[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 135 (Friday, July 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40145-40147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-10917]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Report/
Environmental Impact Statement and Receipt of an Application for an
Incidental Take Permit for the Orange County Southern Subregion Habitat
Conservation Plan, Orange County, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and receipt of application.
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SUMMARY: The County of Orange, Rancho Mission Viejo, and Santa
Margarita Water District (Applicants) have applied to the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service) for an incidental take permit pursuant to
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(Act). The Service is requesting public comment on the Draft Orange
County Southern Subregion Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), Draft
Implementing Agreement, and Draft Environmental Impact Report/
Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS). The Applicants seek a permit
to incidentally take 25 animal species and assurances for 7 plant
species, including 25 unlisted species should any of them become listed
under the Act during the term of the proposed 75-year permit. The
permit is needed to authorize take of listed animal species (including
harm and injury) for Covered Activities, including development and
associated infrastructure in Rancho Mission Viejo, expansion of the
Prima Deshecha Landfill, and the extension of La Pata Road in the
approximately 132,000-acre Plan Area in southern Orange County,
California.
A Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which is the Federal
portion of the Draft EIR/EIS, has been prepared jointly by the Service
and the County of Orange to analyze the impacts of the HCP and is also
available for public review. The analyses provided in the Draft EIR/EIS
are intended to inform the public of the proposed action, alternatives,
and associated impacts; address public comments received during the
scoping period for the Draft EIR/EIS; disclose the direct, indirect,
and cumulative environmental effects of the proposed action and each of
the alternatives; and indicate any irreversible commitment of resources
that would result from implementation of the proposed action.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before September 12,
2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Mr. Jim Bartel, Field Supervisor,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, 6010
Hidden Valley Road, Carlsbad, California 92011. You may also submit
comments by facsimile to 760-918-0638.
Information, comments, and/or questions related to the EIR and the
California Environmental Quality Act should be submitted to Mr. Tim
Neely at the County of Orange, 300 North Flower Street, Santa Ana,
California 92702; telephone 714-834-2552; facsimile 714-834-2771.
To get copies of the documents, see ``Availability of Documents''
under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Karen Goebel, Assistant Field
Supervisor, at the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES);
telephone 760-431-9440.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
Documents available for public review include the permit
applications, the Public Review Draft HCP and Appendixes A-E, the Map
Book (bound separately), the accompanying Draft Implementing Agreement,
and the Draft EIR/EIS.
Individuals wishing copies of the documents should contact the
Service
[[Page 40146]]
by telephone at 760-431-9440, or by letter to the Carlsbad Fish and
Wildlife Office. Copies of the HCP, Draft EIR/EIS, and Draft
Implementing Agreement also are available for public review, by
appointment, during regular business hours, at the Carlsbad Fish and
Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES). Copies are also available for viewing
in select local southern Orange County public libraries (listed below),
the Orange County Planning Department, and at the following Web site:
http://www.ocplanning.net.
1. Dana Point Library--Reference Desk, 33841 Niguel Road, Laguna
Niguel, California 92629;
2. Laguna Hills Library--Reference Desk, 25555 Alicia Parkway,
Laguna Hills, California 92653;
3. Laguna Niguel Library--Reference Desk, 30341 Crown Valley
Parkway, Laguna Niguel, California 92677;
4. Mission Viejo Library--Reference Desk, 100 Civic Center, Mission
Viejo, California 92691;
5. Rancho Santa Margarita Library--Reference Desk, 30902 La
Promesa, Rancho Santa Margarita, California 92688;
6. San Clemente Library--Reference Desk, 242 Avenida Del Mar, San
Clemente, California 92672;
7. San Juan Capistrano Library--Reference Desk, 31495 El Camino
Real, San Juan Capistrano, California 92675; and
8. Orange County Resources & Development Management Department.--
Tim Neely, 300 North Flower Street, Santa Ana, California 92702.
Background Information
Section 9 of the Act and its implementing Federal regulations
prohibit the ``take'' of fish and wildlife species federally listed as
endangered or threatened. Take of federally listed fish or wildlife is
defined under the Act to include to kill, harm, or harass. ``Harm''
includes significant habitat modification or degradation that actually
kills or injures listed wildlife by significantly impairing essential
behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, and sheltering (50
CFR 17.3(c)). Under limited circumstances, the Service may issue
permits to authorize incidental take; i.e., take that is incidental to,
and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful activity. Although take of
plant species is not prohibited under the Act, and therefore cannot be
authorized under an incidental take permit, plant species are proposed
to be included on the permit in recognition of the conservation
benefits provided to them under the HCP. All species included on an
incidental take permit would receive assurances under the Service's,
``No Surprises'' regulation [50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)].
