Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Gemini Solar Project in Clark County, NV, 30982-30983 [2020-10922]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 99 / Thursday, May 21, 2020 / Notices
and invite comments from all interested
parties regarding the documents
referenced above.
Background
A CCAA is a voluntary agreement
whereby landowners agree to manage
their lands to remove or reduce threats
to species that may become listed under
the ESA (64 FR 32726; June 17, 1999).
CCAAs are intended to facilitate the
conservation of proposed and candidate
species, and species likely to become
candidates in the near future, by giving
non-Federal property owners incentives
to implement conservation measures for
declining species by providing certainty
with regard to land, water, or resource
use restrictions that might be imposed
should the species later become listed as
threatened or endangered under the
ESA. In return for managing their lands
to the benefit of the covered species,
enrolled landowners receive assurances
that additional regulatory requirements
pertaining to the covered species will
not be required if the covered species
becomes listed as threatened or
endangered under the ESA, so long as
the CCAA remains in place and is being
fully implemented.
A CCAA serves as the basis for the
Service to issue permits to non-Federal
participants pursuant to section
10(a)(l)(A) of the ESA. Application
requirements and issuance criteria for
permits under CCAAs are found in the
Code of Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR
17.22(d) and 17.32(d). The Service
developed a template CCAA for the
West Coast distinct population segment
(DPS) of the fisher in Oregon and a draft
EAS for future issuance of permits
under the finalized template to comply
with NEPA. The template CCAA and the
EAS were noticed for comment in the
Federal Register (81 FR 15737; March
24, 2016). The template CCAA and EAS
were finalized and signed by the Service
on June 20, 2018.
The CCAA template established
general guidelines and identified
minimum conservation measures for
potential participants in the CCAA.
Interested participants can voluntarily
enroll their properties under the CCAA
through development of individual site
plans prepared in accordance with the
provisions of the CCAA and that are
submitted as part of their permit
applications. The permits would
authorize incidental take of the fisher
with assurances to qualifying
landowners who carry out conservation
measures that would benefit the West
Coast DPS of the fisher.
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Proposed Actions
We have received an application for
an ESA section 10(a)(l)(A) permit under
the template CCAA for the fisher from
the applicant for their identified lands
in Oregon. Chinook Forest Partners,
LLC, including its subsidiary Chinook
Forest Management, LLC, manages
timberland on behalf of Siskiyou
Timberlands, LLC, and is responsible
for planning and carrying out forest
management activities. Chinook Forest
Partners, LLC seeks to enroll all of its
managed Oregon timberlands in
Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, and
Klamath counties. These lands total
approximately 62,000 acres in many
separate parcels.
The requested permit would authorize
incidental take of the fisher, should it
become federally listed and affected by
the applicant’s routine forest-related
management activities on their
properties through June 20, 2048. Fisher
are not currently known to occur on the
applicant’s proposed enrolled lands, but
they have been located in the past on
nearby lands.
The permit application includes a
proposed site plan that describes the
lands covered by the permit and the
conservation measures required under
the template CCAA that will be
implemented on covered lands. The
primary conservation measures
provided in the site plan include:
• Allowing access to covered lands to
conduct fisher surveys;
• Protecting fisher dens and their
young by limiting disturbance and
impacts to denning structures;
• Limiting trapping/nuisance control
for other animals that could pose a risk
to the fisher (trapping of fishers is
prohibited by State of Oregon law);
• Allowing the potential future
translocation of fishers onto enrolled
lands; and
• Promoting the development of
habitat structures that would support
the fisher.
Public Comments
We are making the permit application
package, including the individual site
plan and draft EAS, available for public
review and comment (see ADDRESSES).
The final template CCAA and EAS that
were finalized and signed by the Service
on June 20, 2018, are also available for
public information. You may submit
your comments and materials by one of
the methods listed in the ADDRESSES
section. We request data, comments,
new information, or suggestions from
the public, other concerned
governmental agencies, the scientific
community, Tribes, industry, or any
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other interested party on our proposed
Federal action, including on the
adequacy of the site plan prepared in
accordance with the template CCAA,
pursuant to the requirements for permits
at 50 CFR parts 13 and 17.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments and materials we
receive become part of the public record
associated with this action. Before
including your address, phone number,
email address or other personal
identifying information in your
comments, 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
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be
made available for public disclosure in
their entirety.
Authority
We provide this notice in accordance
with the requirements of section 10(c) of
the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and their
implementing regulations (50 CFR
17.22, and 40 CFR 1506.6, respectively).
Mary Abrams,
Deputy Regional Director, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2020–10923 Filed 5–20–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNVS01000. L51010000.ER0000.
