Adoption and Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Assessment for the Penobscot River Restoration Project, 46512-46514 [2012-18978]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 150 / Friday, August 3, 2012 / Notices
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infrastructure. The applicant’s HCP
describes the minimization and
mitigation measures proposed to
address the effects of the project on the
scrub-jay.
DATES: Written comments on the ITP
application and HCP should be sent to
the South Florida Ecological Services
Office (see ADDRESSES) and should be
received on or before September 4,
2012.
ADDRESSES: You may request documents
by email, U.S. mail, or fax (see below).
These documents are also available for
public inspection by appointment
during normal business hours at the
office below. Send your comments or
requests by any one of the following
methods.
Email: Trish_Adams@fws.gov. Use
‘‘Attn: Permit number TE74559A–0’’ as
your message subject line.
Fax: Trish Adams, 772–562–4288,
Attn.: Permit number TE74559A–0.
U.S. mail: Trish Adams, HCP
Coordinator, South Florida Ecological
Services Field Office, Attn: Permit
number TE74559A–0, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero
Beach, FL 32960–3559.
In-person drop-off: You may drop off
information during regular business
hours at the above office address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Trish Adams, HCP Coordinator, South
Florida Ecological Services Office, Vero
Beach, Florida (see ADDRESSES),
telephone: 772–469–4232.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Wayne
Cimato (applicant) anticipates taking 1
acre of habitat used for breeding,
feeding, and sheltering by the Florida
scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) in
Charlotte County, Florida. The Service
listed the scrub-jay as threatened on
June 3, 1987 (52 FR 20715). The listing
became effective July 6, 1987.
Applicant’s Proposed Project
We received an application for an
incidental take permit (ITP), along with
a proposed habitat conservation plan
(HCP). The applicant requests a 2-year
permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
Act (87 Stat. 884; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.). If we approve the permit, the
applicant anticipates taking 1 acre of
Florida scrub-jay habitat for
construction of a single family residence
and associated infrastructure. The
project is located on parcel
402413451002 at latitude 26.993037,
longitude –81.866754, Charlotte County,
Florida.
The applicant proposes to mitigate for
the loss of 1 acre of occupied scrub-jay
habitat by on-site establishment of a 2acre conservation easement to be
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managed by Charlotte Harbor
Environmental Center, along with a fee
of $6,000.00 for perpetual maintenance
of the donated land, within 180 days of
permit issuance or before the
commencement of clearing and
construction activities, whichever is
sooner.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary
determination that the applicant’s
project, including the proposed
mitigation and minimization measures,
will individually and cumulatively have
a minor or negligible effect on the
species covered in the HCP. Therefore,
issuance of the ITP is a ‘‘low-effect’’
action and qualifies as a categorical
exclusion under the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (40
CFR 1506.6), as provided by the
Department of the Interior Manual (516
DM 2 Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6
Appendix 1), and as defined in our
Habitat Conservation Planning
Handbook (November 1996).
We base our determination that
issuance of the ITP qualifies as a loweffect action on the following three
criteria: (1) Implementation of the
project would result in minor or
negligible effects on federally listed,
proposed, and candidate species and
their habitats; (2) implementation of the
project would result in minor or
negligible effects on other
environmental values or resources; and
(3) impacts of the plan, considered
together with the impacts of other past,
present, and reasonably foreseeable
similarly situated projects, would not
result, over time, in cumulative effects
to environmental values or resources
that would be considered significant. As
more fully explained in our
environmental action statement and
associated Low-Effect Screening Form,
the applicant’s proposed project
qualifies as a ‘‘low-effect’’ project. This
preliminary determination may be
revised based on our review of public
comments that we receive in response to
this notice.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the HCP
and comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the application
meets the requirements of section 10(a)
of the Act. The Service will also
evaluate whether issuance of the section
10(a)(1)(B) ITP would comply with
section 7 of the Act by conducting an
intra-Service section 7 consultation. The
results of this consultation, in
combination with the above findings,
will be used in the final analysis to
determine whether or not to issue the
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ITP. If it is determined that the
requirements of the Act are met, the ITP
will be issued for the incidental take of
the Florida scrub-jay.
