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Availability of a Habitat Conservation Plan and Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit by Union Pacific Rail Road Company for the Sacramento Rail Yard Project, Sacramento County, CA

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

 

[Federal Register: February 28, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 39)]
[Notices]
[Page 10536-10537]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28fe00-82]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Availability of a Habitat Conservation Plan and Receipt of an
Application for an Incidental Take Permit by Union Pacific Rail Road
Company for the Sacramento Rail Yard Project, Sacramento County, CA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: The Union Pacific Rail Road Company (Union Pacific) has
applied to the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for an incidental
take permit pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended. The Service proposes to issue a 2-year permit
to Union Pacific that would authorize take of the threatened valley
elderberry longhorn beetle (Desmocerus californicus dimorphus)
incidental to otherwise lawful activities. Such take would occur during
the remediation of contaminated soils at Union Pacific's 240-acre
Sacramento Rail Yard (Rail Yard) in downtown Sacramento, Sacramento
County, California. Remediation of the contaminated soils at the Rail
Yard would result in the loss of 87 elderberry plants with 261 stems
which provide habitat for the valley elderberry longhorn beetle.
    We request comments from the public on the permit application,
which is available for review. The application includes a Habitat
Conservation Plan (Plan). The Plan describes the proposed project and
the measures that Union Pacific will undertake to minimize and mitigate
take of the valley elderberry longhorn beetle.
    We also request comments on our preliminary determination that the
Plan qualifies as a ``low-effect'' Habitat Conservation Plan, eligible
for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy
Act. The basis for this determination is discussed in an Environmental
Action Statement, which is also available for public review.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before March 29, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Mr. Wayne White, Field Supervisor,
Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800 Cottage Way, W-2605, Sacramento,
California 95825-1486. Comments may be sent by facsimile to 916-414-
6710.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Vicki Campbell, Chief of
Conservation Planning Division, at the above address or call (916) 414-
6600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Documents

    Please contact the above office if you would like copies of the
application, Plan, and Environmental Action Statement. Documents also
will be available for review by appointment, during normal business
hours at the above address.

Background

    Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act and Federal regulation
prohibit the ``take'' of fish or wildlife species listed as endangered
or threatened, respectively. Take of listed fish or wildlife is defined
under the Act to include kill, harm, or harass. The Service may, under
limited circumstances, issue permits to authorize incidental take;
i.e., take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, the carrying
out of an otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental
take permits for threatened and endangered species are found in 50 CFR
17.32 and 17.22, respectively.
    The Sacramento Rail Yard occupies approximately 240 acres and is
located at 401 I Street in Sacramento, California. It lies immediately
north of the present downtown area, near the confluence of the
Sacramento and American Rivers. The Rail Yard has served as the
principal locomotive maintenance and rebuilding facility since 1863.
The Rail Yard has been designated a state Superfund site by the
California Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Toxic
Substances Control (Department), due to the presence of heavy metals,
primarily lead, in the soil. To comply with the California Health and
Safety Code, the Department has directed Union Pacific to remediate the
site. The remedial actions for

[[Page 10537]]

