Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 205 / Tuesday, October 24, 2006 / Notices 62251 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 092706C] 

Notice of Intent To Conduct Public 

Scoping and To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement 

Related to the Washington Department 

of Natural Resources Aquatic Lands 

Habitat Conservation Plan 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service 

(FWS), Interior; National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS), National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; scoping meetings, 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service and the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (Services) advise 

interested parties of their intent to 

conduct public scoping under the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) to gather information to prepare 

an Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) related to a permit application 

from the Washington Department of 

Natural Resources (WDNR) for the 

incidental take of species listed under 

the Endangered Species Act. The permit 

application would be associated with 

the WDNR’s Aquatic Lands Habitat 

Conservation Plan. 

DATES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section for meeting dates. Written 

comments should be received on or 

before December 8, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section for meeting 

locations. 

All comments concerning preparation 

of the EIS and the NEPA process should 

be addressed to: Jo Ellen Henry, FWS, 

510 Desmond Drive, SE., Suite 102, 

Lacey, WA 98503, facsimile number 

360–753–9518; or John Stadler, NMFS, 

510 Desmond Drive, SE., Suite 103, 

Lacey, WA 98503, facsimile number 

360–753–9517. Submit electronic 

comments to WADNRaquaticlands

HCP.nwr@noaa.gov. In the subject line 

of the electronic mail, include the 

document identifier: Washington DNR 

Aquatics HCP EIS. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo 

Ellen Henry, FWS, telephone 360–753– 

7766; or John Stadler, NMFS, telephone 

360–753–9576. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Five 

public scoping meetings are scheduled 

from 7 to 9:30 p.m. for the following 

dates and locations: 

(1) October 24, 2006; at the Student 

Union Building, Spokane Falls 

Community College, 3410 West Fort 

George Wright Drive, Spokane, WA 

99224–5288. 

(2) October 25, 2006; at the Student 

Union Building, Central Washington 

University, 400 East University Way, 

Ellensburg, WA 98926. 

(3) November 1, 2006; at the Main 

Branch, Public Library, 210 Central 

Avenue, Bellingham, WA 98225. 

(4) November 7, 2006; at the Cowlitz 

County Public Utility District Office, 

961 12th Avenue, Longview, WA 98632. 

(5) November 8, 2006; at the National 

Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand 

Point Way, NE., Seattle, WA 98115. 

Statutory Authority 

Section 9 of the Endangered Species 

Act (ESA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1538) 

and implementing regulations prohibit 

the taking of endangered species. The 

term ‘‘take’’ is defined under the ESA 

(16 U.S.C. 1532(19)) as harass, harm, 

pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, 

capture, or collect, or to attempt to 

engage in any such conduct. ‘‘Harm’’ is 

defined by FWS regulation to include 

significant habitat modification or 

degradation where it actually kills or 

injures wildlife by significantly 

impairing essential behavioral patterns, 

including breeding, feeding, or 

sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). NMFS’ 

definition of ‘‘harm’’ includes 

significant habitat modification or 

degradation where it actually kills or 

injures fish or wildlife by significantly 

impairing essential behavioral patterns, 

including breeding, feeding, spawning, 

migrating, rearing, or sheltering (64 FR 

60727, November 8, 1999). 

Section 10 of the ESA and 

implementing regulations specify 

requirements for the issuance of 

incidental take permits (ITPs) to nonFederal applicants for the take of 

endangered and threatened species. Any 

proposed take must be incidental to 

otherwise lawful activities and must not 

appreciably reduce the likelihood of the 

survival and recovery of the species in 

the wild. In addition, the applicant must 

prepare a habitat conservation plan 

(HCP) describing the impact that will 

likely result from such taking, what 

steps will be taken to minimize and 

mitigate the impacts of the take, the 

funding available to implement such 

steps, alternatives to such taking, and 

the reason such alternatives are not 

being implemented. 

NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) requires 

that Federal agencies conduct an 

environmental analysis of their 

proposed actions to determine if the 

actions may significantly affect the 

human environment. Under NEPA, a 

reasonable range of alternatives to 

proposed projects is developed and 

considered in the Services’ 

environmental review. Alternatives 

considered for analysis in an EIS may 

include variations in the scope of 

covered activities; variations in the 

number of covered species; variations in 

the location, amount, and type of 

conservation; variations in permit 

duration; or a combination of these 

elements. In addition, the EIS will 

identify potentially significant direct, 

indirect, and cumulative effects on 

biological resources, land use, air 

quality, water quality, water resources, 

socioeconomics, and other 

environmental issues that could occur 

with the implementation of the 

applicant’s proposed actions and 

alternatives. For potentially significant 

impacts, an EIS may identify avoidance, 

minimization, or mitigation measures to 

reduce these impacts, where feasible, to 

a level below significance. 

Background 

An EIS for the WDNR HCP would 

analyze the potential issuance of two 

ITPs, one by NMFS and one by the 

FWS. To obtain an ITP, the applicant 

must prepare an HCP that meets the 

issuance criteria established by the ESA 

and Service regulations (50 CFR 

17.22(b)(2), 17.32(b)(2), and 222.307). 

Should a permit or permits be issued, 

the permit(s) may include assurances 

under the Services’ ‘‘No Surprises’’ 

regulations. 

Approximately 2.4 million acres in 

Washington are state-owned aquatic 

lands managed by the WDNR, that 

include tidelands, shorelands, and 

bedlands. Nearly all of the freshwater 

and marine bedlands, approximately 30 

percent of the tidelands, and 

approximately 70 percent of the 

shorelands of the navigable lakes and 

rivers in Washington are under state 

ownership. The WDNR authorizes a 

wide variety of activities undertaken by 

individuals, businesses, and 

government entities, and conducts 

activities on state-owned aquatic lands, 

such as derelict vessel removal, control 

of aquatic nuisance species, 

identification and management of areas 

for conservation or restoration, 

designation of aquatic reserves, and 

aquaculture of shellfish and finfish. 

Several species of fish, birds, marine 

mammals, and other species that use 

habitat on state-owned aquatic land 

have been listed as threatened, 

endangered, species of concern, or 

candidate species by Federal or state 


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62252 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 205 / Tuesday, October 24, 2006 / Notices 

governments. Federally threatened or 

endangered species within the proposed 

HCP area include the bald eagle, 

marbled murrelet, western snowy 

plover, bull trout, killer whale, and 

several species of salmonids. 

The species under consideration for 

coverage in the HCP include the brown 

pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), bald 

eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), 

marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus 

marmoratus), bull trout (Salvelinus 

confluentus), western snowy plover 

(Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus), 

western toad (Bufo boreas), Columbia 

spotted frog (Rana luteiventris), 

northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens), 

western pond turtle (Clemmys 

marmorata), black tern (Chlidonias 

niger), common loon (Gavia immer), 

harlequin duck (Histrionicus 

histrionicus), Dolly Varden (Salvelinus 

malma), Chinook salmon 

(Oncorhynchus tschawytscha), chum 

salmon (O. keta), coastal cutthroat trout 

(O. clarkii clarkii), coho salmon (O. 

kisutch), pink salmon (O. gorbuscha), 

sockeye/kokanee salmon (O. nerka), 

steelhead (O. mykiss), and killer whale 

(Orcinus orca). 

The draft HCP to be prepared by 

WDNR in support of the ITP 

applications will describe the impacts of 

take on proposed covered species and 

propose a conservation strategy to 

minimize and mitigate those impacts to 

the maximum extent practicable. With 

assistance from the Services, WDNR 

will develop habitat conservation 

measures for fish and wildlife and their 

associated habitats. The Services are 

responsible for determining whether the 

HCP satisfies the ESA section 10 permit 

issuance criteria. 

Under NEPA, a reasonable range of 

alternatives to the proposed project 

must be developed and considered in 

the Services’ environmental review. The 

Services have identified the following 

preliminary alternatives for public 

evaluation during the scoping period: 

Alternative 1: No Action—Under this 

alternative, ITPs would not be issued by 

the Services and the HCP would not be 

approved. WDNR would continue 

managing and leasing state-owned 

aquatic lands in accordance with 

current practices, and no specific 

management strategies would be 

implemented to ensure compliance with 

the ESA. The WDNR would not conduct 

a direct evaluation under the ESA of the 

effects of its management actions, nor 

would it consider the cumulative effects 

of its activities. 