The Applicants seek an incidental take permit and assurances for 25
animal species and assurances for 7 plant species. Collectively, the 32
listed and unlisted species are referred to as ``Covered Species'' by
the HCP, and include 7 plant species (1 threatened [Thread-leaved
Brodiaea (Brodiaea filifolia] and 6 unlisted [California Scrub Oak
(Quercus berberidifolia), Chaparral Beargrass (Nolina cismontana),
Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia), Coulter's Saltbush (Atriplex
coulteri), Many-stemmed Dudleya (Dudleya multicaulis), and Southern
Tarplant (Centromadia parryi var. australis)]); 2 invertebrate species
(both endangered [Riverside Fairy Shrimp (Streptocephalus woottoni) and
San Diego Fairy Shrimp (Branchinecta sandiegonensis)]); 2 fish species
(unlisted [Arroyo Chub (Gila orcutti) and Partially-armored Threespine
Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus microcephalus)]); 2 amphibian
species (1 endangered [Arroyo Toad (Bufo californicus)] and 1 unlisted
[Western Spadefoot Toad (Spea hammondii)]); 7 reptile species (unlisted
[California Glossy Snake (Arizona elegans occidentalis), Coast Patch-
nosed Snake (Salvadora hexalepis virgultea), Northern Red-diamond
Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber ruber), Orange-throated Whiptail
(Aspidoscelis hyperythra), Red Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum
piceus), San Diego ``Coast'' Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum), and
Southwestern Pond Turtle (Emys [=Clemmys] marmorata pallida)]); and 12
bird species (2 endangered [Least Bell's Vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus)
and Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)], 1
threatened [Coastal California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica
californica)], and 9 unlisted [Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia),
Coastal Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus couesi), Cooper's
Hawk (Accipiter cooperii), Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus), Tricolored Blackbird (Agelaius tricolor),
White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus), Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria
virens), and Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)]). The permit would
provide take authorization for animal species identified by the HCP as
``Covered Species.'' Take authorized for listed covered animal species
would be effective upon permit issuance. For currently unlisted covered
animal species, take authorization would become effective concurrent
with listing, should the species be listed under the Act during the
permit term.
The HCP is intended to protect and sustain viable populations of
native plant and animal species and their habitats in perpetuity
through the creation of a reserve system, while accommodating continued
economic development and quality of life for residents of southern
Orange County.
The HCP plan area encompasses approximately 132,000 acres in
southern Orange County and includes the County of Orange and Rancho
Mission Viejo(RMV). It is one of two large, multiple-jurisdiction
habitat planning efforts in Orange County, each of which constitutes a
``subregional'' plan under the State of California's Natural Community
Conservation Planning Act, as amended.
As described in the Draft HCP and the Draft EIR/EIS, the proposed
HCP would provide for the creation of a reserve system that protects
and manages approximately 20,868 acres of habitat for the Covered
Species, in addition to approximately 11,950 acres of existing County
Wilderness Parkland, the 4,000-acre Audubon Starr Ranch, and
approximately 7,000 acres of existing conservation elsewhere in the
Southern Subregion of Orange County outside of the Cleveland National
Forest. The HCP identifies the proposed reserve system that will be
established as part of a Phased Dedication Program linked to phased
development on RMV lands. When completed, the reserve system will
include large habitat blocks for Covered Species, essential ecological
processes, and biological corridors and linkages to provide for the
conservation of the proposed Covered Species.
The HCP includes measures to avoid and minimize incidental take of
the Covered Species, emphasizing project design modifications to
protect both habitats and covered species. A monitoring and reporting
plan would gauge the Plan's success based on achievement of biological
goals and objectives and would ensure that conservation keeps pace with
development. The HCP also includes a management program, including
adaptive management, which allows for changes in the conservation
program if the biological species objectives are not met or new
information becomes available to improve the efficacy of the HCP's
conservation strategy.
Covered Activities would include development and all associated
infrastructure on RMV, Santa Margarita Water District projects off of
RMV but within the plan area, Prima Deshecha
[[Page 40147]]
Landfill expansion, the La Pata Road improvements and extension, and
grazing on portions of the Habitat Reserve. The HCP makes a provision
for the inclusion of lot owners in Coto de Caza.
The Draft EIR/EIS analyzes 4 other alternatives in addition to the
proposed HCP Preferred Project Alternative described above, including:
An expanded conservation alternative; an alternative formulated by the
County during the County zoning process; a ``no-take/no-streambed
alteration'' alternative; and a no-project alternative.
Public Comments
The Service and County of Orange invite the public to comment on
the Draft HCP, Draft Implementing Agreement, and Draft EIR/EIS [See
DATES]. All comments received, including names and addresses, will
become part of the official administrative record and may be made
available to the public. This notice is provided pursuant to section
10(a) of the Act and Service regulations for implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (40 CFR 1506.6). The Service will
evaluate the application, associated documents, and comments submitted
thereon to prepare a Final Environmental Impact Statement.
Dated: July 6, 2006.
Ken McDermond,
Deputy Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office, Sacramento,
California.
[FR Doc. E6-10917 Filed 7-13-06; 8:45 am]
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