Submitting Comments
If you wish to submit comments or
information, you may do so by any one
of several methods. Please reference
permit number TE74559A–0 in such
comments. You may mail comments to
the Service’s South Florida Ecological
Services Office (see ADDRESSES). You
may also comment via email to
trish_adams@fws.gov. Please also
include your name and return address
in your email message. If you do not
receive a confirmation from us that we
have received your email message,
contact us directly at the telephone
number listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. Finally, you may
hand deliver comments to the Service
office listed under ADDRESSES.
Availability of Public Comments
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comments, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While 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.
Authority
This notice is provided pursuant to
Section 10 of the Act and NEPA
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: July 26, 2012.
Larry Williams,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological
Services Office.
[FR Doc. 2012–18985 Filed 8–2–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R5–ES–2012–N098;
FXHC1122055COM0Z5_123_FF05E00000]
Adoption and Notice of Availability of
a Final Environmental Assessment for
the Penobscot River Restoration
Project
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (Service) hereby gives notice of
SUMMARY:
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TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 150 / Friday, August 3, 2012 / Notices
its intent to adopt the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission’s (Commission)
existing Final Environmental
Assessment (FEA) for the Application
for Surrender of License of the Veazie,
Great Works, and Howland Projects.
The FEA, issued on May 18, 2010,
evaluates the environmental impacts
that would result from the Commission
approving the applications for license
surrender. The Penobscot River
Restoration Project (PRRP) seeks to
restore diadromous fish to the
Penobscot River and key tributaries in
accordance with the Lower Penobscot
River Basin Comprehensive Settlement
Agreement (Agreement), to which the
U.S. Department of the Interior
(Department) is a signatory. The Service
intends to approve mechanisms to assist
with funding the PRRP because it will
provide substantial benefits for
diadromous fish. Based on the Service’s
independent evaluation, adoption of the
FEA would meet the Department’s and
the Service’s National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) procedures and
guidelines, as the Service is funding the
precise actions, the effects of which
have already been analyzed by the
Commission. As part of that process, the
Service is recirculating the FEA as its
final Environmental Assessment in
accordance with the Service’s adoption
requirements.
DATES: We will accept comments
received or postmarked on or before
August 20, 2012. Comments submitted
electronically using the Federal
eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES
section, below) must be received by
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing
date.
ADDRESSES: Document availability: You
may obtain copies of the notice and the
FEA on the Internet at https://www.
regulations.gov at Docket Number FWS–
R5–ES–2012–0046, or at https://www.
fws.gov/mainefieldoffice/
(Web site for the Service’s Field Office
in Maine, or by mail from the Service’s
Maine Field Office (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). The full
administrative record is available
though the Commission’s eLibrary at
https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
eLibrary.asp. To use eLibrary, enter the
docket number (either P–2403, P–2312,
or P–2721) to access the document. For
assistance, contact the Commission’s
online support toll free at (866) 208–
3676, or TTY at (866) 208–3372.
Comment submission: You may
submit written comments by one of the
following methods:
Electronically: Go to the Federal
eRulemaking Portal: https://www.
regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter
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FWS–R5–ES–2012–0046, which is the
docket number for this notice. Then, on
the left side of the screen, under the
Document Type heading, click on the
Notices link to locate this document and
submit a comment.
By compact disk (CD) or hard copy:
Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to:
Public Comments Processing, Attn:
FWS–R5–ES–2012–0046; Division of
Policy and Directives Management; U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N.
Fairfax Drive, MS 2042–PDM;
Arlington, VA 22203.
We request that you send comments
only by the methods described above.
We will post all information received on
https://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us
(see the Public Comments section below
for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steve Shepard, Maine Field Office, by
mail at 17 Godfrey Drive, Suite #2,
Orono Maine 04473; by telephone at
(207) 866–3344, extension 116; or by
electronic mail at steve_shepard@fws.
gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Service hereby gives notice of its intent
to adopt the Commission’s existing FEA
for the Application for Surrender of
License of the Veazie, Great Works, and
Howland Projects (FERC Project Nos.
