Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation; Draft Environmental Impact Statement Availability and Public Meetings, 30617-30619 [E9-15246]

Download as PDF 30617 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 122 / Friday, June 26, 2009 / Notices environmental review. The MMS received applications for five of the initial seven lease areas proposed offshore Delaware and New Jersey. The five limited leases are as follows: State Approximate distance offshore Technology type Protraction Company New Jersey ............ 15–18 miles .......... Wind ..................... Wilmington NJ 18–02, block 6936 ...... New Jersey ............ 7–10 miles ............ Wind ..................... Wilmington NJ 18–02, block 6931 ...... New Jersey ............ New Jersey ............ Delaware ................ 15–18 miles .......... 12–15 miles .......... 12–15 miles .......... Wind ..................... Wind ..................... Wind ..................... Wilmington NJ 18–02, block 6738 ...... Wilmington NJ 18–02, block 7033 ...... Salisbury NJ 18–05, block 6325 ......... Bluewater Wind New Jersey Energy, LLC. Fishermen’s Energy of New Jersey, LLC. Deepwater Wind, LLC. Deepwater Wind, LLC. Bluewater Wind Delaware, LLC. The limited leases will be governed by the terms outlined in the interim policy lease and stipulations. The interim policy lease form was published in the Federal Register (73 FR 77, pp. 21363–21375) on April 21, 2008. Environmental Assessment. The MMS has prepared an EA to determine whether issuance of leases under MMS’ alternative energy interim policy authorizing wind resource data collection on seven lease blocks, including the five lease blocks listed above, located on the OCS offshore Delaware and New Jersey would have a significant effect on the human environment and whether an EIS must be prepared. The EA examines potential effects of activities associated with the proposed action—the issuance of seven limited leases—and the alternatives (reduced number of leases and no action) that would occur over the life of the leases, including site assessment activities, construction, operation, and decommissioning of meteorological and oceanographic data collection facilities. The EA concluded that offshore activities would result in localized impacts and impacts from the individual meteorological towers. The activities related to the seven proposed facilities would not overlap due to the distance between the proposed lease areas. Therefore, the EA concluded that there would be no additive effect on offshore environmental resources by approving multiple locations for wind resource data collection. The proposed leases would be located 7–18 miles from the nearest shoreline and result in virtually no visual impacts. There also would be no need to expand existing onshore facilities or construct new facilities to support staging and fabrication of meteorological towers. There would, however, be a small increase in vessel traffic associated with limited construction and decommissioning activities for very short time periods. During the operation of the proposed meteorological towers, there would be no significant impacts VerDate Nov<24>2008 16:39 Jun 25, 2009 Jkt 217001 on air and water quality; coastal, wildlife, and archeological resources; or fishing and recreational activities. Furthermore, EA recommended that several mitigation measures, in the form of lease stipulations, be added to the lease that would reduce or eliminate the potential impacts to the environment. Based on the analyses in the EA, no significant effects on the human environment were identified that would result from the proposed action. Therefore, MMS has concluded that an EIS is not required and prepared a FONSI. EA Availablity: The EA, FONSI, and decision memorandum are available on the MMS Web site at: https:// www.mms.gov/offshore/ AlternativeEnergy/ RegulatoryInformation.htm. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regarding the Lease Issuance: Ms. Maureen Bornholdt, Program Manager, Office of Offshore Alternative Energy Programs, 381 Elden Street MS 4090, Herndon, Virginia 20170, (703) 787– 1300. Regarding the Environmental Assessment: Mr. James F. Bennett, Chief, Branch of Environmental Assessment, 381 Elden Street MS 4042, Herndon, Virginia 20170, (703) 787– 1660. Dated: June 12, 2009. Walter D. Cruickshank, Acting Director, Minerals Management Service. [FR Doc. E9–15169 Filed 6–25–09; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P PO 00000 Frm 00118 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS–R6–ES–2009–N0107; 61411–0000– 1115–F4] Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation; Draft Environmental Impact Statement Availability and Public Meetings AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice and request