42358 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2017 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–ES–2017–N040; 

FXES11130800000–178–FF08EVEN00] 

Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan 

for the San Lorenzo Valley Water 

District’s Probation Tank Replacement 

Project in Felton, Santa Cruz County, 

California 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comment. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, have received an 

application from the San Lorenzo Valley 

Water District for a 20-year incidental 

take permit under the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). 

The application addresses the potential 

for ‘‘take’’ of the federally endangered 

Mount Hermon June beetle and Zayante 

band-winged grasshopper that is likely 

to occur incidental to the replacement of 

a water storage tank and infrastructure 

at the existing water storage tank site in 

Felton, Santa Cruz County, California. 

We invite comments from the public on 

the application package, which includes 

a low-effect habitat conservation plan. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, please 

send your written comments by October 

10, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may download a copy 

of the habitat conservation plan, draft 

environmental action statement and 

low-effect screening form, and related 

documents on the Internet at http://

www.fws.gov/ventura/, or you may 

request copies of the documents by U.S. 

mail to our Ventura office or by phone 

(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

Please address written comments to 

Stephen P. Henry, Field Supervisor, 

Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola 

Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003. You 

may alternatively send comments by 

facsimile to (805) 644–3958. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Chad Mitcham, Fish and Wildlife 

Biologist, by U.S. mail to the Ventura 

office, or by telephone at (831) 768– 

7794. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have 

received an application from the San 

Lorenzo Valley Water District for a 20- 

year incidental take permit under the 

Act. The application addresses the 

potential for ‘‘take’’ of the federally 

endangered Mount Hermon June beetle 

(Polyphylla barbata) and Zayante bandwinged grasshopper (Trimerotropis 

infantilis) likely to occur incidental to 

the replacement of a water storage tank 

and infrastructure on the San Lorenzo 

Valley Water District’s easement at 3650 

Graham Hill Road, (APN: 061–371–16), 

Felton, Santa Cruz County, California. 

We invite comments from the public on 

the application package, which includes 

a low-effect habitat conservation plan. 

This proposed action has been 

determined to be eligible for a 

categorical exclusion under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), as amended. 

Background 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(Service) listed the Mount Hermon June 

beetle and Zayante band-winged 

grasshopper as endangered on January 

24, 1997 (62 FR 3616). Section 9 of the 

Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its 

implementing regulations prohibit the 

take of fish or wildlife species listed as 

endangered or threatened. ‘‘Take’’ is 

defined under the Act to include the 

following activities: ‘‘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); however, under section 

10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, we may issue 

permits to authorize incidental take of 

listed species. The Act defines 

‘‘Incidental Take’’ as take that is not the 

purpose of carrying out of an otherwise 

lawful activity. Regulations governing 

incidental take permits for threatened 

and endangered species are provided at 

50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. 

Issuance of an incidental take permit 

must not jeopardize the existence of 

federally listed fish, wildlife, or plant 

species. 

Take of listed plants is not prohibited 

under the Act unless such take would 

violate State law. As such, take of plants 

cannot be authorized under an 

incidental take permit. Plant species 

may be included on a permit in 

recognition of the conservation benefits 

provided them under a habitat 

conservation plan. All species, 

including plants, covered by the 

incidental take permit receive 

assurances under our ‘‘No Surprises’’ 

regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 

17.32(b)(5)). In addition to meeting 

other specific criteria, actions 

undertaken through implementation of 

the habitat conservation plan (HCP) 

must not jeopardize the continued 

existence of federally listed animal or 

plant species. 

Applicant’s Proposal 

The San Lorenzo Valley Water District 

(hereafter, the applicant) has submitted 

a low-effect HCP in support of their 

application for an incidental take permit 

(ITP) to address take of the Mount 

Hermon June beetle and Zayante bandwinged grasshopper that is likely to 

occur as the result of direct impacts on 

up to 0.432-acre (ac) (18,800 square feet 

(sf)) of sandhills habitat occupied by the 

species. Take would be associated with 

the replacement of an existing water 

storage tank and infrastructure on an 

existing parcel legally described as 

Assessor Parcel Number: 061–371–16. 

