[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 91 (Friday, May 12, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22153-22155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09366]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2014-0048; FF06E220000-178-FXES11140600000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Incidental Take
Permit Application; Draft Habitat Conservation Plan for the R-Project
Transmission Line and Draft Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) has applied for an
incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the
R-Project transmission line in north-central Nebraska. If issued, the
permit would authorize the take of the federally endangered American
burying beetle incidental to the construction, operation, and
maintenance of the transmission line. We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (Service), announce the availability of the following documents
related to the NPPD incidental take permit application for review and
comment by the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and local
governments: Draft Habitat Conservation Plan for the R-Project
Transmission Line in Nebraska (HCP); Draft Environment Impact Statement
of the R-Project HCP (DEIS); Draft Migratory Bird Conservation Plan
(MBCP); and Draft Restoration Management Plan.
DATES: Comment submission: Written comments must be submitted by July
11, 2017.
Public meetings: We are holding three public meetings to share
information and allow the public to provide oral and written comments
on the DEIS and draft HCP. The meetings will be held from 7 p.m. to 9
p.m. on:
Monday, June 12, 2017--Sutherland, NE.
Tuesday, June 13, 2017--Thedford, NE.
Wednesday, June 14, 2017--Burwell, NE.
Persons needing reasonable accommodations to attend and participate
in the public meetings should contact Eliza Hines (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). To allow sufficient time to process requests,
please call no later than one week before the meeting.
ADDRESSES: Document availability: The draft HCP, DEIS, draft MBCP and
draft Restoration Management Plan are available via the Internet at the
Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.regulations.gov) in Docket No. FWS-R6-
ES-2014-0048. Information regarding the DEIS and accompanying documents
is available in alternative formats upon request (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). Documents will also be available for public
inspection by appointment (call 308-382-6468 extension 204) during
normal business hours at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Nebraska
Field Office, 9325 South Alda Road, Wood River, NE 68883.
Submitting comments: To send written comments, please use one of
the following methods, and note that your information requests or
comments are in reference to the draft HCP. Please specify which
documents your comment addresses: the DEIS, draft HCP, draft MBCP, or
draft Restoration Management Plan.
Internet: Submit comments at http://www.regulations.gov to
Docket Number FWS-R6-ES-2014-0048.
U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R6-ES-2014-0048; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS:
BPHC; 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
Public meetings: The public meetings discussed above in DATES will
be held at the following locations in Nebraska:
Burwell: American Legion Hall, 657 G Street, Burwell, NE
68823.
Sutherland: Village Municipal Offices, 1200 First Street,
Sutherland, NE 69165.
Thedford: Thomas County Fairgrounds, 8386 Hwy 83,
Thedford, NE 69166.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eliza Hines, 308-382-6468 extension
204 (phone) or eliza_hines@fws.gov (email). If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speech
disabled, please call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We received an application from NPPD for an
incidental take permit to authorize the incidental take of the
federally endangered American burying beetle resulting from the
construction, operation, and maintenance of the proposed R-Project
transmission line and substations. The 345-kilovolt R-Project
transmission line would be approximately 225 miles long in north-
central Nebraska. As part of its application, NPPD prepared a draft HCP
that describes actions to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts of
incidental take of the American burying beetle. NPPD also prepared a
Draft Restoration Management Plan to outline
[[Page 22154]]
restoration plans for beetle habitat as well as other habitats impacted
by the R-Project. Additionally, NPPD developed a MBCP to address
impacts to migratory birds and bald and golden eagles in a good faith
effort to comply with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and
Golden Eagle Protection Act.
In the DEIS, we analyze the potential impacts to the natural and
human environment from implementing the proposed HCP and issuing the
permit and from implementing the two alternatives to the proposed
action. The DEIS also identifies alternatives that we considered but
eliminated from further analysis.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits take of fish and wildlife species
listed as endangered (16 U.S.C. 1538). 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 in title
50 of the Code of Federal Regulations as ``an act which actually kills
or injures wildlife. Such acts 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). The term ``harass''
is defined in the regulations as ``an intentional or negligent act or
omission which creates the likelihood of injury to wildlife by annoying
it to such an extent as to significantly disrupt normal behavioral
patterns which include, but are not limited to, 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
incidental take permits to non-Federal entities for the incidental take
of endangered and threatened species, provided the following criteria
are met:
The taking will be incidental.
The applicant will minimize and mitigate, to the maximum
extent practicable, 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.
The applicant will carry out any other measures that the
Secretary of the Interior may require as being necessary or appropriate
for the purposes of the HCP.
