Lower Colorado River Authority Transmission Services Corporation; Construction, Operation, Maintenance, and Repair of Competitive Renewable Energy Zone Transmission Lines and Related Facilities, 13299-13301 [2010-5944]
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 53 / Friday, March 19, 2010 / Notices
Lincoln County that would extend take
authorization under Lincoln County’s
permit to the participating landowner,
provided the landowner agrees to
implement the minimization and
mitigation measures in the SLCHCP.
National Environmental Policy Act
Compliance
Our proposal to issue incidental take
permits is a Federal action that triggers
the need for compliance with NEPA.
Accordingly, as the Federal agency
responsible for compliance under
NEPA, we have prepared an EIS that
analyzes alternatives associated with
issuance of the incidental take permits.
In addition to the permit issuance
alternative, other alternatives we
considered in the EIS include the ‘‘No
Action’’ alternative (we would not issue
the incidental take permits, ‘‘take’’ of the
desert tortoise and southwestern willow
flycatcher would not be authorized, and
the SLCHCP would not be
implemented), and ‘‘Alternative A,
Additional Lands for Development’’ (we
would issue incidental take permits for
development and associated activities
on up to 44,135 acres of private lands
within the covered area as well as BLM
land proposed for disposal over the next
30 years in the southeastern portion of
Lincoln County).
The final EIS includes all comments
we received on the draft EIS and our
responses to those comments. After the
30-day waiting period, we will complete
a Record of Decision that announces our
decision on the action that will be
implemented and discusses all factors
leading to the decision.
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Public Involvement
We published a notice of intent to
prepare an EIS for this project in the
Federal Register on July 5, 2001 (66 FR
35451), and held public workshops on
June 25 and 26, 2001, in Alamo and
Caliente. We held additional public
workshops on July 5 and 6, 2006, in
Caliente, Alamo, and Mesquite to
update members of the public on the
status of the SLCHCP. On December 5,
2008, we published a notice of
availability of the draft SLCHCP, draft
EIS, and draft IA in the Federal Register
(73 FR 74185). The draft documents
were available for a 75-day public
comment period ending on February 11,
2009.
Public Review
Copies of the final EIS, SLCHCP, and
IA are available for review (see
Availability of Documents). Any
comments we receive will become part
of the administrative record and may be
available to the public. Before
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submitting comments that include your
address, phone number, e-mail address,
or other personal identifying
information, you should be aware that
your entire comment, including your
personal identifying information, may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you may 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.
We will evaluate the applications,
associated documents, and comments
submitted to determine whether the
applications meet the requirements of
section 10(a) of the Act. A permit
decision will be made no sooner than 30
days after the publication of the EPA’s
final EIS notice in the Federal Register
and completion of the Record of
Decision.
Ken McDermond,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Southwest
Region, Sacramento, California.
[FR Doc. 2010–5629 Filed 3–18–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R2–ES–2010–N017; 20124–1112–
0000–F2]
Lower Colorado River Authority
Transmission Services Corporation;
Construction, Operation, Maintenance,
and Repair of Competitive Renewable
Energy Zone Transmission Lines and
Related Facilities
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a
draft environmental impact statement
and draft habitat conservation plan;
announcement of meetings; request for
comments.
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), advise the
public that we intend to prepare a draft
environmental impact statement (EIS) to
evaluate the impacts of, and alternatives
to, the proposed issuance of an
Endangered Species Act permit to the
Lower Colorado River Authority
Transmission Services Corporation
(LCRA TSC; applicant) for incidental
take of six federally listed or candidate
species from activities associated with
LCRA TSC’s construction, maintenance,
operation, and repair of four
Competitive Renewable Energy Zone
(CREZ) ‘‘priority’’ transmission lines and
related facilities (i.e., substations,
substation upgrades, and access roads)
required to be constructed by the Public
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13299
Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)
(collectively, the LCRA TSC CREZ
transmission lines). We also announce
plans for a series of public scoping
meetings and a public comment period.
