Final Environmental Impact Statement and Final Deschutes Basin Habitat Conservation Plan; Klamath, Deschutes, Jefferson, Crook, Wasco, and Sherman Counties, Oregon
| Citation | 85 FR 71086 |
| Record Number | 2020-24636 |
| Published date | 06 November 2020 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Fish And Wildlife Service |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 216 (Friday, November 6, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 216 (Friday, November 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71086-71088]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24636]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2019-0091; FXES11140100000-212-FF01E00000]
Final Environmental Impact Statement and Final Deschutes Basin
Habitat Conservation Plan; Klamath, Deschutes, Jefferson, Crook, Wasco,
and Sherman Counties, Oregon
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior, National Marine Fisheries
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (together, the
Services), announce the availability of a final environmental impact
statement (FEIS) and habitat conservation plan (HCP) addressing covered
activities by the Deschutes Basin Board of Control (DBBC)'s eight-
member irrigation districts, and the City of Prineville (applicants).
The applicants are seeking incidental take permits (ITPs) covering the
incidental take of four covered species over a 30-year period. The HCP
describes the steps the applicants will take to minimize, mitigate, and
monitor the impacts of incidental take of the covered species. The FEIS
has been prepared, pursuant to NEPA, in response to these applications.
DATES: The Services' ITP decisions will occur no sooner than 30 days
after publication of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's notice
of the FEIS in the Federal Register, and will be documented in each
agency's record of decision.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain copies of the documents by any of the
following methods:
Internet: http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-
R1-ES-2019-0091, or at https://www.fws.gov/Oregonfwo/articles.cfm?id=149489716.
Upon Request: You may request alternative formats of the
documents directly from the Services (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bridget Moran, by telephone at 541-
383-7146, or by email at [email protected]; or Scott Carlon, by
telephone at 971-322-7436, or by email at [email protected].
Hearing or speech impaired individuals may call the Federal Relay
Service at 800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and
the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (jointly, the Services)
announce the availability of a final environmental impact statement
(FEIS) and final habitat conservation plan (HCP) addressing covered
activities by the Deschutes Basin Board of Control
[[Page 71087]]
(DBBC) member districts (Arnold, Central Oregon, Lone Pine, North Unit,
Ochoco, Swalley, Three Sisters, and Tumalo Irrigation Districts) and
the City of Prineville (applicants) in Klamath, Deschutes, Jefferson,
Crook, Wasco, and Sherman Counties, Oregon. The applicants are
requesting an incidental take permit (ITP) covering the take of the
federally threatened Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) and the
threatened bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) from FWS; and a separate
ITP covering take of the federally threatened Middle Columbia River
steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and the non-listed sockeye salmon
(O. nerka) from NMFS. Hereafter, these four species are collectively
referred to as the ``covered species.''
The ITPs, if issued, would authorize take of the covered species
that may occur over the 30-year permit term incidental to the storage,
release, diversion, and return of irrigation water by the DBBC member
districts, and groundwater withdrawals, effluent discharges, and
surface water diversions by the City of Prineville (collectively, the
``covered activities'').
The HCP describes the impacts that will likely result from the take
of the covered species and describes the steps the applicants will take
to minimize and mitigate such impacts. The HCP also describes the
covered species' life history and ecology, as well as the biological
goals and objectives of the HCP, adaptive management, monitoring, and
funding assurances.
The FEIS was prepared by FWS in response to the ITP applications
from the applicants, with input from NMFS as a cooperating agency. The
Services also jointly considered comments received on the draft HCP and
draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), in accordance with the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.).
Background
All eight water districts are quasi-municipal corporations formed
and operated according to Oregon State law to distribute water to
irrigators (patrons) within designated geographic boundaries and in
accordance with the individual water rights held by those patrons. The
City of Prineville operates City-owned infrastructure and provides
essential services--including public safety, municipal water supply,
and sewage treatment--for more than 9,000 residents. The applicants
have determined that continued operation of irrigation and essential
services requires ITPs to address unavoidable take of covered species,
which is ongoing.
The applicants have proposed a conservation program to avoid,
minimize, and mitigate the impacts of taking of the covered species.
