[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 22 (Friday, February 1, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7445-7447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02256]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2012-N271;FXES11120200000F2-134-FF02ENEH00]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for a General Conservation Plan for the American Burying
Beetle for Pipelines and Well Field Development in Oklahoma and Texas
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent; announcement of meetings; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), advise the
public that we intend to prepare a draft environmental impact statement
(EIS) to evaluate the impacts of, and alternatives to, the proposed
General Conservation Plan (GCP) for incidental take of the federally
listed American burying beetle (ABB) resulting from activities
associated with construction, maintenance, operation, and repair of oil
and gas pipelines, and related well field activities. Individual oil
and gas companies would apply for an Endangered Species Act 10(a)(1)(B)
permit and agree to implement the approved GCP. A GCP is a conservation
plan suitable for the needs of a local area where the NEPA requirements
and permit issuance criteria are met. After approval of the GCP,
individuals apply for a permit for incidental take associated with
activities covered in the GCP and agree to comply with the terms and
conditions of the GCP. We notice these permit applications and request
comments from the public.
DATES: In order to be included in the analysis, all comments must be
received by March 4, 2013. We will hold two public scoping meetings
within the 43-county proposed covered area within the ABB's range.
Exact meeting locations and times will be noticed in local newspapers
and at the Oklahoma Ecological Services Office Web site, http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/Oklahoma/, at least 2 weeks prior to each
event.
ADDRESSES: Please provide comments in writing, by one of the following
methods:
Email: [email protected]; or
U.S. mail: Field Supervisor, Oklahoma Ecological Services Field
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK
74129.
Please specify that your information request or comments concerns
the Oil and Gas draft EIS/GCP.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Dixie Porter, by U.S. mail at the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oklahoma Ecological Services Field
Office, 9014 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK 74129, or by phone at 918-581-7458.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We publish this notice in compliance with
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and its implementing regulations in the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR 1506.6, and section 10(c) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.). We intend to gather the information necessary to prepare an EIS
to evaluate the impacts of, and alternatives to, the proposed issuance
of incidental take permits under the Act to applicants who agree to
implement the GCP, which is also under development. The proposed GCP is
a habitat conservation plan that will cover take of the ABB that is
incidental to activities associated with the construction, operation,
maintenance, and repair of oil and gas pipelines and related well field
activities, and will include measures necessary to minimize and
mitigate impacts to covered species and their habitats to the maximum
extent practicable. All NEPA requirements and permit issuance criteria
will be met up front; then, after approval of the GCP, companies will
apply for an incidental take permit pursuant to the GCP.
Background
Section 9 of the Act prohibits ``taking'' of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered under section 4 of the Act. The Act's
implementing regulations extend, under certain circumstances, the
prohibition of take to threatened species. Under section 3 of the Act,
the term ``take'' means ``to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound,
kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such
conduct.'' The term ``harm'' is defined by regulation as ``an act which
actually kills or injures wildlife. Such act may include significant
habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures
wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns,
including breeding, feeding, or sheltering'' (50 CFR 17.3). The term
``harass'' is defined in the regulations as ``an intentional or
negligent act or omission which creates the likelihood of injury to
wildlife by annoying it to such an extent as to significantly disrupt
normal behavioral patterns which include, but are not limited to,
breeding, feeding, or sheltering'' (50 CFR 17.3).
Under Section 10(a)(1)(B), the Secretary of the Interior may
authorize the taking of federally listed species if such taking occurs
incidental to otherwise legal activities and where a conservation plan
has been developed that describes: (1) The impact that will result from
such taking; (2) the steps an applicant will take to minimize and
mitigate that take to the maximum extent practicable, and the funding
that will be available to implement such steps; (3) the alternative
actions to such taking that an applicant considered and the reasons why
such alternatives are not being utilized; and (4) other measures that
the Service may require as being necessary or appropriate for the
purposes of the plan. Issuance criteria for an incidental take permit
requires
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the Service to find that: (1) The taking will be incidental to
otherwise lawful activities; (2) an applicant will, to the maximum
extent practicable, minimize and mitigate the impacts of such taking;
(3) an applicant has ensured that adequate funding for the 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
measures, if any, we require as necessary or appropriate for the
purposes of the plan will be met. Regulations governing permits for
endangered and threatened species are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32,
respectively.
We expect applicants to request permit coverage for a period of 20
years.
Public Scoping
A primary purpose of the scoping process is to receive suggestions
and information on the scope of issues and alternatives to consider
when drafting the EIS, and to identify, rather than debate, significant
issues related to the proposed action. In order to ensure that we
identify a range of issues and alternatives related to the proposed
action, we invite comments and suggestions from all interested parties.
We will conduct a review of this project according to the requirements
of NEPA and its regulations, other relevant Federal laws, regulations,
policies, and guidance, and our procedures for compliance with
applicable regulations.
We will hold two public scoping meetings: One in Tulsa, at the
Oklahoma State University Tulsa Campus, and one in McAlester, Oklahoma.
We will provide notices in local newspapers and on the Oklahoma
Ecological Services Office Web site, http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/Oklahoma/, with dates, times, and specific locations at least 2 weeks
prior to each event. Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order
to attend and participate in a public meeting should contact us at the
address listed in the ADDRESSES section no later than 1 week before the
relevant public meeting. Information regarding this proposed action is
available in alternative formats upon request.