DATES: If you wish to submit written
comments on alternatives and issues for
us to address in the draft EIS, we must
receive them by close of business on
June 17, 2010. We will hold public
scoping meetings at locations
throughout LCRA’s proposed 14-county
permit area. The scoping meetings will
be noticed in local news papers at least
two weeks before each scoping meeting
and on the following website: https://
www.LCRA.org.
ADDRESSES: For further information or
to send written comments by mail: Field
Supervisor, Austin Ecological Services
Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 10711 Burnett Road, Suite 200,
Austin, TX 78758–4460; 512/490–0057
(phone); 512/490–0974 (fax); or
Luela_Roberts@fws.gov (e-mail). Note
that your information request or
comments concern the LCRA TSC draft
EIS/HCP.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We
publish this notice in compliance with
the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6), and section
10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.). We intend to gather the
information necessary to determine
impacts and alternatives to support a
decision regarding the potential
issuance of an incidental take permit to
the applicant, and the implementation
of the supporting draft HCP. We intend
to prepare an EIS to evaluate the
impacts of, and alternatives to, the
proposed issuance of an incidental take
permit under the Act. The applicant
proposes to apply for an incidental take
permit through development and
implementation of an HCP. The
proposed HCP will cover take of certain
species that is incidental to activities
associated with the construction,
operation, maintenance, and repair of
LCRA TSC’s CREZ transmission lines
and related facilities and will include
measures necessary to minimize and
mitigate impacts to covered species and
their habitats to the maximum extent
practicable.
Background
Section 9 of the Act prohibits ‘‘taking’’
of fish and wildlife species listed as
endangered under section 4 of the Act.
The Act’s implementing regulations
extend, under certain circumstances, the
prohibition of take to threatened
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 53 / Friday, March 19, 2010 / Notices
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species. Under section 3 of the Act, the
term ‘‘take’’ means ‘‘to harass, harm,
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect, or to attempt to
engage in any such conduct.’’ 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). 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).
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act requires
an applicant for an incidental take
permit to prepare an HCP that describes:
(1) The impact that will result from such
taking; (2) the steps the applicant will
take to minimize and mitigate that take
to the maximum extent practicable, and
the funding that will be available to
implement such steps; (3) the
alternative actions to such taking that
the applicant considered and the
reasons why such alternatives are not
being utilized; and (4) the other
measures that the Service may require
as being necessary or appropriate for the
purposes of the plan. The Act requires
us to issue an incidental take permit to
an applicant when we determine that:
(1) The taking will be incidental to
otherwise lawful activities; (2) the
applicant will, to the maximum extent
practicable, minimize and mitigate the
impacts of such taking; (3) the applicant
has ensured 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
measures, if any, we require as
necessary or appropriate for the
purposes of the plan will be met.
Regulations governing permits for
endangered and threatened species are
at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32.
We expect that the Applicant will
request permit coverage for a period of
30 years.
Scoping Meetings
A primary purpose of the scoping
process is to receive suggestions and
information on the scope of issues and
alternatives to consider when drafting
the EIS, and to identify, rather than
debate, significant issues related to the
proposed action. In order to ensure that
we identify a range of issues and
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alternatives related to the proposed
action, we invite comments and
suggestions from all interested parties.
We will conduct a review of this project
according to the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act and
its regulations, other relevant Federal
laws, regulations, policies, and
guidance, and our procedures for
compliance with those regulations.
Persons needing reasonable
accommodations in order to attend and
participate in the public meetings
should contact us at the address listed
in the ADDRESSES section no later than
1 week before the relevant public
meeting. Information regarding this
proposed action is available in
alternative formats upon request. We
will accept oral and written comments
at the meetings. You may also submit
comments to persons listed in the
ADDRESSES section. Once the draft EIS
and draft HCP are completed and
available for review, there will be
further opportunities for public
comment on the content of these
documents through additional public
meetings and comment period.
Alternatives
The proposed action presented in the
draft EIS will be compared to the NoAction alternative. The No-Action
alternative represents estimated future
conditions to which the proposed
action’s estimated future conditions can
be compared.
