Otay River Estuary Restoration Project, South San Diego Bay Unit of the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California; Record of Decision, 54771-54772 [2018-23823]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 211 / Wednesday, October 31, 2018 / Notices
Verdes and was a compromise of
Alternative A and B. The preserve size
under Alternative C is slightly larger
than that under the Proposed Action
(Alternative D), but the total amount of
coastal sage scrub habitat under
Alternative C is slightly lower than that
in the Proposed Action (Alternative D).
The Proposed Action (Alternative D)
is the same as Alternative C, with the
following exceptions: (1) A 27.0-acre
parcel in the Upper Filiorum property
has been removed from the preserve and
is now identified as a covered project,
including the associated dedication of
30 acres of functional and connected
habitat; (2) 40.0 acres of a former
archery range property have been
removed from the preserve due to
landslide and legal constraints; and (3)
61.5 acres of Malaga Canyon have been
purchased by the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes and have been incorporated into
the preserve. The preserve in
Alternative D totals 1,402.4 acres.
Request for Comments
Consistent with section 10(c) of the
ESA, we invite your submission of
written comments, data, or arguments
with respect to the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes’ permit application, the City of
RPV NCCP/HCP, and proposed
permitting decision.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES1
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 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. 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.
Next Steps
Issuance of an incidental take permit
is a Federal proposed action subject to
compliance with NEPA. We will
evaluate the application, associated
documents, and any public comments
we receive to determine whether the
application meets the requirements of
section 10(a) of the ESA. If we
determine that those requirements are
met, we will issue a permit to the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:06 Oct 30, 2018
Jkt 247001
applicant for the incidental take of the
covered species. We will make our final
permit decision no sooner than 60 days
after the public comment period closes.
Authority
We provide this notice under section
10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
and its implementing regulations (50
CFR 17.22 and 17.32) and NEPA (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its
implementing regulations (40 CFR
1506.6).
Scott Sobiech,
Acting Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and
Wildlife Office, Carlsbad, California.
[FR Doc. 2018–23762 Filed 10–30–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R8–R–2018–N122; FF08RSDC00–
190–F1611MD–FXRS12610800000]
Otay River Estuary Restoration
Project, South San Diego Bay Unit of
the San Diego Bay National Wildlife
Refuge, California; Record of Decision
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; record of
decision.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of the record of decision
(ROD) for the San Diego Bay National
Wildlife Refuge—Otay River Estuary
Restoration Project final environmental
impact statement (EIS). The ROD
explains that, of the three alternatives
examined in the final EIS, the chosen
alternative is the environmentally
preferred alternative.
ADDRESSES: Document Availability: The
ROD is available at:
• Internet: https://www.fws.gov/
refuge/San_Diego_Bay/what_we_do/
Resource_Management/Otay_
Restoration.html.
• In Person:
o San Diego National Wildlife Refuge
Complex Headquarters, 1080
Gunpowder Point Drive, Chula Vista,
CA 91910; telephone: 619–476–9150,
extension 103.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brian Collins, Refuge Manager, San
Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge at
619–575–2704, extension 302
(telephone) or brian_collins@fws.gov
(email); or Andy Yuen, Project Leader,
619–476–9150, extension 100
(telephone), or andy_yuen@fws.gov
(email).
SUMMARY:
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54771
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In 2006, we completed the San Diego
Bay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR)
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
(CCP) and final EIS/ROD to guide the
management of the San Diego Bay NWR
over a 15-year period (71 FR 64552,
November 2, 2006). The wildlife and
habitat management goal of the selected
management alternative in the CCP for
the South San Diego Bay Unit is to
‘‘Protect, manage, enhance, and restore
. . . coastal wetlands . . . to benefit the
native fish, wildlife, and plant species
supported within the South San Diego
Bay Unit.’’ One of the strategies
identified to meet this goal is to restore
native habitats in the Otay River
floodplain and the salt ponds.
On September 29, 2010, the San Diego
NWR Complex and Poseidon Resources
(Channelside) LP (Poseidon) entered
into a memorandum of understanding to
establish a partnership to facilitate the
restoration of property within the San
Diego Bay NWR, consistent with the
CCP and Poseidon’s restoration
requirements from the California Coastal
Commission (Commission) in an
approved coastal development permit
(CDP No. E–06–013) related to the
construction and operation of a
desalination plant in Carlsbad,
California.
