U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mitigation Policy and Endangered Species Act Compensatory Mitigation Policy, 31000-31001 [2023-10341]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 93 / Monday, May 15, 2023 / Notices
property such as patentable material,
and personal information concerning
individuals associated with the grant
applications, the disclosure of which
would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.
Name of Committee: National Institute on
Aging Special Emphasis Panel; Circadian
Clocks and Aging.
Date: June 29, 2023.
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate grant
applications.
Place: National Institutes of Health,
National Institute on Aging, Gateway
Building, 7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda,
MD 20892 (Virtual Meeting).
Contact Person: Kaitlyn Noel LewisHardell, Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer,
National Institute on Aging, Scientific
Review Branch, 7201 Wisconsin Ave., Rm.
2E405, Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 555–1234,
kaitlyn.hardell@nih.gov.
(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Nos. 93.866, Aging Research,
National Institutes of Health, HHS)
Dated: May 9, 2023.
Miguelina Perez,
Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory
Committee Policy.
[FR Doc. 2023–10268 Filed 5–12–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–HQ–ES–2021–0014;
FF09E30000 FXES11140900000 234]
RIN 1018–ZA07; 1018–ZA08
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Mitigation Policy and Endangered
Species Act Compensatory Mitigation
Policy
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of final policies.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
revised Mitigation Policy and the
Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Compensatory Mitigation Policy. The
revised Mitigation Policy establishes
fundamental mitigation principles and
provides a framework for applying a
landscape-scale approach to achieve,
through application of the mitigation
hierarchy, no net loss of resources and
their values, services, and functions
resulting from proposed actions. The
ESA Compensatory Mitigation Policy
adopts the mitigation principles
established in the Mitigation Policy,
establishes compensatory mitigation
standards, and provides guidance for
the application of compensatory
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:07 May 12, 2023
Jkt 259001
mitigation through implementation of
the ESA.
DATES: The policies are effective May
15, 2023.
ADDRESSES: The revised Mitigation
Policy is available at https://
www.fws.gov/policy/a1501fw2.pdf. The
revised ESA Compensatory Mitigation
Policy is available at https://
www.fws.gov/policy/a1501fw3.pdf. In
addition, both policies are available at
https://www.regulations.gov in Docket
No. FWS–HQ–ES–2021–0014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Craig Aubrey, by mail at U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Division of
Environmental Review, 5275 Leesburg
Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–3803; by
email at craig_aubrey@fws.gov; or by
telephone at 703–358–2442. Individuals
in the United States who are deaf,
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY,
TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point of
contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Consistent with the mission of the
Service and congressional direction
through the Fish and Wildlife
Coordination Act, as amended (16
U.S.C. 661–667(e)); the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA;
16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and similar
environmental statutes, the Service has
the responsibility to ensure that impacts
to fish, wildlife, plants, and their
habitats are considered when actions are
planned, and that those impacts are
mitigated so that these resources may
provide a continuing benefit to the
American people.
The purpose of the revised Mitigation
Policy is to provide guidance to Service
personnel in formulating and delivering
recommendations and requirements to
action agencies and project proponents
so that they may avoid, minimize, and
compensate for action-caused impacts to
species and their habitats, and uses
thereof. The revised Mitigation Policy
establishes fundamental mitigation
principles and provides a framework for
applying a landscape-scale approach to
achieve, through application of the
mitigation hierarchy, no net loss of
resources and their values, services, and
functions resulting from proposed
actions. The primary intent of the
revised Mitigation Policy is to apply
mitigation in a strategic manner that
ensures an effective linkage with
PO 00000
Frm 00058
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
conservation strategies at appropriate
landscape scales.
The purpose of the ESA
Compensatory Mitigation Policy is to
provide guidance to Service personnel
as they seek to mitigate losses to
endangered and threatened species and
their habitats resulting from proposed
actions to further the purposes of the
ESA. The ESA Compensatory Mitigation
Policy adopts the mitigation principles
established in the revised Mitigation
Policy, establishes compensatory
mitigation standards, and provides
guidance for the application of
compensatory mitigation through
implementation of the ESA. It covers all
compensatory mitigation mechanisms,
including, but not limited to,
proponent-responsible mitigation,
conservation banking, and in-lieu fee
programs, and all species and habitats
protected under the ESA for which the
Service has jurisdiction.
