Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 166 / Friday, August 28, 2009 / Notices 44379 

Baseline levels for the Covered 

Species will be determined by 

completing the Baseline Habitat 

Worksheet (Attachment 4 of the 

Agreement), which will be completed 

by a person approved by the Service. 

The Service will review each baseline 

determination prior to the Applicant 

issuing a Certificate of Inclusion to the 

Cooperator. The Agreement also 

contains a monitoring component that 

requires the Applicant to ensure that the 

Cooperators are in compliance with the 

terms and conditions of the Agreement 

and maintaining baseline levels of 

habitat for the Covered Species. Results 

of these monitoring efforts will be 

provided to the Service by the 

Applicant in an annual report. 

Upon approval of this Agreement, and 

consistent with the Service’s Safe 

Harbor Policy (64 FR 32717), the Service 

would issue an Enhancement of 

Survival permit to the Applicant. This 

permit will authorize Cooperators 

issued a Certificate of Inclusion to take 

the Covered Species incidental to the 

implementation of the management 

activities specified in the Agreement, 

incidental to other lawful uses of the 

property including normal, routine land 

management activities, and incidental to 

return to baseline conditions if desired. 

Although take of listed plant species is 

not prohibited under the Act, and 

therefore cannot be authorized under an 

enhancement of survival permit, plant 

species may be included on a permit in 

recognition of the net conservation 

benefit provided to them under a safe 

harbor agreement. An applicant would 

receive assurances under our ‘‘No 

Surprises’’ regulations (50 CFR 

17.22(c)(5) and 17.32(c)(5)) for all 

species included in the Enhancement of 

Survival permit. In addition to meeting 

other criteria, actions to be performed 

under an Enhancement of Survival 

permit must not jeopardize the 

existence of federally listed fish, 

wildlife, or plants. 

Public Review and Comments 

The Service has made a preliminary 

determination that the proposed 

Agreement and permit application are 

eligible for categorical exclusion under 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 (NEPA). We explain the basis 

for this determination in an 

Environmental Action Statement that is 

also available for public review. 

Individuals wishing copies of the 

Environmental Action Statement, and/ 

or copies of the full text of the 

Agreement, including a map of the 

proposed permit area, should contact 

the office and personnel listed in the 

ADDRESSES section above. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

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 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. 

The Service will evaluate this permit 

application, associated documents, and 

comments submitted thereon to 

determine whether the permit 

application meets the requirements of 

section 10(a) of the Act and NEPA 

regulations. If the Service determines 

that the requirements are met, we will 

sign the proposed Agreement and issue 

an enhancement of survival permit 

under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act to 

the Applicant for take of the Covered 

Species incidental to otherwise lawful 

activities in accordance with the terms 

of the Agreement. The Service will not 

make our final decision until after the 

end of the 30-day comment period and 

will fully consider all comments 

received during the comment period. 

The Service provides this notice 

pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act and 

pursuant to implementing regulations 

for NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6). 

August 21, 2009. 

Susan K. Moore, 

Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and 

Wildlife Office, Sacramento, California. 

[FR Doc. E9–20747 Filed 8–27–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–ES–2008–N0201; ABC Code: 

1261–0000–80230–W2] 

Sears Point Wetland and Watershed 

Restoration Project, Sonoma County, 

CA 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments: draft environmental 

impact statement and environmental 

impact report. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service) and the 

California Department of Fish and Game 

(CDFG), in cooperation with the 

Sonoma Land Trust (SLT), have 

prepared a draft environmental impact 

report and environmental impact 

statement (DEIR/EIS) on the restoration 

of approximately 2,300 acres (ac) of 

former farm land located in Sonoma 

County, California near the San Pablo 

Bay. The proposed restoration project, 

which would be implemented by the 

SLT, would restore natural estuarine 

ecosystems on diked baylands, while 

providing public access and recreational 

and educational opportunities 

compatible with ecological and cultural 

resources protection. In accordance with 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), this notice advises other 

agencies, Tribes, and the public that the 

DEIR/EIS on the proposed Sears Point 

Wetland and Watershed Restoration 

Project is now available for review. We 

invite and encourage interested persons 

to review the document and submit 

written comments to identify issues 

related to the alternatives we address in 

the DEIR/EIS. 

