Availability of a Habitat Conservation Plan and Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for the Zanker Material Processing Facility, Santa Clara County, California

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of a Habitat Conservation Plan and Receipt of an

Application for an Incidental Take Permit for the Zanker Material

Processing Facility, Santa Clara County, California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior

ACTION: Notice of availability and receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: Zanker Road Resource Management, Ltd. has applied to the Fish

and Wildlife Service for an incidental take permit pursuant to section

10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).

The Service proposes to issue a 3-year permit to Zanker Road Resource

Management, Ltd. that would authorize take of the endangered salt marsh

harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris) incidental to otherwise

lawful activities. Such take would occur during reconstruction of an

existing unengineered levee system surrounding a landfill site in Santa

Clara County, California. Reconstruction of the levees will result in

the temporary loss of approximately 0.83 acres of grassland habitat

used by the salt marsh harvest mouse.

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 Zanker Road Resource Management, Ltd. would undertake

to minimize and mitigate project impacts to the salt marsh harvest

mouse.

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 January 13,

1999.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Mr. Wayne White, Field Supervisor,

Fish and Wildlife Service, 3310 El Camino Avenue, Suite 130,

Sacramento, California 95821-6340. Comments may be sent by facsimile to

916-979-2744.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Lori Rinek or Mr. William Lehman,

Fish and Wildlife Biologists, at the above address or call (916) 979-

2129.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Document Availability

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,

[[Page 68786]]

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.

Zanker Road Resource Management, Ltd. operates the 46-acre Zanker

Material Processing Facility as a landfill for non-hazardous solid

waste. The Regional Water Quality Control Board is requiring the

replacement of the existing unengineered levees surrounding the site to

provide protection during a 100-year flood event and tidal inundation.

The site has been used since the 1950's for disposal of manufacturing

waste from Owens Corning's local manufacturing operations.

Approximately 28 acres in the northern portion of the parcel have been

filled with solid waste, such as fiberglass, wood, construction debris,

and paper. Unengineered levees (uncompacted levees installed without

engineering design or oversight) and a low berm exist on the north,

west, and southwest perimeters of the existing fill area. The eastern

side of the site is bordered by a 10-foot high engineered (i.e.,

compacted) levee owned by the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution

Control Plant. The project site is located at the southern end of San

Francisco Bay on Los Esteros Road in the Alviso district of San Jose.

The land uses adjacent to the site include the San Francisco Bay

National Wildlife Refuge to the north; the old Nine Par disposal site

to the east; the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant,

agricultural open space and offices to the south; and privately held

marshland and residential portions of Alviso to the west.

In 1990, biologists surveyed the proposed project area for special-

status wildlife and plant species that could be affected by the

project. Based upon the surveys, the Service concluded that one

federally listed species, the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse, has

the potential to be impacted by the proposed project.

Zanker Road Resource Management, Ltd. has agreed to implement the

following measures to minimize and mitigate impacts that may result

from incidental take of the salt marsh harvest mouse: (1) implement a

wetland mitigation plan (including the installation of a silt fence)

using Best Management Practices to prevent sedimentation from entering

adjacent wetlands; (2) ensure that a qualified biologist is present to

monitor and oversee technical issues relative to compliance with the

minimization, mitigation, and conservation measures for the project;

(3) ensure that the reconstructed levees are topped with a 12-inch

layer of clean earthfill, revegetated with a native grass seed mix, and

that the levee slopes are planted with coyote bush; (4) ensure that a

revegetation remediation plan intended to restore salt marsh harvest

mouse habitat along the impacted levees is implemented following levee

reconstruction, and succeeds within the 3-year life of the permit; and

(5) ensure construction personnel receive worker awareness training.

The Proposed Action consists of the issuance of an incidental take

permit and implementation of the Plan, which includes measures to

minimize and mitigate impacts of the project on the salt marsh harvest

mouse. An alternative to the taking of listed species under the

Proposed Action is considered in the Plan. Under the No Action

Alternative, no permit would be issued. However, taking no action to

reconstruct the levees is not an acceptable alternative since the

Regional Water Quality Control Board is requiring the reconstruction of

the existing unengineered levees. Although two other options associated

with operation of the landfill and levee reconstruction are discussed

in the Plan, they were not considered as alternatives because each of

these would result in the same level of levee reconstruction and take

as the Proposed Action.

The Service has made a preliminary determination that the Zanker

Road Resource Management, Ltd. Habitat Conservation Plan qualifies as a

``low-effect'' plan as defined by its Habitat Conservation Planning

Handbook (November 1996). Determination of low-effect HCPs 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 Zanker Road Resource Management, Ltd. 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 salt marsh harvest mouse and its habitat. The Service does not

anticipate significant direct or cumulative effects to the salt marsh

harvest mouse resulting from reconstruction of the existing

unengineered levee system surrounding the project site.

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 preliminarily determined 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

Endangered Species 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 Zanker Road

Resource Management, Ltd. for the incidental take of the salt marsh

harvest mouse during the reconstruction of the existing unengineered

levee system surrounding the project site. We will make the final

permit decision no sooner than 30 days from the date of this notice.

[[Page 68787]]

Dated: December 4, 1998.

Elizabeth H. Stevens,

Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office, Sacramento, California.

[FR Doc. 98-33033 Filed 12-11-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-55-P