SCH Number 2022010302

Project Info

Title

Southern California Gas Company California Desert Conservation Area Operations and Maintenance Long-Term Incidental Take Permit

Description

SoCal Gas proposes to pursue a long-term Incidental Take Permit (ITP) and Master Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreement (MLSAA) for operation and maintenance (O&M) activities of transmission and distribution pipelines and appurtenant facilities within the California Desert Conservation Area. The ITP would authorize the otherwise prohibited “take” as defined by State law of six state-listed wildlife species incidental to SoCalGas ongoing O&M activities within the CDCA, including Least Bell’s vireo, Southwestern willow flycatcher, Tricolored blackbird, Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard, Desert tortoise, and Mohave ground squirrel. The MLSAA would authorize O&M covered activities within rivers, streams or lakes that have the potential to impact fish and wildlife. CDFW’s issuance of the ITP and MLSAA would not change the nature need or overall extent of the work that will be required within the next 30 years on SoCalGas’s natural gas system in the CDCA. However, the state ITP and MLSAA would provide an enhanced conservation strategy and approach to minimizing impacts to fish and wildlife resources while eliminating the time and expense involved in processing individual state ITPs and LSAAs.

2 documents in project