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Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Receipt of an Application for Incidental Take Permits for the Tacoma Water Department, Green River Watershed, Habitat Conservation Plan, King County, Washington
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: January 31, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 20)]
[Notices]
[Page 4602-4603]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31ja00-18]
[[Page 4602]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[I.D. 011300C]
Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and
Receipt of an Application for Incidental Take Permits for the Tacoma
Water Department, Green River Watershed, Habitat Conservation Plan,
King County, Washington
AGENCIES: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce; Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of application and availability for public comment.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the City of Tacoma,
Public Utilities, Water Division (Tacoma Water), has submitted an
application to NMFS and FWS (the Services) for incidental take permits
(Permits) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act
of 1973, as amended (Act). As required by section 10(a)(2)(B) of the
Act, Tacoma Water has also prepared a habitat conservation plan (Plan)
designed to minimize and mitigate any such take of endangered or
threatened species. The Permit application is related to water storage
and withdrawal from the Green River, and forest management activities
in the Green River Watershed, located in south King County, Washington.
The proposed Permits would authorize the take of the following
endangered or threatened species incidental to otherwise lawful
management activities: gray wolf (Canis lupus); bald eagle (Haliaeetus
leucocephalus); marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus marmoratus);
northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis); grizzly bear (Ursus arctos);
bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus); and, Puget Sound chinook salmon
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Tacoma Water is also seeking coverage for
25 currently unlisted species (including anadromous and resident fish)
under specific provisions of the Permits, should these species be
listed in the future. The duration of the proposed Permits and Plan is
50 years.
The Permit application includes the proposed Plan; and a proposed
Implementing Agreement. The Services also announce the availability of
a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Permit
application.
This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(a) of the Act, and
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. The Services are
furnishing this notice in order to allow other agencies and the public
an opportunity to review and comment on these documents. All comments
received will become part of the public record and will be available
for review pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act.
DATES: Written comments on the Permit application, Draft EIS, Plan,
and Implementing Agreement must be received from interested parties no
later than March 14, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Requests for documents on CD ROM should be made by calling
the Fish and Wildlife Service at 360/534-9330. Hardbound copies are
also available for viewing, and partial or complete duplication, at the
following libraries: Olympia Timberland Library, Reference Desk, 313
8th Avenue SE, Olympia, WA, 360/352-0595; Tacoma Main Public
Library, 1102 Tacoma Avenue South, Tacoma, WA, 253/591-5666; Enumclaw
City Library, 1700 1st Street, Enumclaw, WA, 360/825-2938;
Auburn Public Library, 808 9th Street SE, Auburn, WA,
(253)931-3918; and Seattle Public Library, Government Publications
Desk, 1000 4th Avenue, Seattle, WA, 206/386-4636. The
documents are also available electronically on the World Wide Web at
http://www.r1.fws.gov/.
Comments and requests for information should be directed to Tim
Romanski, Project Biologist, Fish and Wildlife Service, 510 Desmond
Drive, SE., Suite 102, Lacey, WA, 98503-1273, (telephone: 360/753-5823;
facsimile: 360/534-9331), or Mike Grady, Project Biologist, National
Marine Fisheries Service, 510 Desmond Drive, SE., Suite 103, Lacey, WA,
98503-1273 (telephone: 360/753-6052; facsimile: 360/753-9517). Comments
and materials received will also be available for public inspection, by
appointment, during normal business hours by calling 360/534-9330.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 9 of the Act and Federal
regulations prohibit the ``taking'' of a species listed as endangered
or threatened. The term ``take'' is defined under the Act to mean
harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or
collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct. FWS defines harm
to include significant habitat modification or degradation where it
actually kills or injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential
behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, and sheltering (50
CFR 17.3). NMFS defines harm to include significant habitat
modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures fish or
wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns,
including breeding, spawning, rearing, feeding, and sheltering (64 FR
60727, November 8, 1999).
The Services may issue permits, under limited circumstances, to
take listed species incidental to, and not the purpose of, otherwise
lawful activities. FWS regulations governing permits for endangered
species are promulgated in 50 CFR 17.22; and, regulations governing
permits for threatened species are promulgated in 50 CFR 17.32. NMFS
regulations governing permits for threatened and endangered species are
promulgated at 50 CFR 222.307.
Background
Tacoma Water owns and conducts management activities in the Green
River Watershed, in King County, Washington. These activities are as
follows: (1) a water diversion dam and associated facilities
(Headworks) on the Green River; (2) approximately 14,888 acres of land
upstream of the diversion dam on both sides of the River; and, (3) a
well field (North Fork Well Field) located approximately 8 kilometers
(5 miles) upstream of the Headworks. Tacoma Water operates and manages
the Headworks, watershed lands, and the North Fork Well Field as the
principal source of municipal and industrial water for the City of
Tacoma and portions of Pierce and King Counties. Howard Hanson Dam
(Dam) and Howard Hanson Reservoir (Reservoir), owned and operated by
the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), are also located on the Green
River, upstream of the Headworks. City lands in the watershed are
adjacent to the Dam and Reservoir on all sides.
Current trends in population growth within the Puget Sound region
create a need for Tacoma Water to explore possibilities for increasing
its water supply capabilities. To meet forecasted demands, Tacoma Water
has developed two separate but related proposals. The first of these,
the Second Supply Project, involves improvements at the Headworks and
the construction of a 33.5-mile long pipeline from the Headworks to the
City of Tacoma. Upstream fish passage around the Headworks and the Dam
will be provided by the City of Tacoma as partial mitigation for the
Second Supply Project. This project is the subject of a State
Environmental Policy Act review in the document entitled ``Final
[[Page 4603]]
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Second Supply
Project, October 18, 1994,'' prepared by Tacoma Water. The second
related proposal was developed in conjunction with the Corps, and in
cooperation with the Services, the Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife, Washington Department of Ecology, and the Muckleshoot Indian
Tribe, to increase the volume of water stored behind the Dam during
non-flood control periods (i.e. late spring, summer and early fall).
