Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish, 53114-53115 [2019-21608]
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53114
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 193 / Friday, October 4, 2019 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XR053
Endangered and Threatened Species;
Take of Anadromous Fish
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
NMFS advises interested
parties that the Deschutes Basin Board
of Control (DBBC) and the City of
Prineville, Oregon (applicants) applied
for an incidental take permit, pursuant
to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of
1973, as amended. The DBBC is
composed of eight irrigation districts
including Arnold, Swalley, Central
Oregon, Tumalo, Lone Pine, Three
Sisters, Ochoco and North Unit. The
permit, if issued, would authorize take
of five species under NMFS and U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
jurisdiction. These species are the
federally listed Middle Columbia River
steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), nonlisted spring-run Chinook salmon
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and nonlisted sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus
nerka), species under NMFS
jurisdiction; and the federally listed bull
trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and
federally listed Oregon spotted frog
(Rana pretiosa), species under USFWS
jurisdiction. The permit application
addresses incidental take related to
irrigation activity including the storage,
release, diversion and return of water by
the DBBC districts; and groundwater
withdrawals and effluent discharge by
the City of Prineville. The applicants
developed the proposed Deschutes
Basin Habitat Conservation Plan
(DBHCP) in support of their application
and have requested a permit term of 30
years. The USFWS prepared a draft
environmental impact statement (EIS) in
compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
NMFS is a cooperating agency under
NEPA for this action. NMFS is
furnishing this notice in order to allow
the public and other agencies an
opportunity to review and comment on
the proposed DBHCP and the USFWS’
EIS.
DATES: Comments must be received at
the appropriate address (see ADDRESSES)
no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on
November 18, 2019. Comments received
after this date may not be accepted.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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16:49 Oct 03, 2019
Jkt 250001
Public Meetings: During the open
comment period, the USFWS will host
two public meetings at the following
times and locations:
• October 15, 2019, from 6 p.m. to 8
p.m., Mount Bachelor Village Resort and
Event Center, 19717 Mt. Bachelor Drive,
Bend, Oregon 97702.
• October 16, 2019, from 6 p.m. to 8
p.m., Carey Foster Hall, Crook County
Fairgrounds, 1280 Main Street,
Prineville, Oregon 97754.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the proposed
DBHCP are available for public
inspection online at https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/
proposed-deschutes-basin-habitatconservation-plan. The draft EIS (and
the proposed DBHCP) can be viewed
online at https://www.regulations.gov,
Docket No. FWS–R1–ES–2019–0091.
The draft EIS and proposed DBHCP are
also available at https://www.fws.gov/
Oregonfwo/articles.cfm?id=149489716.
You may submit comments by the
following methods:
• Electronic Submission: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow
instructions for submitting comments
on Docket No. FWS–R1–ES–2019–0091.
• Public Meetings: The USFWS will
provide computers at the public
meetings (see DATES) to allow attendees
to submit comments.
• Hard Copy: Submit by U.S. mail or
hand delivery to Public Comments
Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R1–
ES–2019–0091, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: JAO/
1N, Falls Church, VA 22041–3803.
Instructions: Comments sent by any
other method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of
the comment period, may not be
considered by NMFS. All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change.
All personal identifying information
(e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential
business information, or otherwise
sensitive information submitted
voluntarily by the sender will be
publicly accessible. NMFS will accept
anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in
the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Scott Carlon, NMFS (503) 231–2379 or
by email at scott.carlon@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Statutory Authority
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the
taking of any listed species. The
definition of ‘‘take’’ under the ESA (16
U.S.C. 1532(19)) includes to harass,
harm, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
capture, collect, or attempt to engage in
any such conduct. NMFS may issue
permits, under limited circumstances to
take listed species incidental to, and not
the purpose of, otherwise lawful
activity. Section 10(a) of the ESA and
implementing regulations specify
requirements for the issuance of
incidental take permits (ITP) to nonFederal entities for the take of
endangered and threatened species.
NMFS regulations governing permits for
threatened and endangered species are
at 50 CFR 222.307. Any proposed take
must be incidental to otherwise lawful
activities, not appreciably reduce the
likelihood of the survival and recovery
of the species in the wild, and minimize
and mitigate the impacts of such take to
the maximum extent practicable. In
addition, the applicant must prepare an
habitat conservation plan describing the
impact that will likely result from such
taking, the strategy for minimizing and
mitigating the take, the funding
available to implement such steps,
alternatives to such taking, and the
reason such alternatives are not being
implemented.
Background
The NMFS and USFWS received an
incidental take permit application from
the applicants on August 30, 2019. The
eight DBBC-member districts are quasimunicipal organizations formed and
operated according to Oregon state law
to distribute water to irrigators within
designated geographic boundaries.