The current site address is 3650 Graham 

Hill Road in Felton, Santa Cruz County, 

California. The applicant is requesting a 

permit for take of Mount Hermon June 

beetle and Zayante band-winged 

grasshopper that would result from 

‘‘covered activities’’ that are related to 

replacement of the existing water tank. 

The HCP’s conservation strategy also 

addresses potential impacts to the 

federally endangered Ben Lomond 

spineflower (Chorizanthe pungens var. 

pungens) and Ben Lomond wallflower 

(Erysimum teretifolium), which are 

known to occur at the proposed project 

site or within the proposed conservation 

easement area. The applicant’s 

conservation strategy, in part, proposes 

the dedication of a conservation 

easement on 6.7 ac of habitat that 

contains habitat for all four of the 

species addressed in the HCP. A 20-year 

incidental take permit is requested to 

authorize take that would occur 

incidental to the water storage tank 

replacement project, and also to cover 

potential short-term impacts to all four 

species within the conservation 

easement area as a result of habitat 

enhancement. 

The applicant proposes to avoid, 

minimize, and mitigate impacts to the 

Mount Hermon June beetle, Zayante 

band-winged grasshopper, Ben Lomond 

wallflower, and Ben Lomond 

spineflower associated with the covered 

activities by fully implementing the 

HCP. The following measures will be 

implemented: (1) Temporary fencing 

and signs will be installed to clearly 

delineate the boundaries of the project; 

(2) if construction occurs during the 

flight season (considered to be between 

May and August, annually), exposed 

soils will be covered with erosion 

control fabric or other impervious 

materials to prevent any dispersing 

Mount Hermon June beetles from 

burrowing into exposed soil at the 

construction site; (3) employment of a 

Service-approved entomologist to 

capture and relocate into suitable 

habitat and out of harm’s way any 

Mount Hermon June beetle unearthed or 

observed during construction activities; 

(4) employment of a Service-approved 

biologist to ensure Zayante band-winged 

grasshoppers disperse from the 

mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2017 / Notices 42359 

proposed project area prior to ground 

disturbing activities; (5) collecting seed 

of the Ben Lomond spineflower within 

the project area prior to the initiation of 

ground disturbing activities, so that the 

seeds can be used in the postconstruction restoration of temporarilydisturbed areas; and (6) permanently 

protect habitat for the Mount Hermon 

June beetle, Zayante band-winged 

grasshopper, Ben Lomond spineflower, 

and Ben Lomond wallflower to mitigate 

for habitat impacts through the 

permanent protection of 0.995-ac of 

high quality habitat within the proposed 

6.7-ac conservation easement; or, the 

purchase of 0.813-ac of conservation 

credits at the Zayante Sandhills 

Conservation Bank. The applicant will 

fund up to $346,064 to ensure 

implementation of all minimization 

measures, monitoring, and reporting 

requirements identified in the HCP. 

In the proposed HCP, the applicant 

considers two alternatives to the 

proposed action: ‘‘No Action’’ and 

‘‘Redesign Project.’’ Under the ‘‘No 

Action’’ alternative, an ITP for the water 

tank replacement project would not be 

issued. The proposed conservation 

strategy and subsequent habitat 

conservation would not occur, or, 

alternatively, the purchase of 

conservation credits would not be 

provided to effect recovery actions for 

the impacted species. The ‘‘No Action’’ 

alternative would not result in 

necessary improvements to the existing 

water tank and would not result in a net 

benefit for the covered species; 