Prior Policies
The Service’s original Mitigation
Policy (46 FR 7644, January 23, 1981)
has guided our recommendations on
mitigating the adverse impacts of land
and water developments on fish,
wildlife, plants, and their habitats since
1981. The revisions reflected in the
revised Mitigation Policy are motivated
by changes in conservation challenges
and practices since 1981, including
accelerating loss of habitats, effects of
climate change, and advances in
conservation science. The revised
Mitigation Policy integrates all
authorities that allow the Service to
recommend or require mitigation of
impacts to fish and wildlife resources,
and other resources identified in statute,
during development processes. It is
intended to serve as a single umbrella
policy under which the Service may
issue more detailed policies or guidance
documents covering specific activities
in the future.
The ESA Compensatory Mitigation
Policy serves as the Service’s
comprehensive treatment of
compensatory mitigation under the
authority of the ESA. The ESA
Compensatory Mitigation Policy
clarifies guidance in the Service’s
‘‘Guidance for the Establishment, Use,
and Operation of Conservation Banks,’’
published in the Federal Register on
May 8, 2003 (68 FR 24753), and
‘‘Guidance on Recovery Crediting for
the Conservation of Threatened and
Endangered Species,’’ published in the
Federal Register on July 31, 2008 (73 FR
44761).
We previously published a Mitigation
Policy (81 FR 83440, November 21,
2016) and an ESA Compensatory
E:\FR\FM\15MYN1.SGM
15MYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 93 / Monday, May 15, 2023 / Notices
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Mitigation Policy (81 FR 95316,
December 27, 2016). We later requested
public comment on portions of those
policies, specifically comments on the
policies’ mitigation planning goals (82
FR 51382, November 6, 2017). We
subsequently withdrew the Mitigation
Policy that was published in 2016 and
reinstated the Mitigation Policy that was
published in 1981 (83 FR 36472, July
30, 2018). We also withdrew the ESA
Compensatory Mitigation Policy that
was published in 2016 and reinstated all
policies or guidance documents that
were superseded by that policy (83 FR
36469, July 30, 2018).
In our withdrawal notices in 2018, the
Service concluded, in light of national
policy direction reflected in Executive
Order (E.O.) 13783, ‘‘Promoting Energy
Independence and Economic Growth’’
(82 FR 16093, March 28, 2017); the
comments received by the Service; and
concerns regarding the legal and policy
implications of compensatory mitigation
with a mitigation planning goal of net
conservation gain, that it was no longer
appropriate to retain references to a goal
of net conservation gain within the
policies. We further concluded that,
because the goal of net conservation
gain was so prevalent throughout the
policies, this concern should be
resolved by withdrawing the policies.
Development of the Revised Policies
E.O. 13990, ‘‘Protecting Public Health
and the Environment and Restoring
Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis’’
(86 FR 7037, January 20, 2021),
subsequently rescinded E.O. 13783 and
called for an immediate review of
agency actions taken between January
20, 2017, and January 20, 2021.
Consistent with E.O. 13990, the Service
evaluated whether to revise and reissue
versions of the mitigation policies. The
Service considered input we received
during three separate public comment
periods related to the 2016 mitigation
policies. The initial public comment
periods solicited input on the proposed
revisions to the Mitigation Policy (81 FR
12380, March 8, 2016), and on the draft
ESA Compensatory Mitigation Policy
(81 FR 61031, September 2, 2016). We
later requested additional public
comment on the mitigation planning
goal within both mitigation policies that
had already been finalized (82 FR
51382, November 6, 2017). The
documents, comments, and process
related to prior revisions are not
summarized here, but may be viewed
within docket number FWS–HQ–ES–
2015–0126 (mitigation) and docket
number FWS–HQ–ES–2015–0165
(compensatory mitigation) on https://
www.regulations.gov.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:07 May 12, 2023
Jkt 259001
One of the main concerns with the
2016 policies was the inclusion of a
mitigation planning goal of net
conservation gain. Based on public
comments, changes in Executive Orders,
and policy considerations, the Service
has removed reference to a mitigation
planning goal of net conservation gain
from both policies. We have also added
information clarifying that the Service’s
mitigation planning goal is to maintain
the current status of affected resources
(i.e., no net loss) and that the Service’s
mitigation recommendations and
requirements should focus on
important, scarce, or sensitive resources
and be consistent with applicable
statutory authorities and the
responsibilities of action proponents.
In the 2018 notice to withdraw the
policies, the Service cited concerns
regarding inconsistencies between the
policies and concepts in the opinions of
Koontz v. St. Johns River WMD, Nollan
v. California Coastal Commission, and
Dolan v. City of Tigard, which identified
appropriate sideboards regarding the
links between an action and
compensatory mitigation to offset the
effects of that action. Those opinions
call for an ‘‘essential nexus’’ between an
action’s effects and compensatory
mitigation, as well as ensuring that
mitigation is proportional to the action’s
effect. The Service has incorporated
those concepts in the revised policies.
The Service will implement these
mitigation policies in a manner that is
consistent with the Koontz case and any
other relevant court decisions.
Specifically, we have added ‘‘nexus and
proportionality’’ as a fundamental
mitigation principle for both policies to
reinforce that appropriate mitigation
measures must have a clear connection
with the anticipated effects of the action
and be commensurate with the scale
and nature of those effects.
In light of the rescission of E.O.
13783, the changes to the policies
described above, and the need for the
Service to have modern mitigation
policies, we again finalize the revised
Mitigation Policy and the ESA
Compensatory Mitigation Policy.
The Mitigation Policy and ESA
Compensatory Mitigation Policy are
non-binding, do not establish legally
binding rules, and are internal Service
policies intended only to improve the
internal management of the Service.
National Environmental Policy Act
We have analyzed the final revised
policies in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Council on
Environmental Quality’s regulations for
implementing the procedural provisions
PO 00000
Frm 00059
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
31001
of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508).
Issuances of policies, directives,
regulations, and guidelines are actions
that may generally be categorically
excluded under NEPA (43 CFR
46.210(i)). The policies fit within this
category and are therefore excluded
from further analysis.
Authority
The multiple authorities for this
action include the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.); Fish and Wildlife Coordination
Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 661–667(e));
and National Environmental Policy Act
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Martha Williams,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–10341 Filed 5–12–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_UT_FRN_MO4500170254]
Notice of Proposed Withdrawal and
Public Meeting, Utah
Bureau of Land Management,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of proposed withdrawal.
AGENCY:
At the request of the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM), the
Secretary of the Interior proposes to
withdraw approximately 170,429 acres
of public lands and interests in lands
from all forms of entry, appropriation,
and disposal under the public land
laws; location and entry under the U.S.
mining laws; operation of the mineral
and geothermal leasing laws; and
disposal under the mineral materials
laws, subject to valid existing rights.
The withdrawal is proposed for a period
of five years to maintain the status quo
while the Department of the Interior, the
State of Utah, and the State of Utah
School and Institutional Trust Lands
Administration (SITLA) consider a
potential land exchange. Subject to
valid existing rights, publication of this
notice in the Federal Register segregates
the lands for two years from the date of
publication unless the segregative effect
is terminated sooner. This notice also
initiates a 90-day public comment
period on the proposed withdrawal. A
notice for public meeting(s) regarding
the proposed withdrawal will be
announced separately in the Federal
Register, in at least one newspaper
having general circulation, and on the
agency website at least 30 days before
the meeting(s).
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\15MYN1.SGM
15MYN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 93 (Monday, May 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31000-31001]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10341]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2021-0014; FF09E30000 FXES11140900000 234]
RIN 1018-ZA07; 1018-ZA08
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mitigation Policy and Endangered
Species Act Compensatory Mitigation Policy
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of final policies.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
revised Mitigation Policy and the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Compensatory Mitigation Policy. The revised Mitigation Policy
establishes fundamental mitigation principles and provides a framework
for applying a landscape-scale approach to achieve, through application
of the mitigation hierarchy, no net loss of resources and their values,
services, and functions resulting from proposed actions. The ESA
Compensatory Mitigation Policy adopts the mitigation principles
established in the Mitigation Policy, establishes compensatory
mitigation standards, and provides guidance for the application of
compensatory mitigation through implementation of the ESA.
