[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 120 (Friday, June 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41123-41124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13337]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2023-N032; FXES11160200000-234-FF02ENEH00]
Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances for the Texas
Pimpleback (Cyclonaias petrina), Texas Fawnsfoot (Truncilla macrodon),
Texas Fatmucket (Lampsilis bracteata), and Balcones Spike (Fusconaia
iheringi) in the Lower Colorado River Basin Below O.H. Ivie Reservoir
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Lower Colorado River
Authority (LCRA) and Lower Colorado River Authority Transmission
Services Corporation (LCRA TSC), have applied for an enhancement of
survival (EOS) permit supported by the Candidate Conservation Agreement
with Assurances for the Texas pimpleback (Cyclonaias petrina), Texas
fawnsfoot (Truncilla macrodon), Texas fatmucket (Lampsilis bracteata),
and Balcones spike (Fusconaia iheringi) in the Lower Colorado River
Basin below O.H. Ivie Reservoir (CCAA). LCRA is a conservation and
reclamation district in the State of Texas that provides multiple
services in the Colorado River basin, including managing water
supplies, managing floods along the Highland Lakes, producing and
delivering power, managing parks and recreation areas, and supporting
community development. LCRA TSC is a nonprofit corporation conducting
electric transmission operations within Texas. They own and operate
5,500 circuit miles of electric transmission lines and maintain and
operate equipment at approximately 430 electric substations across the
state. The requested EOS permit, if approved, would authorize
incidental take of four proposed freshwater mussel species, Texas
pimpleback, Texas fawnsfoot, Texas fatmucket, and Balcones spike
resulting from activities covered by the CCAA, including freshwater
mussel conservation actions, operations, inspections, repairs,
construction, and maintenance activities in the Colorado River basin in
Texas. We have made a preliminary determination that the CCAA is
eligible for categorical exclusion under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA). The basis for this determination is contained in a
draft NEPA screening form to support the use of a categorical exclusion
under NEPA, which evaluates the impacts of EOS permit issuance and
implementation of the proposed CCAA. The documents available for
comment include the NEPA screening form, the CCAA, and the EOS permit
application.
DATES: We will accept comments received on or before July 24, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Accessing Documents:
Internet: The NEPA screening form, CCAA, and EOS permit
application: You may obtain electronic copies of these documents on the
Service's website at https://www.fws.gov/office/austin-ecological-services/news.
U.S. Mail: You may obtain the documents at the following addresses.
In your request for documents, please reference Lower Colorado River
Authority CCAA.
NEPA screening form and CCAA: A limited number of CD-ROM
and printed copies of the NEPA screening form and CCAA are available,
by request, from Karen Myers, Field Supervisor, Austin Ecological
Services Field Office, Austin, TX, 78754, telephone 512-937-7371.
EOS permit application: The EOS permit application is
available by mail from the Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, P.O. Box 1306, Room 6034, Albuquerque, NM 87103, Attention:
Environmental Review Branch.
Submitting Comments: Regarding any of the documents available for
review, you may submit written comments by one of the following
methods. In your comments, please reference the Lower Colorado River
Authority CCAA.
Email: Submit comments to [email protected].
U.S. Mail: Karen Myers, Field Supervisor, Austin
Ecological Services Field Office, 1505 Ferguson Lane, Austin, TX 78754.
We request that you send comments by only one of the methods
described above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Myers, Field Supervisor, by mail
at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1505 Ferguson Lane, Austin, TX
78754; via phone at 512-937-7371. 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 the availability of a draft screening form
supporting a categorical exclusion, under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), that evaluates the
impacts of implementation of the proposed Candidate Conservation
Agreement with Assurances for the Texas pimpleback (Cyclonaias
petrina), Texas fawnsfoot (Truncilla macrodon), Texas fatmucket
(Lampsilis bracteata), and Balcones spike (Fusconaia iheringi) in the
Lower Colorado River Basin below O.H. Ivie Reservoir (CCAA) and
issuance of an associated enhancement of survival (EOS) permit under
section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) to the Lower Colorado River Authority
(LCRA) and Lower Colorado River Authority Transmission Services
Corporation (LCRA TSC).
