Laserfiche WebLink
<br />7A - ATTACHMENT NO.2 <br />Page 17 <br /> <br />c. u.s. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) <br /> <br />1. Contact Information. <br /> <br />U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <br />Sacramento Field Office <br />2800 Cottage Way <br />Sacramento, California 95825 <br /> <br />2. Law or Regulation Establishing Jurisdiction. <br /> <br />a. Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) <br />b. Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBT A) <br /> <br />3. Standards for Issuing Permits/Findings/Mitigation Requirements. <br /> <br />ESA. USFWS permitting authority arises if a project is likely to result in the <br />"take" of a species listed as threatened or endangered under the Federal Endangered <br />Species Act ("ESA"). "Take" includes habitat modification that may harm such species. <br />Generally, "taking" a listed species is prohibited unless approved by USFWS. (ESA, ~ <br />9.) There are two basic mechanisms for obtaining such approval: (1) the Federal agency <br />with permitting authority over the project consults with USFWS under ESA section 7; or <br />(2) the developer obtains a permit directly from USFWS that authorizes the "incidental <br />take" of such species under ESA section 10. <br /> <br />The consultation process under section 7 is triggered when another Federal agency <br />has permitting authority over the proposed activity. As noted above, USACE has <br />permitting authority under CW A section 404. For this reason, to the extent listed species <br />may be present, as part of USACE' s permitting process, USACE is likely to carry out the <br />consultation process under section 7. <br /> <br />The materials provided to the City by DMB include a preliminary "environmental <br />assessment." The assessment includes a brief discussion of the project's impact on <br />biological resources. The assessment does not identify any ESA-listed species that may <br />be present at the site. (DMB, Saltworks 50/50 Balanced Plan, Environmental Assessment <br />(May 19, 2009), pp. 8-9.) <br /> <br />The Point Reyes Bird Observatory ("PRBO") submitted a letter to the City <br />commenting on the Saltworks proposal. PRBO stated that "PRBO biologists have <br />documented the occurrence of the federally threatened Western Snowy Plover at the <br />Redwood Plant site in the past." (Letter from Ellie Cohen, President and CEO, PRBO, to <br />Mayor Rosanne Foust, City of Redwood City (July 2, 2009), p. 2.) <br /> <br />17 <br />