for comment. SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), on behalf of the State of Montana, has submitted an incidental take permit (ITP) application to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service, US) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). As the ESA requires, DNRC has also prepared a proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP) designed to minimize and mitigate any such take of endangered or threatened species. The ITP application includes the proposed HCP and draft Implementation Agreement (IA). We also announce the availability of a draft environmental impact statement (draft EIS) for the proposed action. The ITP application addresses forest management and timber harvest activities on approximately 221,970 hectares (548,500 acres) of forested State trust lands in western Montana. We request comments from the public on the ITP application, proposed HCP, IA, and draft EIS. DATES: We must receive any comments no later than September 24, 2009. ADDRESSES: Address all written comments to Kathleen Ports, by mail at Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, 2705 Spurgin Road, Missoula, MT 59802, or by facsimile at (406) 542–4274; or to Tim Bodurtha, by mail at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 780 Creston Hatchery Road, Kalispell, MT 59901, or by E:\FR\FM\26JNN1.SGM 26JNN1 30618 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 122 / Friday, June 26, 2009 / Notices facsimile at (406) 758–6877. Alternatively, submit comments by email to dnrchcp@mt.gov. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below for where documents are available for viewing. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about the proposed action, to receive the documents on CD– ROM, or for further information about reasonable accommodations to attend and participate in the public meetings, please contact Kathleen Ports, (406) 542–4330, or Tim Bodurtha, (406) 758– 6882. To allow sufficient time to process reasonable accommodation requests, please call no later than 1 week before the public meeting. Information regarding the proposed action is available in alternative formats upon request. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Availability of Documents The draft documents are available for public inspection and review on the internet at https://www.dnrc.mt.gov/ HCP/default.asp and at the following Montana libraries: • Missoula Public Library, 301 East Main Street, Missoula; • Kalispell Public Library, 247 First Avenue East, Kalispell; • Whitefish Public Library, 9 Spokane Avenue, Whitefish; and • Lewis and Clark Library, 120 South Last Chance Gulch, Helena. Copies of the application and draft documents also are available for inspection and review, by appointment, at the DNRC and Service offices (see ADDRESSES) during normal business hours or by requesting copies on CD ROM from the Service (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Public Meetings The DNRC and Service will hold public meetings at 2 p.m.–8 p.m. at the following dates and locations: • July 20, 2009—Flathead Valley Community College, Arts & Technology Building, Room 139, 745 Grand View Drive, Kalispell, MT 59901. • July 22, 2009—Best Western Great Northern Hotel, 835 Great Northern Boulevard, Helena, MT 59601. • July 23, 2009—Double Tree Hotel, 100 Madison Street, Missoula, MT 59802. Exact locations and any changes to locations and meeting times will be made available via media outlets and on the Internet at https://www.dnrc.mt.gov/ HCP/default.asp. Background Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and Federal regulations prohibit VerDate Nov<24>2008 16:39 Jun 25, 2009 Jkt 217001 the taking of a species listed as endangered or threatened. The term take is defined under the ESA to mean to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct. Harm is defined to include significant habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, and sheltering. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA and its implementing regulations specify the requirements for issuance of permits to non-Federal parties for the take of listed species. Any proposed take must be incidental to, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful activities, must not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the species in the wild, and must minimize and mitigate the impact of such take to the maximum extent practicable. The Service’s regulations governing permits for threatened and endangered species are in 50 CFR 13 and 50 CFR 17, respectively. The DNRC Trust Lands Management Division manages more than 5.1 million surface acres and more than 6.2 million subsurface acres of trust lands to produce revenues for the trust beneficiaries. Approximately 294,071 hectares (726,666 