Habitat Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for Gavilan College San Benito Campus and Fairview Corners Residential Development, 28444-28446 [2018-13127]
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28444
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 19, 2018 / Notices
SUMMARY:
available at https://www.reginfo.gov
upon its submission to OMB. Therefore,
in preparation for OMB review and
approval of the following information
collection, TSA is soliciting comments
to—
(1) Evaluate whether the proposed
information requirement is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions
of the agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including using
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Consistent with the requirements of
Executive Order (E.O.) 13771, Reducing
Regulation and Controlling Regulatory
Costs, and E.O. 13777, Enforcing the
Regulatory Reform Agenda, TSA is also
requesting comments on the extent to
which this request for information could
be modified to reduce the burden on
respondents.
Comments Invited
In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.), an agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information
unless it displays a valid OMB control
number. The ICR documentation will be
Information Collection Requirement
OMB Control Number 1652–0005;
Security Programs for Foreign Air
Carriers, 49 CFR part 1546. TSA uses
the information collected to determine
compliance with 49 CFR part 1546 and
to ensure passenger safety by
monitoring foreign air carrier security
procedures. Foreign air carriers must
carry out security measures to provide
for the safety of persons and property
traveling on flights provided by the
foreign air carrier against acts of
criminal violence and air piracy, and
the introduction of explosives,
incendiaries, or weapons aboard an
aircraft. The information TSA collects
includes identifying information on
foreign air carriers’ flight crews and
passengers. Specifically, TSA requires
foreign air carriers to electronically
submit the following information: (1) A
master crew list of all flight and cabin
crew members flying to and from the
United States; (2) the flight crew list on
a flight-by-flight basis; and (3) passenger
identifying information on a flight-byflight basis. This information collection
is mandatory for foreign air carriers and
must be submitted prior to entry into
the United States.
Additionally, foreign air carriers must
maintain these records, as well as
training records for crew members and
individuals performing security-related
functions, and make them available to
copy of the driver application for a
period of one year, an application for
appeal or waiver of HME ineligibility,
and an optional customer satisfaction
survey.
Number of Respondents: 268,295.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: An
estimated 524,746 hours annually.
Dated: June 13, 2018.
Christina A. Walsh,
TSA Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, Office
of Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2018–13137 Filed 6–18–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–05–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Transportation Security Administration
[Docket No. TSA–2002–11602]
Intent To Request Extension From
OMB of One Current Public Collection
of Information: Security Programs for
Foreign Air Carriers
Transportation Security
Administration, DHS.
ACTION: 60-Day notice.
AGENCY:
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
The Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) invites public
comment on one currently approved
Information Collection Request (ICR),
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) control number 1652–0005,
abstracted below that we will submit to
OMB for an extension in compliance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act
(PRA). The ICR describes the nature of
the information collection and its
expected burden. This information
collection is mandatory for foreign air
carriers and must be submitted prior to
entry into the United States.
DATES: Send your comments by August
20, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be emailed
to TSAPRA@tsa.dhs.gov or delivered to
the TSA PRA Officer, Office of
Information Technology (OIT), TSA–11,
Transportation Security Administration,
601 South 12th Street, Arlington, VA
20598–6011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christina A. Walsh at the above address,
or by telephone (571) 227–2062.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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TSA for inspection upon request. TSA
will continue to collect information
described above to determine foreign air
carrier compliance with requirements of
49 CFR part 1546. TSA estimates that
there will be approximately 180
respondents to the information
collection, with an annual burden
estimate of 1,278,352 hours.
Dated: June 13, 2018.
Christina A. Walsh,
TSA Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, Office
of Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2018–13143 Filed 6–18–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–05–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R8–ES–2018–N042;
FXES11130800000–189–FF08EVEN00]
Habitat Conservation Plan and
Environmental Assessment for Gavilan
College San Benito Campus and
Fairview Corners Residential
Development
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of
permit application, draft environmental
assessment, draft habitat conservation
plan, request for comment.
AGENCY:
This notice advises the public
that we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, have prepared a draft
environmental assessment under the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1967, as amended, and it’s
implementing regulations. This notice
also announces the receipt of an
application for an incidental take permit
under the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended, and receipt of a draft
habitat conservation plan.
DATES: Submitting Comments: To ensure
consideration, written comments must
be received by July 19, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of
the draft Habitat Conservation Plan,
draft Environmental Assessment, and
related documents on the internet at
https://www.fws.gov/ventura, or you may
request copies of the documents by
writing to the Ventura Fish and Wildlife
Ecological Services Office, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road,
Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003. Please
address written comments to Stephen P.