LVRWF1906190. 19X; MO#4500144064]
Notice of Availability of the Record of
Decision for the Proposed Resource
Management Plan Amendment and
Final Environmental Impact Statement
for the Gemini Solar Project in Clark
County, NV
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended, the
Department of Interior has prepared a
Record of Decision (ROD) to authorize a
right-of-way and amend the 1998 Las
SUMMARY:
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21MYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 99 / Thursday, May 21, 2020 / Notices
Vegas Resource Management Plan
(RMP) for the Gemini Solar Project, and
by this notice, is announcing the
availability of the ROD. This constitutes
the Final Decision of the Department of
the Interior and is effective
immediately. The ROD is not subject to
administrative appeal.
DATES: The Secretary of the Department
of Interior signed the ROD on May 8,
2020.
Copies of the ROD are
available for public inspection at the
Southern Nevada District Office, Bureau
of Land Management, 4701 N Torrey
Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130,
or via the internet at the project’s
ePlanning page at https://go.usa.gov/
xntTQ.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nicholas Pay, Energy & Infrastructure
Project Manager, telephone 702–515–
5284; address 4701 North Torrey Pines
Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130–2301;
email blm_nv_sndo_geminisolar@
blm.gov. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Relay
Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to
contact the above individual during
normal business hours. The FRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
to leave a message or question with the
above individual. You will receive a
reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
applicant, Solar Partners XI, LLC
(Arevia) proposed to construct, operate,
maintain and decommission a 690
megawatt photovoltaic solar electric
generating facility and associated
generation tie-line and access road
facilities on approximately 7,100 acres
of federal lands administered by the
BLM approximately 33 miles northeast
of Las Vegas and directly south of the
Moapa River Indian Reservation in
Clark County, Nevada.
On June 7, 2019, the Notice of
Availability (NOA) of the Draft RMP
Amendment and Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Gemini
Solar Project published in the Federal
Register (84 FR 26701), which provided
for a 90-day public comment period.
The BLM held two public meetings. The
public comment period closed
September 5, 2019. The BLM received
114 substantive letters containing 1,147
individual substantive comments during
the 90-day public comment period. The
comments focused on range of
alternatives; Mojave desert tortoise;
bighorn sheep and migratory birds;
threecorner milkvetch, other sensitive
plants and native vegetation
communities; Old Spanish National
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17:18 May 20, 2020
Jkt 250001
Historic Trail; change to Visual
Resource Management Class; impacts to
recreation; drainage impacts and
hydrologic changes, erosion, and dust;
and tribal concern.
On December 27, 2019, a NOA of the
Proposed RMP Amendment and Final
EIS for the Gemini Solar Project
published in the Federal Register (84
FR 71455), which initiated a 30-day
public protest period and a 60-day
Governor’s consistency review. The
BLM received five (5) protests on the
proposed land use plan amendment, the
BLM considered each protest letter in its
decision. The Protest Resolution Report
was completed on March 6, 2020 and is
available for public inspection as the
addresses listed above. On March 6,
2020, BLM received a written response
from the Governor’s office with no
inconsistencies identified.
After environmental analysis,
consideration of public comments, and
application of pertinent Federal laws, it
is the decision of the Department of the
Interior to authorize the Gemini Solar
Project in Clark County, Nevada, and
amend the 1998 Las Vegas RMP by
selecting the Hybrid Alternative, which
was the agency’s Preferred Alternative
in the Proposed RMP Amendment and
Final EIS. Approval of these decisions
constitutes the final decision of the
Department of the Interior and, in
accordance with the regulations at 43
CFR 4.410(a)(3), is not subject to appeal
under Departmental regulations at 43
CFR part 4. Any challenge to these
decisions, including the BLM
Authorized Officer’s issuance of the
right-of-way as approved by this
decision, must be brought in the Federal
district court.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.
Jon K. Raby,
Nevada State Director.
[FR Doc. 2020–10922 Filed 5–20–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[20X LLUTW01000.54400000.EU0000.
LVCLJ20J0800; UTU–94504]
Notice of Realty Action and Notice of
Segregation: Legislated Conveyance
of Public Lands to the City of Hyde
Park in Cache County, Utah
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of realty action and
notice of segregation.
AGENCY:
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30983
The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) proposes to convey
an approximately 80-acre parcel of
public lands located in Cache County,
Utah, to the City of Hyde Park, pursuant
to Section 1013 of the John D. Dingell,
Jr. Conservation, Management, and
Recreation Act of 2019.