2403, 2312 and 2721, respectively)
(Project). The FEA, issued on May 18,
2010, evaluates the environmental
impacts that would result from the
Commission approving the applications
for license surrender for the Veazie,
Great Works, and Howlands
hydroelectric projects. The FEA makes
it clear that surrender of the licenses
would lead to removal of Veazie and
Great Works Dams and construction of
a nature-like fish bypass around the
Howland Dam, which are key elements
of the PRRP. The dams are located in
the towns of Veazie, Old Town, and
Howland in Penobscot County, Maine.
The PRRP seeks to restore diadromous
fish to the Penobscot River and key
tributaries in accordance with the Lower
Penobscot River Basin Comprehensive
Settlement Agreement (Agreement), to
which the Department is a signatory.
The Service intends to approve grants,
cooperative agreements, memoranda of
agreement or understanding, or other
administrative mechanisms to assist
with funding the PRRP because the
project will provide substantial benefits
for diadromous fish.
The May 2010 FEA assessed the
environmental effects of five
alternatives of the PRRP: (1) No action;
(2) the proposed action (the removal of
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46513
the Veazie and Great Works Dams and
the construction of a nature-like fish
bypass at the Howland Dam); (3) the
removal of all three dams; (4) the
removal of the Veazie and Great Works
Dams and surrender in place at the
Howland Project; and (5) the surrender
in place of all three projects. The
Service commented on the draft FEA
and is satisfied that all of its comments
have been adequately addressed by the
Commission in the FEA. Based on its
review, the Service finds that the FEA
would satisfy the Department’s and the
Service’s NEPA compliance
requirements with respect to the
Service’s decision to provide funds for
the PRRP. Therefore, by this notice, the
Service is recirculating the FEA for
written public comment to meet its
NEPA (40 CFR 1506.3 and 1506.6)
requirements for the approval of future
administrative mechanisms or funds in
support of the PRRP. The Service
encourages interested persons to review
the FEA and submit written comments.
Availability of Documents
Those who do not have access to the
Web site or cannot visit our office can
request copies by telephone at (207)
866–3344 or by letter to the Maine Field
Office (see ADDRESSES).
Location
The dams are located in the towns of
Veazie, Old Town, and Howland in
Penobscot County, Maine. They are
currently operated as hydroelectric
facilities under a Federal license with
the Commission.
Background
The Commission’s FEA was based on
license applications from the Penobscot
River Restoration Trust, a not-for-profit
organization founded to implement the
PRRP on behalf of the parties involved
in the Agreement. The Service is a party
to the Agreement, along with other State
and Federal agencies, nongovernmental
organizations, and PPL Corporation,
which owned the hydroelectric facilities
and three dams at the time of the
Agreement. The specific purpose of the
PRRP is to restore diadromous fish to
the Penobscot River. Diadromous fish
are species that use both marine and
freshwater habitats during their life
cycles. The species can be anadromous
like Atlantic salmon, which are born
and grow in freshwater, migrate out to
sea to finish growing, and migrate back
to freshwater, and for many species
their natal river, to spawn. The species
can also be catadromous like American
eel, which are born and grow at sea,
migrate to freshwater rivers, ponds, and
lakes where they finish growing, and
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 150 / Friday, August 3, 2012 / Notices
TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
migrate back to their natal area at sea to
spawn. Diadromous fish are one of the
Service’s trust resources for which the
Service has been given specific
responsibilities under Federal law. The
Service’s trust resources include
migratory birds, interjurisdictional
fishes (fish species that may cross State
lines and include diadromous fish),
federally listed threatened or
endangered species, some marine
mammals, and lands owned by the
Service such as National Wildlife
Refuges. The PRRP is consistent with
the Service’s mission to conserve trust
resources. Therefore, the Service
intends to assist in funding the PRRP
through a variety of administrative
mechanisms.
The FEA evaluates five alternatives,
including the no action alternative.