No-Action Alternative
Under the no-action alternative, LCRA
TSC would comply with the Act by
avoiding impacts to listed species where
practicable, by receiving coverage under
a Section 7 consultation where other
Federal nexi exist, and/or by applying
for individual incidental take permits
where federal nexus does not exist. This
approach is likely to be more timeconsuming and less efficient, and could
result in an isolated independent
mitigation approach. In addition, under
this piecemeal approach, it is unlikely
that LCRA TSC would be able to
construct the LCRA TSC CREZ
transmission lines within the timeline
mandated by the Texas Legislature and
the PUC.
Proposed Alternative
The proposed action is issuance of an
incidental take permit for the covered
species during construction, operation,
and/or maintenance of LCRA TSC’s
CREZ transmission lines. The proposed
HCP, which must meet the requirements
in section 10(a)(2)(A) of the Act, would
be developed and implemented by the
applicant. This alternative could allow
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for a comprehensive mitigation
approach for authorized impacts and
reduce the permit processing effort for
the Service. Actions covered under the
requested incidental take permit may
include possible take of covered species
associated with activities including, but
not limited to, construction, operation,
maintenance, and repair of LCRA TSC’s
CREZ transmission lines and all related
infrastructure and facilities such as
substations and access roads. The
applicant expects to apply for an
incidental take permit for six species
listed as endangered or threatened or
considered to be a candidate for listing
within the proposed permit area. It is
anticipated that the impacts to listed
species associated with the Service’s
possible approval of the HCP also will
be considered pursuant to the
interagency consultation procedures of
section 7 of the Act and that future
consultation on such impacts occurring
in accordance with the approved HCP
will not be necessary and will not
require additional measures of the
Applicant. Species proposed to be
covered under the requested incidental
take permit include: The goldencheeked warbler, black-capped vireo,
least tern, whooping crane, and blacktailed prairie dog. Counties included in
the proposed permit area include
portions of Tom Green, Schleicher,
Sutton, Mason, Menard, Kimble, Kerr,
Kendall, Irion, Gillespie, Llano, Burnet,
San Saba, and Lampasas Counties.
Species not covered by the proposed
incidental take permit will also be
addressed in the draft HCP as evaluation
or additional species. These species
include the ocelot, Concho water snake,
Clear Creek gambusia, sharpnose shiner,
smalleye shiner, Bee Creek Cave
harvestman, Texas hornshell, Tobusch
fishhook cactus, and Texas snowbells.
The applicant does not anticipate that
covered activities will result in take of
the evaluation species. The purpose of
addressing these species is to analyze
and explain why the applicant believes
these species will not be taken by the
covered activities. Other alternatives
considered will also be addressed in the
draft EIS, including impacts associated
with each alternative evaluated.
Public Availability of Comments
Written comments we receive become
part of the public record associated with
this action. Before including your
address, phone number, e-mail address,
or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you
should be aware that the entire
comment—including your personal
identifying information—may be made
publicly available at any time. While
E:\FR\FM\19MRN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 53 / Friday, March 19, 2010 / Notices
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.
Environmental Review
The Service will conduct an
environmental review to analyze the
proposed action, as well as other
alternatives evaluated and the
associated impacts of each. The draft
EIS will be the basis for the impact
evaluation for each species covered and
the range of alternatives to be addressed.
The draft EIS is expected to provide
biological descriptions of the affected
species and habitats, as well as the
effects of the alternatives on other
resources such as vegetation, wetlands,
wildlife, geology and soils, air quality,
water resources, water quality, cultural
resources, land use, recreation, water
use, local economy, climate change, and
environmental justice. Following
completion of the environmental
review, the Service will publish a notice
of availability and a request for
comments on the draft EIS and the
Applicant’s permit application, which
will include the draft HCP. The draft
EIS and draft HCP are expected to be
completed and available to the public in
early to mid-2010.
Thomas L. Bauer,
Acting Regional Director, Region 2,
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2010–5944 Filed 3–18–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
100 thousand acre-feet (TAF). A 175
TAF expansion option would expand
the reservoir to 275 TAF. This
expansion option would be operated for
environmental water management and
San Francisco Bay Area water supply
reliability. A 60 TAF expansion option
would expand the reservoir to 160 TAF.
This second option would primarily be
operated to improve Contra Costa Water
District (CCWD) dry year water supply
reliability and water quality.