This notice advises the public that we, the Service, have gathered
the information necessary to determine effects of the proposed CCAA and
the associated EOS permit on the four Texas mussels. We are accepting
comments on the proposed CCAA, NEPA screening form, and the EOS permit
application.
Background
Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.) and its implementing regulations prohibit the ``take'' of animal
species listed as endangered or threatened. Take is defined under the
ESA as to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect listed animal species, or to attempt to engage in
such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1538). However, under section 10(a) of the
ESA, in accordance with our CCAA policy (81 FR 95164) we may issue
permits for the enhancement of survival (EOS) of candidate species.
``Incidental take'' is
[[Page 41124]]
defined by the ESA as take that is incidental to, and not the purpose
of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing
such take of endangered and threatened, respectively, are found in the
Code of Federal Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32, and would
cover candidates should they become listed.
Proposed Action
The LCRA and LCRA TSC applied to the Service for an EOS permit
under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA. Such EOS permits authorize take
that is incidental to otherwise lawful activities (50 CFR 17.3). The
requested EOS permit would authorize incidental take of the Texas
pimpleback, Texas fawnsfoot, Texas fatmucket, and Balcones spike
(Covered Species), should they become listed under the ESA. The
proposed incidental take would result from activities associated with
otherwise lawful activities associated with implementation of the
proposed CCAA including the conservation measures, and ongoing and
continuing operations, inspections, repairs, construction, and
maintenance activities.
The LCRA and LCRA TSC would implement a voluntary conservation
strategy for freshwater mussels in the CCAA, supporting the EOS permit,
which was informed by the National Strategy for the Conservation of
Native Freshwater Mussels developed by the Freshwater Mollusk
Conservation Society. The conservation strategy includes conservation
measures to minimize and avoid direct and indirect impacts to proposed
mussels and their habitats; a comprehensive monitoring and adaptive
management program; compliance with existing environmental flow
standards; conducting routine water quality monitoring of sites near
existing mussel populations; conducting invasive species monitoring and
spread prevention programs; conducting applied research on mussel
physiological tolerances, survivability in the Colorado River
downstream of Austin, and assess restoration potential in the Colorado
River basin for Texas fatmucket and Texas pimpleback; support for
development of short-term refugia and propagation methods; public
outreach and education about the resource needs affecting freshwater
mussels; and, leading a conservation workgroup for Texas fatmucket in
the Onion Creek basin. The expected result of the implementation of the
conservation strategy and conservation measures is a net conservation
benefit to the Covered Species.
The CCAA and associated EOS permit would provide the LCRA and LCRA
TSC with the opportunity to voluntarily conserve freshwater mussel
species and their habitat, while carrying out their existing and
ongoing water supply and water delivery operations and providing a net
conservation benefit to the species. If approved, the EOS permit would
be for a 20-year period following the signature of the CCAA, and would
authorize incidental take of the Covered Species if the species come to
be listed under the ESA during the life of the CCAA and EOS permit. The
terms of the CCAA and EOS permit would also ensure that the proposed
action will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and
recovery of the species in the wild.
Alternatives
We have considered one alternative to the proposed action as part
of this process: No Action. Under a No Action alternative, the Service
would not issue the requested EOS permit and the applicant would either
not implement the CCAA for the conservation strategy of freshwater
mussels or implement the CCAA without regulatory assurances and future
take authorization, should the species be listed, for on-going
operations, inspections, repairs, construction, and maintenance
activities of their infrastructure, or conduct those activities in a
manner that avoids incidental take. Therefore, the applicant would not
implement the conservation measures described in the CCAA.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the permit application, CCAA, NEPA screening form,
and comments we receive to determine whether the application meets the
requirements of the ESA, NEPA, and implementing regulations. If we
determine that all requirements are met, we may approve the CCAA and
issue the EOS permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) to the applicant in accordance with the terms of the CCAA
and specific terms and conditions of the authorizing EOS permit. We
will not make our final decision until after the 30-day comment period
ends and we have fully considered all comments received during the
public comment period.
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 can 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. 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 and its
implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32) and the National
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-13337 Filed 6-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P