DATES: The BLM will not convey the
parcel until at least July 20, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Salt Lake Field Office,
Attention: Hyde Park Conveyance, 2370
South Decker Lake Boulevard, Salt Lake
City, Utah 84119.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt
Preston, Field Manager (801) 977–4300,
utslmail@blm.gov. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Relay
Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to
contact the above individual during
normal business hours. The FRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
to leave a message or question with the
above individual. You will receive a
reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
1013 of Public Law 116–9 directed the
BLM to convey, without consideration,
to the City of Hyde Park the following
described public lands to be managed
for public recreation or other public
purposes consistent with uses allowed
under the Act of June 14, 1926
(commonly known as the ‘‘Recreation
and Public Purposes Act’’):
SUMMARY:
Salt Lake Meridian, Utah
T. 12 N., R. 1 E.,
Sec. 1, S1⁄2 NE1⁄4.
The area described contains
approximately 80 acres.
The legislatively-required disposal of
this parcel, including both the surface
and the mineral estate, is also consistent
with Section 209 of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act (FLPMA),
as amended, which allows the BLM to
convey the mineral estate along with a
parcel of land when, as here, the BLM
has determined that there are no known
mineral values in the land.
Conveyance of the identified public
lands will be subject to the Canal Act of
1890 (43 U.S.C. 945), valid and existing
rights and encumbrances of record,
including but not limited to, rights-ofway for roads and public utilities.
Upon publication of this Notice in the
Federal Register, the above-described
public lands will be segregated from
appropriation under the public land
laws, including the mining laws, except
for the sale and conveyance provisions
of the FLPMA. The temporary
segregation will terminate upon: (1)
Issuance of a conveyance document, (2)
publication in the Federal Register of a
E:\FR\FM\21MYN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 99 (Thursday, May 21, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30982-30983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10922]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNVS01000. L51010000.ER0000. LVRWF1906190. 19X; MO#4500144064]
Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Proposed
Resource Management Plan Amendment and Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Gemini Solar Project in Clark County, NV
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended, the Department of Interior has prepared a Record
of Decision (ROD) to authorize a right-of-way and amend the 1998 Las
[[Page 30983]]
Vegas Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Gemini Solar Project, and
by this notice, is announcing the availability of the ROD. This
constitutes the Final Decision of the Department of the Interior and is
effective immediately. The ROD is not subject to administrative appeal.
DATES: The Secretary of the Department of Interior signed the ROD on
May 8, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the ROD are available for public inspection at the
Southern Nevada District Office, Bureau of Land Management, 4701 N
Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130, or via the internet at the
project's ePlanning page at https://go.usa.gov/xntTQ.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicholas Pay, Energy & Infrastructure
Project Manager, telephone 702-515-5284; address 4701 North Torrey
Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130-2301; email
[email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at
1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business
hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a
message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant, Solar Partners XI, LLC
(Arevia) proposed to construct, operate, maintain and decommission a
690 megawatt photovoltaic solar electric generating facility and
associated generation tie-line and access road facilities on
approximately 7,100 acres of federal lands administered by the BLM
approximately 33 miles northeast of Las Vegas and directly south of the
Moapa River Indian Reservation in Clark County, Nevada.
On June 7, 2019, the Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft RMP
Amendment and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Gemini
Solar Project published in the Federal Register (84 FR 26701), which
provided for a 90-day public comment period. The BLM held two public
meetings. The public comment period closed September 5, 2019. The BLM
received 114 substantive letters containing 1,147 individual
substantive comments during the 90-day public comment period. The
comments focused on range of alternatives; Mojave desert tortoise;
bighorn sheep and migratory birds; threecorner milkvetch, other
sensitive plants and native vegetation communities; Old Spanish
National Historic Trail; change to Visual Resource Management Class;
impacts to recreation; drainage impacts and hydrologic changes,
erosion, and dust; and tribal concern.
On December 27, 2019, a NOA of the Proposed RMP Amendment and Final
EIS for the Gemini Solar Project published in the Federal Register (84
FR 71455), which initiated a 30-day public protest period and a 60-day
Governor's consistency review. The BLM received five (5) protests on
the proposed land use plan amendment, the BLM considered each protest
letter in its decision. The Protest Resolution Report was completed on
March 6, 2020 and is available for public inspection as the addresses
listed above. On March 6, 2020, BLM received a written response from
the Governor's office with no inconsistencies identified.
After environmental analysis, consideration of public comments, and
application of pertinent Federal laws, it is the decision of the
Department of the Interior to authorize the Gemini Solar Project in
Clark County, Nevada, and amend the 1998 Las Vegas RMP by selecting the
Hybrid Alternative, which was the agency's Preferred Alternative in the
Proposed RMP Amendment and Final EIS. Approval of these decisions
constitutes the final decision of the Department of the Interior and,
in accordance with the regulations at 43 CFR 4.410(a)(3), is not
subject to appeal under Departmental regulations at 43 CFR part 4. Any
challenge to these decisions, including the BLM Authorized Officer's
issuance of the right-of-way as approved by this decision, must be
brought in the Federal district court.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.
Jon K. Raby,
Nevada State Director.
[FR Doc. 2020-10922 Filed 5-20-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P