A Notice of Availability of the Draft
EIS/EIR was published in the Federal
Register on February 20, 2009 (74 FR
7922). The written comment period on
the Draft EIS/EIR ended on April 21,
2009. The Final EIS/EIR contains
responses to all written comments
received during the review period.
DATES: Reclamation will not make a
decision on the project until at least 30
days after release of the Final EIS/EIR.
After a 30-day waiting period,
Reclamation may complete a Record of
Decision (ROD). The ROD will state the
action to be implemented and will
discuss all the factors leading to that
decision.
Copies of the Final EIS/EIR
may be requested from Ms. Sharon
McHale, Bureau of Reclamation, 2800
Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825; by
calling 916–978–5086 (TTY 916–978–
5608); or by e-mailing
smchale@usbr.gov. The Final EIS/EIR is
also accessible from the following Web
site: https://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/
nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=903.
ADDRESSES:
Ms.
Sharon McHale at 916–978–5086, or by
e-mail at smchale@usbr.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final
EIS/EIR documents the direct, indirect,
and cumulative physical, biological, and
socioeconomic environment effects that
may result from the construction and
operation of the 60 TAF expansion and
175 expansion of Los Vaqueros
Reservoir.
The Final EIS/EIR documents the
evaluation of four alternatives,
including No Action. The primary study
area includes the Los Vaqueros
Reservoir watershed and associated dam
and reservoir facilities, which are
situated in the coastal foothills west of
the Delta and east of the San Francisco
Bay Area, the central and south Delta,
and service areas of San Francisco Bay
Area water agencies.
Copies of the Final EIS/EIR are
available for public review at the
following locations:
• Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific
Region, Regional Library, 2800 Cottage
Way, Sacramento, CA 95825.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion,
Contra Costa and Alameda Counties,
CA
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of the
Final Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report (Final
EIS/EIR).
The Bureau of Reclamation,
as the National Environmental Policy
Act Federal lead agency, and the Contra
Costa Water District, as the California
Environmental Quality Act lead agency,
have prepared the Los Vaqueros
Reservoir Expansion Final EIS/EIR. Los
Vaqueros Expansion is a proposed
action in the August 2000 CALFED BayDelta Program Programmatic Record of
Decision. The Final EIS/EIR evaluated
two options for expanding Los Vaqueros
Reservoir from its existing capacity of
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SUMMARY:
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13301
• Bureau of Reclamation, Denver
Office Library, Building 67, Room 167,
Denver Federal Center, 6th and Kipling,
Denver, CO 80225.
• Contra Costa Water District, 2411
Bisso Lane, Concord, CA 94524.
• Natural Resources Library, U.S.
Department of the Interior, 1849 C
Street, NW., Main Interior Building,
Washington, DC 20240–0001.
Public hearings were held on March
23, 2009 in Sacramento, California; on
March 24, 2009 in Livermore,
California; on March 26, 2009 in Dublin,
California; on March 31, 2009 in
Concord, California; and on April 2,
2009 in Oakley, California.
Public Disclosure: Before including
your name, address, phone number, email address, or other personal
identifying information in any
correspondence, you should be aware
that your entire correspondence—
including your personal identifying
information—may be made publicly
available at any time. While you can ask
us in your correspondence to withhold
your personal identifying information
from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Dated: January 27, 2010.
Mike Chotkowski,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 2010–6024 Filed 3–18–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–MN–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNVSO3100 L5101000.ER0000
LVRWF09F8590 241A; 10–08807;
MO#4500012002; TAS: 14X5017]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Solar Millennium Amargosa Farm
Road Solar Power Project, Nye County,
NV
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) has
prepared a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Amargosa Farm
Road Solar Power Project, Nye County,
Nevada, and by this Notice is
announcing the opening of the comment
period.