Collectively, the districts serve over
7,653 patrons and provide water for
approximately 151,000 acres. The City
of Prineville operates City-owned
infrastructure and provides essential
services to over 9,000 residents
including municipal water supply,
sewage treatment and public safety.
The application included the
proposed DBHCP, which describes how
impacts to steelhead, spring-run
Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, bull
trout and Oregon spotted frog (hereafter
covered species) would be minimized
and mitigated. The proposed DBHCP
also describes the estimated potential
impact on covered species’ populations,
adaptive management, monitoring, and
mitigation measures.
The various activities carried out by
the applicants modify the quantity and
quality of flow in the Deschutes River
and its tributaries through the storage,
release, diversion and return of
irrigation water and the release of
treated municipal sewage. The proposed
DBHCP would modify covered activities
to reduce the negative effects on the
covered species aquatic habitat.
E:\FR\FM\04OCN1.SGM
04OCN1
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 193 / Friday, October 4, 2019 / Notices
Middle Columbia River Steelhead
The Middle Columbia River (MCR)
steelhead covered by the proposed
DBHCP are part of a larger distinct
population segment (DPS). This DPS
was listed under the ESA as threatened
on March 25, 1999 and its status was
reaffirmed on January 5, 2005 (71 FR
834). This DPS includes all naturally
spawned steelhead populations
originating below natural and manmade
impassable barriers from the Columbia
River and its tributaries upstream of the
Wind and Hood Rivers (exclusive) to
and including the Yakima River;
excluding steelhead originating from the
Snake River Basin. This DPS also
includes steelhead from seven artificial
propagation programs.
As a requirement of a new federal
license for the Pelton Round Butte
Hydroelectric Project on the Deschutes
River, Portland General Electric and the
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Spring
Reservation of Oregon initiated
reintroduction of MCR steelhead, nonlisted spring-run Chinook salmon and
non-listed sockeye salmon upstream of
the project. On January 15, 2013, NMFS
designated the reintroduced MCR
steelhead as a nonessential
experimental population. This ruling
alleviates ESA section 9 liabilities for
lawful activities that may result in
incidental take of reintroduced
steelhead. This designation only applies
to steelhead occurring upstream of
Round Butte Dam, steelhead that occur
below this dam retain their status as
threatened. The nonessential
experimental designation is set to expire
on January 15, 2025 and take liabilities
will apply for steelhead occurring
upstream of Round Butte Dam. The
DBHCP is proposed, in part, to mitigate
to the maximum extent practicable the
applicants’ ESA liabilities for otherwise
lawful activities that may result in
incidental take.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Issuing an ESA section 10(a)(1)(B)
permit constitutes a Federal action
requiring compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) as implemented by
40 CFR parts 1500–1508. For this action,
the USFWS is the lead agency under
NEPA. As the lead agency, the USFWS
prepared a draft environmental impact
statement (DEIS) and is accepting
comments on the DEIS at https://
www.regulations.gov, Docket No. FWS–
R1–ES–2019–0091. More information
regarding the DEIS is available at:
https://www.fws.gov/Oregonfwo/
articles.cfm?id=149489716. NMFS is a
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:49 Oct 03, 2019
Jkt 250001
cooperating agency for this action and
proposes to adopt the USFWS’ NEPA
document through its own NEPA
process (40 CFR 1506.3).
meeting via webinar of its Standing,
Reef Fish, Mackerel, and Socioeconomic
Scientific and Statistical Committees
(SSC).
Request for Comments
If you wish to comment on the
proposed DBHCP, you may submit your
comments to the address listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this document.
NMFS requests that comments be
specific. In particular, we request
information regarding: direct, indirect,
and cumulative impacts that
implementation of the proposed DBHCP
or other alternatives could have on MCR
steelhead, spring-run Chinook salmon
and sockeye salmon and their habitat;
potential adaptive management and
monitoring provisions; existing
environmental conditions in the plan
area; other plans or projects that might
be relevant to this proposed project;
permit duration; and minimization and
mitigation efforts.
The meeting will convene via
webinar on Tuesday, October 29, 2019,
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., EDT.
ADDRESSES: You may register for the
webinar by visiting www.gulfcouncil.org
and clicking on the SSC meeting on the
calendar.
Council address: Gulf of Mexico
Fishery Management Council, 4107 W
Spruce Street, Suite 200, Tampa, FL
33607; telephone: (813) 348–1630.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ryan Rindone, Fishery Biologist, Gulf of
Mexico Fishery Management Council;
ryan.rindone@gulfcouncil.org,
telephone: (813) 348–1630.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Tuesday, October 29, 2019; 1 p.m.–4
p.m., EDT
The meeting will begin with
Introductions, Adoption of Agenda, and
review of the Scope of Work. The
Committees will review the NMFS
Report to Congress: Section 201 of the
Modernizing Recreational Fisheries
Management Act of 2018, review A
Practitioner’s Guide to Fisheries Social
Impact Assessment, and will discuss
any other business items.
