[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 43 (Monday, March 6, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12246-12248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5380]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Endangered and Threatened Species Permit Application
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent and meeting.
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Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement in Anticipation of
Receiving a Permit Application to Incidentally Take Threatened and
Endangered Species in Association with a Multiple Species Conservation
Plan for Southwestern San Diego County, California.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has under
consideration for approval the draft Multiple Species Conservation
Program (MSCP) plan submitted by the City of San Diego, California.
This long-term plan, prepared by the City of San Diego and 11 other
participating jurisdictions, will accompany a future application to the
Service for a permit under section 10(a) of the Endangered Species Act
that would authorize incidental take of listed species. Additionally,
the applicants will request pre-listing agreements for species which
may be listed in the future. In response to the plan, the Service
intends to prepare a joint programmatic and project-level Environmental
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) pursuant to the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California
[[Page 12247]] Environmental Quality Act. The MSCP plan covers an
approximately 900-square-mile area of rapid growth in southwestern San
Diego County. The plan addresses numerous sensitive plant and animal
species and their habitats. The MSCP creates a process for the issuance
of permits and other authorizations under the Federal ESA, California
ESA, and the California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act.
This notice describes the proposed action and possible alternatives,
notifies the public of a scoping meeting, invites public participation
in the scoping process for preparing the joint EIS/EIR, solicits
written comments, and identifies the Service official to whom questions
and comments concerning the proposed action and the joint EIS/EIR may
be directed.
DATES: A public scoping meeting will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on
March 15, 1995, at the Scottish Rite Center, 1895 Camino del Rio South,
San Diego, California 92108. Oral comments will be received during the
scoping meeting. Written comments are encouraged and should be received
on or before April 5, 1995, at the address below.
ADDRESSES: Information, comments, or questions related to preparation
of the joint EIS/EIR and the NEPA process should be submitted to Mr.
Gail Kobetich, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2730
Loker Avenue West, Carlsbad, California 92008. Written comments also
may be sent by facsimile to telephone (619) 431-9618.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Nancy Gilbert, Supervisory Fish
and Wildlife Biologist, at the above Carlsbad address, telephone (619)
431-9440. Persons wishing to obtain background material should contact
the City of San Diego, Development Services Division, Environmental
Analysis Section, 1222 First Avenue, 5th Floor, San Diego, California
92101, telephone (619) 236-6268. Documents also will be available for
public inspection by appointment during normal business hours (8 a.m.
to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday) at the above San Diego office.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The MSCP study area occupies portions of the unincorporated County
of San Diego and 10 additional city jurisdictions. The southern
boundary of the MSCP study area is the international border with
Mexico. National forest lands form much of the eastern boundary, the
Pacific Ocean lies to the west, and the northern boundary is the San
Dieguito River Valley. Conservation planning to the north of the MSCP
study area is being conducted by the San Diego Association of
Governments, and a coalition of 8 north county cities and San Diego
County. San Diego County is responsible for conservation planning in
the eastern portion of the county.
The diversity of topography, soils, and climate in the study area
combine to influence vegetative associations, which in turn support a
high diversity of plant and animal species. Topographic features in the
study area include broad flat valleys, deep canyons, perennially
flowing rivers and intermittent creeks, moderately sloped terrain and
steep hillsides, rolling foothills and nearly level mesas, coastal
bluffs, and a series of coastal bays, inlets, and lagoons. Elevations
range from mean sea level (msl) along the coast to approximately 3,738
feet above msl.
The objectives of the MSCP are to:
1. Develop a program for the maintenance of biological diversity
and the conservation/protection of self-sustaining viable populations
of federally-listed endangered, threatened, and key candidate species
and their habitats.
2. Define a Multi-Habitat Planning Area (MHPA) within which
preserve planning is focused or within which a preserve is defined, and
implement a preserve system which conserves viable habitat and provides
for wildlife use and movement.
3. Reduce the human-related causes of species' extirpation within
the MSCP study area.
4. Establish a partnership among State, Federal, and local agencies
of government to facilitate mitigation and approval of public and
private sector land development and construction projects by expediting
acquisition of Federal and State permits. This action would provide a
long-term economic benefit.
The biological goal for the preserve design is preservation of as
much of the core biological resource areas and linkages as possible.
The economic goal is for the ultimate preserve to be affordable and for
the costs to be shared equitably among the participants.
