfly, and 
Oregon vesper sparrow would be caused by a smaller number of HCP-
covered development and maintenance activities taking place in 
respective habitats for each species, which have relatively localized 
ranges in Thurston County.
    Measures to minimize impacts of the taking on covered species are 
primarily tied to reducing the extent of habitat impacts through 
within-site project design, along with additional species-specific 
measures for each group of covered activities, described in the HCP. To 
mitigate unavoidable impacts to covered species, Thurston County 
proposes to permanently protect and manage habitat occupied by covered 
species by establishing new permanent habitat reserves, acquiring 
permanent conservation easements on working lands, and enhancing and 
permanently maintaining habitat quality on existing reserves 
(collectively ``conservation lands''). The addition of conservation

[[Page 53113]]

lands would occur incrementally during HCP implementation at a pace 
that meets or exceeds the amount and extent of impacts to each covered 
species.
    The Thurston HCP includes funding assurances, monitoring, adaptive 
management, and changed circumstance provisions to help ensure that 
biological goals for the covered species are achieved. Annual reports 
would confirm the amount, type, and location of impacts and mitigation, 
as well as the status of monitoring, adaptive management, changed 
circumstances, and funding. The proposed conservation program and 
expected effects of HCP implementation on the covered species and their 
designated critical habitats are described in greater detail in the 
Thurston HCP and in the DEIS.

Endangered Species Act

    Section 9 of the ESA prohibits ``take'' of fish and wildlife 
species listed as endangered under section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1538 and 16 
U.S.C. 1533, respectively). The ESA implementing regulations extend, 
under certain circumstances, the prohibition of take to threatened 
species (50 CFR 17.31). Under section 3 of the ESA, the term ``take'' 
means 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)). The term ``harm'' is defined by regulation as ``an 
act which actually kills or injures wildlife.'' Such act may include 
significant habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills 
or injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral 
patterns, including breeding, feeding, or sheltering'' (50 CFR 17.3).
    Under section 10(a) of the ESA, the Service may issue permits to 
authorize incidental take of listed fish and wildlife 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. 
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA contains provisions for issuing ITPs to 
non-Federal entities for the take of endangered and threatened species, 
provided the following criteria are met:
    1. The taking will be incidental;
    2. The applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable, minimize 
and mitigate the impact of such taking;
    3. The applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the plan 
will be provided;
    4. The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the 
survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
    5. The applicant will carry out any other measures that the Service 
may require as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes of the 
HCP.

Anticipated Permits and Authorizations

    In addition to the requested ITP, Thurston County will manage 
covered activities to comply with all other applicable laws, including 
without limitation Washington State endangered and protected species 
regulations; the Washington State Growth Management Act, which includes 
State and local protection of historic and cultural resources 
implemented through the County's Comprehensive Plan; the Washington 
State Shoreline Management Act; the Washington State Hydraulic Code; 
Thurston County Critical Area Ordinances; State and local requirements 
for administrative procedures; and other regulations. Individual 
projects conducted under the HCP will undergo individual review by the 
County for compliance with local codes and further public review, as 
appropriate, through the Washington SEPA.

National Environmental Policy Act

    In compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Service 
prepared a DEIS, in which we analyze the proposed action and a 
reasonable range of alternatives to the proposed action. The 
environmental consequences of each alternative, including the effects 
of those alternatives when combined with reasonably foreseeable future 
actions and environmental trends, were analyzed to determine if 
significant impacts to the human environment would occur. Three 
alternatives are analyzed in detail in the DEIS.
    Alternative 1--No-Action Alternative: The Service would not issue 
incidental take authorization to the County, and the County would not 
implement the HCP. The County would continue to conduct, permit, and 
approve activities on a case-by-case basis in compliance with Federal, 
State, and local requirements, including the Thurston County Critical 
Areas code. The County and individual project proponents would continue 
to evaluate each project to ensure unauthorized take of listed species 
is avoided. The County would not implement a coordinated, County-wide 
conservation program for ESA-listed species. This alternative is the 
current situation in Thurston County.
    Alternative 2--Proposed Action: The Service would, in accordance 
with applicable law, issue the requested ITP to Thurston County for the 
incidental take of covered species by the covered activities. The 
County would implement the Thurston County HCP and its conservation 
program, including, without limitation, implementation of minimization 
measures for covered activities; mitigation measures to fully offset 
the impacts of the taking on covered species; monitoring and reporting 
requirements. The County would also provide funding for HCP 
implementation. Under Alternative 2, mitigation would be achieved, in 
part, through the execution of conservation easements on working 
agricultural lands, the enhancement of existing conservation reserves, 
and the establishment of new conservation reserves.
    Alternative 3--Modified HCP: The Service would, in accordance with 
applicable law, issue an ITP to Thurston County with the same permit 
area, permit term, covered species, covered activities, and many of the 
HCP elements described for the Proposed Action. This alternative 
explores whether the HCP could be modified to provide higher 
conservation value to covered species by acquiring new habitat reserves 
and managing them to achieve the highest habitat quality. Conservation 
easements would not be executed on working agricultural lands, and 
enhancement of existing conservation reserves would not be part of the 
mitigation strategy. Under this Alternative, fewer acres of new 
conserved habitat may be needed to fully offset the impacts of the 
taking to covered species.