Known as the Additional Water Storage Project (AWSP), this plan
incorporates restoration and mitigation measures (including downstream
fish passage) to alleviate the historical barrier to migrating salmon
created by the Corps' Dam. The size of the Dam will not change as a
result of the AWSP. This AWSP is the subject of a NEPA review in the
document entitled ``Additional Water Storage Project, Final Feasibility
Study Report and Final Environmental Impact Statement, Howard Hanson
Dam, Green River, Washington, August, 1998,'' prepared by the Seattle
District of the Corps.
Tacoma Water's activities associated with water withdrawl and water
supply, and forest management and timber harvest have the potential to
impact species subject to protection under the Act. Section 10 of the
Act contains provisions for the issuance of incidental take permits to
non-Federal landowners for the take of endangered and threatened
species, provided the take is incidental to otherwise lawful
activities, and will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the
survival and recovery of the species in the wild. In addition, the
applicant must prepare and submit to the Services for approval a
habitat conservation plan containing a strategy for minimizing and
mitigating all take associated with the proposed activities to the
maximum extent practicable. The applicant must also ensure that
adequate funding for the habitat conservation plan will be provided.
Tacoma Water has developed a Plan with technical assistance from
the Services, to obtain Permits for their activities in the Green River
Watershed. Activities proposed for coverage under the Permits include
the following.
(1) Water withdrawal at the Headworks for Municipal and Industrial
Water Supply, which will reduce flows and have concomitant habitat
effects downstream and include the bypass of fish at the Headworks
intake, and inundate the small impoundment area.
(2) Water withdrawal from the North Fork Well Field for Municipal
and Industrial Water Supply, which will potentially reduce flows in the
North Fork Green River above the Howard Hanson Reservoir.
(3) Construction of Headworks improvements (anticipated to occur
during a 2 year period). Such construction will cause: (a) bypassing of
fish at the Headworks intake during construction; (b) raising the
existing diversion dam by approximately 6.5, feet which will extend the
inundation pool to about 2,570 feet upstream of the Headworks
diversion; (c) realigning and enlarging the existing intake and adding
upgraded fish screens and bypass facilities for downstream passage; (d)
reshaping the Green River channel downstream of the existing diversion
to accommodate the installation of an efficient trap-and-haul facility
for upstream fish passage; (e) installation of a new trap-and-haul
facility for upstream fish passage; and, (f) installation, monitoring
and maintenance of the instream structures in the impoundment for the
Headworks dam raise fisheries mitigation.
(4) Operation of a downstream fish bypass facility at the
Headworks.
(5) Watershed forest management activities, consisting of: (a)
watershed patrol and inspection; (b) forest road construction,
maintenance, and use; (c) forest road culvert removal, replacement, and
maintenance; (d) timber harvest and hauling; and, (e) silvicultural
activities (e.g., planting, thinning, and inventorying trees).
(6) Monitoring of downstream fish passage through a proposed fish
passage facility at the Howard Hanson Dam, associated with the AWSP.
(7) Monitoring and maintenance of AWSP fish habitat restoration
projects and AWSP fish and wildlife habitat mitigation projects.
(8) Potential restoration of anadromous fish above the Howard
Hanson Dam by trapping and hauling of adults returning to the
Headworks, and possible planting of hatchery juveniles if found to be
beneficial to restoration.
The Services formally initiated an environmental review of the
project through a Federal Register notice on August 21, 1998 (63 FR
44918), which announced a 30-day public scoping period. A second
Federal Register notice was published following the scoping period on
January 20, 1999 (64 FR 3066), announcing the decision to prepare an
EIS. Following this announcement a draft EIS was prepared.
The analyses in the draft EIS are done in two parts; one covering
the alternatives for water withdrawal activities, and the other
covering alternatives for land management activities in the upper
watershed. Three water withdrawal alternatives are analyzed in detail,
including: (1) the no action alternative; (2) the proposed Plan
alternative; and, (3) an alternative involving the construction of a
new water withdrawal facility approximately 30 miles downstream of the
existing Tacoma Water's Headworks. Four additional water withdrawal
options were identified during scoping, but they are not analyzed in
detail as alternatives to the proposed action because they would not
accomplish Tacoma Water's objective of meeting current and future water
demands, and/or because highly speculative information would be
required to adequately analyze impacts.
Three alternatives are analyzed for Tacoma Water's watershed land
management, including: (1) the no action alternative; (2) the proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan alternative; and, (3) a no commercial timber
harvest alternative. One additional watershed management option was
identified during public scoping, but it was not analyzed in detail as
an alternative to the proposed action because it would not accomplish
Tacoma Water's objective of managing its watershed lands to protect
water quality.
This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(a) of the Act, and
NEPA regulations. The Services will evaluate the application,
associated documents, and comments submitted thereon to determine
whether the application meets the requirements of the Act and NEPA. If
it is determined that the requirements are met, Permits will be issued
for the incidental take of all covered species. The final Permit
decisions will be made no sooner than 60 days from the date of this
notice.
Dated: January 3, 2000.
Thomas Dwyer,
Acting Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1,
Portland, Oregon.
Dated: January 24, 2000.
Wanda L. Cain,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-2011 Filed 1-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODES 3510-22-F, 4310-55-F