Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for Olympia Pocket Gopher; Tumwater Operations and Maintenance Facility, Thurston County, WA; Categorical Exclusion, 76130-76132 [2024-20625]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 17, 2024 / Notices
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ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
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17:12 Sep 16, 2024
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Bradley S. Jewitt,
Senior Agency Official for Privacy, Office of
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024–21113 Filed 9–16–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R1–ES–2024–0119;
FXES11140100000–245–FF01E00000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit
Application and Proposed Habitat
Conservation Plan for Olympia Pocket
Gopher; Tumwater Operations and
Maintenance Facility, Thurston County,
WA; Categorical Exclusion
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, have received an
application from the City of Tumwater
Transportation and Engineering
Department (applicant) for an incidental
SUMMARY:
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ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 17, 2024 / Notices
take permit (ITP) pursuant to the
Endangered Species Act. The ITP would
authorize the applicant’s take of the
federally threatened Olympia
subspecies of the Mazama pocket
gopher (Thomomys mazama pugetensis)
(‘‘covered species’’), incidental to their
otherwise lawful construction and
infrastructure improvements at two
locations in the City of Tumwater,
Thurston County, Washington. We
request public comment on the
application, which includes the
applicant’s proposed habitat
conservation plan (HCP), and on the
Service’s preliminary determination that
the proposed permitting action may be
eligible for a categorical exclusion
pursuant to the Council on
Environmental Quality’s National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
regulations, the Department of the
Interior’s (DOI) NEPA regulations, and
the DOI Departmental Manual. To make
this preliminary determination, we
prepared a draft environmental action
statement and categorical exclusion
screening form, both of which are also
available for public review. We invite
comment from the public and local,
State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.
DATES: Please submit written comments
by October 17, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining documents: The documents
this notice announces, as well as any
comments and other materials that we
receive, will be available for public
inspection online in on Docket No.
FWS–R1–ES–2024–0119 at https://
www.regulations.gov.
Submitting comments: If you wish to
submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by
one of the following methods:
• Online: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments
on Docket No. FWS–R1–ES–2024–0119.
• U.S. Mail: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R1–
ES–2024–0119; U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Headquarters, MS: PRB/3W;
5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA
22041–3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kevin Connally, Washington Fish and
Wildlife Office, by email at kevin_
connally@fws.gov, or by telephone at
360–753–9440. 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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:12 Sep 16, 2024
Jkt 262001
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
received an incidental take permit (ITP)
application from the City of Tumwater
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
The ITP, if issued, would authorize the
incidental take of the Olympia pocket
gopher (Thomomys mazama pugetensis)
(covered species), resulting from
otherwise lawful construction and
infrastructure improvements at two
locations in the City of Tumwater,
Thurston County, Washington. We
request public comment on the
application, which includes the
applicant’s habitat conservation plan
(HCP), and on the Service’s preliminary
determination that this proposed
permitting action may qualify for a
categorical exclusion pursuant to the
Council on Environmental Quality’s
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 1501.4), the
Department of the Interior’s (DOI) NEPA
regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI’s
Departmental Manual (516 DM
8.5(C)(2)). To make this preliminary
determination, we prepared a draft
environmental action statement and
categorical exclusion screening form,
both of which are also available for
public review.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the
taking of fish and wildlife species listed
as endangered or threatened. The ESA
defines ‘‘take’’ means to harass, harm,
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect, or to attempt to
engage in any such conduct (16 U.S.C.
1532(19)). The term ‘‘harm,’’ as defined
in our regulations, includes significant
habitat modification or degradation that
results in death or injury to listed
species by significantly impairing
essential behavioral patterns, including
breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR
17.3).
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA
contains provisions that authorize the
Service to issue permits to non-Federal
entities for the take of endangered and
threatened species caused by otherwise
lawful activities, provided the following
criteria are met: (1) the taking will be
incidental to, and not the purpose of,
carrying out an otherwise lawful
activity; (2) the applicant will, to the
maximum extent practicable, minimize
and mitigate the impact of such taking;
(3) the applicant will ensure that
adequate funding for the conservation
plan will be provided; (4) the taking will
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76131
not appreciably reduce the likelihood of
the survival and recovery of the species
in the wild; and (5) the applicant will
carry out any other measures that the
Service may require as being necessary
or appropriate for the purposes of the
HCP. Regulations governing permits for
threatened species are found at 50 CFR
17.32. The Service’s general permitting
regulations are found at 50 CFR part 13.