The HCP addresses the adverse effects of the covered activities on the
covered species by reducing or eliminating those effects to the maximum
extent practicable, and by mitigating effects that cannot be eliminated
altogether. In general, adverse effects on listed species can result
from direct harm or injury of individuals of the species, and through
changes in habitat that interfere with the essential life activities of
the species. Both types of effects are addressed in the HCP
conservation measures. The covered activities affect the covered
species primarily through changes in the hydrology (flow) of occupied
waters associated with the storage, release, diversion, and return of
irrigation water.
In the course of storing, releasing, diverting, and returning
irrigation water, the applicants alter the hydrology of the Deschutes
River and a number of its tributaries. In a similar fashion, the
pumping of groundwater for municipal water supply by the City of
Prineville affects the hydrology in one of those tributaries, the
Crooked River. In most cases, the hydrologic changes resulting from
activities covered by the HCP have adverse impacts on aquatic habitats
for the covered species. When flows are reduced, the total area of
usable habitat for aquatic species generally decreases and water
temperatures typically increase to the extent that habitat quality is
negatively impacted. The HCP's conservation measures will modify
irrigation activities that reduce in-stream flow (storage and diversion
of water) to address the adverse effects. As a result, with
implementation of the HCP, flows in the affected reaches will be higher
than they were historically (over the last 50+ years) in the winter,
and water temperatures (particularly peak summer temperatures) will be
lower.
The actions considered in the FEIS are approval of the HCP and
issuance of ITPs (one from each of the Services) with a term of 30
years to the applicants, if permit issuance criteria are met. The
Services will each make an independent decision regarding coverage for
incidental take of the species under its respective jurisdiction.
Endangered Species Act
Section 9 of the ESA and its implementing regulations prohibit
``take'' of fish and wildlife species listed as endangered (16 U.S.C.
1538(a)(1)). Section 4 of the ESA allows FWS and NMFS to issue
regulations which prohibit the take of any fish and wildlife species
listed as threatened, as well (16 U.S.C. 1533(d)). The take prohibition
has been extended, in whole or in part, to the three covered species
that are listed as threatened. However, steelhead that occur above
Round Butte Dam on the Deschutes River are designated as a nonessential
experimental population under section 10(j) of the ESA. Incidental take
is allowed for legally authorized activities that may affect this
species. This designation will expire on January 15, 2025, at which
time take prohibitions shall be in place. Under section 3 of the ESA,
the term ``take'' means to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound,
kill, trap, capture, or collect, or attempt to engage in any such
conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1538). Under section 10(a) of the ESA, the
Services may issue permits to authorize incidental take of listed fish
and wildlife species. ``Incidental take'' is defined by the ESA as take
that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an
otherwise lawful activity. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA contains
provisions for issuing ITPs to non-Federal entities for the take of
endangered and threatened species, provided the following criteria are
met:
1. The taking will be incidental;
2. The applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable, minimize
and mitigate the impacts of such taking;
3. The applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the HCP 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
Services may require as being necessary or appropriate for purposes of
the HCP.
National Environmental Policy Act
In compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), FWS prepared a
FEIS analyzing the proposed action (identified as the Services'
preferred alternative), a no-action alternative, and two additional
alternatives to the proposed action. The environmental consequences of
each alternative were analyzed to determine if significant impacts to
the human environment would occur.
Alternative 1--No-action Alternative: No ITPs would be issued, and
the applicants' HCP would not be implemented. Under Alternative 1,
ongoing applicant activities would remain subject to the take
prohibition for listed species under section 9 of the ESA. This
alternative assumes continuation of actions covered in an ESA section 7
biological opinion issued
[[Page 71088]]
to the Bureau of Reclamation addressing the effects of water management
activities in the Upper Deschutes River Basin to the Oregon spotted
frog, and continuation of actions covered in other ESA section 7
consultation documents addressing the effects of Deschutes River Basin
projects to the Middle Columbia River steelhead trout and the bull
trout.
Alternative 2--Proposed Action, Deschutes Basin HCP: Under this
alternative, identified as the preferred alternative in the FEIS, the
Services would issue 30-year ITPs to the applicants for incidental take
of the four covered species caused by covered activities in the plan
area, and the applicants would implement the HCP. Over the 30-year
period of HCP implementation, in-stream flows would be modified to
mimic more natural flow patterns to support the various life stages of
the covered species.