The plan proposes a new process for wildlife and habitat
conservation, and for implementation of the Federal and State of
California ESAs, which relies on existing local agency land use review
and approval authority. The new process places conservation
responsibilities on local jurisdictions, based on their ability to
implement a segment of the MSCP for their jurisdiction. In exchange for
these coordinated conservation plans, local jurisdictions will receive
from the Service permits for the taking of federally-listed species and
will enter into pre-listing agreements for protection of other species
of concern. A list of covered animal and plant species is incorporated
in the MSCP Plan, including species that are federally or state-listed,
proposed for listing, and candidates for listing.
The lands identified for open space and habitat preservation are
located within the MHPA. The MHPA was cooperatively designed by the 12
participating jurisdictions in the MSCP study area, in consultation
with the Service and California Department of Fish and Game, major
property owners and environmental groups, based on biological,
ownership, and land use criteria. Planning staff of the 5 jurisdictions
that have the largest amounts of remaining habitat in the MSCP study
area (County of San Diego and cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Poway,
and Santee) spent several months developing ``soft lines'' delineating
areas within which specified percentages of land would be preserved and
``hard lines'' delineating 100% preservation areas. The other local
jurisdictions within the MSCP study area were asked to comment on a
preserve design based solely on public ownership and general plan open-
space designations. The resulting MHPA covers 164,326 acres of habitat.
The habitat conservation described by the MHPA is approximate. The
MHPA may be modified during the course of subsequent land use and
project planning, as long as the changes are consistent with MSCP
objectives. Preserve boundaries, approved through either the MSCP plan
or subsequent land use plans, may be adjusted without the need to amend
the MSCP plan, or applicable land use plans, when the new preserve
boundary results in a preserve area that is equivalent in biological
value to the original configuration or is of greater biological value.
Although the City of San Diego will prepare the draft EIS, the
Service will be responsible for its content and scope. In addition, the
City of San Diego will act as the lead agency for the preparation of
the EIR.
Project level environmental documentation will be included in the
joint EIS/EIR for amendments to a variety of planning documents for the
cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, and Santee. The proposed amendments
would incorporate the preserve boundaries of the MSCP plan into adopted
land use plans. Actions [[Page 12248]] proposed by these 3 cities that
will be addressed in the joint EIS/EIR include, but are not limited to,
amendments to progress guides and general plans, local coastal
programs, community plans, precise plans, and zoning ordinances.
The joint EIS/EIR will consider the proposed action (issuance of a
section 10(a) ESA permit for the MSCP plan), and a reasonable range of
alternatives derived from scenarios considered during development of
the MSCP plan:
Alternative 1: Coastal Sage Scrub Scenario. This alternative would
focus on preservation of the highest quality coastal sage scrub in the
planning area with less emphasis on preserving other habitat types.
Alternative 2: Biologically Preferred/Core and Linkage Area
Scenario. This alternative would attempt to preserve those lands with
the highest conservation value in the planning area, including multiple
habitats and habitat linkages. This alternative is based heavily on
biological criteria rather than other land use issues that determine
the feasibility of preservation.
Alternative 3: Public Lands Scenario. This alternative relies more
heavily than the proposed plan on public lands and open space
associated with existing or proposed development.
Alternative 4: No Project (No Preserve) Scenario. This alternative
assumes that conservation practices throughout the study area would
occur on a project-by-project basis as occurs under existing
conditions. Under the no project alternative, a regional preserve would
not be established at this time within the MSCP study area.
Environmental review of the MSCP will be conducted in accordance
with the requirements of the 1969 NEPA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.), NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), other appropriate
regulations, and Service procedures for compliance with those
regulations. This notice is being furnished in accordance with section
1501.7 of the NEPA to obtain suggestions and information from other
agencies and the public on the scope of issues to be addressed in the
joint EIS/EIR.
Comments and participation in the scoping process are solicited.
The primary purpose of the scoping process is to identify rather than
to debate the significant issues related to the proposed action.
Interested persons are encouraged to attend the public scoping meeting
to identify and discuss issues and alternatives that should be
addressed in the joint EIS/EIR. The proposed agenda for this
facilitated meeting includes a summary of the proposed action; status
of and threats to subject species; and tentative issues, concerns,
opportunities, and alternatives. Additional public meetings will be
conducted on later dates to provide more opportunities to comment on
the draft EIS/EIR.
Dated: February 28, 1995.
Thomas J. Dwyer,
Deputy Regional Director, Region 1, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 95-5380 Filed 3-3-95; 8:45 am]
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