Proposed Project
The applicant proposes to construct
and maintain seven new buildings,
parking, access roads, a staging area for
materials, a park and recreational
features, a rain garden, landscaping,
frontage improvements on 79th Avenue
SE, and a roundabout and storm water
facilities at the intersection of Old
Highway 99 SE and 79th Ave. SE, and
also to carry out other ground-disturbing
activities described in the HCP. The
26.2-acre (ac) project site (permit area)
contains a total of 8.6 ac of occupied
Olympia pocket gopher habitat.
The proposed action is anticipated to
impact up to 8.6 ac of Olympia pocket
gopher habitat in the permit area. The
applicant proposes to mitigate for
unavoidable impacts to Olympia pocket
gopher by use of 8.6 ac of credits in the
Service-approved Deschutes Corridor
conservation site purchased in 2017,
which is currently occupied by the
Olympia pocket gopher. The advance
mitigation credit purchase was
approved by the Service in 2017. The
purchase of these credits fully funds the
permanent management, monitoring,
and adaptive management on 8.6 ac of
the Deschutes Corridor conservation
site. The conservation site will be
managed for successful Olympia pocket
gopher feeding, breeding, and
sheltering.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary
determination that the applicant’s
proposed project, including the
construction of the buildings and
associated infrastructure, would
individually and cumulatively have a
minor effect on the covered species and
the human environment. Therefore, we
have preliminarily determined that the
proposed ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit
would qualify for application of a
categorical exclusion pursuant to the
Council on Environmental Quality’s
NEPA regulations, DOI’s NEPA
regulations, and the DOI Departmental
Manual.
Public Comments
You may submit your comments and
materials by one of the methods listed
in ADDRESSES. We specifically request
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76132
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 17, 2024 / Notices
information, views, and suggestions
from interested parties regarding our
proposed Federal action, including,
without limitation, adequacy of the
HCP, whether the HCP meets
requirements for permits at 50 CFR parts
13 and 17, and adequacy of the EAS
pursuant to the requirements of NEPA.
Public Availability of Comments
Next Steps
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
After the public comment period ends
(see DATES), we will evaluate the permit
application, associated documents, and
any comments received to determine
whether the permit application meets
the requirements of section 10(a)(2)(B)
of the ESA. We will also evaluate
whether issuance of the requested
permit would comply with section 7 of
the ESA by conducting an intra-Service
consultation under section 7(a)(2) of the
ESA on the proposed action. The final
NEPA and permit determinations will
not be completed until after the end of
the 30-day comment period and will
fully consider all comments received
during the comment period. If we
determine that all requirements are met,
we will issue an ITP under section
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA to the applicant
for the take of the covered species,
incidental to otherwise lawful covered
activities.
Authority
We provide this notice in accordance
with the requirements of section 10(c) of
the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its
implementing regulations (50 CFR
17.32), and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
17:12 Sep 16, 2024
Jkt 262001
Bridget Fahey,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–20625 Filed 9–16–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
All comments and materials we
receive become part of the public record
associated with this action. Before
including your address, phone number,
email address, or other personally
identifiable information in your
comments, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personally identifiable information—
may be made publicly available at any
time. While you can ask us in your
comment to withhold your personally
identifiable 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 at https://
www.regulations.gov.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
seq.) and its implementing regulations
(40 CFR 1500–1508 and 43 CFR 46).
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM–2024–0026]
Atlantic Wind Lease Sale 11 for
Commercial Leasing for Wind Power
Development on the U.S. Gulf of Maine
Outer Continental Shelf—Final Sale
Notice
Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management, Interior.
ACTION: Final sale notice; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
This Final Sale Notice (FSN)
contains information pertaining to the
areas available for commercial wind
power leasing during Atlantic Wind
Lease Sale 11 (ATLW–11) on the U.S.