DATES: The policies are effective May 15, 2023.
ADDRESSES: The revised Mitigation Policy is available at https://www.fws.gov/policy/a1501fw2.pdf. The revised ESA Compensatory
Mitigation Policy is available at https://www.fws.gov/policy/a1501fw3.pdf. In addition, both policies are available at https://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2021-0014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Craig Aubrey, by mail at U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Division of Environmental Review, 5275 Leesburg Pike,
Falls Church, VA 22041-3803; by email at [email protected]; or by
telephone at 703-358-2442. Individuals in the United States who are
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial
711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay
services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay
services offered within their country to make international calls to
the point of contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Consistent with the mission of the Service and congressional
direction through the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, as amended
(16 U.S.C. 661-667(e)); the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and similar environmental statutes, the
Service has the responsibility to ensure that impacts to fish,
wildlife, plants, and their habitats are considered when actions are
planned, and that those impacts are mitigated so that these resources
may provide a continuing benefit to the American people.
The purpose of the revised Mitigation Policy is to provide guidance
to Service personnel in formulating and delivering recommendations and
requirements to action agencies and project proponents so that they may
avoid, minimize, and compensate for action-caused impacts to species
and their habitats, and uses thereof. The revised Mitigation Policy
establishes fundamental mitigation principles and provides a framework
for applying a landscape-scale approach to achieve, through application
of the mitigation hierarchy, no net loss of resources and their values,
services, and functions resulting from proposed actions. The primary
intent of the revised Mitigation Policy is to apply mitigation in a
strategic manner that ensures an effective linkage with conservation
strategies at appropriate landscape scales.
The purpose of the ESA Compensatory Mitigation Policy is to provide
guidance to Service personnel as they seek to mitigate losses to
endangered and threatened species and their habitats resulting from
proposed actions to further the purposes of the ESA. The ESA
Compensatory Mitigation Policy adopts the mitigation principles
established in the revised Mitigation Policy, establishes compensatory
mitigation standards, and provides guidance for the application of
compensatory mitigation through implementation of the ESA. It covers
all compensatory mitigation mechanisms, including, but not limited to,
proponent-responsible mitigation, conservation banking, and in-lieu fee
programs, and all species and habitats protected under the ESA for
which the Service has jurisdiction.
Prior Policies
The Service's original Mitigation Policy (46 FR 7644, January 23,
1981) has guided our recommendations on mitigating the adverse impacts
of land and water developments on fish, wildlife, plants, and their
habitats since 1981. The revisions reflected in the revised Mitigation
Policy are motivated by changes in conservation challenges and
practices since 1981, including accelerating loss of habitats, effects
of climate change, and advances in conservation science. The revised
Mitigation Policy integrates all authorities that allow the Service to
recommend or require mitigation of impacts to fish and wildlife
resources, and other resources identified in statute, during
development processes. It is intended to serve as a single umbrella
policy under which the Service may issue more detailed policies or
guidance documents covering specific activities in the future.
The ESA Compensatory Mitigation Policy serves as the Service's
comprehensive treatment of compensatory mitigation under the authority
of the ESA. The ESA Compensatory Mitigation Policy clarifies guidance
in the Service's ``Guidance for the Establishment, Use, and Operation
of Conservation Banks,'' published in the Federal Register on May 8,
2003 (68 FR 24753), and ``Guidance on Recovery Crediting for the
Conservation of Threatened and Endangered Species,'' published in the
Federal Register on July 31, 2008 (73 FR 44761).
We previously published a Mitigation Policy (81 FR 83440, November
21, 2016) and an ESA Compensatory
[[Page 31001]]
Mitigation Policy (81 FR 95316, December 27, 2016). We later requested
public comment on portions of those policies, specifically comments on
the policies' mitigation planning goals (82 FR 51382, November 6,
2017). We subsequently withdrew the Mitigation Policy that was
published in 2016 and reinstated the Mitigation Policy that was
published in 1981 (83 FR 36472, July 30, 2018). We also withdrew the
ESA Compensatory Mitigation Policy that was published in 2016 and
reinstated all policies or guidance documents that were superseded by
that policy (83 FR 36469, July 30, 2018).