Alternative 3--Enhanced Variable Streamflows: Under this
alternative, the Services would issue ITPs to the applicants for the
same plan area, covered lands and waters, covered species, covered
activities, and permit term as described for the proposed action, but
with modifications to the HCP conservation strategy, including
increased fall and winter flows in the Deschutes River below Wickiup
Dam, in-stream protection of uncontracted water releases on the Crooked
River for fish and wildlife, and the inclusion of a habitat improvement
fund for projects in the Upper Deschutes River Basin.
Alternative 4--Accelerated Schedule for Enhanced Variable
Streamflows: Under this alternative, the Services would issue ITPs to
the applicants for the same plan area, covered lands and waters,
covered species, and covered activities as described for the proposed
action, but with a 20-year permit term and modifications to the HCP
conservation strategy for an accelerated schedule for increases in fall
and winter flows in the Deschutes River below Wickiup Dam, in-stream
protection of additional uncontracted water releases on the Crooked
River for fish and wildlife, and the habitat improvement fund for
projects in the Upper Deschutes River Basin.
As the DEIS was developed prior to the Council on Environmental
Quality's issuance of updated regulations implementing NEPA which went
into effect on September 14, 2020 (40 CFR 1506.13), the FEIS was
completed under the previous regulations in the interest of time and
efficiency.
EPA's Role in the EIS Process
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged with reviewing
all Federal agency EISs and commenting on the adequacy and
acceptability of the environmental impacts of proposed actions
addressed in these EISs. Therefore, EPA is publishing a notice in the
Federal Register announcing this EIS, as required under section 309 of
the Clean Air Act. EPA serves as the repository (EIS database) for EISs
prepared by Federal agencies. You may search for EPA comments on EISs,
along with EISs themselves, at https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-public/action/eis/search.
Public Involvement
The notice of intent (NOI) to prepare a DEIS was published in the
Federal Register on July 24, 2017 (82 FR 34326). The NOI also announced
a public scoping period (July 24, 2017, through September 22, 2017),
during which interested parties were invited to provide written
comments related to the proposal. Four public scoping meetings were
held: Two in Madras, Oregon, on August 14, 2017; and two in Bend,
Oregon, on August 15, 2017. The meetings were convened in accordance
with NEPA procedures (40 CFR 1501.7). Using public scoping comments,
FWS prepared a DEIS to analyze the effects of the above alternatives on
the human environment, with input from NMFS as a cooperating agency. A
notice of availability (NOA) of the DEIS and draft HCP was published by
FWS in the Federal Register on October 4, 2019 (84 FR 53164), opening a
45-day public comment period. Also on that day, NMFS published a NOA
for the draft HCP in the Federal Register (84 FR 53114), also
announcing a 45-public comment period. The Services also published a
15-day extension of the comment period on October 29, 2019 (84 FR
58169; 85 FR 61026), bringing the total comment period to 60 days for
both the DEIS and draft HCP. Two public open-house meetings were held,
on October 15, 2019, in Bend, Oregon, and on October 16, 2019, in
Prineville, Oregon, to solicit additional input from the public on the
DEIS and draft HCP. A total of 1,611 comment letters and electronic
submissions were received from the public. The official comment period
ended on December 4, 2019.
Next Steps
The Services will evaluate the permit applications, associated
documents, and public comments in reaching a final decision on whether
the applications meet the requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA (16
U.S.C. 1539 et seq.). The Services will also each evaluate whether the
proposed permit action would comply with section 7 of the ESA. If the
requirements are met, the Services will issue the ITPs to the
applicants. Each agency (FWS and NMFS) will issue a record of decision,
and approve or deny the request for an ITP no sooner than 30 days after
publication of EPA's NOA of the FEIS in the Federal Register.
Public Review
We are not requesting public comments on the FEIS and HCP, but any
written comments we receive will become part of the public record
associated with this action. Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in a
comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including your
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any
time. While you can request in your comment that we withhold your
personal identifying 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.
Authority
We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of
section 10 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA and its
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1503.1 and 1506.6).
Robyn Thorson,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Conservation, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-24636 Filed 11-5-20; 8:45 am]
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