Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Habitat Conservation Plan; CEMEX Balcones Quarry Northeast Area in Comal County, Texas, 27349-27350 [2015-11521]

Agencies

• Fish and Wildlife Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 92 (Wednesday, May 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27349-27350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11521]



[[Page 27349]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-ES-2015-N065; FXES11120200000-156-FF02ENEH00]


Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Habitat Conservation 
Plan; CEMEX Balcones Quarry Northeast Area in Comal County, Texas

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), make 
available the draft Environmental Assessment (dEA) for the draft CEMEX 
Balcones Quarry Northeast Area Habitat Conservation Plan (CEMEX dHCP) 
and the CEMEX dHCP. CEMEX Construction Materials South, LLC 
(Applicant), has applied to the Service for an incidental take permit 
(ITP) under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 
1973, as amended. The requested permit, which would be in effect for a 
period of 15 years, if granted, would authorize incidental take of the 
federally listed golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia, GCWA). 
The proposed take would occur on 199.4 acres (Permit Area) within the 
CEMEX Balcones Quarry Northeast Area tract in Comal County, Texas, as a 
result of activities associated with the Applicant's proposed clearing 
and implementation of quarrying activities (Covered Activities).

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received or 
postmarked on or before July 13, 2015.

ADDRESSES: 
    Availability of Documents:
    Internet: You may obtain copies of all of the documents on the 
Internet at the Service's Web site at https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/AustinTexas/.
    U.S. Mail: A limited number of CD-ROM and printed copies of the 
draft EA and draft HCP are available, by request, from Mr. Adam 
Zerrenner, Austin Ecological Services Field Office, 10711 Burnet Road, 
Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758-4460; telephone 512-490-0057; fax 512-490-
0974. Please note that your request is in reference to the CEMEX dHCP.
    The ITP application is available by mail from the Regional 
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 1306, Room 6034, 
Albuquerque, NM 87103.
     In-Person: Copies of the dEA and dHCP are also available 
for public inspection and review at the following locations, by 
appointment and written request only, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.:
    [cir] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 500 Gold Avenue SW., Room 
6034, Albuquerque, NM 87102.
    [cir] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200, 
Austin, TX 78758.
    Comment submission: You may submit written comments by one of the 
following methods:
     Electronically: Submit electronic comments to 
FW2_AUES_Consult@fws.gov. Please note that your request is in reference 
to the CEMEX dHCP.
     By hard copy: Mr. Adam Zerrenner, Austin Ecological 
Services Field Office, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758-
4460; telephone 512-490-0057; fax 512-490-0974. Please note that your 
request is in reference to the CEMEX dHCP.
    Please refer to permit number TE58612B when submitting comments. We 
request that you send comments by only the methods described above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Zerrenner, Field Supervisor, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200, Austin, TX 
78758 or (512) 490-0057.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, make 
available the draft Environmental Assessment (dEA) for the CEMEX 
Balcones Quarry Northeast Area Habitat Conservation Plan (CEMEX dHCP) 
and the dHCP. In accordance with the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), we 
advise the public that:
    1. We have gathered the information necessary to determine impacts 
and formulate alternatives for the dEA related to potential issuance of 
an ITP to the Applicant; and
    2. The Applicant has developed a dHCP as part of the application 
for an ITP, which describes the measures the Applicant has agreed to 
take to minimize and mitigate the effects of incidental take of GCWAs 
to the maximum extent practicable pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of 
the Act.
    The applicant has applied for an ITP that would be in effect for 15 
years, if granted, and would authorize incidental take of the federally 
endangered GCWA. As described in the dHCP, the proposed incidental take 
would occur on 199.4 acres in Comal County, Texas, and would result 
from activities associated with otherwise lawful activities, including 
the clearing and implementation of quarrying activities (Covered 
Activities). The dEA considers the direct, indirect, and cumulative 
effects of implementation of the dHCP, including the measures that will 
be implemented to minimize and mitigate, to the maximum extent 
practicable, the impacts of the incidental take of the GCWA.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action involves the issuance of an ITP by the Service 
for the Covered Activities in the Permit Area, pursuant to section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. The ITP would cover ``take'' of the GCWA 
associated with the clearing and implementation of quarrying activities 
within the Permit Area.
    The requested term of the permit is 15 years. To meet the 
requirements of a section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP, the Applicant has developed 
and proposes to implement its dHCP, which describes the conservation 
measures the Applicant has agreed to undertake to minimize and mitigate 
for the impacts of the proposed incidental take of the GCWA to the 
maximum extent practicable, and ensures that incidental take will not 
appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the 
species in the wild.
    The Applicant proposes to mitigate with the purchase of 147.44 
acres of high-quality habitat, likely from a Service-approved 
conservation bank with Comal County in its service area.

Alternatives

    The only alternative to the proposed action we are considering as 
part of this process is the No Action alternative, in which no ITP 
would be issued. Under a No Action alternative, the Service would not 
issue the requested ITP for the CEMEX Balcones Northeast Area Tract, 
and, therefore, the Applicant would not implement the conservation 
measures described in the dHCP.

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. 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

[[Page 27350]]

made available for public disclosure in their entirety.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Act and its 
implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32) and NEPA and its 
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: April 16, 2015.
Joy E. Nicholopoulos,
Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2015-11521 Filed 5-12-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-55-P