We published a notice of intent (NOI)
to prepare an EIS for the Otay River
Estuary Restoration Project on
November 14, 2011 (76 FR 70480),
followed by a second NOI on January 8,
2013 (78 FR 1246), when the project was
expanded to include the restoration of
Pond 15. We published a notice of
availability (NOA) of the draft EIS for
the project on October 21, 2016 (81 FR
72817), and an NOA of the final EIS on
May 18, 2018 (83 FR 23289).
Project
The project site is located at the south
end of San Diego Bay, San Diego
County, California, within the South
San Diego Bay Unit of the San Diego
Bay NWR. Restoration activities will
occur at two separate locations within
the Refuge: The 34-acre Otay River
Floodplain Site, located to the west of
Interstate 5 between Main Street to the
north and Palm Avenue to the south in
the City of San Diego, and the 91-acre
Pond 15 Site, an active solar salt pond,
located in the northeastern portion of
the Refuge to the northwest of the
intersection of Bay Boulevard and
Palomar Street in the City of Chula
Vista.
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54772
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 211 / Wednesday, October 31, 2018 / Notices
Alternatives
We analyzed three alternatives in the
final EIS, including the no action
alternative and two action alternatives,
for restoring the two areas on the San
Diego Bay NWR that comprise the
restoration project. In addition to a noaction alternative, the action
alternatives include an intertidal
alternative and a subtidal alternative.
Alternative B: Intertidal Alternative
(Selected Alternative)
The Intertidal Alternative (Alternative
B) proposes to lower the elevation and
re-contour the Otay River Floodplain
Site to create approximately 30 acres of
tidally influenced habitat consisting of
approximately 5 acres of intertidal
mudflat and 25 acres of intertidal salt
marsh habitat, 1 acre of transitional
habitat and high tide refugia, and 4
acres of upland habitat.
Approximately 320,000 cubic yards of
soil would be excavated from the Otay
River Floodplain Site to achieve
elevations suitable for sustaining
intertidal wetlands. The majority of the
excavated material, approximately
260,000 cubic yards, would be
transported to Pond 15 to be beneficially
used as fill within the Pond 15 Site, as
well as to reinforce existing levees
around the pond. Pond 15 would be
filled and contoured to achieve
elevations required to support
approximately 10 acres of subtidal
habitat, 18 acres of intertidal mudflat,
57 acres of intertidal salt marsh habitat,
1.6 acres of transitional habitat and high
tide refugia, and 4 acres of upland
habitat.
The combination of the wetlands
created at the Otay River Floodplain
Site and Pond 15 Site under this
alternative would be consistent with the
intent of the CCP and would provide
sufficient mitigation credit to meet
Poseidon’s Coastal Development Permit
requirements.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES1
Alternative C: Subtidal Alternative
The Subtidal Alternative (Alternative
C), which would include a subtidal
channel within the Otay River
Floodplain Site, would result in the
restoration of approximately 4.5 acres of
subtidal habitat, 6.5 acres of intertidal
mudflat, 18 acres of intertidal salt marsh
habitat, and 4 acres of upland habitat.
Within the Pond 15 Site, tidally
influenced habitat would be similar to
that proposed under Alternative B, with
approximately 10 acres of subtidal
habitat, 16 acres of intertidal mudflat,
59 acres of intertidal salt marsh, 2 acres
of high-tide refugia, and 4 acres of
upland habitat.
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18:06 Oct 30, 2018
Jkt 247001
Implementation of this alternative
would involve the excavation of
approximately 370,000 cubic yards of
material from the Otay River Site, of
which approximately 310,000 cubic
yards of this material would be
transported to the Pond 15 Site for
beneficial use in creating tidal
elevations that would support the
desired intertidal habitats and
improving levees to separate Pond 15
from the remaining active solar salt
operation.
The combination of the wetlands
created at the Otay River Floodplain
Site and Pond 15 Site under this
alternative would also provide sufficient
mitigation credit to meet the
Commission’s permit requirements.
