[Federal Register: November 21, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 224)]
[Notices]
[Page 67363-67364]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21no06-62]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Intent To Conduct Public Scoping and Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement Regarding the Southern Nye County
Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, Nye County, NV
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42
U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) as the
lead agency, advises the public that we intend to gather information
necessary to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) regarding
the proposed Southern Nye County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation
Plan (MSHCP) and issuance of an incidental take permit (Permit) for
endangered and threatened species in accordance with section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).
Nye County (Applicant) proposes to accommodate anticipated urban
development within the Mojave Desert region of southern Nye County and
implement conservation measures (Project). The Applicant intends to
request a Permit for incidental take of several listed and unlisted
species, including the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), a species
federally listed as threatened under the Act. The Service plans to
refine the species list as a part of the scoping process. In accordance
with the Act, the Applicant will prepare an MSHCP containing proposed
measures to minimize and mitigate incidental take that could result
from the Project.
The Service provides this notice to: (1) Describe the proposed
action and possible alternatives; (2) advise other Federal and State
agencies, affected tribes, and the public of our intent to prepare an
EIS; (3) announce the initiation of a 30-day public scoping period; and
(4) obtain suggestion and information on the scope of issues to be
included in the EIS.
DATES: Public scoping meetings will be held: Monday, December 4, 2006,
from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday, December 5, 2006, from 4 p.m. to 6
p.m. Written comments from all interested parties must be received on
or before December 21, 2006.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the following location:
Monday, December 4, 2006, at the Bob Ruud Community Center, 150 North
Highway 160, Pahrump, NV 89060. Tuesday, December 5, 2006, at the
Beatty Community Center, 100 A Avenue South, Beatty, NV 89003.
Comments and requests for information related to the preparation of
the EIS should be sent to Robert D. Williams, Field Supervisor, Fish
and Wildlife Service, Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office, 1340 Financial
Boulevard, Suite 234, Reno, Nevada 89502; or FAX 775-861-6301.
Comments and materials received will be available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above
address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeri Krueger, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, Fish and Wildlife Service, Southern Nevada Field Office,
4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89130, at 702-515-5230.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Persons needing reasonable accommodations in
order to attend and participate in the public meetings should contact
Jim Marble, Nye County, Natural Resources Director, P.O. Box 153,
Tonopah, Nevada, 89049 at 775-482-7238 as soon as possible. In order to
allow sufficient time to process requests, please call no later than
one week before the public meetings. Information regarding this
proposed action is available in alternative formats upon request.
The MSHCP described in this notice includes private, developable
lands in southern Nye County only. Nye County is also in the process of
developing a short-term desert tortoise Habitat Conservation Plan
focusing specifically on Pahrump Valley in concert with the development
of the MSHCP. The Applicant's intent is to complete the short-term
Habitat Conservation Plan by the end of this year and then incorporate
the document into the longer-term MSHCP.
The Applicant has initiated discussions with the Service regarding
preparation of an MSHCP and the potential issuance of a Permit for
their activities, which includes planned development and maintenance
activities, utility and infrastructure development and maintenance,
roadway construction and maintenance, and recreation. The Applicant has
also initiated discussions with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) regarding implementation of conservation actions on adjacent
federally owned lands. The planning area encompasses the southern
portion of Nye County, Nevada, within the Mojave Desert region. It
consists of approximately 850,900 acres of land administered by the
BLM, and
[[Page 67364]]
approximately 131,890 acres of developable private land in Nye County.
The area is bordered by the Nellis Air Force Range and Nevada Test Site
to the north, the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest to the east, and the
California/Nevada state line to the west. The small amount of private
land available for urban development is associated with the towns of
Pahrump, Amargosa Valley, and Beatty. The surrounding land is primarily
owned and managed by BLM.
Some of the Applicant's future activities have the potential to
impact species subject to protection under the Act. Section 10
(a)(1)(B) permits non-Federal land owners to take endangered and
threatened wildlife species, provided the take is incidental to
otherwise lawful activities and will not appreciably reduce the
likelihood for the survival and recovery of the species in the wild, as
well as other permit conditions. An applicant for a Permit under
section 10 must prepare and submit to the Service for approval a Plan
containing a multifaceted strategy for minimizing and mitigating the
impacts of all take associated with the proposed activities to the
maximum extent practicable. The applicant must also ensure that
adequate funding for the Plan will be provided.
The Service will conduct an environmental review of the MSHCP and
prepare an EIS. ENTRIX has been selected as the lead consultant to
prepare the EIS under the supervision of the Service. NEPA requires
that Federal agencies conduct an environmental analysis of their
proposed actions to determine if the actions may significantly affect
the human environment. Under NEPA, a reasonable range of alternatives
to proposed projects is developed and considered in the environmental
review. Alternatives considered for analysis in an EIS may include:
variations in the scope of proposed activities; variations in the
location, amount, and types of conservation measures; variations in
activity duration; or a combination of these elements. In addition, the
EIS will identify potentially significant direct, indirect, and
cumulative impacts on biological resources, land use, air quality,
water quality, water resources, socioeconomic conditions, and other
environmental issues that could occur with implementation of the
proposed action and alternatives. For all potentially significant
impacts, the EIS identifies avoidance, minimization, and mitigation
measures to reduce these impacts, where feasible, to a level below
significance.
The EIS will consider the proposed action, no action, and a
reasonable range of alternatives. A detailed description of the impacts
of the proposed action and each alternative will be included in the
EIS. The alternatives to be considered for analysis in the EIS may
address combinations of covered species, different permit effective
periods, or a combination of elements.
Written comments from interested parties are welcome to ensure that
the issues of public concern related to the proposed action are
identified. Comments and materials received will be available for
public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the
office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. All comments and
materials received, including names and addresses, will become part of
the administrative record and may be released to the public. Public
meetings will be held as noted in the DATES section above.
Our practice is to make comments, including names, home addresses,
home phone numbers, and email addresses of respondents, available for
public review. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their names and /or homes addresses, etc., but if you wish us to
consider withholding this information you must state this prominently
at the beginning of your comments. In addition, you must present a
rationale for withholding this information. This rationale must
demonstrate that disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of privacy. Unsupported assertions will not meet this burden.
In the absence of exceptional, documentable circumstances, this
information will be released. We will always make submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives of or officials of organizations or
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
The Service requests that comments be specific. In particular, the
Service is requesting information regarding (1) Potential direct,
indirect, and cumulative impacts of implementation of the proposed
action; (2) other possible alternatives that meet the purpose and need;
(3) potential adaptive management and/or monitoring provisions; (4)
existing environmental conditions in the area; (5) other plans or
projects that might be relevant to this proposed project; and (6)
potential minimization and mitigation efforts.
The environmental review of this project will be conducted in
accordance with the requirements of the NEPA of 1969 as amended (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Council on the Environmental Quality Regulations
(40 CFR parts 1500-1518), other applicable Federal laws and
regulations, and applicable policies and procedures of the Service.
This notice is being furnished in accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7 to
obtain suggestions and information from other agencies and the public
on the scope of issues and alternatives to be addressed in the EIS.
Dated November 8, 2006.
Ken McDermond,
Deputy Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office, Sacramento,
California.
[FR Doc. E6-19633 Filed 11-20-06; 8:45 am]
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