—Meeting Adjourns
The Agenda is subject to change, and
the latest version along with other
meeting materials will be posted on
www.gulfcouncil.org as they become
available.
Although other non-emergency issues
not on the agenda may come before the
Scientific and Statistical Committee for
discussion, in accordance with the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act,
those issues may not be the subject of
formal action during this meeting.
Actions of the Scientific and Statistical
Committee will be restricted to those
issues specifically identified in the
agenda and any issues arising after
publication of this notice that require
emergency action under section 305(c)
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act,
provided the public has been notified of
the Council’s intent to take action to
address the emergency.
Next Steps
NMFS provides this notice pursuant
to section 10(c) of the ESA. We will
evaluate this permit application,
proposed DBHCDP, associated
documents, and comments submitted
thereon to determine whether the
permit application meets the
requirements of section 10(a) of the
ESA. If NMFS determines that the
requirements are met, a permit will be
issued for incidental take of covered
species. The final permit determinations
will not be made until after the end of
the comment period. NMFS will publish
a record of its final action in the Federal
Register.
Dated: September 30, 2019.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Conservation
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019–21608 Filed 10–3–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
National Environmental Policy Act
Compliance
53115
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0649–XV088
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council; Public Meeting
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of a public meeting.
AGENCY:
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery
Management Council will hold a
SUMMARY:
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DATES:
Special Accommodations
This meeting is physically accessible
to people with disabilities. Requests for
sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to
Kathy Pereira at the Gulf Council Office
(see ADDRESSES), at least 5 working days
prior to the meeting.
E:\FR\FM\04OCN1.SGM
04OCN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 193 (Friday, October 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53114-53115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21608]
[[Page 53114]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XR053
Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS advises interested parties that the Deschutes Basin Board
of Control (DBBC) and the City of Prineville, Oregon (applicants)
applied for an incidental take permit, pursuant to the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. The DBBC is composed of eight
irrigation districts including Arnold, Swalley, Central Oregon, Tumalo,
Lone Pine, Three Sisters, Ochoco and North Unit. The permit, if issued,
would authorize take of five species under NMFS and U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS) jurisdiction. These species are the federally
listed Middle Columbia River steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), non-
listed spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and non-
listed sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), species under NMFS
jurisdiction; and the federally listed bull trout (Salvelinus
confluentus) and federally listed Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa),
species under USFWS jurisdiction. The permit application addresses
incidental take related to irrigation activity including the storage,
release, diversion and return of water by the DBBC districts; and
groundwater withdrawals and effluent discharge by the City of
Prineville. The applicants developed the proposed Deschutes Basin
Habitat Conservation Plan (DBHCP) in support of their application and
have requested a permit term of 30 years. The USFWS prepared a draft
environmental impact statement (EIS) in compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NMFS is a cooperating agency under
NEPA for this action. NMFS is furnishing this notice in order to allow
the public and other agencies an opportunity to review and comment on
the proposed DBHCP and the USFWS' EIS.
DATES: Comments must be received at the appropriate address (see
ADDRESSES) no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on November 18, 2019.
Comments received after this date may not be accepted.
Public Meetings: During the open comment period, the USFWS will
host two public meetings at the following times and locations:
October 15, 2019, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Mount Bachelor
Village Resort and Event Center, 19717 Mt. Bachelor Drive, Bend, Oregon
97702.
October 16, 2019, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Carey Foster
Hall, Crook County Fairgrounds, 1280 Main Street, Prineville, Oregon
97754.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the proposed DBHCP are available for public
inspection online at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/proposed-deschutes-basin-habitat-conservation-plan. The draft EIS (and the
proposed DBHCP) can be viewed online at https://www.regulations.gov,
Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2019-0091. The draft EIS and proposed DBHCP are
also available at https://www.fws.gov/Oregonfwo/articles.cfm?id=149489716.
You may submit comments by the following methods:
Electronic Submission: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2019-0091.
Public Meetings: The USFWS will provide computers at the
public meetings (see DATES) to allow attendees to submit comments.
Hard Copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand delivery to Public
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2019-0091, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: JAO/1N, Falls Church, VA
22041-3803.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Carlon, NMFS (503) 231-2379 or
by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Statutory Authority
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the taking of any listed species.