EPA's Role in the EIS Process

    The EPA is charged with reviewing all Federal agencies' EISs and 
commenting on the adequacy and acceptability of the environmental 
impacts of proposed actions. Therefore, EPA is publishing a notice in 
the Federal Register announcing this DEIS, as required under section 
309 of the Clean Air Act. The publication date of EPA's notice of 
availability is the official beginning of the public comment period. 
EPA serves as the repository (EIS database) for EISs prepared by 
Federal agencies. You may search for EPA comments on EISs, along with 
EISs themselves, at https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-public/action/eis/search.

Public Comments

    You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods in 
ADDRESSES. We specifically request information on the following:
    1. Biological information, analysis, and relevant data concerning 
the covered species, other wildlife, and ecosystems.
    2. Potential effects that the proposed permit action could have on 
the covered species, and other endangered or

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threatened species, and their habitats, including the interaction of 
the effects of the project with climate change and other stressors.
    3. Adequacy of the proposed actions to minimize and mitigate the 
impact of the taking on covered species, including but not limited to 
best management practices, conservation easements, establishment of new 
reserves, reserve habitat enhancement, and adaptive management 
procedures.
    4. Potential effects that the proposed permit action could have on 
other aspects of the human environment, including effects on plants and 
animals, water resources, and aesthetic, historic, cultural, economic, 
social, environmental justice, climate change, or health effects.
    5. The alternatives analysis conducted by the Service, including 
the alternatives analyzed, the range of alternatives analyzed, and the 
alternatives considered but not analyzed in detail.
    6. The presence of historic properties--including archaeological 
sites, buildings and structures, historic events, sacred and 
traditional areas, and other historic preservation concerns--in the 
proposed permit area, which are required to be considered in project 
planning by the National Historic Preservation Act.
    7. Reasonably foreseeable environmental trends and planned actions 
in the plan area and their possible impacts on the affected 
environment, including the covered species, as well as any connected 
actions that are closely related and should be discussed in the same 
DEIS.
    8. The alternatives, information, and analyses submitted during the 
public scoping period and the summary thereof (40 CFR 1502.17), 
appended to the DEIS.
    9. Other information relevant to the Thurston HCP and its impacts 
on the human environment.
    To help protect the public and limit the spread of the COVID-19 
virus, two public meetings will be conducted online to accommodate best 
practices and local guidelines in place at the time this notice was 
prepared. See DATES and ADDRESSES for the dates and times of the 
virtual public meetings. The virtual public meetings will provide 
Thurston County and the Service an opportunity to present information 
pertinent to the Thurston HCP and for the public to ask questions on 
the HCP and DEIS. No opportunity for oral comments will be provided. 
Written comments may be submitted by the methods listed in ADDRESSES.

Reasonable Accommodations

    Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order to attend and 
participate in either of the public meetings should contact the 
Service's Washington Fish and Wildlife Office, using one of the methods 
listed in ADDRESSES as soon as possible. In order to allow sufficient 
time to process requests, please make contact no later than one week 
before the desired public meeting. Information regarding this proposed 
action is available in alternative formats upon request.

Public Availability of Comments

    You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods 
listed in ADDRESSES. Before including your address, phone number, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--might 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. 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.
    Comments and materials we receive, as well as references for 
supporting documentation we used in preparing the DEIS, will be 
available for public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2020-
0101 at http://www.regulations.gov/ (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).

Next Steps and Decision To Be Made

    After public review and comment, we will evaluate the permit 
application, associated documents, and any comments received, to 
determine whether the permit application meets the requirements of 
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. We will also evaluate whether issuance 
of the requested ITP would comply with section 7 of the ESA. The 
Service expects to have a Final EIS for publication in the Federal 
Register by early 2022. At least 30 days after the FEIS is available, 
we expect the record of decision will be completed in accordance with 
applicable timeframes established in 40 CFR 1506.11, and the Regional 
Director will issue a decision on the requested ITP. The current 
estimate for the issuance of a record of decision is March 2022. This 
estimate assumes that there are no significant outstanding issues 
requiring resolution.

Authority

    We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of 
section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539(c)) and NEPA and its 
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1503.1 and 1506.6).

Hugh Morrison,
Deputy Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-20493 Filed 9-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P