Notice2024-20625
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for Olympia Pocket Gopher; Tumwater Operations and Maintenance Facility, Thurston County, WA; Categorical Exclusion
Primary source
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Published
September 17, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an application from the City of Tumwater Transportation and Engineering Department (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. The ITP would authorize the applicant's take of the federally threatened Olympia subspecies of the Mazama pocket gopher (Thomomys mazama pugetensis) ("covered species"), incidental to their otherwise lawful construction and infrastructure improvements at two locations in the City of Tumwater, Thurston County, Washington. We request public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft environmental action statement and categorical exclusion screening form, both of which are also available for public review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76130-76132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20625]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R1-ES-2024-0119; FXES11140100000-245-FF01E00000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for Olympia Pocket Gopher; Tumwater
Operations and Maintenance Facility, Thurston County, WA; Categorical
Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an
application from the City of Tumwater Transportation and Engineering
Department (applicant) for an incidental
[[Page 76131]]
take permit (ITP) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. The ITP would
authorize the applicant's take of the federally threatened Olympia
subspecies of the Mazama pocket gopher (Thomomys mazama pugetensis)
(``covered species''), incidental to their otherwise lawful
construction and infrastructure improvements at two locations in the
City of Tumwater, Thurston County, Washington. We request public
comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed
habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's preliminary
determination that the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a
categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental
Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the
Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI
Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary determination, we
prepared a draft environmental action statement and categorical
exclusion screening form, both of which are also available for public
review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and
Federal agencies.
DATES: Please submit written comments by October 17, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining documents: The documents this notice announces, as well
as any comments and other materials that we receive, will be available
for public inspection online in on Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2024-0119 at
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Submitting comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by one of the following methods:
<bullet> Online: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2024-0119.
<bullet> U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R1-ES-2024-0119; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS:
PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Connally, Washington Fish and
Wildlife Office, by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#503b3526393e0f333f3e3e313c3c29103627237e373f26"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7a111f0c131425191514141b1616033a1c0d09541d150c">[email protected]</span></a>, or by telephone at
360-753-9440. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind,
hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in
the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), received an incidental take permit (ITP) application from
the City of Tumwater pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The ITP,
if issued, would authorize the incidental take of the Olympia pocket
gopher (Thomomys mazama pugetensis) (covered species), resulting from
otherwise lawful construction and infrastructure improvements at two
locations in the City of Tumwater, Thurston County, Washington. We
request public comment on the application, which includes the
applicant's habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's
preliminary determination that this proposed permitting action may
qualify for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on
Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
regulations (40 CFR 1501.4), the Department of the Interior's (DOI)
NEPA regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI's Departmental Manual (516 DM
8.5(C)(2)). To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft
environmental action statement and categorical exclusion screening
form, both of which are also available for public review.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the taking of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered or threatened. The ESA defines ``take''
means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture,
or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct (16 U.S.C.
1532(19)). The term ``harm,'' as defined in our regulations, includes
significant habitat modification or degradation that results in death
or injury to listed species by significantly impairing essential
behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR
17.3).
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA contains provisions that authorize
the Service to issue permits to non-Federal entities for the take of
endangered and threatened species caused by otherwise lawful
activities, provided the following criteria are met: (1) the taking
will be incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an
otherwise lawful activity; (2) the applicant will, to the maximum
extent practicable, minimize and mitigate the impact of such taking;
(3) the applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the
conservation 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 applicant will carry out any other measures that
the Service may require as being necessary or appropriate for the
purposes of the HCP. Regulations governing permits for threatened
species are found at 50 CFR 17.32. The Service's general permitting
regulations are found at 50 CFR part 13.
Proposed Project
The applicant proposes to construct and maintain seven new
buildings, parking, access roads, a staging area for materials, a park
and recreational features, a rain garden, landscaping, frontage
improvements on 79th Avenue SE, and a roundabout and storm water
facilities at the intersection of Old Highway 99 SE and 79th Ave. SE,
and also to carry out other ground-disturbing activities described in
the HCP. The 26.2-acre (ac) project site (permit area) contains a total
of 8.6 ac of occupied Olympia pocket gopher habitat.
The proposed action is anticipated to impact up to 8.6 ac of
Olympia pocket gopher habitat in the permit area. The applicant
proposes to mitigate for unavoidable impacts to Olympia pocket gopher
by use of 8.6 ac of credits in the Service-approved Deschutes Corridor
conservation site purchased in 2017, which is currently occupied by the
Olympia pocket gopher. The advance mitigation credit purchase was
approved by the Service in 2017. The purchase of these credits fully
funds the permanent management, monitoring, and adaptive management on
8.6 ac of the Deschutes Corridor conservation site. The conservation
site will be managed for successful Olympia pocket gopher feeding,
breeding, and sheltering.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the
applicant's proposed project, including the construction of the
buildings and associated infrastructure, would individually and
cumulatively have a minor effect on the covered species and the human
environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily determined that the
proposed ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would qualify for application
of a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental
Quality's NEPA regulations, DOI's NEPA regulations, and the DOI
Departmental Manual.
Public Comments
You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods
listed in ADDRESSES. We specifically request
[[Page 76132]]
information, views, and suggestions from interested parties regarding
our proposed Federal action, including, without limitation, adequacy of
the HCP, whether the HCP meets requirements for permits at 50 CFR parts
13 and 17, and adequacy of the EAS pursuant to the requirements of
NEPA.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments and materials we receive become part of the public
record associated with this action. Before including your address,
phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable
information in your comments, you should be aware that your entire
comment--including your personally identifiable information--may be
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your
comment to withhold your personally identifiable information from
public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. All
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their
entirety at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Next Steps
After the public comment period ends (see DATES), we will evaluate
the permit application, associated documents, and any comments received
to determine whether the permit application meets the requirements of
section 10(a)(2)(B) of the ESA. We will also evaluate whether issuance
of the requested permit would comply with section 7 of the ESA by
conducting an intra-Service consultation under section 7(a)(2) of the
ESA on the proposed action. The final NEPA and permit determinations
will not be completed until after the end of the 30-day comment period
and will fully consider all comments received during the comment
period. If we determine that all requirements are met, we will issue an
ITP under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA to the applicant for the take
of the covered species, incidental to otherwise lawful covered
activities.
Authority
We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of
section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (50 CFR 17.32), and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500-1508 and 43 CFR 46).
Bridget Fahey,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-20625 Filed 9-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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