acres) of trust lands Statewide are managed for timber production and other forest products. Forested State trust lands are managed in accordance with the State Forest Land Management Plan (SFLMP) and the Forest Management Administrative Rules of Montana (Rules). The SFLMP and Rules directed DNRC to coordinate with the Service to develop habitat mitigation measures to address the needs of listed species. The HCP covers approximately 221,970 hectares (548,500 acres) of trust lands in western Montana in three of the six DNRC land offices. The DNRC manages scattered parcels of land as well as blocks of land in the Swan River State Forest and Stillwater State Forest. The DNRC prepared a 50-year HCP to address incidental take of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), all of which are listed as threatened under the ESA. Unlisted species included in DNRC’s application are the westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi) and Columbia redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri). The DNRC would receive incidental take authorization should these species be listed during the term of the permit. PO 00000 Frm 00119 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Activities proposed for coverage under the ITP include the following: (1) Timber harvesting (including salvage harvesting and silvicultural treatments such as thinning); (2) road construction, maintenance, use, and abandonment and associated gravel quarrying, as well as installation, removal, and replacement of stream crossing structures; (3) site preparation and reforestation of harvested areas (including piling and/or burning harvest debris and mechanical scarification); and (4) issuance of grazing licenses on classified forest trust lands. We formally initiated an environmental review of the project through publication of a notice of intent to prepare an EIS in the Federal Register on April 28, 2003 (68 FR 22412). That notice also announced a public scoping period during which we invited interested parties to provide written comments expressing their issues or concerns related to the proposal and to attend one of four public scoping meetings held in western Montana. Based on public scoping comments, we have prepared a draft EIS to analyze the effects of alternatives on the human environment. The proposed HCP, including issuance of the associated incidental take permit, is analyzed as Alternative 2 in the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS also includes analyses of a no-action alternative and two additional HCP alternatives. We provide this notice under the ESA and National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321). To determine whether the application meets the requirements of the ESA and NEPA, we will evaluate the application, associated documents, and public comments we receive. Public Review and Comment We furnish this notice to allow other agencies and the public an opportunity to review and comment on these documents. For locations to review the documents, please see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. If you wish to comment on the permit application or the Agreement, you may submit your comments to the address listed under ADDRESSES. Before including your address, telephone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we E:\FR\FM\26JNN1.SGM 26JNN1 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 122 / Friday, June 26, 2009 / Notices cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We are particularly interested in comments pertaining to the application requirements under 50 CFR 17.22(b)(1). These include whether the HCP: Provides complete descriptions of the activities under which the incidental taking of covered species is likely to occur; describes the impacts to covered species that will likely result from the incidental taking; outlines the steps DNRC will take to monitor, minimize, and mitigate such impacts for each covered species and the available funding to implement such steps over the term of the ITP; and describes alternative actions to such taking and the reasons why such alternatives are not proposed to be utilized. As part of evaluating whether the permit issuance criteria are met, we specifically seek comment on whether the minimization and mitigation measures are being undertaken to the maximum extent practicable. Next Steps We will evaluate the ITP application, including the proposed HCP and any comments we receive, to determine whether the application meets the requirements of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. We will also evaluate whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with section 7 of the ESA by conducting an intra-Service section 7 consultation. We will use the results of this consultation, in combination with