DATES: To ensure comments will be
considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Amargosa
Farm Road Solar Power Project Draft EIS
E:\FR\FM\19MRN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 53 (Friday, March 19, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13299-13301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5944]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2010-N017; 20124-1112-0000-F2]
Lower Colorado River Authority Transmission Services Corporation;
Construction, Operation, Maintenance, and Repair of Competitive
Renewable Energy Zone Transmission Lines and Related Facilities
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact
statement and draft habitat conservation plan; announcement of
meetings; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), advise the
public that we intend to prepare a draft environmental impact statement
(EIS) to evaluate the impacts of, and alternatives to, the proposed
issuance of an Endangered Species Act permit to the Lower Colorado
River Authority Transmission Services Corporation (LCRA TSC; applicant)
for incidental take of six federally listed or candidate species from
activities associated with LCRA TSC's construction, maintenance,
operation, and repair of four Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ)
``priority'' transmission lines and related facilities (i.e.,
substations, substation upgrades, and access roads) required to be
constructed by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)
(collectively, the LCRA TSC CREZ transmission lines). We also announce
plans for a series of public scoping meetings and a public comment
period.
DATES: If you wish to submit written comments on alternatives and
issues for us to address in the draft EIS, we must receive them by
close of business on June 17, 2010. We will hold public scoping
meetings at locations throughout LCRA's proposed 14-county permit area.
The scoping meetings will be noticed in local news papers at least two
weeks before each scoping meeting and on the following website: https://www.LCRA.org.
ADDRESSES: For further information or to send written comments by mail:
Field Supervisor, Austin Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 10711 Burnett Road, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758-
4460; 512/490-0057 (phone); 512/490-0974 (fax); or Luela_Roberts@fws.gov (e-mail). Note that your information request or
comments concern the LCRA TSC draft EIS/HCP.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We publish this notice in compliance with
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6),
and section 10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). We intend to gather the information
necessary to determine impacts and alternatives to support a decision
regarding the potential issuance of an incidental take permit to the
applicant, and the implementation of the supporting draft HCP. We
intend to prepare an EIS to evaluate the impacts of, and alternatives
to, the proposed issuance of an incidental take permit under the Act.
The applicant proposes to apply for an incidental take permit through
development and implementation of an HCP. The proposed HCP will cover
take of certain species that is incidental to activities associated
with the construction, operation, maintenance, and repair of LCRA TSC's
CREZ transmission lines and related facilities and will include
measures necessary to minimize and mitigate impacts to covered species
and their habitats to the maximum extent practicable.
Background
Section 9 of the Act prohibits ``taking'' of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered under section 4 of the Act. The Act's
implementing regulations extend, under certain circumstances, the
prohibition of take to threatened
[[Page 13300]]
species. Under section 3 of the Act, the term ``take'' means ``to
harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or
collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.'' 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). 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). Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act requires an
applicant for an incidental take permit to prepare an HCP that
describes: (1) The impact that will result from such taking; (2) the
steps the applicant will take to minimize and mitigate that take to the
maximum extent practicable, and the funding that will be available to
implement such steps; (3) the alternative actions to such taking that
the applicant considered and the reasons why such alternatives are not
being utilized; and (4) the other measures that the Service may require
as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes of the plan. The Act
requires us to issue an incidental take permit to an applicant when we
determine that: (1) The taking will be incidental to otherwise lawful
activities; (2) the applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable,
minimize and mitigate the impacts of such taking; (3) the applicant has
ensured 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 measures, if any, we
require as necessary or appropriate for the purposes of the plan will
be met. Regulations governing permits for endangered and threatened
species are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32.
We expect that the Applicant will request permit coverage for a
period of 30 years.
Scoping Meetings
A primary purpose of the scoping process is to receive suggestions
and information on the scope of issues and alternatives to consider
when drafting the EIS, and to identify, rather than debate, significant
issues related to the proposed action. In order to ensure that we
identify a range of issues and alternatives related to the proposed
action, we invite comments and suggestions from all interested parties.
We will conduct a review of this project according to the requirements
of the National Environmental Policy Act and its regulations, other
relevant Federal laws, regulations, policies, and guidance, and our
procedures for compliance with those regulations. Persons needing
reasonable accommodations in order to attend and participate in the
public meetings should contact us at the address listed in the
ADDRESSES section no later than 1 week before the relevant public
meeting. Information regarding this proposed action is available in
alternative formats upon request. We will accept oral and written
comments at the meetings. You may also submit comments to persons
listed in the ADDRESSES section. Once the draft EIS and draft HCP are
completed and available for review, there will be further opportunities
for public comment on the content of these documents through additional
public meetings and comment period.