Henry, Field Supervisor, at the address
above. Comments may also be sent by
facsimile to (805) 644–3958.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Chad Mitcham, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, by mail to the address in
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 19, 2018 / Notices
ADDRESSES
or by phone at (805) 677–
3328.
This
notice advises the public that we, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
have prepared the draft environmental
assessment (EA) under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1967, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.;
NEPA), and its implementing
regulations in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR 1506.6.
This notice also announces the receipt
of an application from Mary Beth Long
of Fairview Corners LLC and Frederick
Harris of the Gavilan Joint Community
College District (Applicants) for a 25year incidental take permit (ITP) under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; Act).
The Applicants prepared the draft
Gavilan College San Benito Campus and
Fairview Corners Residential
Development Habitat Conservation Plan
(HCP) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of
the Act. The Applicants are requesting
the authorization of incidental take for
the federally threatened California tiger
salamander (Ambystoma californiense)
and the federally endangered San
Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica)
that could result from activities covered
under the HCP.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
The HCP is a combined effort between
the Gavilan Joint Community College
District and Fairview Corners, LLC, for
development of a college campus and
residential subdivision (maximum 220
units) on an approximately 137-acre site
located southeast of the City of
Hollister, in unincorporated San Benito
County. In addition to measures
proposed for the protection of the
covered species during construction
within the project site, the Applicants
propose to mitigate impacts to the
covered species and their habitat by
placing a conservation easement over
approximately 329 acres of the Mariposa
Peak Conservation Preserve in eastern
Santa Clara County.
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Background Information
Section 9 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531–
1544 et seq.) and Federal regulations (50
CFR 17) prohibit the taking of fish and
wildlife species listed as endangered or
threatened under section 4 of the Act.
Take of federally listed fish or wildlife
is defined under the Act as to harass,
harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill,
trap, capture, or collect listed species, or
attempt to engage in such conduct. The
term ‘‘harass’’ is defined in the
regulations as to carry out actions that
create the likelihood of injury to listed
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Jkt 244001
species to such an extent as to
significantly disrupt normal behavioral
patterns, which include, but are not
limited to, breeding, feeding, or
sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). The term
‘‘harm’’ is defined in the regulations as
significant habitat modification or
degradation that results in death or
injury of listed species by significantly
impairing essential behavioral patterns,
including breeding, feeding, or
sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). However,
under specified circumstances, the
Service may issue permits that allow the
take of federally listed species, provided
that the take that occurs is incidental to,
but not the purpose of, an otherwise
lawful activity.
Regulations governing permits for
endangered and threatened species are
at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, respectively.
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act contains
provisions for issuing such incidental
take permits to non-Federal entities for
the take of endangered and threatened
species, provided the following criteria
are met:
(1) The taking will be incidental;
(2) The applicants will, to the
maximum extent practicable, minimize
and mitigate the impact of such taking;
(3) The applicants will develop a
proposed HCP and ensure that adequate
funding for the HCP will be provided;
(4) The taking will not appreciably
reduce the likelihood of the survival
and recovery of the species in the wild;
and
(5) The applicants will carry out any
other measures that the Service may
require as being necessary or
appropriate for the purposes of the HCP.
Proposed Action
The Service would issue an ITP to the
Applicants for a period of 25 years for
covered activities at the proposed
project site in San Benito County. The
proposed project would result in the
permanent loss of approximately 137
acres of suitable habitat for the
California tiger salamander and San
Joaquin kit fox.
Plan Area
The project site is located southeast of
the City of Hollister, in unincorporated
San Benito County. The Gavilan Join
Community College District owns
approximately 77 acres of the southern
portion of the 137-acre project site,
while Fairview Corners, LLC, owns the
remaining 60 acres. The project site
currently consists of unimproved
rangeland and agricultural fields of
cultivated barley that are annually
disked and periodically grazed by cattle.
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28445
Covered Activities
The proposed section 10 ITP would
allow take of covered wildlife species
resulting from covered activities in the
proposed HCP area. The Applicants are
requesting incidental take authorization
for covered species that could be
affected by all activities associated with
the construction of the Gavilan College
San Benito Campus and Fairview
Corners Residential Development
project, as identified in the HCP.
Covered Species
Covered species are those species
addressed in the HCP for which
conservation actions will be
implemented and for which the
Applicants are seeking an ITP for a
period of 25 years. Proposed covered
species include the federally threatened
California tiger salamander (Ambystoma
californiense) and the federally
endangered San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes
macrotis mutica).