Selected Alternative
The ROD identifies the intertidal
alternative (Alternative B) as the
selected alternative. This alternative
was also identified as the
environmentally preferred alternative in
the final EIS. The basis for the decision,
descriptions of the alternatives
considered, an overview of the measures
to be implemented to avoid and
minimize environmental effects, and a
summary of the public involvement
process are provided in the ROD.
Authority
We publish this notice under the
authority of the National Environmental
Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and
the Department of the Interior’s
implementing regulations in title 43 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (43 CFR
part 46).
Jody Holzworth,
Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2018–23823 Filed 10–30–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Geological Survey
[GX14BA02EEW0200; OMB Control Number
1028–0103]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; USA National Phenology
Network—The Nature’s Notebook Plant
and Animal Observing Program
U.S. Geological Survey,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is
proposing to renew an information
collection (IC).
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00072
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before
December 31, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the
information collection request (ICR) by
mail to the U.S. Geological Survey,
Information Collections Clearance
Officer, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS
159, Reston, VA 20192; or by email to
gs-info_collections@usgs.gov. Please
reference OMB Control Number 1028–
0103 in the subject line of your
comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Jake F. Weltzin by
email at jweltzin@usgs.gov, or by
telephone at 520–626–3821.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the
U.S. Geological Survey, in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, provide the general public and
other Federal agencies with an
opportunity to comment on proposed,
revised, and continuing collections of
information. This helps us assess the
impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public’s
reporting burden. It also helps the
public understand our information
collection requirements and provide the
requested data in the desired format.
We are soliciting comments on the
proposed ICR that is described below.
We are especially interested in public
comment addressing the following
issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to
the proper functions of the USGS; (2)
will this information be processed and
used in a timely manner; (3) is the
estimate of burden accurate; (4) how
might the USGS enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (5) how might the
USGS minimize the burden of this
collection on the respondents, including
through the use of information
technology.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or
summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. 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 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.
Abstract: The USA–NPN is a program
sponsored by the USGS that uses
standardized forms for tracking plant
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\31OCN1.SGM
31OCN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 211 (Wednesday, October 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54771-54772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23823]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-R-2018-N122; FF08RSDC00-190-F1611MD-FXRS12610800000]
Otay River Estuary Restoration Project, South San Diego Bay Unit
of the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California; Record of
Decision
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; record of decision.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of the record of decision (ROD) for the San Diego Bay
National Wildlife Refuge--Otay River Estuary Restoration Project final
environmental impact statement (EIS). The ROD explains that, of the
three alternatives examined in the final EIS, the chosen alternative is
the environmentally preferred alternative.
ADDRESSES: Document Availability: The ROD is available at:
Internet: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/San_Diego_Bay/what_we_do/Resource_Management/Otay_Restoration.html.
In Person:
o San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex Headquarters, 1080
Gunpowder Point Drive, Chula Vista, CA 91910; telephone: 619-476-9150,
extension 103.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Collins, Refuge Manager, San
Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge at 619-575-2704, extension 302
(telephone) or [email protected] (email); or Andy Yuen, Project
Leader, 619-476-9150, extension 100 (telephone), or [email protected]
(email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In 2006, we completed the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge
(NWR) Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and final EIS/ROD to guide
the management of the San Diego Bay NWR over a 15-year period (71 FR
64552, November 2, 2006). The wildlife and habitat management goal of
the selected management alternative in the CCP for the South San Diego
Bay Unit is to ``Protect, manage, enhance, and restore . . . coastal
wetlands . . . to benefit the native fish, wildlife, and plant species
supported within the South San Diego Bay Unit.'' One of the strategies
identified to meet this goal is to restore native habitats in the Otay
River floodplain and the salt ponds.
On September 29, 2010, the San Diego NWR Complex and Poseidon
Resources (Channelside) LP (Poseidon) entered into a memorandum of
understanding to establish a partnership to facilitate the restoration
of property within the San Diego Bay NWR, consistent with the CCP and
Poseidon's restoration requirements from the California Coastal
Commission (Commission) in an approved coastal development permit (CDP
No. E-06-013) related to the construction and operation of a
desalination plant in Carlsbad, California.