Alternative 2: Proposed Alternative— 

Development of an HCP and issuance of 

ITPs by FWS and NOAA authorizing 

covered activities in freshwater, marine, 

and estuarine environments, provided 

all legal requirements are met. A 

preliminary list of activities under 

consideration for coverage includes: 

aquaculture of finfish and shellfish; 

complex, water-dependent activities 

(such as marinas, shipyards, and 

terminals); overwater structures; public 

access; log booming and storage; 

commercial sand and gravel removal; 

and small-scale mining. 

Alternative 3: Development of an HCP 

and issuance of ITPs by each agency 

limiting covered activities to those in 

marine and estuarine environments, 

provided all legal requirements are met. 

The activities, species, and area covered 

under this alternative would generally 

be a subset of those included under 

Alternative 2, and the HCP would focus 

on those species most likely to be 

affected. 

Additional project alternatives may be 

developed based on input received from 

the public scoping process. 

Request for Comments 

The primary purpose of the scoping 

process is for the public to assist the 

Services in developing the EIS by 

identifying important issues and 

alternatives related to the applicant’s 

proposed action. The scoping meetings 

will allocate time for presentations by 

the Services and WDNR, followed by 

informal questions and discussions. 

Written comments from interested 

parties are welcome to ensure that the 

full range of issues related to the 

proposed permit request is identified. 

All comments and materials received, 

including names and addresses, will 

become part of the administrative record 

and may be released to the public. 

Comments and materials received will 

be available for public inspection, by 

appointment, during normal business 

hours at the offices listed in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice. The 

Services request that comments be 

specific. In particular, we request 

information regarding: Direct, indirect, 

and cumulative impacts that 

implementation of the proposed HCP or 

other alternatives could have on 

endangered and threatened and other 

covered species, and their communities 

and habitats; other possible alternatives 

that meet the purpose and need; 

potential adaptive management and/or 

monitoring provisions; funding issues; 

existing environmental conditions in 

the plan area; other plans or projects 

that might be relevant to this proposed 

project; permit duration; maximum 

acreage that should be covered; specific 

species that should or should not be 

covered; specific aquatic lands that 

should or should not be covered; and 

appropriate minimization and 

mitigation efforts. NMFS and FWS 

estimate that the draft EIS will be 

available for public review by January 

2008. 

The environmental review of this 

project will be conducted in accordance 

with the requirements of the NEPA of 

1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), Council on Environmental Quality 

Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), 

other applicable Federal laws and 

regulations, and applicable policies and 

procedures of the Services. This notice 

is being furnished in accordance with 

40 CFR 1501.7 of the NEPA regulations 

to obtain suggestions and information 

from other agencies and the public on 

the scope of issues and alternatives to be 

addressed in the EIS. 

Reasonable Accommodation 

Persons needing reasonable 

accommodations to attend and 

participate in the public meeting should 

contact Jo Ellen Henry, FWS, at 360– 

753–7766 or John Stadler, NMFS, at 

360–753–9576. To allow sufficient time 

to process requests, please call no later 

than 1 week before the public meeting. 

Information regarding the applicant’s 

proposed action is available in 

alternative formats upon request. 

Dated: October 4, 2006. 

David J. Wesley, 

Deputy Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Region 1, Portland, Oregon. 

Dated: September 28, 2006. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–8860 Filed 10–23–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P; 3510–22–P 

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING 

COMMISSION 

Notice of Meeting; Sunshine Act 

AGENCY HOLDING THE MEETING: 

Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission. 

Sunshine Act Meetings 

TIME AND DATE: 2 p.m., Thursday, 

October 26, 2006. 

PLACE: 1155 21st St., NW., Washington, 

DC, 9th Floor Commission Conference 

Room. 

STATUS: Closed. 

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: 

Enforcement Matters. 


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