We will accept oral and written comments at each meeting. You may
also submit written comments to the Field Supervisor at the email or
U.S. mail addresses in the ADDRESSES section, above. Once the draft EIS
and draft GCP are completed, there will be further opportunities for
public comment on the content of these documents through additional
public meetings and a 90-day public comment period.
Alternatives
The proposed action presented in the draft EIS will be compared to
the No-Action alternative. The No-Action alternative represents
estimated future conditions without the application for, or issuance
of, an incidental take permit. No-Action represents the status quo.
No-Action Alternative
Under the no-action alternative, described operators would comply
with the Act by avoiding impacts (take) to the ABB where practicable.
If take cannot be avoided and there is Federal involvement in the
project (for example a Federal permit such as a Corps of Engineers 404
Clean Water Act permit, authorization, or funding exists) an operator
or individual may receive take coverage through a biological opinion
issued by the Service to the Federal action agency. If there is no
Federal involvement in the project operators or individuals can apply
for an incidental take permit from the Service. This approach is more
time-consuming and less efficient because permits would need to be
considered and processed one project at a time. This can result in an
isolated independent mitigation approach.
Proposed Alternative
The proposed action is issuance of an incidental take permit for
the covered species during construction, operation, and/or maintenance
of pipelines or other well field development-related activities. The
proposed GCP, which must meet the requirements in section 10(a)(2)(A)
of the Act, would be developed in coordination with the Service and
implemented by an applicant. This alternative will allow for a
comprehensive mitigation approach for authorized impacts and result in
a more efficient and timely permit processing effort for the Service
and the applicants. Actions covered under the requested incidental take
permit may include possible take of covered species associated with
activities including, but not limited to, construction, operation,
maintenance, repair to pipelines or other well field development
related activities.
Forty-three counties are in the proposed permit area, including
Adair, Atoka, Bryan, Carter, Cherokee, Choctaw, Cleveland, Coal, Craig,
Creek, Delaware, Garfield, Garvin, Haskell, Hughes, Johnston, Latimer,
Le Flore, Love, Major, Marshall, Mayes, McClain, McCurtain, McIntosh,
Muskogee, Nowata, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pittsburg,
Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Pushmataha, Rogers, Seminole, Sequoyah, Tulsa,
Wagoner, and Washington counties in Oklahoma and Lamar and Red River
counties in Texas. The species covered under the requested incidental
take permit is the ABB. We will be evaluating whether the covered
activities will impact other species and whether they should be
included on the permit or if management practices can be implemented
that are sufficient to avoid take. These species and their legal status
include:
American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)--
Threatened (Similarity of Appearance)
Arkansas darter (Etheostoma cragini)--Candidate
Arkansas River shiner (Notropis girardi)--Threatened,
Arkansas R. Basin population, with Critical Habitat
Black-Capped Vireo (Vireo atricapilla)--Endangered
Gray bat (Myotis grisescens)--Endangered
Harperella (Ptilimnium nodosum)--Endangered
Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis)--Endangered
Least tern (Sterna antillarum)--Endangered, interior
population
Leopard darter (Percina pantherina)--Threatened with
Critical Habitat
Neosho madtom (Noturus placidus)--Threatened
Neosho Mucket (Lampsilis rafinesqueana)--Proposed
Endangered
Ouachita Rock pocketbook (Arkansia wheeleri)--Endangered
Ozark Big-Eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii ingens)--
Endangered
Ozark cavefish (Amblyopsis rosae)--Threatened
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)--Threatened, except
Great Lakes watershed population
Rabbitsfoot (Quadrula cylindrica ssp. cylindrica)--
Proposed Threatened
Red-Cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis)--Endangered
Scaleshell mussel (Leptodea leptodon)--Endangered
Sprague's Pipit (Anthus spragueii)--Candidate
Whooping crane (Grus americana)--Endangered, except in the
experimental population area
Winged Mapleleaf (Quadrula fragosa)--Endangered; except
where listed as experimental populations
We do not anticipate that covered activities will result in take of
these species, but we seek comments to help inform our evaluation.
We will also evaluate whether covered activities are likely to
impact the unlisted bald eagle (Haliaeetus
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leucocephalus), which is protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle
Protection Act.
Other Alternatives
We seek information regarding other reasonable alternatives during
this scoping period and will evaluate the impacts associated with such
alternatives in the draft EIS.
Public Availability of Comments
Written comments we receive become part of the public record
associated with this action. Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware that the entire comment--including
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available
at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Environmental Analysis
The Service will conduct an analysis of the impacts to the ABB and
its habitat, and other resources such as vegetation, wetlands,
wildlife, geology and soils, air quality, water resources, water
quality, cultural resources, land use, recreation, water use, local
economy, climate change, and environmental justice resulting from the
proposed GCP and other alternatives considered. Following completion of
the analysis, the Service will publish a notice of availability and a
request for comments on the draft EIS and the draft GCP. The draft EIS
and draft GCP are expected to be completed and available to the public
in January or February, 2013.
Dated: December 17, 2012.
Joy E. Nicholopoulos,
Acting, Regional Director, Southwest Region, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-02256 Filed 1-31-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P