therefore, the ‘‘No Action’’ alternative 

has been rejected. Under the ‘‘Redesign 

Project’’ alternative, the existing tank 

would be replaced with a new smaller 

tank that would fit within the existing 

footprint, with temporary impacts 

occurring within an approximately 0.12- 

ac area. Under this alternative the new 

tank would not provide enough water 

storage for fire and/or other emergencies 

in addition to meeting existing water 

demand. Under this alternative the 

District would permanently protect and 

manage a smaller area within the 

conservation easement, or purchase 

fewer credits at the Zayante Sandhills 

Conservation Bank. This alternative 

would present a significant burden to 

the District without significantly 

reducing potential impacts to the 

impacted species; therefore, the 

‘‘Redesign Project’’ alternative has also 

been rejected. 

Our Preliminary Determination 

We are requesting comments on our 

preliminary determination that the 

applicant’s proposal will have a minor 

or negligible effect on the Mount 

Hermon June beetle, Zayante bandwinged grasshopper, Ben Lomond 

spineflower, and Ben Lomond 

wallflower, and that the plan qualifies 

as a low-effect HCP as defined by our 

Habitat Conservation Planning 

Handbook. We base our determinations 

on three criteria: (1) Implementation of 

the proposed project as described in the 

HCP would result in minor or negligible 

effects on federally listed, proposed, 

and/or candidate species and their 

habitats; (2) implementation of the HCP 

would result in minor or negligible 

effects on other environmental values or 

resources; and (3) HCP impacts, 

considered together with those of other 

past, present, and reasonably 

foreseeable future projects, would not 

result in cumulatively significant 

effects. In our analysis of these criteria, 

we have made a preliminary 

determination that the approval of the 

HCP and issuance of an ITP qualify for 

categorical exclusion under NEPA (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as provided by the 

Department of the Interior 

implementing regulations in part 46 of 

title 43 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 

46.215). However, based upon our 

review of public comments that we 

receive in response to this notice, this 

preliminary determination may be 

revised. 

Next Steps 

We will evaluate the permit 

application, including the plan and 

comments we receive, to determine 

whether the application meets the 

requirements of section 10(a)(1)(B) of 

the Act. We will also evaluate whether 

issuance of the ITP would comply with 

section 7(a)(2) of the Act by conducting 

an intra-Service Section 7 consultation. 

Public Review 

We provide this notice under section 

10(c) of the Act and the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 

amended (NEPA), and NEPA’s public 

involvement regulations (40 CFR 

1500.1(b), 1500.2(d), and 1506.6). We 

are requesting comments on our 

determination that the applicants’ 

proposal will have a minor or neglible 

effect on the Mount Hermon June beetle, 

Zayante band-winged grasshopper, Ben 

Lomond spineflower, and Ben Lomond 

wallflower, and that the plan qualifies 

as a low-effect HCP as defined by our 

Habitat Conservation Planning 

Handbook. We will evaluate the permit 

application, including the plan and 

comments we receive, to determine 

whether the application meets the 

requirements of section 10(a)(1)(B) of 

the Act. We will use the results of our 

internal Service consultation, in 

combination with the above findings, in 

our final analysis to determine whether 

to issue the permits. If the requirements 

are met, we will issue an ITP to the 

applicant for the incidental take of 

Mount Hermon June beetle and Zayante 

band-winged grasshopper. We will 

make the final permit decision no 

sooner than 30 days after the date of this 

notice. 

Public Comments 

If you wish to comment on the permit 

applications, plans, and associated 

documents, you may submit comments 

by any one of the methods in 

ADDRESSES. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email 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 view, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). 

Dated: August 31, 2017. 

Stephen P. Henry, 

Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife 

Office, Ventura, California. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18970 Filed 9–6–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R5–FR–2017–N106; FF05F24400– 

167–FXFR13350500000; OMB Control 

Number 1018–0127] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Horseshoe Crab and 

Cooperative Fish Tagging Programs 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(Service) are proposing to renew an 

information collection with revisions. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before 

November 6, 2017. 

mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES