[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 111 (Friday, June 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37899-37901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12338]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2023-0075; FXES11140800000-234-FF08EVEN00]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application for Participation 
in the General Conservation Plan for Oil and Gas Activities; Draft 
Categorical Exclusion for the Conoco Philips Soil Remediation Project; 
Santa Barbara County, CA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce 
receipt of an application from Conoco Philips for an incidental take 
permit (ITP), pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, under the 
approved General Conservation Plan for Oil and Gas Activities (GCP). If 
granted, the ITP would authorize take of the California red-legged frog 
(Rana draytonii) and the Santa Barbara County distinct population 
segment (DPS) of the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma 
californiense), incidental to excavation and remediation of soils 
contaminated with hydrocarbons at the historical Cox 3-32 oil well sump 
and oilfield lease access road. The Service prepared a draft screening 
form in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act to 
evaluate the potential effects of the specific project to the natural 
and human environment resulting from issuing an ITP to the applicant. 
We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to 
comment on the draft screening form and the Service's preliminary 
determination that the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a 
categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental 
Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the 
Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI 
Departmental Manual.

DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before July 10, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: The document this notice announces 
(draft screening form), as well as any comments and other materials 
that we

[[Page 37900]]

receive, will be available for public inspection online in Docket No. 
FWS-R8-ES-2023-0075 at https://www.regulations.gov. The approved GCP 
and the associated final environmental assessment/finding of no 
significant impact are also available on that site. However, we are no 
longer taking comments on those finalized, approved documents.
    Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments, you may do so 
in writing by one of the following methods:
     Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0075.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R7-NWRS-2023-0075; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W; 5275 
Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kirby Bartlett, Fish and Wildlife 
Biologist, by email at [email protected], by telephone at 805-644-
1766, or by U.S. mail at the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, 2493 
Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003. Individuals in the United 
States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech 
disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United 
States should use the relay services offered within their country to 
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), announce receipt of an application from Conoco Philips for 
an incidental take permit (ITP), pursuant to the Endangered Species Act 
of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), under the approved 
General Conservation Plan for Oil and Gas Activities (GCP). A GCP is a 
mechanism that meets the definition of a conservation plan in section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA and enables the construct of a programmatic 
permitting and conservation process to address a defined suite of 
proposed activities over a defined planning area. The application for 
an incidental take permit was made pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of 
the ESA. The ITP, if granted, would authorize take of the federally 
threatened California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) and the 
federally endangered Santa Barbara County distinct population segment 
(DPS) of the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) 
incidental to activities associated with the soil remediation for the 
historical Cox 3-32 oil well sump and oilfield lease access road in 
Santa Maria, California. The permit would be issued to the applicant 
under the GCP for Oil and Gas Activities, which was approved on June 
27, 2022. Prior to approval, a notice of availability of the draft 
programmatic environmental assessment (EA) and GCP published on March 
6, 2020 (85 FR 13181). The approved GCP and the associated final 
programmatic environmental assessment/finding of no significant impact 
are available on the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office web page at 
https://www.fws.gov/media/habitat-conservation-plans-and-general-conservation-plans. We have also uploaded them to https://www.regulations.gov. However, we are no longer taking comments on these 
finalized, approved documents.

Document for Public Comment

    We invite public comment on a draft screening form we prepared in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and on our preliminary determination that this 
proposed ITP qualifies as ``low effect,'' and may qualify for a 
categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental 
Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 
1501.4), the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations (43 
CFR 46), and the DOI's Departmental Manual (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)).

Background

    The Service listed the California red-legged frog as threatened on 
May 23, 1996 (61 FR 25813), and the Santa Barbara County DPS of the 
California tiger salamander as endangered on September 21, 2000 (65 FR 
57242). Section 9 of the ESA prohibits ``take'' of fish and wildlife 
species listed as threatened or endangered (16 U.S.C. 1538), where take 
is defined to include the following activities: ``to harass, harm, 
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to 
attempt to engage in any such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532). Under section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)(B)), we may issue permits 
to authorize take of listed fish and wildlife species that is 
incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful 
activity. Regulations governing incidental take permits for endangered 
and threatened species are in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 
50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, respectively. Issuance of an ITP also must not 
jeopardize the existence of federally listed fish, wildlife, or plant 
species. The permittee would receive assurances under our ``No 
Surprises'' regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)).

Applicant's Proposed Activities

    The applicant has applied for a permit for incidental take of 
California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander. The take 
would occur in association with activities necessary to remediate soil 
contaminated with hydrocarbons at the historical Cox 3-32 oil well sump 
and oilfield lease access road in Santa Maria, California. Excavation 
of hydrocarbon-impacted material surrounding the oil well sump would 
extend to a maximum depth of approximately 12 feet (ft) below ground 
surface within an approximately 0.88-acre work area surrounded by a 
temporary chain link fence. California red-legged frogs have a known 
population approximately 0.5 miles (mi) west of the project site in 
Bradley Lake, making the project within dispersal distance for the 
California red-legged frog. Additionally, California tiger salamanders 
have been identified approximately 0.65 mi southwest of the project 
site, making the project site potential California tiger salamander 
upland habitat. The proposed soil remediation would require excavating 
contaminated soils to a depth of approximately 12 ft in the area where 
the oil well sump was located, which will result in impacts to 
burrowing and dispersal habitat for the covered species as well as the 
potential for direct injury or mortality from crushing during 
excavation activities.
    The project includes avoidance and minimization measures for the 
California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander and 
mitigation for unavoidable impacts to their habitat. The applicant has 
proposed mitigation in the form of funding activities consistent with 
the GCP that will compensate for unavoidable impacts to the California 
red-legged frog. To mitigate for impacts to the California tiger 
salamander, the applicant proposes to purchase one California tiger 
salamander credit from the Service-approved La Purisima Conservation 
Bank located in Santa Barbara County, California.

Public Availability of Comments

    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.

[[Page 37901]]

While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public view, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

Authority

    The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the 
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing 
regulations (50 CFR 17.32) and the National Environmental Policy Act 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500-
1508 and 43 CFR 46).

Stephen P. Henry,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2023-12338 Filed 6-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P