Details of these alternatives and their
environmental effects are described in
the FEA. The Service intends to approve
grants, cooperative agreements,
memoranda of agreement or
understanding, or other administrative
mechanisms to assist with funding the
PRRP. Those future Federal actions
trigger the need for compliance with
NEPA. Based on its review, the Service
finds that the FEA adequately addresses
appropriate alternatives and their
environmental effects and accurately
describes the future actions that the
Service may fund. The Service finds,
therefore, that the FEA meets the
Department’s and the Service’s NEPA
procedures and guidelines and is
appropriate for adoption.
gov at Docket No. FWS–R5–ES–2012–
0046, or by appointment, during normal
business hours, at the Service’s Maine
Field Office (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). You may obtain
copies of the notice on the Internet at
https://www.regulations.gov at Docket
No. FWS–R5–ES–2012–0046, or by mail
from the Service’s Maine Field Office
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Public Comments
The Service invites the public to
comment on the Service adopting the
FEA in order to comply with NEPA in
association with future decisions to
fund the PRRP (see DATES). You may
submit your comments and materials
concerning the notice by one of the
methods listed in ADDRESSES. We
request that you send comments only by
the methods described in ADDRESSES.
If you submit a comment via https://
www.regulations.gov, your entire
comment—including any personal
identifying information—will be posted
on the Web site. We will post all
hardcopy comments on https://www.
regulations.gov as well. If you submit a
hardcopy comment that includes
personal identifying information, you
may request at the top of your document
that we withhold this information from
public review. However, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Comments and materials we receive,
as well as documents associated with
the notice, will be available for public
inspection on https://www.regulations.
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
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Conclusion
Based on the information summarized
above, the Service intends to adopt the
Commission’s FEA to fully comply with
the regulations for implementing NEPA
for Federal funding decisions the
Service may make in the future. After
the close of the comment period, the
Service anticipates issuing a Finding of
No Significant Impact (FONSI) in
conjunction with adopting the FEA. The
FONSI will be available on the Internet
at https://www.regulations.gov at Docket
Number FWS–R5–ES–2012–0046, and
at https://www.fws.gov/mainefieldoffice/
index.html (Service’s Maine Field Office
Web site), or may be obtained by mail
from the Service’s Maine Field Office
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authority
This notice is provided pursuant to
NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.3 and
1506.6).
Dated: July 17, 2012.
Henry Chang,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2012–18978 Filed 8–2–12; 8:45 am]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–HQ–IA–2012–N189;
FXIA16710900000P5–123–FF09A30000]
Endangered Species; Marine
Mammals; Receipt of Applications for
Permit
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of applications
for permit.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, invite the public to
comment on the following applications
to conduct certain activities with
endangered species, marine mammals,
or both. With some exceptions, the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) and
Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA) prohibit activities with listed
species unless Federal authorization is
acquired that allows such activities.
SUMMARY:
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Sfmt 4703
We must receive comments or
requests for documents on or before
September 4, 2012. We must receive
requests for marine mammal permit
public hearings, in writing, at the
address shown in the ADDRESSES section
by September 4, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Brenda Tapia, Division of
Management Authority, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax
Drive, Room 212, Arlington, VA 22203;
fax (703) 358–2280; or email
DMAFR@fws.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brenda Tapia, (703) 358–2104
(telephone); (703) 358–2280 (fax);
DMAFR@fws.gov (email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DATES:
I. Public Comment Procedures
A. How do I request copies of
applications or comment on submitted
applications?
Send your request for copies of
applications or comments and materials
concerning any of the applications to
the contact listed under ADDRESSES.
Please include the Federal Register
notice publication date, the PRTnumber, and the name of the applicant
in your request or submission. We will
not consider requests or comments sent
to an email or address not listed under
ADDRESSES. If you provide an email
address in your request for copies of
applications, we will attempt to respond
to your request electronically.
Please make your requests or
comments as specific as possible. Please
confine your comments to issues for
which we seek comments in this notice,
and explain the basis for your
comments. Include sufficient
information with your comments to
allow us to authenticate any scientific or
commercial data you include.
The comments and recommendations
that will be most useful and likely to
influence agency decisions are: (1)
Those supported by quantitative
information or studies; and (2) Those
that include citations to, and analyses
of, the applicable laws and regulations.
We will not consider or include in our
administrative record comments we
receive after the close of the comment
period (see DATES) or comments
delivered to an address other than those
listed above (see ADDRESSES).
B. May I review comments submitted by
others?