the above findings, in our final analysis to determine whether or not to issue the ITP. If we determine that the requirements are met, we will issue the ITP for the incidental take of species. Authority We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). Dated: June 11, 2009. Sharon R. Rose, Acting Deputy Regional Director. [FR Doc. E9–15246 Filed 6–25–09; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–55–P Pursuant to section 60.13 of 36 CFR Part 60 written comments concerning the significance of these properties under the National Register criteria for evaluation may be forwarded by United States Postal Service, to the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, 1849 C St., NW., 2280, Washington, DC 20240; by all other carriers, National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, 1201 Eye St., NW., 8th Floor, Washington DC 20005; or by fax, 202–371–6447. Written or faxed comments should be submitted by July 13, 2009. J. Paul Loether, Chief, National Register of Historic Places/ National Historic Landmarks Program. COLORADO Alamosa County Alamosa Post Office (US Post Offices in Colorado, 1900–1941, TR) 703 4th St., Alamosa, 09000544 Erie County Entranceway at Main Street at Darwin Drive (Suburban Development of Buffalo, New York MPS), Main St. at Darwin Dr., Amherst, 09000554 Entranceway at Main Street at High Park Boulevard (Suburban Development of Buffalo, New York MPS), Main St. at High Parl Blvd., Amherst, 09000555 Entranceway at Main Street at Lafayette Boulevard (Suburban Development of Buffalo, New York MPS), Main St. at Lafayette Blvd., Amherst, 09000556 Entranceway at Main Street at LeBrun Road (Suburban Development of Buffalo, New York MPS), Main St. at LeBrun Rd., Amherst, 09000557 Entranceway at Main Street at Westfield Road and Ivyhurst Road (Suburban Development of Buffalo, New York MPS), Main St. at Westfield Rd. and Ivyhurst Rd., Amherst, 09000558 De Soto Parish Community Rosenwald School, LA 3015, Grand Cane, 09000545 Longstreet Rosenwald School, LA 5, Longstreet, 09000546 Oneida County Sylvan Beach Union Chapel, 805 Park Ave., Sylvan Beach, 09000560 MAINE Ulster County New Paltz Downtown Historic District, Main, N. Chestnut, S. Chestnut, Church, N. Front, Academy and W. Center Sts., Innis and Plattekill Aves., New Paltz, 09000561 Aroostook County OHIO Elms, The, 59 Court St., Houlton, 09000549 Belmont County Concord Hicksite Friends Meeting House, Negus Rd., Colerain Township, 09000562 Lafourche Parish House at 816 Jackson Street, 816 Jackson St., Thibodaux, 09000547 Hancock County Harbor Lane—Eden Street Historic District, Portions of Harbor Ln. and Eden St., Bar Harbor, 09000550 MARYLAND Baltimore Independent City Hollins-Roundhouse Historic District, W. Baltimore and Schroeder Sts., S. on Schroeder to Lombard; W. on Lombard to Carey, S. to Pratt; E. on Pratt to Hayes, Baltimore, 09000548 MICHIGAN Clark County Olive Branch High School, 9710 W. National Rd., New Carlisle, 09000563 Franklin County Groveport School, 715 E. Main St., Groveport, 09000564 WYOMING Laramie County Crow creek—Cole Ranch Headquarters Historic District, 1065 Happy Jack Rd., Cheyenne, 09000565 Nominations for the following properties being considered for listing or related actions in the National Register were received by the National Park Service before June 13, 2009. National Park Service Jackson County National Register of Historic Places; Notification of Pending Nominations and Related Actions [FR Doc. E9–15197 Filed 6–25–09; 8:45 am] MISSOURI National Park Service Jkt 217001 Albany County Matton Shipyard, Delaware Ave., Cohoes, 09000553 Lansing Downtown Historic District, N. and S. Washington, Grand, N. and S. Capitol, Michigan Ave., Allegan, Washtenaw, Kalamazoo, Lenawee, and Townsend, Lansing, 09000551 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 16:39 Jun 25, 2009 NEW YORK Monroe County Lake View Cemetery, NY 19, Brockport, 09000559 LOUISIANA Ingham County VerDate Nov<24>2008 30619 National Register of Historic Places; Weekly Listing of Historic Properties Peters, Nelle E., Troost Avenue Historic District (Working-Class and Middle-Income Apartment Buildings in Kansas City, Missouri MPS), 2719–37 Troost Ave.; 2730 Troost Ave., Kansas City, 09000552 PO 00000 Frm 00120 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 BILLING CODE P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Pursuant to (36 CFR 60.13(b,c)) and (36 CFR 63.5), this notice, through publication of the information included E:\FR\FM\26JNN1.SGM 26JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 122 (Friday, June 26, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30617-30619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-15246]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R6-ES-2009-N0107; 61411-0000-1115-F4]


Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation; Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement Availability and Public Meetings

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Montana Department of 
Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), on behalf of the State of 
Montana, has submitted an incidental take permit (ITP) application to 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service, US) under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). As the ESA requires, DNRC has 
also prepared a proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP) designed to 
minimize and mitigate any such take of endangered or threatened 
species. The ITP application includes the proposed HCP and draft 
Implementation Agreement (IA). We also announce the availability of a 
draft environmental impact statement (draft EIS) for the proposed 
action. The ITP application addresses forest management and timber 
harvest activities on approximately 221,970 hectares (548,500 acres) of 
forested State trust lands in western Montana. We request comments from 
the public on the ITP application, proposed HCP, IA, and draft EIS.

DATES: We must receive any comments no later than September 24, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Address all written comments to Kathleen Ports, by mail at 
Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, 2705 Spurgin 
Road, Missoula, MT 59802, or by facsimile at (406) 542-4274; or to Tim 
Bodurtha, by mail at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 780 Creston 
Hatchery Road, Kalispell, MT 59901, or by

[[Page 30618]]

facsimile at (406) 758-6877. Alternatively, submit comments by e-mail 
to dnrchcp@mt.gov. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below for where 
documents are available for viewing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about the 
proposed action, to receive the documents on CD-ROM, or for further 
information about reasonable accommodations to attend and participate 
in the public meetings, please contact Kathleen Ports, (406) 542-4330, 
or Tim Bodurtha, (406) 758-6882. To allow sufficient time to process 
reasonable accommodation requests, please call no later than 1 week 
before the public meeting. Information regarding the proposed action is 
available in alternative formats upon request.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Documents

    The draft documents are available for public inspection and review 
on the internet at https://www.dnrc.mt.gov/HCP/default.asp and at the 
following Montana libraries:
     Missoula Public Library, 301 East Main Street, Missoula;
     Kalispell Public Library, 247 First Avenue East, 
Kalispell;
     Whitefish Public Library, 9 Spokane Avenue, Whitefish; and
     Lewis and Clark Library, 120 South Last Chance Gulch, 
Helena.
    Copies of the application and draft documents also are available 
for inspection and review, by appointment, at the DNRC and Service 
offices (see ADDRESSES) during normal business hours or by requesting 
copies on CD ROM from the Service (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).

Public Meetings

    The DNRC and Service will hold public meetings at 2 p.m.-8 p.m. at 
the following dates and locations:
     July 20, 2009--Flathead Valley Community College, Arts & 
Technology Building, Room 139, 745 Grand View Drive, Kalispell, MT 
59901.
     July 22, 2009--Best Western Great Northern Hotel, 835 
Great Northern Boulevard, Helena, MT 59601.
     July 23, 2009--Double Tree Hotel, 100 Madison Street, 
Missoula, MT 59802.
    Exact locations and any changes to locations and meeting times will 
be made available via media outlets and on the Internet at https://www.dnrc.mt.gov/HCP/default.asp.

