[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 149 (Wednesday, August 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42408-42409]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-19973]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Availability of a Habitat Conservation Plan and Receipt of an
Application for an Incidental Take Permit for the Tulare Irrigation
District Main Intake Canal Lining Project, Tulare County, California
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and receipt of application.
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SUMMARY: The Tulare Irrigation District has applied to the Fish and
Wildlife Service for an incidental take permit pursuant to section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The
Service proposes to issue a 5-year permit to the Tulare Irrigation
District that would authorize take of the threatened valley elderberry
longhorn beetle (Desmocerus californicus dimorphus) incidental to
otherwise lawful activities. Such take would occur during the concrete
lining of 9.7 miles of an existing canal in Tulare County, California.
Lining of the canal would result in the loss of up to 54 elderberry
plants with 227 stems which provide habitat for the valley elderberry
longhorn beetle.
We request comments from the public on the permit application,
which is available for review. The application includes a Habitat
Conservation Plan (Plan). The Plan describes the proposed project and
the measures that the Tulare Irrigation District would undertake to
minimize and mitigate take of the valley elderberry longhorn beetle.
We also request comments on our preliminary determination that the
Plan qualifies as a ``low-effect'' Habitat Conservation Plan, eligible
for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy
Act. The basis for this determination is discussed in an Environmental
Action Statement, which also is available for public review.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before September 3,
1999.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Mr. Wayne White, Field Supervisor,
Fish and Wildlife Service, 3310 El Camino Avenue, Suite 130,
Sacramento, California 95821-6340. Comments may be sent by facsimile to
916-979-2744.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Chris Davis, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, at the above address or call (916) 979-2728.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Document Availability
Please contact the above office if you would like copies of the
application, Plan, and Environmental Action Statement. Documents also
will be available for review by appointment, during normal business
hours at the above address.
Background
Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act and Federal regulation
prohibit the ``take'' of fish or wildlife species listed as endangered
or threatened. Take of listed fish or wildlife is defined under the Act
to include kill, harm, or harass. The Service may, under limited
circumstances, issue permits to authorize incidental take; i.e., take
that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, the carrying out of an
otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental take
permits for threatened and endangered species are found in 50 CFR 17.32
and 17.22, respectively.
The Tulare Irrigation District operates the Main Intake Canal
(canal) primarily to transport an average of 60,000 acre-feet of water
from the St. Johns and Kaweah Rivers to agricultural areas within
Tulare Irrigation District boundaries. The canal begins at a turnout on
the Friant-Kern Canal, approximately 4 miles east of the community of
Ivanhoe in Tulare County, and proceeds in a general southwesterly
direction to the Tulare Irrigation District boundary at Road 132,
approximately 3 miles west of the community of Farmersville. The
existing canal is unlined with a varying capacity up to 900 cubic feet
per second. Since 1978, the canal has conveyed water an average of 177
days per year. According to the Tulare Irrigation District,
approximately 10 percent of water conveyed through the canal is lost to
seepage. Therefore, the Tulare Irrigation District has proposed to line
the canal to conserve water, increase water deliveries, and decrease
[[Page 42409]]
per-unit costs associated with water deliveries.
Although the maintained banks of the canal are generally
unvegetated, elderberry bushes and several mature oaks and cottonwoods
are present within adjacent Tulare Irrigation District right-of-ways.
Land use adjacent to the canal is primarily agricultural (vineyards,
orchards, and nurseries) interspersed with stretches of sparse
residential and industrial developments. The Tulare Irrigation District
comprises approximately 70,000 acres of land that has been entirely
developed for agricultural, residential, and/or commercial purposes.
In 1998, biologists surveyed the project area for special-status
wildlife and plant species that could be affected by the project. Based
upon those surveys, the Service concluded the project may result in
take of one federally listed species, the threatened valley elderberry
longhorn beetle.
The Tulare Irrigation District has agreed to implement the
following measures to minimize and mitigate take of the valley
elderberry longhorn beetle: (1) Protect elderberry bushes in place
where possible by using protective fencing and conducting educational
meetings with contractors to highlight the importance of protecting
elderberry bushes; and (2) make a one-time payment into the Valley
Elderberry Longhorn Beetle Mitigation Fund that has been established
through a joint agreement between the Service and the Center for
Natural Lands Management. Payments made to the Mitigation Fund would be
dispersed by the Center for Natural Lands Management at the direction
of the Service to preserve and manage large tracts of habitat suitable
for supporting valley elderberry longhorn beetle.
The Proposed Action consists of the issuance of an incidental take
permit and implementation of the Plan to minimize and mitigate impacts
of the project on the valley elderberry longhorn beetle. An alternative
to the taking of listed species under the Proposed Action is considered
in the Plan. Under the No Action Alternative, no permit would be
issued. Under this alternative, canal operation would continue to
result in the loss of up to 6,000 acre-feet of water per year. The
Tulare Irrigation District considered five other alternatives described
in the Plan, but did not select them for various reasons, including
disagreement among, or opposition from, local landowners.
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the Plan
qualifies as a ``low-effect'' plan as defined by its Habitat
Conservation Planning Handbook (November 1996). We made this
determination by evaluating the following criteria: (1) Implementation
of the Plan would result in minor or negligible effects on federally
listed, proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2)
implementation of the Plan would result in minor or negligible effects
on other environmental values or resources; and (3) impacts of the
Plan, considered together with the impacts of other past, present and
reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects would not result,
over time, in cumulative effects to environmental values or resources
which would be considered significant. As more fully explained in the
Service's Environmental Action Statement, the Tulare Irrigation
District Plan likely qualifies as a ``low-effect'' plan for the
following reasons:
1. Approval of the Plan would result in minor or negligible
effects on the valley elderberry longhorn beetle and its habitat.
The Service does not anticipate significant direct or cumulative
effects to the valley elderberry longhorn beetle resulting from
lining of the existing canal.
2. Approval of the Plan would not have adverse effects on unique
geographic, historic or cultural sites, or involve unique or unknown
environmental risks.
3. Approval of the Plan would not result in any cumulative or
growth inducing impacts and, therefore, would not result in
significant adverse effects on public health or safety.
4. The project does not require compliance with Executive Order
11988 (Floodplain Management), Executive Order 11990 (Protection of
Wetlands), or the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, nor does it
threaten to violate a Federal, State, local or tribal law or
requirement imposed for the protection of the environment.
5. Approval of the Plan would not establish a precedent for
future action or represent a decision in principle about future
actions with potentially significant environmental effects.
The Service therefore has preliminarily determined that approval
of the Plan qualifies as a categorical exclusion under the National
Environmental Policy Act, as provided by the Department of the
Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1).
Based upon this preliminary determination, we do not intend to
prepare further National Environmental Policy Act documentation. The
Service will consider public comments in making its final
determination on whether to prepare such additional documentation.
The Service provides this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of
the Endangered Species Act. We will evaluate the permit application,
the Plan, and comments submitted thereon to determine whether the
application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the
Endangered Species Act. If the requirements are met, the Service
will issue a permit to the Tulare Irrigation District for incidental
take of the valley elderberry longhorn beetle during lining of the
canal. We will make the final permit decision no sooner than 30 days
from the date of this notice.
Dated: July 24, 1999.
Elizabeth H. Stevens,
Deputy Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office, Sacramento,
California.
[FR Doc. 99-19973 Filed 8-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