National Environmental Policy Act
Compliance
The EA was prepared to analyze the
impacts of issuing an ITP based on the
HCP and to inform the public of the
proposed action, alternatives, and
associated impacts and disclose any
irreversible commitments of resources.
The proposed permit issuance triggers
the need for compliance with NEPA.
The proposed action presented in the
EA is compared to the no-action and
reduced development scale alternatives.
The No-Action and Reduced
Development Scale alternatives
represent estimated future conditions to
which the proposed action’s estimated
future conditions can be compared.
No-Action Alternative
Under the No-Action Alternative, the
Service would not issue an ITP, and the
HCP would not be implemented. Under
this alternative, the project site would
continue to be utilized for the purposes
of cultivation of barley and the periodic
grazing of cattle. Under the No-Action
Alternative, the permanent loss of
suitable habitat for the covered species
would not occur; although, agricultural
activities would continue resulting in
negative effects to the species.
Additionally, offsite mitigation of higher
quality habitat would not occur.
Reduced Development Scale Alternative
This alternative assumes that the
Fairview Corners Residential
Development would be developed with
estate homes on minimum 5-acre lots,
and a reduced version of the Gavilan
College project would be also
developed. This alternative could
E:\FR\FM\19JNN1.SGM
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28446
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 19, 2018 / Notices
include the preservation of a portion of
the project site for the California tiger
salamander in and around the area of
the former stock pond; however, this
would potentially increase the
likelihood of the area to function as a
population sink, primarily due to the
loss of suitable upland habitat in the
immediate vicinity. The biological
resource impacts under this alternative
would be similar to and potentially
more significant that those identified
under the proposed project.
Public Comments
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNM950000 L13400000.BX0000
18XL1109AF]
Notice of Filing of Plats of Survey, New
Mexico
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Filing of Plats of
Survey.
AGENCY:
The plats of survey described
below are scheduled to be officially
filed in the New Mexico State Office,
Bureau of Land Management, Santa Fe,
New Mexico, thirty (30) calendar days
from the date of this publication.
FOR FURTHER CONTACT INFORMATION:
These plats will be available for
inspection in the New Mexico State
Office, Bureau of Land Management,
301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe, New
Mexico. Copies may be obtained from
this office upon payment. Contact
Carlos Martinez at 505–954–2096, or by
email at cjjmarti@blm.gov, for
assistance. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339
to contact the above individual during
normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
If you wish to comment on this
notice, the EA, and HCP, you may
submit comments by any one of the
methods in ADDRESSES.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone
number, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire
comment—including your personal
identifying information—might 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
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Next Steps
Issuance of an incidental take permit
is a Federal proposed action subject to
compliance with NEPA. We will
evaluate the application, associated
documents, and any public comments
we receive to determine whether the
application meets the requirements of
NEPA regulations and section 10(a) of
the Act. If we determine that those
requirements are met, we will issue a
permit to the applicant for the
incidental take of the Covered Species.
We will make our final permit decision
no sooner than 30 days after the public
comment period closes.
New Mexico Principal Meridian, New
Mexico (NM)
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey in Township 10
North, Range 7 West, of the New Mexico
Principal Meridian, accepted May 15,
2018 for Group 1188 NM.
The plat representing the survey of
Tract 24 within the Sebastian Martin
Grant, of the New Mexico Principal
Meridian, accepted May 29, 2018 for
Group 1155 NM.
The Indian Meridian, Oklahoma (OK)
We publish this notice under the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321–4347
et seq.; NEPA), and its implementing
regulations in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR 1500–1508,
as well as in compliance with section
10(c) of the Endangered Species Act (16
U.S.C. 1531–1544 et seq.; Act).
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Authority
The plat, representing the dependent
resurvey and survey in Township 7
North, Range 10 West, of the Indian
Meridian, accepted May 17, 2018, for
Group 234 OK.
The supplemental plat, restoring the
lotting in section 3, created on January
18, 2007 in Township 5 South, Range 14
West, of the Indian Meridian, accepted
January 30, 2018, for Group 236 OK.
The supplemental plat, restoring the
lotting in sections 4 and 9, created on
January 18, 2007 in Township 5 South,
Range 14 West, of the Indian Meridian,
accepted January 30, 2018, for Group
236 OK.
Dated: June 13, 2018.
Stephen P. Henry,
Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office,
Ventura, California.