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and Federal 
regulations prohibit the taking of a species listed as endangered or 
threatened. The term take is defined under the ESA to mean to harass, 
harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or 
to attempt to engage in any such conduct. Harm is defined to include 
significant habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills 
or injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral 
patterns, including breeding, feeding, and sheltering.
    Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA and its implementing regulations 
specify the requirements for issuance of permits to non-Federal parties 
for the take of listed species. Any proposed take must be incidental 
to, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful activities, must not 
appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the 
species in the wild, and must minimize and mitigate the impact of such 
take to the maximum extent practicable. The Service's regulations 
governing permits for threatened and endangered species are in 50 CFR 
13 and 50 CFR 17, respectively.
    The DNRC Trust Lands Management Division manages more than 5.1 
million surface acres and more than 6.2 million subsurface acres of 
trust lands to produce revenues for the trust beneficiaries. 
Approximately 294,071 hectares (726,666 acres) of trust lands Statewide 
are managed for timber production and other forest products. Forested 
State trust lands are managed in accordance with the State Forest Land 
Management Plan (SFLMP) and the Forest Management Administrative Rules 
of Montana (Rules). The SFLMP and Rules directed DNRC to coordinate 
with the Service to develop habitat mitigation measures to address the 
needs of listed species.
    The HCP covers approximately 221,970 hectares (548,500 acres) of 
trust lands in western Montana in three of the six DNRC land offices. 
The DNRC manages scattered parcels of land as well as blocks of land in 
the Swan River State Forest and Stillwater State Forest.
    The DNRC prepared a 50-year HCP to address incidental take of 
grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), 
and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), all of which are listed as 
threatened under the ESA. Unlisted species included in DNRC's 
application are the westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki 
lewisi) and Columbia redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri). The 
DNRC would receive incidental take authorization should these species 
be listed during the term of the permit.
    Activities proposed for coverage under the ITP include the 
following: (1) Timber harvesting (including salvage harvesting and 
silvicultural treatments such as thinning); (2) road construction, 
maintenance, use, and abandonment and associated gravel quarrying, as 
well as installation, removal, and replacement of stream crossing 
structures; (3) site preparation and reforestation of harvested areas 
(including piling and/or burning harvest debris and mechanical 
scarification); and (4) issuance of grazing licenses on classified 
forest trust lands.
    We formally initiated an environmental review of the project 
through publication of a notice of intent to prepare an EIS in the 
Federal Register on April 28, 2003 (68 FR 22412). That notice also 
announced a public scoping period during which we invited interested 
parties to provide written comments expressing their issues or concerns 
related to the proposal and to attend one of four public scoping 
meetings held in western Montana.
    Based on public scoping comments, we have prepared a draft EIS to 
analyze the effects of alternatives on the human environment. The 
proposed HCP, including issuance of the associated incidental take 
permit, is analyzed as Alternative 2 in the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS 
also includes analyses of a no-action alternative and two additional 
HCP alternatives.
    We provide this notice under the ESA and National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321). To determine 
whether the application meets the requirements of the ESA and NEPA, we 
will evaluate the application, associated documents, and public 
comments we receive.

Public Review and Comment

    We furnish this notice to allow other agencies and the public an 
opportunity to review and comment on these documents. For locations to 
review the documents, please see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    If you wish to comment on the permit application or the Agreement, 
you may submit your comments to the address listed under ADDRESSES. 
Before including your address, telephone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we

[[Page 30619]]

cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    We are particularly interested in comments pertaining to the 
application requirements under 50 CFR 17.22(b)(1). These include 
whether the HCP: Provides complete descriptions of the activities under 
which the incidental taking of covered species is likely to occur; 
describes the impacts to covered species that will likely result from 
the incidental taking; outlines the steps DNRC will take to monitor, 
minimize, and mitigate such impacts for each covered species and the 
available funding to implement such steps over the term of the ITP; and 
describes alternative actions to such taking and the reasons why such 
alternatives are not proposed to be utilized. As part of evaluating 
whether the permit issuance criteria are met, we specifically seek 
comment on whether the minimization and mitigation measures are being 
undertaken to the maximum extent practicable.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the ITP application, including the proposed HCP 
and any comments we receive, to determine whether the application meets 
the requirements of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. We will also 
evaluate whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with 
section 7 of the ESA by conducting an intra-Service section 7 
consultation. We will use the results of this consultation, in 
combination with the above findings, in our final analysis to determine 
whether or not to issue the ITP. If we determine that the requirements 
are met, we will issue the ITP for the incidental take of species.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: June 11, 2009.
Sharon R. Rose,
Acting Deputy Regional Director.
[FR Doc. E9-15246 Filed 6-25-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
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