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Notice of Intent to Conduct Public Scoping and to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement Related to the City of Kent, Washington (WA), Clark Springs Water Supply System Habitat Conservation Plan
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: June 19, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 117)]
[Notices]
[Page 35286-35288]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19jn06-76]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 051906E]
Notice of Intent to Conduct Public Scoping and to Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement Related to the City of Kent, Washington
(WA), Clark Springs Water Supply System 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.
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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 City of Kent,
WA, for the incidental take of listed species. The permit application
would be associated with the Clark Springs Water Supply System Habitat
Conservation Plan, in Rock Creek, near Kent, WA.
DATES: The public scoping meeting will be held on June 29, 2006, from
6--8 p.m.. in Kent, WA.
Written comments should be received on or before August 3, 2006.
ADDRESSES: The public scoping meeting will be held in the Kent City
Hall Council Chambers, 220 Fourth Avenue South, Kent, WA 98032.
All comments concerning the preparation of the EIS and the NEPA
process should be addressed to: Tim Romanski, FWS, 510 Desmond Drive
SE, Suite 102, Lacey, WA 98503-1263, facsimile (360)753-9518, or John
Stadler, NMFS, 510 Desmond Drive SE, Suite 103, Lacey, WA 98503-1273,
facsimile (360)753-9517. Comments may be submitted by e-mail to the
following address: KentHCP.nwr@noaa.gov. In the subject line of the e-
mail, include the document identifier: The City of Kent HCP - EIS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Romanski, FWS (360)753-5823; or
John Stadler, NMFS (360)753-9576.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Statutory Authority
Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1538) and
implementing regulations prohibit the taking of animal species listed
as endangered or threatened. The term ``take'' is defined under the ESA
(16 U.S.C. 1532(19)) as to 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, and 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,
[[Page 35287]]
migrating, rearing, and 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 non-
Federal landowners for the take of endangered and threatened species.
Any proposed take must be incidental to otherwise lawful activities,
not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of
the species in the wild, and minimize and mitigate the impacts of such
take to the maximum extent practicable. In addition, the applicant must
prepare a habitat conservation plan (HCP) describing the impact that
will likely result from such taking, the strategy for minimizing and
mitigating 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
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
impacts 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 City of Kent Clark Springs 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.
The City of Kent is located in South King County and is a
municipality of approximately 85,000 residents with approximately
60,000 people within the City's water service area. The City's Clark
Springs Water Supply System is located along Rock Creek, located east
of Maple Valley. The Clark Springs Water Supply System serves as the
City's primary source of water, and provides up to 65 percent of the
City's total water supply. This water supply allows the City to meet
the demands of the City's industrial, commercial, residential and
domestic water users, and for meeting the economic and human health,
fire, and life safety requirements of the citizens and businesses in
the area.
The City is seeking ITPs from the Services that would provide ESA
regulatory certainty for the Clark Springs water supply operations and
maintenance activities, which consists of an infiltration gallery
system and several wells located adjacent to Rock Creek, that are sited
1.9 miles upstream of the creek's confluence with the Cedar River. The
facility is within a 320-acre City-owned watershed geographically
separated from the City proper.
The proposed HCP and ITPs would cover incidental take associated
with the operation and maintenance of its Clark Springs Water Supply
System, including: (1) water withdrawals consistent with water rights
for the Clark Springs System; (2) maintenance of 320 acres of City-
owned property and water facilities related to the use and protection
of water supplies, including but not limited to, replacement or
upgrading of facilities and infrastructure as needed, vegetation
management, and additional treatment facilities as required; and (3)
operation and maintenance of a water augmentation system for the
enhancement of instream flows.
Species for which the City seeks ITP coverage include nine species
of fish. Two of these species, Puget Sound Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus
tshawytscha) and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), are currently
listed as threatened under the ESA, and one species, Puget Sound
steelhead (O. mykiss), has been proposed for listing as threatened
under the ESA. The remaining six species are not listed, or proposed
for listing, under the ESA, and include coho salmon (O. kisutch), chum
salmon (O. keta), sockeye salmon (O. nerka), coastal cutthroat trout
(O. clarki clarki), Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentate) and river
lamprey (L. ayresi). Each of these species may be affected by the
City's water withdrawal activities at the Clark Springs facility in the
Rock Creek Watershed.
The draft HCP, to be prepared by the City in support of the ITP
applications, will describe the impacts of take on proposed covered
species, and will propose a conservation strategy to minimize and
mitigate those impacts to the maximum extent practicable. The City will
develop habitat conservation measures for fish and their associated
habitat, with assistance from the Services.
The City is currently considering the following conservation
measures as part of the HCP: (1) Flow mitigation during the critical
low flow period of October, November, and December; (2) improving fish
passage in Rock Creek downstream of the Clark Springs Facility; (3)
improving juvenile salmonid habitat by enhancing wetland areas and
placement of large woody debris; and (4) creating a fund for riparian
area protection and enhancement opportunities in the Rock Creek Basin,
which may include, but not be limited to, property acquisitions and
easements. The City is proposing to implement these conservation
measures for the duration of the HCP and term of the ITPs.
Implementation of the HCP would include monitoring compliance and
regular reporting to the Services.
Under NEPA, a reasonable range of alternatives to a proposed
project must be developed and considered in the Services' environmental
review. At a minimum, the alternatives developed must include: (1) a No
Action alternative; and (2) the Proposed Action, with thorough
descriptions of its management features and anticipated resource
conservation benefits and potential impacts. The Services are currently
developing alternatives for analysis, which will consider public input
received during scoping and development of the EIS. The alternatives
considered for analysis in this EIS may include: (1) variations in the
scope of covered activities; (2) variations in the location, amount,
and type of conservation; (3) variations in permit duration; or (4) a
combination of these elements.
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 workshop will allocate time for presentations by the Services
and the City, 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 are
identified. All comments and materials received,
[[Page 35288]]
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 of the proposed HCP; 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 landforms that should or should not be covered; and
minimization and mitigation efforts. NMFS and FWS estimate that the
draft EIS will be available for public review in the summer of 2006.
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 Tim Romanski or John Stadler (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). To allow sufficient time to process
requests, please call no later than June 22, 2006. Information
regarding the applicant's proposed action is available in alternative
formats upon request.
Dated: June 12, 2006.
Theresa E, Rabot,
Acting Deputy Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1,
Portland, Oregon.
Dated: June 12, 2006.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 06-5487 Filed 6-16-06; 8:45 am]
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