In our withdrawal notices in 2018, the Service concluded, in light
of national policy direction reflected in Executive Order (E.O.) 13783,
``Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth'' (82 FR 16093,
March 28, 2017); the comments received by the Service; and concerns
regarding the legal and policy implications of compensatory mitigation
with a mitigation planning goal of net conservation gain, that it was
no longer appropriate to retain references to a goal of net
conservation gain within the policies. We further concluded that,
because the goal of net conservation gain was so prevalent throughout
the policies, this concern should be resolved by withdrawing the
policies.
Development of the Revised Policies
E.O. 13990, ``Protecting Public Health and the Environment and
Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis'' (86 FR 7037, January
20, 2021), subsequently rescinded E.O. 13783 and called for an
immediate review of agency actions taken between January 20, 2017, and
January 20, 2021. Consistent with E.O. 13990, the Service evaluated
whether to revise and reissue versions of the mitigation policies. The
Service considered input we received during three separate public
comment periods related to the 2016 mitigation policies. The initial
public comment periods solicited input on the proposed revisions to the
Mitigation Policy (81 FR 12380, March 8, 2016), and on the draft ESA
Compensatory Mitigation Policy (81 FR 61031, September 2, 2016). We
later requested additional public comment on the mitigation planning
goal within both mitigation policies that had already been finalized
(82 FR 51382, November 6, 2017). The documents, comments, and process
related to prior revisions are not summarized here, but may be viewed
within docket number FWS-HQ-ES-2015-0126 (mitigation) and docket number
FWS-HQ-ES-2015-0165 (compensatory mitigation) on https://www.regulations.gov.
One of the main concerns with the 2016 policies was the inclusion
of a mitigation planning goal of net conservation gain. Based on public
comments, changes in Executive Orders, and policy considerations, the
Service has removed reference to a mitigation planning goal of net
conservation gain from both policies. We have also added information
clarifying that the Service's mitigation planning goal is to maintain
the current status of affected resources (i.e., no net loss) and that
the Service's mitigation recommendations and requirements should focus
on important, scarce, or sensitive resources and be consistent with
applicable statutory authorities and the responsibilities of action
proponents.
In the 2018 notice to withdraw the policies, the Service cited
concerns regarding inconsistencies between the policies and concepts in
the opinions of Koontz v. St. Johns River WMD, Nollan v. California
Coastal Commission, and Dolan v. City of Tigard, which identified
appropriate sideboards regarding the links between an action and
compensatory mitigation to offset the effects of that action. Those
opinions call for an ``essential nexus'' between an action's effects
and compensatory mitigation, as well as ensuring that mitigation is
proportional to the action's effect. The Service has incorporated those
concepts in the revised policies. The Service will implement these
mitigation policies in a manner that is consistent with the Koontz case
and any other relevant court decisions. Specifically, we have added
``nexus and proportionality'' as a fundamental mitigation principle for
both policies to reinforce that appropriate mitigation measures must
have a clear connection with the anticipated effects of the action and
be commensurate with the scale and nature of those effects.
In light of the rescission of E.O. 13783, the changes to the
policies described above, and the need for the Service to have modern
mitigation policies, we again finalize the revised Mitigation Policy
and the ESA Compensatory Mitigation Policy.
The Mitigation Policy and ESA Compensatory Mitigation Policy are
non-binding, do not establish legally binding rules, and are internal
Service policies intended only to improve the internal management of
the Service.
National Environmental Policy Act
We have analyzed the final revised policies in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and
the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations for implementing the
procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508). Issuances of
policies, directives, regulations, and guidelines are actions that may
generally be categorically excluded under NEPA (43 CFR 46.210(i)). The
policies fit within this category and are therefore excluded from
further analysis.
Authority
The multiple authorities for this action include the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); Fish and
Wildlife Coordination Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 661-667(e)); and
National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Martha Williams,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-10341 Filed 5-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P