Endangered Species Act - Section 7 Consultation
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Endangered Species Act - Section 7 Consultation BIOLOGICAL OPINION USFWS Log# 13410-2007-F-0641 Interstate-405, State Route 520 to Interstate-5 Improvement Project King and Snohomish Counties, Washington Agency: Federal Highway Administration Olympia, Washington Consultation Conducted By: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Office Lacey, Washington December 2008 Ken S. Berg, Manager Date Washington Fish and Wildlife Office TABLE OF CONTENTS CONSULTATION HISTORY ....................................................................................................... 1 BIOLOGICAL OPINION............................................................................................................... 2 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTION .......................................................................... 2 Construction Impacts and Summary of Quantities ............................................................. 5 Stormwater Design.............................................................................................................. 6 Conservation Measures....................................................................................................... 8 STATUS OF THE SPECIES (Bull Trout).................................................................................... 11 Life History....................................................................................................................... 15 STATUS OF CRITICAL HABITAT (Bull Trout; Coterminous Range)..................................... 20 ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE (Bull Trout) ........................................................................... 20 Environmental Baseline in the Action Area ..................................................................... 23 Status of the Species in the Action Area........................................................................... 29 Status of Critical Habitat in the Action Area.................................................................... 34 Effects of Past & Contemporaneous Actions.................................................................... 35 EFFECTS OF THE ACTION (Bull Trout) .................................................................................. 42 Insignificant and Discountable Effects............................................................................. 42 Stormwater Effects to Surface Water Quality and Instream Habitat................................ 44 Stormwater Pollutants / Contaminants of Concern............................................... 44 Baseline Conditions and Performance of the Proposed Stormwater Design........ 48 Acute Effects to Physiology and Behavior ........................................................... 49 Pollutant Loadings and Chronic Sediment-Mediated Effects............................... 56 Summary of Effects (Matrix of Pathways and Indicators) ............................................... 64 Effects of Interrelated & Interdependent Actions............................................................. 65 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS (Bull Trout)...................................................................................... 66 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................. 67 INCIDENTAL TAKE STATEMENT.......................................................................................... 68 AMOUNT OR EXTENT OF TAKE ............................................................................................ 69 EFFECT OF THE TAKE.............................................................................................................. 70 REASONABLE AND PRUDENT MEASURES......................................................................... 70 TERMS AND CONDITIONS ...................................................................................................... 70 CONSERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................................. 72 REINITIATION NOTICE............................................................................................................ 73 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................................. 74 LITERATURE CITED (STATUS OF THE SPECIES)............................................................... 85 ii FIGURES and TABLES Figure 1 Vicinity map. ................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2 Aerial photo depicting extent of the action area. .......................................................... 22 Table 1 Pre-project and post-project PGIS (by sub-area)............................................................. 6 Table 2 Pre- and post-project pollutant loadings (Sammamish R.; North Cr.; Project Total). .... 8 Table 3 Pre- and post-project effluent/ discharge concentrations. ............................................... 8 Table 4 Select sediment contaminants of concern and associated screening ............................. 25 Table 5 Monitoring stations within the action area exhibiting impaired sediment quality ........ 26 Table 6 Previous BOs and HCPs exempting take of Snohomish-Skykomish bull trout. ........... 38 Table 7 Previous BOs exempting take of Puyallup bull trout. ................................................... 40 Table 8 Typical pollutants in highway runoff (Herrera 2007).................................................... 45 Table 9 Constituents in untreated highway runoff (Herrera 2007):............................................ 46 Table 10 Effects of the action (“Matrix of Pathways & Indicators”). ......................................... 65 iii CONSULTATION HISTORY The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) propose to construct safety and mobility improvements along approximately 15 miles of Interstate-405 (I-405), between the State Route 520 (SR 520)/I-405 Interchange in Bellevue (King County), Washington, and the I-405/Interstate-5 (I-5) Interchange in Lynnwood (Snohomish County), Washington. The project will require a Clean Water Act section 404 permit. Federal funding and issuance of a section 404 permit establish a nexus requiring consultation under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)(Act). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) based this Biological Opinion (BO) on the following sources of information: the Biological Assessment (BA), dated August 2007 and received on September 7, 2007; WSDOT and FHWA responses to our requests for additional information (written correspondence received on December 11, 2007, March 4 and March 27, 2008); a field review of the project site; and, various scientific literature and personal communications cited and referenced herein. A complete record of this consultation is on file at the Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Office in Lacey, Washington. The following timeline summarizes the history of this consultation: September 7, 2007 – The WSDOT submits a BA and request for informal consultation with effect determinations of “may affect, not likely to adversely affect” for bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and “no effect” for designated bull trout critical habitat. October 1, 2007 – The Service provides notice to the WSDOT and FHWA that it cannot concur, based on available information, with a “may affect, not likely to adversely affect” determination for bull trout. The Service requests additional information regarding stormwater design, drainage modifications and fish passage barrier corrections, compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts to wetland and instream functions and values, and related matters relevant to the effect determination for bull trout. December 11, 2007 – The WSDOT and FHWA provide a partial response to the Service’s requests for additional information via written correspondence (with attached, supplemental materials); the WSDOT and FHWA notify the Service of their intent to perform an audit of previous stormwater consultations affecting these same portions of I-405. March 4, March 6, and March 27, 2008 – The WSDOT and FHWA provide a revised and expanded description of the environmental baseline, pre-project conditions, and proposed stormwater design via written correspondence (with attached, supplemental materials). The WSDOT, FHWA, and the Service meet to discuss the most current information. The Service reiterates that it cannot concur, based on available information, with a “may affect, not likely to adversely affect” determination for bull trout. The Service recommends that FHWA request formal consultation. July 18, 2008 – The WSDOT and FHWA make a verbal request to initiate formal consultation. 1 BIOLOGICAL OPINION Approach to the Jeopardy Analysis To conduct a jeopardy analysis for the bull trout, we evaluate the following: (1) the Status of the Species, which evaluates the bull trout’s rangewide condition, the factors responsible for that condition, and its survival and recovery needs; (2) the Environmental Baseline, which evaluates the condition of the bull trout in the action area, the factors responsible for that condition, and the conservation role of the action area; (3) the Effects of the Action, which determines the direct and indirect effects of the proposed Federal action and any interrelated or interdependent actions on the bull trout; and (4) the Cumulative Effects,