[FR Doc. 2018–13127 Filed 6–18–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
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The Sixth Principal Meridian, Kansas
(KA)
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey in Township 1
South, Range 18 East, of the Sixth
Principal Meridian, accepted February
18, 2018 for Group 40 KS. These plats
are scheduled for official filing 30 days
from the notice of publication in the
Federal Register, as provided for in the
BLM Manual Section 2097—Opening
Orders.
If a protest against a survey, in
accordance with 43 CFR 4.450–2, of the
above plats is received prior to the date
of official filing, the filing will be stayed
pending consideration of the protest.
A plat will not be officially filed until
the day after all protests have been
dismissed and become final or appeals
from the dismissal affirmed.
A person or party who wishes to
protest against any of these surveys
must file a written protest with the
Bureau of Land Management New
Mexico State Director stating that they
wish to protest.
A statement of reasons for a protest
may be filed with the Notice of Protest
to the State Director or the statement of
reasons must be filed with the State
Director within thirty (30) days after the
protest is filed.
Dated: June 12, 2018.
Thomas A. Maestas,
Acting Chief Cadastral Surveyor for New
Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2018–13123 Filed 6–18–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–FB–P
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Antitrust Division
Notice Pursuant to the National
Cooperative Research and Production
Act of 1993—Medical CBRN Defense
Consortium
Notice is hereby given that, on May
14, 2018, pursuant to Section 6(a) of the
National Cooperative Research and
Production Act of 1993, 15 U.S.C.
§ 4301 et seq. (‘‘the Act’’), Medical
CBRN Defense Consortium (‘‘MCDC’’)
has filed written notifications
simultaneously with the Attorney
General and the Federal Trade
Commission disclosing changes in its
membership. The notifications were
filed for the purpose of extending the
Act’s provisions limiting the recovery of
antitrust plaintiffs to actual damages
under specified circumstances.
Specifically, Spero Therapeutics, Inc.,
Cambridge, MA; DCN Diagnostics,
Carlsbad, CA; Silver Lake Research
E:\FR\FM\19JNN1.SGM
19JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28444-28446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13127]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2018-N042; FXES11130800000-189-FF08EVEN00]
Habitat Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for
Gavilan College San Benito Campus and Fairview Corners Residential
Development
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of permit application, draft
environmental assessment, draft habitat conservation plan, request for
comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that we, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, have prepared a draft environmental assessment under
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1967, as amended, and it's
implementing regulations. This notice also announces the receipt of an
application for an incidental take permit under the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended, and receipt of a draft habitat conservation
plan.
DATES: Submitting Comments: To ensure consideration, written comments
must be received by July 19, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of the draft Habitat Conservation
Plan, draft Environmental Assessment, and related documents on the
internet at https://www.fws.gov/ventura, or you may request copies of
the documents by writing to the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Ecological
Services Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road,
Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003. Please address written comments to Stephen
P. Henry, Field Supervisor, at the address above. Comments may also be
sent by facsimile to (805) 644-3958.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chad Mitcham, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, by mail to the address in
[[Page 28445]]
ADDRESSES or by phone at (805) 677-3328.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice advises the public that we, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have prepared the draft
environmental assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1967, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; NEPA), and its
implementing regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40
CFR 1506.6.
This notice also announces the receipt of an application from Mary
Beth Long of Fairview Corners LLC and Frederick Harris of the Gavilan
Joint Community College District (Applicants) for a 25-year incidental
take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; Act). The Applicants prepared the draft
Gavilan College San Benito Campus and Fairview Corners Residential
Development Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) pursuant to section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. The Applicants are requesting the authorization
of incidental take for the federally threatened California tiger
salamander (Ambystoma californiense) and the federally endangered San
Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) that could result from
activities covered under the HCP.
Introduction
The HCP is a combined effort between the Gavilan Joint Community
College District and Fairview Corners, LLC, for development of a
college campus and residential subdivision (maximum 220 units) on an
approximately 137-acre site located southeast of the City of Hollister,
in unincorporated San Benito County. In addition to measures proposed
for the protection of the covered species during construction within
the project site, the Applicants propose to mitigate impacts to the
covered species and their habitat by placing a conservation easement
over approximately 329 acres of the Mariposa Peak Conservation Preserve
in eastern Santa Clara County.
Background Information
Section 9 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544 et seq.) and Federal
regulations (50 CFR 17) prohibit the taking of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered or threatened under section 4 of the Act.