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the
Gulf of Maine. Specifically, this FSN
details certain provisions and
conditions of the leases, auction details,
the lease form, criteria for evaluating
competing bids, and procedures for
award, appeal, and lease execution. The
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
(BOEM) will offer eight leases for sale
using an ascending clock auction with
multiple-factor bidding: Lease OCS–A
0562, OCS–A 0563, OCS–A 0564, OCS–
A 0565, OCS–A 0566, OCS–A 0567,
OCS–A 0568, and OCS–A 0569 (lease
areas). The first two lease areas (lease
areas OCS–A 0562 and OCS–A 0563)
comprise the North Region, and the
remaining six lease areas comprise the
South Region. Bidders are limited to
bidding on no more than two lease areas
at a time, and may not include in their
bid more than one lease area in the
North Region at a time. BOEM will use
the BOEM Auction System for the lease
sale. The lease areas are in the
previously identified wind energy areas
located in the Gulf of Maine offshore the
States of Maine and New Hampshire
and the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. The issuance of any
lease resulting from this sale will not
constitute approval of project-specific
plans to develop offshore wind energy.
Such plans, if submitted by the lessee,
will be subject to environmental,
technical, and public reviews prior to a
BOEM decision on whether the
proposed activity should be authorized.
SUMMARY:
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Fmt 4703
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BOEM will hold an online mock
auction for potential bidders starting at
9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
on October 24, 2024. The monetary
auction will be held online and will
begin at 9:00 a.m. EDT on October 29,
2024. Additional details are provided in
the section entitled, ‘‘Deadlines and
Milestones for Bidders.’’
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Zachary Jylkka, Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management, Zachary.Jylkka@boem.gov
or (978) 491–7732; or Gina Best, Bureau
of Ocean Energy Management,
Gina.Best@boem.gov or (703) 787–1341.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DATES:
I. Background
a. Request for Interest (RFI): On
August 19, 2022, BOEM published an
RFI for the Gulf of Maine in the Federal
Register (see 87 FR 51129). BOEM
received 51 unique comments on the
RFI. Five developers nominated areas
for a commercial wind energy lease
within the RFI Area.
b. Call for Information and
Nominations (Call): On April 26, 2023,
BOEM published a ‘‘Call for Information
and Nominations for Commercial
Leasing for Wind Power Development
on the Gulf of Maine’’ (see 88 FR
25427). BOEM received 127 unique
comments on the Call. Seven developers
nominated areas for a commercial wind
energy lease within the Call Area.
c. Area Identification (Area ID): An
Area ID determination is a required
regulatory step under the renewable
energy competitive leasing process used
to identify areas for environmental
analysis and consideration for leasing.
After the close of the Call comment
period, BOEM initiated the Area ID
process using information and input
from stakeholders received up to that
point.
BOEM and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA)
National Centers for Coastal Ocean
Science (NCCOS) collaborated in
employing an ocean planning tool (the
NCCOS model) to help identify an area
that appears suitable for floating
offshore wind energy leasing and
development in the Gulf of Maine. The
Area ID process seeks to identify and
minimize potential conflicts in ocean
space as well as to mitigate interactions
with other users and adverse
interactions with the environment; the
NCCOS model supports that effort.
BOEM employed the NCCOS model
during two distinct steps of the Area ID
process: first, to model relative
suitability within the boundaries of the
Call Area to identify the draft Wind
Energy Area (WEA); and second, to
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76130-76132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20625]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R1-ES-2024-0119; FXES11140100000-245-FF01E00000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for Olympia Pocket Gopher; Tumwater
Operations and Maintenance Facility, Thurston County, WA; Categorical
Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an
application from the City of Tumwater Transportation and Engineering
Department (applicant) for an incidental
[[Page 76131]]
take permit (ITP) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. The ITP would
authorize the applicant's take of the federally threatened Olympia
subspecies of the Mazama pocket gopher (Thomomys mazama pugetensis)
(``covered species''), incidental to their otherwise lawful
construction and infrastructure improvements at two locations in the
City of Tumwater, Thurston County, Washington. We request public
comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed
habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's preliminary
determination that the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a
categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental
Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the
Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI
Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary determination, we
prepared a draft environmental action statement and categorical
exclusion screening form, both of which are also available for public
review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and
Federal agencies.
DATES: Please submit written comments by October 17, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining documents: The documents this notice announces, as well
as any comments and other materials that we receive, will be available
for public inspection online in on Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2024-0119 at
https://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by one of the following methods:
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2024-0119.