Comments, including names and
street addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the street
address listed under ADDRESSES. The
public may review documents and other
information applicants have sent in
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 150 (Friday, August 3, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46512-46514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18978]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R5-ES-2012-N098; FXHC1122055COM0Z5--123--FF05E00000]
Adoption and Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental
Assessment for the Penobscot River Restoration Project
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) hereby gives
notice of
[[Page 46513]]
its intent to adopt the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's
(Commission) existing Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) for the
Application for Surrender of License of the Veazie, Great Works, and
Howland Projects.
The FEA, issued on May 18, 2010, evaluates the environmental
impacts that would result from the Commission approving the
applications for license surrender. The Penobscot River Restoration
Project (PRRP) seeks to restore diadromous fish to the Penobscot River
and key tributaries in accordance with the Lower Penobscot River Basin
Comprehensive Settlement Agreement (Agreement), to which the U.S.
Department of the Interior (Department) is a signatory. The Service
intends to approve mechanisms to assist with funding the PRRP because
it will provide substantial benefits for diadromous fish. Based on the
Service's independent evaluation, adoption of the FEA would meet the
Department's and the Service's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
procedures and guidelines, as the Service is funding the precise
actions, the effects of which have already been analyzed by the
Commission. As part of that process, the Service is recirculating the
FEA as its final Environmental Assessment in accordance with the
Service's adoption requirements.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before
August 20, 2012. Comments submitted electronically using the Federal
eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES section, below) must be received by
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.
ADDRESSES: Document availability: You may obtain copies of the notice
and the FEA on the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov at Docket
Number FWS-R5-ES-2012-0046, or at https://www.fws.gov/mainefieldoffice/ (Web site for the Service's Field Office in Maine, or by
mail from the Service's Maine Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT). The full administrative record is available though the
Commission's eLibrary at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/eLibrary.asp.
To use eLibrary, enter the docket number (either P-2403, P-2312, or P-
2721) to access the document. For assistance, contact the Commission's
online support toll free at (866) 208-3676, or TTY at (866) 208-3372.
Comment submission: You may submit written comments by one of the
following methods:
Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R5-ES-2012-0046,
which is the docket number for this notice. Then, on the left side of
the screen, under the Document Type heading, click on the Notices link
to locate this document and submit a comment.
By compact disk (CD) or hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-
delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R5-ES-2012-0046;
Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
We request that you send comments only by the methods described
above. We will post all information received on https://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us (see the Public Comments section
below for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Shepard, Maine Field Office, by
mail at 17 Godfrey Drive, Suite 2, Orono Maine 04473; by
telephone at (207) 866-3344, extension 116; or by electronic mail at
steve_shepard@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Service hereby gives notice of its
intent to adopt the Commission's existing FEA for the Application for
Surrender of License of the Veazie, Great Works, and Howland Projects
(FERC Project Nos. 2403, 2312 and 2721, respectively) (Project). The
FEA, issued on May 18, 2010, evaluates the environmental impacts that
would result from the Commission approving the applications for license
surrender for the Veazie, Great Works, and Howlands hydroelectric
projects. The FEA makes it clear that surrender of the licenses would
lead to removal of Veazie and Great Works Dams and construction of a
nature-like fish bypass around the Howland Dam, which are key elements
of the PRRP. The dams are located in the towns of Veazie, Old Town, and
Howland in Penobscot County, Maine.
The PRRP seeks to restore diadromous fish to the Penobscot River
and key tributaries in accordance with the Lower Penobscot River Basin
Comprehensive Settlement Agreement (Agreement), to which the Department
is a signatory. The Service intends to approve grants, cooperative
agreements, memoranda of agreement or understanding, or other
administrative mechanisms to assist with funding the PRRP because the
project will provide substantial benefits for diadromous fish.
The May 2010 FEA assessed the environmental effects of five
alternatives of the PRRP: (1) No action; (2) the proposed action (the
removal of the Veazie and Great Works Dams and the construction of a
nature-like fish bypass at the Howland Dam); (3) the removal of all
three dams; (4) the removal of the Veazie and Great Works Dams and
surrender in place at the Howland Project; and (5) the surrender in
place of all three projects. The Service commented on the draft FEA and
is satisfied that all of its comments have been adequately addressed by
the Commission in the FEA. Based on its review, the Service finds that
the FEA would satisfy the Department's and the Service's NEPA
compliance requirements with respect to the Service's decision to
provide funds for the PRRP. Therefore, by this notice, the Service is
recirculating the FEA for written public comment to meet its NEPA (40
CFR 1506.3 and 1506.6) requirements for the approval of future
administrative mechanisms or funds in support of the PRRP. The Service
encourages interested persons to review the FEA and submit written
comments.
