[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 247 (Friday, December 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 94409-94411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31037]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2016-N181]; [FXES11140800000-178-FF08E00000]
City of San Diego Vernal Pool Habitat Conservation Plan and Draft
Environmental Impact Report/Statement; San Diego County, California
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of a draft environmental impact report/statement (EIS/
EIR), which evaluates the impacts of, and alternatives to, the proposed
City of San Diego Vernal Pool Habitat Conservation Plan (VPHCP). The
VPHCP was submitted by the City of San Diego in support of an
application under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, for a
permit authorizing the incidental take of federally listed covered
species resulting from covered activities. We request review and
comment on the VPHCP and the draft EIS/EIR from local, State, and
Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
February 21, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents:
Internet: You may obtain copies of the draft EIR/EIS and
draft VPHCP on the City's Web site at https://www.sandiego.gov/planning/programs/mscp/vphcp.
U.S. Mail: A limited number of CD-ROM and printed copies
of the draft EIR/EIS and draft VPHCP are available, by request, from
the Field Supervisor, by mail at the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office,
2177 Salk Avenue, Suite 250, Carlsbad, CA 92008; by phone at (760) 431-
9440; or by fax at (760) 431-9624. Please note that your request is in
reference to the City of San Diego VPHCP.
In-Person: Copies of the draft EIR/EIS and draft VPHCP are
also available for public inspection and review at the following
locations, by appointment and written request only, 8 a.m. to 4:30
p.m.:
[cir] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2177 Salk Avenue, Suite 250,
Carlsbad, CA 92008.
[cir] Department of the Interior, Natural Resources Library, 1849 C
St. NW., Washington, DC 20240.
Submitting Comments: You may submit written comments by one of the
following methods:
[[Page 94410]]
[cir] U.S. Mail: Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
2177 Salk Avenue, Suite 250, Carlsbad, CA 92008.
[cir] Fax: Field Supervisor, 760-431-9624.
[cir] Email: fw8cfwocomments@fws.gov; please include ``Vernal Pool
HCP'' in the subject line.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: G. Mendel Stewart, by mail at the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 2177 Salk Avenue, Suite 250, Carlsbad, CA
92008; or by phone at (760) 431-9440.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), announce the availability of a draft environmental impact
report/statement (EIR/EIS), which evaluates the impacts of, and
alternatives to, the proposed City of San Diego Vernal Pool Habitat
Conservation Plan (VPHCP). The VPHCP was submitted by the City of San
Diego (City) in support of an application under section 10 of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), for a permit
authorizing the incidental take of federally listed covered species
resulting from covered activities. The proposed VPHCP plan area
encompasses 206,124 acres in the southwestern portion of San Diego
County, within the State of California.
Introduction
Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), this
notice advises the public of the availability for public review of the
VPHCP EIR/EIS, which evaluates the impacts of, and alternatives to, the
proposed City of San Diego VPHCP for incidental take of federally
listed covered species resulting from covered activities within the
Plan area. This document has been prepared as a joint EIR/EIS due to
the combined local, State, and Federal discretionary actions and
permits associated with the VPHCP. Co-lead agencies are the City,
pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and the
Service, pursuant to NEPA, as further described in the draft EIR/EIS.
The proposed Federal action is issuance of an incidental take permit
(ITP) under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA to the City of San Diego.
With this notice, we continue the HCP process, which started through a
notice in the Federal Register on December 20, 2011 (76 FR 78942), in
which we announced the preparation of the HCP and NEPA document.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits ``take'' of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered under section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1538, 1533,
respectively). The ESA implementing regulations extend, under certain
circumstances, the prohibition of take to threatened species (50 CFR
17.31). Regulations governing permits for endangered and threatened
species are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32. For more about the HCP program,
go to http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/hcp.pdf.
