Biological Opinion (BO) Is the Document Required Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) That States the Opinion of the U
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<Jtticc ~fSt1 rti.oe ~i i:~~ ReiclLtuion :.nd F..1)fo1cWtea otppf'Oval 11( Su:facc \flriot, l t Koppe; CliJ ~·titting.. UC, C-OO(ter Ridg,c .~tacc )'hr.e. OSMRF. PCl"'T'llt t'\umb<'/ !o:!·t<J, C.:~c: ("""""Y· T~rJc:N.~e U.S. l'lsll and \\'ildli ~ ~Ol\• i w Dal~ Executive Summary A Biological Opinion (BO) is the document required under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that states the opinion of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) as to whether a proposed federal action is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of listed species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat (DCH). This BO addresses the effects to the blackside dace (Chrosomus [= Phoxinus] cumberlandensis) and Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) resulting from surface coal mining as authorized by Kopper Glo Mining, LLC, Surface Mining at Cooper Ridge Surface Mine (the action), Claiborne County, Tennessee under OSMRE Permit 3270. Section 9 of the ESA and regulations issued under section 4(d) of the ESA prohibit the taking of endangered and threatened species, respectively, without special exemption. Federal agencies may obtain such exemption through the Incidental Take Statement of a BO that supports a non- jeopardy finding for their proposed actions. “To jeopardize the continued existence of a listed species” means to engage in an action that reasonably would be expected, directly or indirectly, to reduce appreciably the likelihood of both the survival and recovery of a listed species in the wild by reducing the reproduction, numbers, or distribution of the species (50 CFR §402.02). This BO examines whether the proposed surface mining and reclamation operation, implemented in a manner that is consistent with the commitments included in the SMCRA permit number 3270 is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the blackside dace or Indiana bat. Based upon recent Service guidance regarding application of the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) 4(d) Rule to Federal actions that may affect the species, we determined that incidental take of the northern long-eared bat as a result of the proposed action is not prohibited because tree removal activities that would occur as a result of the action would not: (1) remove any tree or trees within 150 feet of a known occupied maternity roost tree from June 1 through July 31 (2) remove any trees within 0.25 mile of a northern long-eared bat hibernaculum at any time of year, or (3) have any impacts to hibernacula. Although we have relied upon the findings of the northern long-eared bat programmatic biological opinion for the final 4(d) rule (U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2015a, b) to fulfill our project-specific section 7 responsibilities for this species, a discussion of the impacts (and beneficial effects) of this permitting action to the northern long-eared bat is included in order to be comprehensive with our effects analysis. The Service has determined that the proposed action may affect northern long-eared bats using the permit boundary and on areas adjacent to the permit boundary as summer roosting areas. However, the northern long-eared bat 4(d) rule exempts incidental take for activities that fit the three criteria listed above. Therefore, there is no incidental take authorized for northern long-eared bat as a result of this BO. Athough valid bat surveys indicate that no Indiana bat hibernacula or summer roosts are known on or near the permit boundary, OSMRE has prudently assumed presence of Indiana bat on or adjacent to the permit boundary and has included protective measures in the permit that would prohibit any potential lethal take. Therefore, in an abundance of caution, the Service has determined that the proposed action could result in incidental take of up to 180 Indiana ii bats bats potentially using a 7,476-acre area (including the 1,496 acres within the permit boundary and an additional 5,980 acre area adjacent to and surrounding the mine permit boundary) for summer roosting areas. The Indiana bat is the only species covered under this formal consultation for which critical habitat has been federally designated. However, there is no federally designated critical habitat (DCH) in the vicinity of the proposed action. Permanent (persistent) blackside dace populations are not known to occur in streams affected by the proposed action. However, OSMRE prudently assumed presence of blackside dace, as a consideration of the potential for elevated conductivity to persist in affected stream reaches and therefore to affect blackside dace migrating through stream reaches not typically occupied, or blackside dace attempting to colonize presently unoccupied streams on the permit boundary. The action being considered in this current BO is anticipated to have overlapping effects in several stream reaches considered as “travel corridors” in a recent consultation with OSMRE (U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2016a). In that previous consultation, blackside dace incidental take related to surface mining and stream water quality was expected to result from activities associated with OSMRE’s issuance of a permit for the Sterling and Strays Surface Mine Number 1 (OSMRE permit 3296). The Service has determined that the incremental effects of the Cooper Ridge Surface Mine, subject of this BO, in those stream reaches that would receive runoff and drainage from the Sterling and Strays Surface Mine Number 1 are not expected to be different from those effects already evaluated in the Sterling and Strays Surface Mine Number 1 BO. However, several other stream reaches on the Cooper Ridge Surface Mine permit boundary would be affected by the proposed activities. While these streams are not presently occupied by blackside dace, the Service considers that migrating blackside dace could attempt to colonize these streams and these individuals could be affected. Therefore, in addition to an incidental take expected to result from blackside dace migrating through "travel corridors” the Service has determined that, for the length of time during which OSMRE maintains regulatory authority (e.g., through Phase III Bond Release) for this Cooper Ridge permit, the currently proposed action could result in the incidental take of up to 80 blackside dace individuals per year potentially occupying 3.1 miles of streams in the watersheds where water and habitat quality would be affected by mining, with the number of individuals diminishing over time with successful reclamation. Reasonable and prudent measures (RPMs) to minimize the take, and their implementing terms and conditions (T&Cs), that must be observed when implementing those RPMs, have been included in this biological opinion. RPMs include ensuring that the proposed action (including avoidance, minimization, and other conservation measures) is implemented as descrsibed in OSMRE’s BA and in this BO. T&Cs include: inspecting for strict compliance with all permit commitments, analysis of stream water quality and biological monitoring data to verify accuracy of predicted stream water and habitat quality impacts resulting from the proposed mining; collaborating with partners and assisting in assessment of trends in stream water quality and blackside dace populations in the affected watersheds in an effort to estimate the accuracy of the predicted blackside dace incidental take and to identify if/when the authorized level may be approached; implementing adaptive management actions as needed (as identified by the iii compliance, monitoring, and blackside dace population trends); and annually reporting these results. iv Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. x List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xi List of Appendices ............................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. List of acronyms, abbreviations, or symbols used in this document: ................................... xiii Consultation history .................................................................................................................... 1 1. Proposed action ...................................................................................................................... 2 1.1. Description of the proposed action................................................................................... 2 1.2. Project components .......................................................................................................... 6 1.2.1. Haul roads ................................................................................................................. 6 1.2.2. Pre-mining site preparation ....................................................................................... 6 1.2.2.1. Tree and vegetation removal ............................................................................. 6 1.2.2.2. Sediment pond construction .............................................................................. 7 1.2.2.3. Other mine facility placement and use .............................................................. 7 1.2.3. Mining operations ....................................................................................................