We published a notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS for the
Otay River Estuary Restoration Project on November 14, 2011 (76 FR
70480), followed by a second NOI on January 8, 2013 (78 FR 1246), when
the project was expanded to include the restoration of Pond 15. We
published a notice of availability (NOA) of the draft EIS for the
project on October 21, 2016 (81 FR 72817), and an NOA of the final EIS
on May 18, 2018 (83 FR 23289).
Project
The project site is located at the south end of San Diego Bay, San
Diego County, California, within the South San Diego Bay Unit of the
San Diego Bay NWR. Restoration activities will occur at two separate
locations within the Refuge: The 34-acre Otay River Floodplain Site,
located to the west of Interstate 5 between Main Street to the north
and Palm Avenue to the south in the City of San Diego, and the 91-acre
Pond 15 Site, an active solar salt pond, located in the northeastern
portion of the Refuge to the northwest of the intersection of Bay
Boulevard and Palomar Street in the City of Chula Vista.
[[Page 54772]]
Alternatives
We analyzed three alternatives in the final EIS, including the no
action alternative and two action alternatives, for restoring the two
areas on the San Diego Bay NWR that comprise the restoration project.
In addition to a no-action alternative, the action alternatives include
an intertidal alternative and a subtidal alternative.
Alternative B: Intertidal Alternative (Selected Alternative)
The Intertidal Alternative (Alternative B) proposes to lower the
elevation and re-contour the Otay River Floodplain Site to create
approximately 30 acres of tidally influenced habitat consisting of
approximately 5 acres of intertidal mudflat and 25 acres of intertidal
salt marsh habitat, 1 acre of transitional habitat and high tide
refugia, and 4 acres of upland habitat.
Approximately 320,000 cubic yards of soil would be excavated from
the Otay River Floodplain Site to achieve elevations suitable for
sustaining intertidal wetlands. The majority of the excavated material,
approximately 260,000 cubic yards, would be transported to Pond 15 to
be beneficially used as fill within the Pond 15 Site, as well as to
reinforce existing levees around the pond. Pond 15 would be filled and
contoured to achieve elevations required to support approximately 10
acres of subtidal habitat, 18 acres of intertidal mudflat, 57 acres of
intertidal salt marsh habitat, 1.6 acres of transitional habitat and
high tide refugia, and 4 acres of upland habitat.
The combination of the wetlands created at the Otay River
Floodplain Site and Pond 15 Site under this alternative would be
consistent with the intent of the CCP and would provide sufficient
mitigation credit to meet Poseidon's Coastal Development Permit
requirements.
Alternative C: Subtidal Alternative
The Subtidal Alternative (Alternative C), which would include a
subtidal channel within the Otay River Floodplain Site, would result in
the restoration of approximately 4.5 acres of subtidal habitat, 6.5
acres of intertidal mudflat, 18 acres of intertidal salt marsh habitat,
and 4 acres of upland habitat. Within the Pond 15 Site, tidally
influenced habitat would be similar to that proposed under Alternative
B, with approximately 10 acres of subtidal habitat, 16 acres of
intertidal mudflat, 59 acres of intertidal salt marsh, 2 acres of high-
tide refugia, and 4 acres of upland habitat.
Implementation of this alternative would involve the excavation of
approximately 370,000 cubic yards of material from the Otay River Site,
of which approximately 310,000 cubic yards of this material would be
transported to the Pond 15 Site for beneficial use in creating tidal
elevations that would support the desired intertidal habitats and
improving levees to separate Pond 15 from the remaining active solar
salt operation.
The combination of the wetlands created at the Otay River
Floodplain Site and Pond 15 Site under this alternative would also
provide sufficient mitigation credit to meet the Commission's permit
requirements.
Selected Alternative
The ROD identifies the intertidal alternative (Alternative B) as
the selected alternative. This alternative was also identified as the
environmentally preferred alternative in the final EIS. The basis for
the decision, descriptions of the alternatives considered, an overview
of the measures to be implemented to avoid and minimize environmental
effects, and a summary of the public involvement process are provided
in the ROD.
Authority
We publish this notice under the authority of the National
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and the Department of
the Interior's implementing regulations in title 43 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (43 CFR part 46).
Jody Holzworth,
Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2018-23823 Filed 10-30-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