contaminated soils at the Rail Yard include excavation, containment,
treatment, recycling, and disposal technologies. These remediation
activities will require the removal of all vegetation at the Rail Yard,
including the elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) food plant of the valley
elderberry longhorn beetle.
    In 1998 and 1999, biologists surveyed the project area for special-
status wildlife and plant species that could be affected by the
project. Based upon those surveys, the Service concluded the project
may result in take of one federally listed species, the threatened
valley elderberry longhorn beetle.
    Union Pacific has agreed to mitigate take of the valley elderberry
longhorn beetle by the purchase of 146 habitat units for the beetle
from a mitigation bank approved by the Service for such mitigation. One
valley elderberry longhorn beetle mitigation unit may consist of as
many as 5 elderberry seedlings and 5 additional associated native
species, which are planted within an 1,800 square foot area. We
determined that a total of 728 seedlings would be required to mitigate
for the 261 elderberry stems greater than 1 inch that would be taken.
Thus, the number of mitigation credits that Union Pacific would need to
purchase is 146, which is determined by dividing the total number of
required replacement elderberries by the number of elderberries in one
unit. The 146 habitat units have been purchased from Wildlands, Inc.,
located in Placer County, California.
    The Proposed Action consists of the issuance of an incidental take
permit and implementation of the Plan to mitigate impacts of the
project on the valley elderberry longhorn beetle. Two alternatives to
the taking of listed species under the Proposed Action are considered
in the Plan.
    Under the No Action Alternative, no permit would be issued.
However, while this alternative would avoid impacts to the elderberry
plants at the Rail Yard, the No Action Alternative is unacceptable as
it does not comply with the state of California's Health and Safety
Code as well as the directive from the Department to remediate the
contaminated soils.
    Under the Reduced Take Alternative the proposed remediation efforts
would be reduced or limited to certain portions of the Rail Yard,
thereby allowing some undetermined number of elderberry plants to
remain. Even though this alternative might avoid impacts to some of the
elderberry plants on site, the likelihood of valley elderberry longhorn
beetle occupancy in the remaining elderberries would be reduced as the
area becomes more urbanized. Furthermore, this alternative does not
comply with the laws of the state of California, which require a state-
recognized Superfund site, such as the Rail Yard, to be remediated.
    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the Plan
qualifies as a ``low-effect'' plan as defined by its Habitat
Conservation Planning Handbook (November 1996). Determination of low-
effect habitat conservation plans is based on the following three
criteria: (1) Implementation of the Plan would result in minor or
negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, and candidate species
and their habitats; (2) implementation of the Plan would result in
minor or negligible effects on other environmental values or resources;
and (3) impacts of the Plan, considered together with the impacts of
other past, present and reasonably foreseeable similarly situated
projects would not result, over time, in cumulative effects to
environmental values or resources which would be considered
significant. As more fully explained in the Service's Environmental
Action Statement, the Union Pacific Sacramento Rail Yard Plan qualifies
as a ``low-effect'' plan for the following reasons:
    1. Approval of the Plan would result in minor or negligible effects
on the valley elderberry longhorn beetle and its habitat. The Service
does not anticipate significant direct or cumulative effects to the
valley elderberry longhorn beetle resulting from the soil remediation
project at the Rail Yard.
    2. Approval of the Plan would not have adverse effects on unique
geographic, historic or cultural sites, or involve unique or unknown
environmental risks.
    3. Approval of the Plan would not result in any cumulative or
growth inducing impacts and, therefore, would not result in significant
adverse effects on public health or safety.
    4. The project does not require compliance with Executive Order
11988 (Floodplain Management), Executive Order 11990 (Protection of
Wetlands), or the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, nor does it
threaten to violate a Federal, State, local or tribal law or
requirement imposed for the protection of the environment.
    5. Approval of the Plan would not establish a precedent for future
action or represent a decision in principle about future actions with
potentially significant environmental effects.
    The Service therefore has made a preliminary determination that
approval of the Plan qualifies as a categorical exclusion under the
National Environmental Policy Act, as provided by the Department of the
Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1). Based
upon this preliminary determination, we do not intend to prepare
further National Environmental Policy Act documentation. The Service
will consider public comments in making its final determination on
whether to prepare such additional documentation.
    The Service provides this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the
Act. We will evaluate the permit application, the Plan, and comments
submitted thereon to determine whether the application meets the
requirements of section 10(a) of the Act. If the requirements are met,
the Service will issue a permit to the Union Pacific Rail Road Company
for incidental take of the valley elderberry longhorn beetle during
soil remediation of the Rail Yard. We will make the final permit
decision no sooner than 30 days from the date of this notice.

    Dated: February 18, 2000.
Elizabeth H. Stevens,
Deputy Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office, Sacramento,
California.
[FR Doc. 00-4563 Filed 2-25-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P

 
 

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