Alternatives
The proposed action presented in the draft EIS will be compared to
the No-Action alternative. The No-Action alternative represents
estimated future conditions to which the proposed action's estimated
future conditions can be compared.
No-Action Alternative
Under the no-action alternative, LCRA TSC would comply with the Act
by avoiding impacts to listed species where practicable, by receiving
coverage under a Section 7 consultation where other Federal nexi exist,
and/or by applying for individual incidental take permits where federal
nexus does not exist. This approach is likely to be more time-consuming
and less efficient, and could result in an isolated independent
mitigation approach. In addition, under this piecemeal approach, it is
unlikely that LCRA TSC would be able to construct the LCRA TSC CREZ
transmission lines within the timeline mandated by the Texas
Legislature and the PUC.
Proposed Alternative
The proposed action is issuance of an incidental take permit for
the covered species during construction, operation, and/or maintenance
of LCRA TSC's CREZ transmission lines. The proposed HCP, which must
meet the requirements in section 10(a)(2)(A) of the Act, would be
developed and implemented by the applicant. This alternative could
allow for a comprehensive mitigation approach for authorized impacts
and reduce the permit processing effort for the Service. Actions
covered under the requested incidental take permit may include possible
take of covered species associated with activities including, but not
limited to, construction, operation, maintenance, and repair of LCRA
TSC's CREZ transmission lines and all related infrastructure and
facilities such as substations and access roads. The applicant expects
to apply for an incidental take permit for six species listed as
endangered or threatened or considered to be a candidate for listing
within the proposed permit area. It is anticipated that the impacts to
listed species associated with the Service's possible approval of the
HCP also will be considered pursuant to the interagency consultation
procedures of section 7 of the Act and that future consultation on such
impacts occurring in accordance with the approved HCP will not be
necessary and will not require additional measures of the Applicant.
Species proposed to be covered under the requested incidental take
permit include: The golden-cheeked warbler, black-capped vireo, least
tern, whooping crane, and black-tailed prairie dog. Counties included
in the proposed permit area include portions of Tom Green, Schleicher,
Sutton, Mason, Menard, Kimble, Kerr, Kendall, Irion, Gillespie, Llano,
Burnet, San Saba, and Lampasas Counties. Species not covered by the
proposed incidental take permit will also be addressed in the draft HCP
as evaluation or additional species. These species include the ocelot,
Concho water snake, Clear Creek gambusia, sharpnose shiner, smalleye
shiner, Bee Creek Cave harvestman, Texas hornshell, Tobusch fishhook
cactus, and Texas snowbells. The applicant does not anticipate that
covered activities will result in take of the evaluation species. The
purpose of addressing these species is to analyze and explain why the
applicant believes these species will not be taken by the covered
activities. Other alternatives considered will also be addressed in the
draft EIS, including impacts associated with each alternative
evaluated.
Public Availability of Comments
Written comments we receive become part of the public record
associated with this action. Before including your address, phone
number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware that the entire comment--including
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available
at any time. While
[[Page 13301]]
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.
Environmental Review
The Service will conduct an environmental review to analyze the
proposed action, as well as other alternatives evaluated and the
associated impacts of each. The draft EIS will be the basis for the
impact evaluation for each species covered and the range of
alternatives to be addressed. The draft EIS is expected to provide
biological descriptions of the affected species and habitats, as well
as the effects of the alternatives on other resources such as
vegetation, wetlands, wildlife, geology and soils, air quality, water
resources, water quality, cultural resources, land use, recreation,
water use, local economy, climate change, and environmental justice.
Following completion of the environmental review, the Service will
publish a notice of availability and a request for comments on the
draft EIS and the Applicant's permit application, which will include
the draft HCP. The draft EIS and draft HCP are expected to be completed
and available to the public in early to mid-2010.
Thomas L. Bauer,
Acting Regional Director, Region 2, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2010-5944 Filed 3-18-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