The definition of ``take'' under the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)) includes
to harass, harm, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, collect, or
attempt to engage in any such conduct. NMFS may issue permits, under
limited circumstances to take listed species incidental to, and not the
purpose of, otherwise lawful activity. Section 10(a) of the ESA and
implementing regulations specify requirements for the issuance of
incidental take permits (ITP) to non-Federal entities for the take of
endangered and threatened species. NMFS regulations governing permits
for threatened and endangered species are at 50 CFR 222.307. Any
proposed take must be incidental to otherwise lawful activities, not
appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the
species in the wild, and minimize and mitigate the impacts of such take
to the maximum extent practicable. In addition, the applicant must
prepare an habitat conservation plan describing the impact that will
likely result from such taking, the strategy for minimizing and
mitigating the take, the funding available to implement such steps,
alternatives to such taking, and the reason such alternatives are not
being implemented.
Background
The NMFS and USFWS received an incidental take permit application
from the applicants on August 30, 2019. The eight DBBC-member districts
are quasi-municipal organizations formed and operated according to
Oregon state law to distribute water to irrigators within designated
geographic boundaries. Collectively, the districts serve over 7,653
patrons and provide water for approximately 151,000 acres. The City of
Prineville operates City-owned infrastructure and provides essential
services to over 9,000 residents including municipal water supply,
sewage treatment and public safety.
The application included the proposed DBHCP, which describes how
impacts to steelhead, spring-run Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, bull
trout and Oregon spotted frog (hereafter covered species) would be
minimized and mitigated. The proposed DBHCP also describes the
estimated potential impact on covered species' populations, adaptive
management, monitoring, and mitigation measures.
The various activities carried out by the applicants modify the
quantity and quality of flow in the Deschutes River and its tributaries
through the storage, release, diversion and return of irrigation water
and the release of treated municipal sewage. The proposed DBHCP would
modify covered activities to reduce the negative effects on the covered
species aquatic habitat.
[[Page 53115]]
Middle Columbia River Steelhead
The Middle Columbia River (MCR) steelhead covered by the proposed
DBHCP are part of a larger distinct population segment (DPS). This DPS
was listed under the ESA as threatened on March 25, 1999 and its status
was reaffirmed on January 5, 2005 (71 FR 834). This DPS includes all
naturally spawned steelhead populations originating below natural and
manmade impassable barriers from the Columbia River and its tributaries
upstream of the Wind and Hood Rivers (exclusive) to and including the
Yakima River; excluding steelhead originating from the Snake River
Basin. This DPS also includes steelhead from seven artificial
propagation programs.
As a requirement of a new federal license for the Pelton Round
Butte Hydroelectric Project on the Deschutes River, Portland General
Electric and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Spring Reservation of
Oregon initiated reintroduction of MCR steelhead, non-listed spring-run
Chinook salmon and non-listed sockeye salmon upstream of the project.
On January 15, 2013, NMFS designated the reintroduced MCR steelhead as
a nonessential experimental population. This ruling alleviates ESA
section 9 liabilities for lawful activities that may result in
incidental take of reintroduced steelhead. This designation only
applies to steelhead occurring upstream of Round Butte Dam, steelhead
that occur below this dam retain their status as threatened. The
nonessential experimental designation is set to expire on January 15,
2025 and take liabilities will apply for steelhead occurring upstream
of Round Butte Dam. The DBHCP is proposed, in part, to mitigate to the
maximum extent practicable the applicants' ESA liabilities for
otherwise lawful activities that may result in incidental take.
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
Issuing an ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit constitutes a Federal
action requiring compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) as implemented by 40 CFR parts 1500-
1508. For this action, the USFWS is the lead agency under NEPA. As the
lead agency, the USFWS prepared a draft environmental impact statement
(DEIS) and is accepting comments on the DEIS at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2019-0091. More information
regarding the DEIS is available at: https://www.fws.gov/Oregonfwo/articles.cfm?id=149489716. NMFS is a cooperating agency for this action
and proposes to adopt the USFWS' NEPA document through its own NEPA
process (40 CFR 1506.3).
Request for Comments
If you wish to comment on the proposed DBHCP, you may submit your
comments to the address listed in the ADDRESSES section of this
document. NMFS requests that comments be specific. In particular, we
request information regarding: direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts
that implementation of the proposed DBHCP or other alternatives could
have on MCR steelhead, spring-run Chinook salmon and sockeye salmon and
their habitat; potential adaptive management and monitoring provisions;
existing environmental conditions in the plan area; other plans or
projects that might be relevant to this proposed project; permit
duration; and minimization and mitigation efforts.
Next Steps
NMFS provides this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA. We
will evaluate this permit application, proposed DBHCDP, associated
documents, and comments submitted thereon to determine whether the
permit application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA.
If NMFS determines that the requirements are met, a permit will be
issued for incidental take of covered species. The final permit
determinations will not be made until after the end of the comment
period. NMFS will publish a record of its final action in the Federal
Register.
Dated: September 30, 2019.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-21608 Filed 10-3-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