DATES: We must receive written 

comments at the address below on or 

before October 13, 2009. You may 

submit comments by any one of the 

methods we describe under ADDRESSES. 

We will hold a public meeting in the fall 

of 2009, to solicit comments. See 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more 

details. 

ADDRESSES: The Draft EIS/EIR is 

available for review at: 

• Refuge Headquarters Office, San 

Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, 

2100 Highway 37, Petaluma, CA 94954; 

(707) 769–4200. 

• San Francisco Bay National 

Wildlife Refuge Complex, 9500 

Thornton Avenue, Newark, CA 94560; 

(510) 792–0222. 

• John F. Kennedy Public Library, 

505 Santa Clara, Vallejo, CA 94590. 

• http://www.sonomalandtrust.org. 

Written comments and requests for 

information may be mailed to: Christy 

Smith, Refuge Manager, San Pablo Bay 

National Wildlife Refuge, 7715 Lakeville 

Highway, Petaluma, California, 94954. 

Alternatively, you may fax written 

comments to (707) 769–8106, or send 

them by electronic mail to 

christy_smith@fws.gov. Please include 

the heading ‘‘Sears Point NEPA 

comments in your response. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christy Smith, Refuge Manager, San 

Pablo Bay NWR, (707) 769–4200 

(phone); christy_smith@fws.gov (e-mail), 

or John Brosnan, Baylands Program 

Manager, at (707) 526–6930 x109 

(phone); john@sonomalandtrust.org (email). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Location 

The project site is located at Sears 

Point near the intersection of LakevilleReclamation Road and State Route 37 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
44380 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 166 / Friday, August 28, 2009 / Notices 

(SR 37) in southern Sonoma County, 

California. The site is also traversed 

from east to west by an inactive rail line 

owned by the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail 

Transit (SMART) District. 

The project site is a total of 2,327 ac 

owned by the Sonoma Land Trust (SLT) 

and is comprised of two large 

properties, the North Point Joint 

Venture (NPJV) parcel and the Dickson 

Ranch parcel, which are situated on the 

edge of San Pablo Bay between the 

mouth of the Petaluma River and Tolay 

Creek. The 1,679-ac NPJV parcel 

extends both north and south of SR 37. 

It is bounded on the north by the 

Infineon Raceway property, on the east 

by Cougar Mountain (north of SR 37) 

and Paradise Vineyards (south of SR 

37), on the south by the SMART rail 

line, and on the west by LakevilleReclamation Road. The 648-ac Dickson 

Ranch parcel is located entirely south of 

Highway 37, and is bounded on the 

north by the SMART rail line, on the 

west by Tolay Creek, on the south by 

San Pablo Bay, and on the west by the 

outboard levee as it veers bayward from 

the SMART rail line. The entire Dickson 

Ranch parcel and 858 ac of the NPJV 

parcel are located within the approved 

acquisition boundary of the San Pablo 

Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The SLT 

proposes to transfer a 350-acre parcel of 

this land bounded by Highway 37 and 

the SMART rail line, to the Service, and 

the remainder of the land to CDFG. 

Alternatives 

We identified and analyzed a total of 

eight alternatives. The alternatives were 

analyzed based on a set of criteria, 

including (1) ability to meet the project 

purpose and need, (2) technical, 

logistical, and financial feasibility, and 

(3) ability to avoid or substantially 

reduce one or more significant impacts. 

We removed five of these alternatives 

from further consideration because they 

did not meet the purpose and need, 

were not feasible, or did not provide 

substantial variation in environmental 

impacts. The lead agencies carried 

forward three possible alternatives for 

environmental analysis: the No-Action 

Alternative, the Partial-Tidal (Preferred) 

Restoration Alternative, and the FullTidal Restoration Alternative. 