U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R1-ES-2024-0119; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS:
PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Connally, Washington Fish and
Wildlife Office, by email at [email protected], or by telephone at
360-753-9440. 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: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), received an incidental take permit (ITP) application from
the City of Tumwater pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The ITP,
if issued, would authorize the incidental take of the Olympia pocket
gopher (Thomomys mazama pugetensis) (covered species), resulting from
otherwise lawful construction and infrastructure improvements at two
locations in the City of Tumwater, Thurston County, Washington. We
request public comment on the application, which includes the
applicant's habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's
preliminary determination that this proposed permitting action may
qualify for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on
Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
regulations (40 CFR 1501.4), the Department of the Interior's (DOI)
NEPA regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI's Departmental Manual (516 DM
8.5(C)(2)). To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft
environmental action statement and categorical exclusion screening
form, both of which are also available for public review.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the taking of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered or threatened. The ESA defines ``take''
means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture,
or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct (16 U.S.C.
1532(19)). The term ``harm,'' as defined in our regulations, includes
significant habitat modification or degradation that results in death
or injury to listed species by significantly impairing essential
behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR
17.3).
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA contains provisions that authorize
the Service to issue permits to non-Federal entities for the take of
endangered and threatened species caused by otherwise lawful
activities, provided the following criteria are met: (1) the taking
will be incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an
otherwise lawful activity; (2) the applicant will, to the maximum
extent practicable, minimize and mitigate the impact of such taking;
(3) the applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the
conservation plan will be provided; (4) the taking will not appreciably
reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the species in
the wild; and (5) the applicant will carry out any other measures that
the Service may require as being necessary or appropriate for the
purposes of the HCP. Regulations governing permits for threatened
species are found at 50 CFR 17.32. The Service's general permitting
regulations are found at 50 CFR part 13.
Proposed Project
The applicant proposes to construct and maintain seven new
buildings, parking, access roads, a staging area for materials, a park
and recreational features, a rain garden, landscaping, frontage
improvements on 79th Avenue SE, and a roundabout and storm water
facilities at the intersection of Old Highway 99 SE and 79th Ave. SE,
and also to carry out other ground-disturbing activities described in
the HCP. The 26.2-acre (ac) project site (permit area) contains a total
of 8.6 ac of occupied Olympia pocket gopher habitat.
The proposed action is anticipated to impact up to 8.6 ac of
Olympia pocket gopher habitat in the permit area. The applicant
proposes to mitigate for unavoidable impacts to Olympia pocket gopher
by use of 8.6 ac of credits in the Service-approved Deschutes Corridor
conservation site purchased in 2017, which is currently occupied by the
Olympia pocket gopher. The advance mitigation credit purchase was
approved by the Service in 2017. The purchase of these credits fully
funds the permanent management, monitoring, and adaptive management on
8.6 ac of the Deschutes Corridor conservation site. The conservation
site will be managed for successful Olympia pocket gopher feeding,
breeding, and sheltering.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the
applicant's proposed project, including the construction of the
buildings and associated infrastructure, would individually and
cumulatively have a minor effect on the covered species and the human
environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily determined that the
proposed ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would qualify for application
of a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental
Quality's NEPA regulations, DOI's NEPA regulations, and the DOI
Departmental Manual.
Public Comments
You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods
listed in ADDRESSES. We specifically request
[[Page 76132]]
information, views, and suggestions from interested parties regarding
our proposed Federal action, including, without limitation, adequacy of
the HCP, whether the HCP meets requirements for permits at 50 CFR parts
13 and 17, and adequacy of the EAS pursuant to the requirements of
NEPA.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments and materials we receive become part of the public
record associated with this action. Before including your address,
phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable
information in your comments, you should be aware that your entire
comment--including your personally identifiable information--may be
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your
comment to withhold your personally identifiable 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 at https://www.regulations.gov.
Next Steps
After the public comment period ends (see DATES), we will evaluate
the permit application, associated documents, and any comments received
to determine whether the permit application meets the requirements of
section 10(a)(2)(B) of the ESA. We will also evaluate whether issuance
of the requested permit would comply with section 7 of the ESA by
conducting an intra-Service consultation under section 7(a)(2) of the
ESA on the proposed action. The final NEPA and permit determinations
will not be completed until after the end of the 30-day comment period
and will fully consider all comments received during the comment
period. If we determine that all requirements are met, we will issue an
ITP under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA to the applicant for the take
of the covered species, incidental to otherwise lawful covered
activities.
Authority
We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of
section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (50 CFR 17.32), and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500-1508 and 43 CFR 46).
Bridget Fahey,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-20625 Filed 9-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