Regulations governing permits for endangered species are at 50 CFR
17.22.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) requires that Federal agencies conduct an environmental analysis
of their proposed actions to determine whether the actions may
significantly affect the human environment. Under NEPA and its
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500 et seq.), Federal agencies must
also compare effects of a reasonable range of alternatives to the
proposed action. In these analyses, the Federal agency will identify
potentially significant direct, indirect, and cumulative effects, as
well as possible mitigation for any significant effects, on biological
resources, land use, air quality, water resources, socioeconomics,
environmental justice, cultural resources, and other environmental
resources that could occur with the implementation of the proposed
action and alternatives. In accordance with NEPA, we prepared a DEIS to
analyze the impacts to the natural and human environment that may occur
if the Service were to issue the permit and NPPD were to implement the
proposed R-Project HCP. We announced scoping for the DEIS in the
Federal Register of October 30, 2014 (79 FR 64619).
Proposed Action
We propose to issue a 50-year permit for incidental take of the
American burying beetle if NPPD's HCP meets all the section 10(a)(1)(B)
permit issuance criteria. The permit would authorize take of the
American burying beetle incidental to the proposed construction,
operation, and maintenance, including emergency repairs, of the R-
Project. NPPD would avoid the incidental take of other federally listed
species by implementing avoidance measures presented in the draft HCP.
The permit area for the HCP is determined by the geographical area
within which incidental take is expected to occur. The proposed permit
area includes 1 mile on each side of the R-Project centerline from
Stapleton, Nebraska, north to the Thedford Substation. The permit area
also includes 4 miles on each side of the centerline from the Thedford
Substation east to a new Holt County Substation. The varying permit
area width incorporates all potential incidental take that may occur
outside the transmission line right-of-way resulting from construction
access, temporary work areas, staging sites, fly yards, or other ground
disturbance from construction and maintenance.
The proposed R-Project transmission line would be constructed with
tubular steel monopoles and steel lattice towers. Tubular steel
monopoles require large equipment for installation and would be used
where adequate access and established roads exist. Steel lattice towers
would be used in the Sandhills where access routes are limited or do
not exist. Lattice towers can be constructed with less overall effect
on the surrounding area because smaller equipment and helicopter
construction can be used.
The draft HCP describes a number of measures that NPPD would
implement to avoid and minimize the incidental take of the beetle
during construction, operations, and maintenance of the R-Project.
Measures associated with restoration of beetle habitat, as well as
other habitats, are outlined in the Restoration Management Plan. The
HCP also commits NPPD to provide mitigation lands to conserve beetle
habitat to fully offset temporary and permanent impacts of the
remaining take. With these measures, construction of the R-Project
would permanently destroy 33 acres of American burying beetle habitat
and temporarily disturb an additional 1,250 acres of American burying
beetle habitat over the term of the permit. NPPD would work with the
Service to secure at least 500 acres of occupied American burying
beetle habitat in perpetuity.
Alternatives Analyzed in the DEIS
In the DEIS, we also evaluate the effects on the natural and human
environment from two alternatives to the proposed action: (1) No action
(i.e., no permit issuance), and (2) construction of the R-Project using
only steel tubular monopole structures. Construction of tubular steel
monopoles would require access roads to support heavy equipment. NPPD
would construct temporary access routes where adequate ones do not
exist. Associated levels of ground disturbance would require the permit
to authorize higher levels of incidental take of the American burying
beetle, and an associated HCP would need to expand conservation
measures to minimize and fully offset the impacts of the incidental
take.
The DEIS considers the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of
the two action alternatives, including measures intended to avoid,
minimize, and mitigate such impacts. The DEIS also identifies
alternative routing options that the Service considered but eliminated
from detailed analysis.
[[Page 22155]]
The Service invites comments and suggestions from interested
parties on the content of the DEIS. In particular, information and
comments regarding the following topics are requested:
1. The direct, indirect, or cumulative effects that implementation
of either action alternative could have on the natural and human
environment.
2. Whether or not the impact on various aspects of the natural and
human environment have been adequately analyzed.
3. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the
proposed action on the natural and human environment.
Role of the Environmental Protection Agency in the EIS Process
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged under
section 309 of the Clean Air Act to review all Federal agencies'
environmental impact statements (EISs) and to comment on the adequacy
and acceptability of the environmental impacts of proposed actions in
the EISs.
EPA also administers the database for EISs prepared by Federal
agencies and provides notice of their availability in the Federal
Register. The EIS database provides information about EISs prepared by
Federal agencies, as well as EPA's comments concerning the EISs. All
EISs are filed with EPA, which publishes a notice of availability each
Friday in the Federal Register.
For more information, see http://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/eisdata.html. 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
Written comments received 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 for incidental take
permits (50 CFR 17.22) and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR part 46).
Michael G. Thabault,
Assistant Regional Director-Ecological Services, Mountain-Prairie
Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lakewood, Colorado.
[FR Doc. 2017-09366 Filed 5-11-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P