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:
The taking will be incidental;
The applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable,
minimize and mitigate the impact of such taking;
The applicant will develop an HCP and ensure that adequate
funding for the plan will be provided;
The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of
the survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
The applicant will carry out any other measures that the
Secretary may require as being necessary or appropriate for the
purposes of the HCP.
The purpose of issuing an ITP to the City would be to permit
incidental take of the covered species resulting from local development
authorized by the City and conditioned on the City's minimization and
mitigation of the impacts of such take in accordance with an approved
VPHCP. Implementation of the VPHCP is intended to maximize the benefits
of conservation measures for covered species and eliminate expensive
and time-consuming efforts associated with processing individual ITPs
for each project within the City's proposed plan area.
The proposed VPHCP includes measures intended to minimize and
mitigate the impacts of the taking to the maximum extent practicable
from residential, commercial, and other development activities within
the proposed plan area.
The proposed VPHCP is a conservation plan for seven threatened and
endangered vernal pool species that do not currently have Federal
coverage under the City of San Diego's Multiple Species Conservation
Program Subarea Plan (MSCP SAP) and the species' associated vernal pool
habitat. The VPHCP would complement the City's existing MSCP SAP by
conserving additional lands. The VPHCP will conserve vernal pool
resources within the existing City of San Diego's Multi-Habitat
Planning Area (MHPA). The species covered include the San Diego fairy
shrimp, Riverside fairy shrimp, San Diego button celery, spreading
navarretia, San Diego mesa mint, California Orcutt grass, and Otay mesa
mint. The VPHCP would provide a comprehensive approach to the
protection and management of the vernal pool preserve areas within the
206,124-acre plan area.
Alternatives
We are considering three alternatives as part of this process:
No Action Alternative: No ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would be
issued to the City. Instead, activities involving take of the covered
species would require individual permits or ESA section 7 consultations
if a Federal nexus exists under the current ESA regulations; for non-
Federal projects that lack a Federal nexus, take activities would
require individual ITPs under section 10 of the ESA.
Proposed Action Alternative: This alternative is issuance of an ITP
by the Service for covered species in the HCP plan area, with a
duration of 30 years. Incidental take authorized by the requested ITP
would result from covered activities. The covered activities under the
VPHCP are expected to include residential, commercial, and industrial
development; airport operation; road and utility maintenance and
construction; trail use; and vernal pool restoration and enhancement.
Once fully implemented, the VPHCP would expand the City's existing
Multi-Habitat Planning Area (MHPA) by adding approximately 275 acres of
lands with valuable vernal pool resources. The VPHCP would conserve an
additional 8 vernal pool complexes and an additional 226 pools,
totaling 2.8 acres of basin area or 9 percent more vernal pool habitat
than what is currently conserved within the MHPA. Once adopted, vernal
pool lands within the MHPA would be subject to the provisions of the
VPHCP, in addition to the City's MSCP SAP and other existing land use
and biological resource plans, policies, and regulations.
Expanded Conservation Alternative: Once fully implemented, the
Expanded Conservation Alternative would expand the City's existing MHPA
by adding approximately 508 acres of lands with valuable vernal pool
resources. The Expanded Conservation Alternative would conserve an
additional 9 vernal pool complexes within the Plan Area and conserve an
additional 277 pools (11 percent more vernal pool habitat),
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totaling 3.3 acres of basin area, beyond what is currently conserved
within the MHPA. All other aspects of the Expanded Conservation
Alternative would be the same as the Proposed Action Alternative.
Request for Comments
Consistent with section 10(c) of the ESA, we invite your submission
of written data, views, or arguments with respect to the City's permit
application, VPHCP, and permitting decision.
Public Availability of Comments
Written comments we receive become part of the public 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 may 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. We will not consider anonymous
comments. 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 NEPA
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR
1506.6).
Dated: December 19, 2016.
Alexandra Pitts,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region, Sacramento,
California.
[FR Doc. 2016-31037 Filed 12-22-16; 8:45 am]
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