No-Action Alternative 

Under the No-Action Alternative, 

there would be no wetland restoration 

or enhancement, no new trails, and no 

new habitat creation. The Sonoma Land 

Trust (SLT) would still move forward 

with the transfer of title of the Sears 

Point properties to the Federal and State 

agencies. SLT will honor existing 

agricultural and commercial leases on 

the property through June 2010. 

Partial-Tidal (Preferred) Restoration 

Alternative 

The Partial-Tidal Restoration 

Alternative would restore 970 acres of 

tidal marsh; improve tidal exchange in 

Tolay Creek along the eastern edge of 

the project boundary; preserve and 

enhance a 106-acre area of non-tidal 

seasonal wetland while maintaining 

existing agriculture between the SMART 

line and Highway 37; provide public 

recreation access south and possibly 

north of Highway 37; enhance 40 acres 

of non-tidal seasonal wetland north of 

Highway 37; and create 15.5 acres of 

additional breeding habitat for the 

California red-legged frog, including 0.5 

acres of excavation in the floodplain 

near the northern project boundary. 

Full-Tidal Restoration Alternative 

The Full-Tidal Restoration Alternative 

would restore 1,335 acres of tidal marsh; 

improve tidal exchange in Tolay Creek 

along the eastern edge of the project 

boundary; provide public recreation 

access south and possibly north of 

Highway 37; enhance 40 acres of nontidal seasonal wetland north of Highway 

37; and create 15.5 acres of additional 

breeding habitat, including 0.5 acres of 

excavation in the floodplain, for the 

California red-legged frog near the 

northern project boundary. 

NEPA Compliance 

The entire Dickson Ranch parcel and 

858 acres of the NPJV parcel are located 

within the approved acquisition 

boundary of the San Pablo Bay NWR. 

Federally owned lands within the 

Refuge boundary are adjacent to these 

properties. In order to implement the 

action alternatives described above, 

some activity (channel dredging and 

levee breaching) within the San Pablo 

Bay NWR is necessary. We will use the 

EIR/EIS to determine whether to 

authorize activities within the San Pablo 

Bay NWR in order to accomplish project 

goals. 

The EIR/EIS discusses the direct, 

indirect, and cumulative impacts of the 

alternatives on biological resources, 

cultural resources, land use, air quality, 

water quality, water resources, and 

other environmental resources. It also 

identifies appropriate mitigation 

measures for adverse environmental 

effects. 

We are conducting public review of 

the EIR/EIS in accordance with the 

requirements of NEPA, as amended (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ), its implementing 

regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), 

other applicable regulations, and our 

procedures for compliance with those 

regulations. The EIR/EIS meets the 

requirements of both NEPA and the 

California Environmental Quality Act 

(CEQA). The California Department of 

Fish and Game is the CEQA lead 

agency. We provide this notice under 

regulations implementing NEPA (40 

CFR 1506.6). 

Public Meeting 

We will hold one public meeting to 

solicit comments on the DEIR/EIS. We 

will mail a separate notice to the public 

and local publications that identifies the 

time, date, and location of the meeting. 

Public Comments 

We invite the public to comment on 

the DEIR/EIS during the comment 

period. Before including your address, 

phone number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

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 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. We will use the comments to 

prepare a final EIR/EIS. A decision will 

be made no sooner than 30 days after 

the publication of the final EIR/EIS. We 

anticipate that a Record of Decision will 

be issued by the Service in 2010. 

Dated: August 20, 2009. 

Margaret T. Kolar, 

Acting Regional Director, Pacific Southwest 

Region. 

[FR Doc. E9–20582 Filed 8–27–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

for the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara (MHA) 

Nation’s Proposed Clean Fuels 

Refinery, Fort Berthold Indian 

Reservation, Ward County, ND 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability. 

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public 

that the Department of Interior, Bureau 

of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

as co-lead agencies; and the Mandan, 

Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) Nation and 

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as 

cooperating agencies, intend to file a 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(FEIS) with the EPA for the proposed 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with NOTICES