Availability of Documents
Those who do not have access to the Web site or cannot visit our
office can request copies by telephone at (207) 866-3344 or by letter
to the Maine Field Office (see ADDRESSES).
Location
The dams are located in the towns of Veazie, Old Town, and Howland
in Penobscot County, Maine. They are currently operated as
hydroelectric facilities under a Federal license with the Commission.
Background
The Commission's FEA was based on license applications from the
Penobscot River Restoration Trust, a not-for-profit organization
founded to implement the PRRP on behalf of the parties involved in the
Agreement. The Service is a party to the Agreement, along with other
State and Federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and PPL
Corporation, which owned the hydroelectric facilities and three dams at
the time of the Agreement. The specific purpose of the PRRP is to
restore diadromous fish to the Penobscot River. Diadromous fish are
species that use both marine and freshwater habitats during their life
cycles. The species can be anadromous like Atlantic salmon, which are
born and grow in freshwater, migrate out to sea to finish growing, and
migrate back to freshwater, and for many species their natal river, to
spawn. The species can also be catadromous like American eel, which are
born and grow at sea, migrate to freshwater rivers, ponds, and lakes
where they finish growing, and
[[Page 46514]]
migrate back to their natal area at sea to spawn. Diadromous fish are
one of the Service's trust resources for which the Service has been
given specific responsibilities under Federal law. The Service's trust
resources include migratory birds, interjurisdictional fishes (fish
species that may cross State lines and include diadromous fish),
federally listed threatened or endangered species, some marine mammals,
and lands owned by the Service such as National Wildlife Refuges. The
PRRP is consistent with the Service's mission to conserve trust
resources. Therefore, the Service intends to assist in funding the PRRP
through a variety of administrative mechanisms.
The FEA evaluates five alternatives, including the no action
alternative. Details of these alternatives and their environmental
effects are described in the FEA. The Service intends to approve
grants, cooperative agreements, memoranda of agreement or
understanding, or other administrative mechanisms to assist with
funding the PRRP. Those future Federal actions trigger the need for
compliance with NEPA. Based on its review, the Service finds that the
FEA adequately addresses appropriate alternatives and their
environmental effects and accurately describes the future actions that
the Service may fund. The Service finds, therefore, that the FEA meets
the Department's and the Service's NEPA procedures and guidelines and
is appropriate for adoption.
Public Comments
The Service invites the public to comment on the Service adopting
the FEA in order to comply with NEPA in association with future
decisions to fund the PRRP (see DATES). You may submit your comments
and materials concerning the notice by one of the methods listed in
ADDRESSES. We request that you send comments only by the methods
described in ADDRESSES.
If you submit a comment via https://www.regulations.gov, your entire
comment--including any personal identifying information--will be posted
on the Web site. We will post all hardcopy comments on https://www.regulations.gov as well. If you submit a hardcopy comment that
includes personal identifying information, you may request at the top
of your document that we withhold this information from public review.
However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as documents associated
with the notice, will be available for public inspection on https://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R5-ES-2012-0046, or by
appointment, during normal business hours, at the Service's Maine Field
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may obtain copies of
the notice on the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov at Docket No.
FWS-R5-ES-2012-0046, or by mail from the Service's Maine Field Office
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Conclusion
Based on the information summarized above, the Service intends to
adopt the Commission's FEA to fully comply with the regulations for
implementing NEPA for Federal funding decisions the Service may make in
the future. After the close of the comment period, the Service
anticipates issuing a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) in
conjunction with adopting the FEA. The FONSI will be available on the
Internet at https://www.regulations.gov at Docket Number FWS-R5-ES-2012-
0046, and at https://www.fws.gov/mainefieldoffice/ (Service's
Maine Field Office Web site), or may be obtained by mail from the
Service's Maine Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authority
This notice is provided pursuant to NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.3
and 1506.6).
Dated: July 17, 2012.
Henry Chang,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-18978 Filed 8-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
