[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 66 (Friday, April 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17134-17135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-6413]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. /607C]
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 and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: Limit 10(i) of the June 28, 2005, Endangered Species Act (ESA)
provides that road maintenance programs that comply with a program
substantially similar to that contained in the Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT) Guide that is determined to meet or exceed the
protections provided by the ODOT Guide can be excepted from the
prohibitions provided in earlier sections of that rule. The Five
Counties Salmon Conservation Program's (5 C) ``A Water Quality and
Stream Habitat Protection Manual for County Road Maintenance in
Northwestern California Watersheds'' (Manual), is a comprehensive road
maintenance program for Humboldt, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Trinity, and
Mendocino Counties (5 C area). If the Manual is qualified under Limit
10(i), each of the five counties would adopt the Manual as its road
maintenance program. To facilitate NMFS review of the Manual under
Limit 10(i), 5 C prepared a submittal package that addresses each of
the approval criterion in the 4(d) rule. The Manual would affect two
Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) of threatened salmon and two
Distinct Population Segments (DPSs) of threatened steelhead identified
in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below. The Manual specifies the future
management practices for routine road maintenance activities within the
5 C area. This notice serves to inform the public of the availability
of the Manual and submittal package for review and comment.
DATES: Written comments on the Manual and submittal package must be
received at the appropriate address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) no
later than 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time on May 7, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to Garwin Yip,
Protected Resources Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1655
Heindon Road, Arcata, CA 95521. Comments may also be sent via fax to
(707) 825-4840 or e-mail at 5C4DRule.SWR@noaa.gov. Comments will not be
accepted if submitted via the Internet. Copies of the Manual and
submittal package are available on the Internet at http://
www.5counties.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Garwin Yip at phone number: (707) 825-
5166, or e-mail: garwin.yip@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is relevant to the salmonid ESUs
and DPSs listed as threatened in the 5 C area and covered by the June
2005 4(d) Rule. These ESUs and DPSs include the Southern Oregon/
Northern California Coast coho salmon ESU, California Coastal Chinook
salmon ESU, Northern California steelhead DPS, and Central California
Coast steelhead DPS.
Background
On June 28, 2005, NMFS adopted a rule under section 4(d) of the ESA
of 1973, as amended prohibiting the ``take'' of 20 groups of salmon and
steelhead listed as threatened under the ESA the 4(d) Rule. That rule
also describes limits on the extension of the definition of take to
certain state and local programs in 13 specific categories, including
Routine Road Maintenance (Limit 10). Limit 10(i) provides that routine
road maintenance activities conducted by employees or agents of a
state, county, city, or port that complies with a program substantially
similar to that contained in the ODOT Guide that is determined to meet
or exceed the protections provided by the ODOT Guide are eligible for
the limitation on the definition of ``take'' of threatened species as
to those road maintenance activities.
Each of the 5 counties of Humboldt, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Trinity,
and Mendocino will adopt the Manual to obtain coverage under Limit
10(i) of the 4(d) Rule, should NMFS find the Manual is consistent with
Limit 10(i). For NMFS to approve the Manual under Limit 10(i), it must
find that the Manual meets or exceeds the protections provided by the
ODOT Guide. To facilitate the approval of the Manual, the 5 C prepared
the submittal package that includes a comparison, where applicable, of
each category of maintenance practices and how they are equal to or
exceeds the protections provided by the ODOT Guide.
In March 2007, the 5 C submitted the submittal package and Manual
to NMFS for approval under the 4(d) rule. Within the Manual, Chapter 1
explains watershed basics, stream habitat needs, and road treatment
principles. Chapter 2 explains the regulatory process in establishing
the necessary permits in
[[Page 17135]]
order to implement any of the routine road maintenance activities.
Chapters 3 through 9 provide the Best Management Practices (BMPs) for
routine road maintenance activities, and includes a description of the
activity, any environmental concerns, permits that may be required, and
useful references. The Manual also consists of specific road
maintenance activities, staff training, implementation and
effectiveness monitoring, adaptive management, emergency response
measures, and reporting requirements.
For each road maintenance activity, the Manual provides BMPs
designed to achieve desired conservation outcomes. Only activities that
fall under the definition of ``maintenance'' are include in the Manual.
Repair and maintenance include activities that are conducted on
currently serviceable structures, facilities, and equipment which
involve no expansion of or change in use of such structures,
facilities, and equipment beyond those which existed previously, and do
not result in significant negative hydrological impact.
The road maintenance project categories covered by the Manual
include maintaining roads (e.g., grading, road surfacing, dust
abatement, vegetation management, and winterizing the road system),
maintaining culverts (e.g., culvert cleaning, improvement, repair,
sizing, and replacement; ditch relief culverts, and temporary stream
diversions), disposal of spoils, managing maintenance yards (e.g.,
facility housekeeping practices, building and grounds maintenance,
vehicle and equipment maintenance, and material use and storage),
maintaining bridges (e.g., bridge maintenance, repair, and drift
removal), working with an emergency (e.g., emergency maintenance, slide
and settlement repair, and accident clean-up), and dealing with snow
and ice (snow and ice removal, de-icing/anti-icing and sanding).
As specified in 50 CFR 223.203(b)(10)(i), the prohibitions of 50
CFR 223.203(a) relating to certain threatened species do not apply to
routine road maintenance activities provided that NMFS finds that the
program meets or exceeds the protections provided by the ODOT Guide.
Authority
Under section 4 of the ESA, the Secretary of Commerce is required
to adopt such regulations as he deems necessary and advisable for the
conservation of species listed as threatened. The ESA salmon and
steelhead 4(d) rule (June 28, 2005; 70 FR 37160) specifies categories
of activities that contribute to the conservation of listed salmonids
and sets out the criteria for such activities. The rule further
provides that the prohibitions of paragraph (a) of the rule do not
apply to activity associated with routine road maintenance, provided
that any state or local program comports with the standard described
above and has been approved by NMFS to be in accordance with the salmon
and steelhead 4(d) rule (June 28, 2005; 70 FR 37160).
Dated: March 30, 2007.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-6413 Filed 4-5-07; 8:45 am]
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