Take of federally listed fish or wildlife is defined under the Act as
to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or
collect listed species, or attempt to engage in such conduct. The term
``harass'' is defined in the regulations as to carry out actions that
create the likelihood of injury to listed species to such an extent as
to significantly disrupt normal behavioral patterns, which include, but
are not limited to, breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). The
term ``harm'' is defined in the regulations as significant habitat
modification or degradation that results in death or injury of listed
species by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns,
including breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). However,
under specified circumstances, the Service may issue permits that allow
the take of federally listed species, provided that the take that
occurs is incidental to, but not the purpose of, an otherwise lawful
activity.
Regulations governing permits for endangered and threatened species
are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, respectively. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
Act contains provisions for issuing such incidental take permits to
non-Federal entities for the take of endangered and threatened species,
provided the following criteria are met:
(1) The taking will be incidental;
(2) The applicants will, to the maximum extent practicable,
minimize and mitigate the impact of such taking;
(3) The applicants will develop a proposed HCP and ensure that
adequate funding for the HCP will be provided;
(4) The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the
survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
(5) The applicants will carry out any other measures that the
Service may require as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes
of the HCP.
Proposed Action
The Service would issue an ITP to the Applicants for a period of 25
years for covered activities at the proposed project site in San Benito
County. The proposed project would result in the permanent loss of
approximately 137 acres of suitable habitat for the California tiger
salamander and San Joaquin kit fox.
Plan Area
The project site is located southeast of the City of Hollister, in
unincorporated San Benito County. The Gavilan Join Community College
District owns approximately 77 acres of the southern portion of the
137-acre project site, while Fairview Corners, LLC, owns the remaining
60 acres. The project site currently consists of unimproved rangeland
and agricultural fields of cultivated barley that are annually disked
and periodically grazed by cattle.
Covered Activities
The proposed section 10 ITP would allow take of covered wildlife
species resulting from covered activities in the proposed HCP area. The
Applicants are requesting incidental take authorization for covered
species that could be affected by all activities associated with the
construction of the Gavilan College San Benito Campus and Fairview
Corners Residential Development project, as identified in the HCP.
Covered Species
Covered species are those species addressed in the HCP for which
conservation actions will be implemented and for which the Applicants
are seeking an ITP for a period of 25 years. Proposed covered species
include the federally threatened California tiger salamander (Ambystoma
californiense) and the federally endangered San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes
macrotis mutica).
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
The EA was prepared to analyze the impacts of issuing an ITP based
on the HCP and to inform the public of the proposed action,
alternatives, and associated impacts and disclose any irreversible
commitments of resources.
The proposed permit issuance triggers the need for compliance with
NEPA. The proposed action presented in the EA is compared to the no-
action and reduced development scale alternatives. The No-Action and
Reduced Development Scale alternatives represent estimated future
conditions to which the proposed action's estimated future conditions
can be compared.
No-Action Alternative
Under the No-Action Alternative, the Service would not issue an
ITP, and the HCP would not be implemented. Under this alternative, the
project site would continue to be utilized for the purposes of
cultivation of barley and the periodic grazing of cattle. Under the No-
Action Alternative, the permanent loss of suitable habitat for the
covered species would not occur; although, agricultural activities
would continue resulting in negative effects to the species.
Additionally, offsite mitigation of higher quality habitat would not
occur.
Reduced Development Scale Alternative
This alternative assumes that the Fairview Corners Residential
Development would be developed with estate homes on minimum 5-acre
lots, and a reduced version of the Gavilan College project would be
also developed. This alternative could
[[Page 28446]]
include the preservation of a portion of the project site for the
California tiger salamander in and around the area of the former stock
pond; however, this would potentially increase the likelihood of the
area to function as a population sink, primarily due to the loss of
suitable upland habitat in the immediate vicinity. The biological
resource impacts under this alternative would be similar to and
potentially more significant that those identified under the proposed
project.
Public Comments
If you wish to comment on this notice, the EA, and HCP, you may
submit comments by any one of the methods in ADDRESSES.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--might
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 cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Next Steps
Issuance of an incidental take permit is a Federal proposed action
subject to compliance with NEPA. We will evaluate the application,
associated documents, and any public comments we receive to determine
whether the application meets the requirements of NEPA regulations and
section 10(a) of the Act. If we determine that those requirements are
met, we will issue a permit to the applicant for the incidental take of
the Covered Species. We will make our final permit decision no sooner
than 30 days after the public comment period closes.
Authority
We publish this notice under the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347 et seq.; NEPA), and its
implementing regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40
CFR 1500-1508, as well as in compliance with section 10(c) of the
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544 et seq.; Act).
Dated: June 13, 2018.
Stephen P. Henry,
Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ventura Fish and
Wildlife Office, Ventura, California.
[FR Doc. 2018-13127 Filed 6-18-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
