20368 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 70 / Tuesday, April 12, 2011 / Notices 

require a larger buffer either as a 

stipulation in the lease or as a condition 

of Construction and Operations Plan 

approval. 

In response to concerns regarding 

potential impacts to the surf clam/ 

quahog fishery in the area of interest, 

BOEMRE intends to consider potential 

impacts to the fishery in a proposed 

lease area as well as the industry 

associated with this fishery as part of 

our compliance process. 

In response to requests that BOEMRE 

conduct outreach to the mariner and 

fishing communities, BOEMRE will 

continue its ongoing outreach efforts, 

including but not limited to, 

participation in meetings with the 

Mariners Advisory Committee for the 

Bay and River Delaware and outreach to 

the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council and regulators of associated 

activities offshore Delaware. 

Dated: March 29, 2011. 

Michael R. Bromwich, 

Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, Regulation and Enforcement. 

[FR Doc. 2011–8341 Filed 4–11–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–R–2011–N042; 1261–0000–80230– 

W2] 

Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit 

Restoration and Pumping Plant/Fish 

Screen Facility Protection Project, 

California; Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for 

public comment. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), in 

coordination with the California 

Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), 

are preparing a joint environmental 

impact statement/environmental impact 

report (EIS/EIR) for the proposed Llano 

Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit 

Restoration and Pumping Plant/Fish 

Screen Facility Protection Project, in 

Glenn and Butte Counties, California. 

The proposed project includes riparian 

restoration and protection of the 

Princeton-Cordora-Glenn and Provident 

Irrigation Districts (PCGID–PID) 

pumping plant and fish screen facility. 

This notice advises the public that we 

intend to gather information necessary 

to prepare an EIS pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA). We encourage the public and 

other agencies to participate in the 

NEPA scoping process by sending 

written suggestions and information on 

the issues and concerns that should be 

addressed in the draft EIS/EIR, 

including the range of alternatives, 

appropriate mitigation measures, and 

the nature and extent of potential 

environmental impacts. 

DATES: To ensure that we have adequate 

time to evaluate and incorporate 

suggestions and other input, we must 

receive your comments on or before 

May 27, 2011. A public scoping meeting 

will be held on May 10, 2011 from 4 

p.m. to 6:30 p.m., at the Ord Bend 

Community Hall, 3241 Highway 45, Ord 

Bend, California 95943–9654. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments or 

requests to be added to our project 

mailing list to: Daniel W. Frisk, Project 

Leader, Sacramento National Wildlife 

Refuge Complex, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, 752 County Road 99W, 

Willows, CA 95988. Alternatively, you 

may send written comments or requests 

by fax to (530) 934–7814, or by e-mail 

to dan_frisk@fws.gov. Please indicate 

that your comments refer to the Riparian 

Sanctuary Restoration and Pumping 

Plant/Fish Screen Facility Protection 

Project. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kelly Moroney, Refuge Manager, (530) 

934–2801. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary 

Unit was acquired by the Service in 

1991 and added to the Sacramento River 

National Wildlife Refuge. The Service 

acquired the Llano Seco Riparian 

Sanctuary Unit as part of the Joint 

Management Agreement between Parrot 

Investment Co., The Nature 

Conservancy, California Department of 

Fish and Game, and the Service to 

cooperatively manage lands on the 

Llano Seco Ranch. The Llano Seco 

Riparian Sanctuary Unit is one piece of 

the larger Llano Seco Ranch, and was 

cleared of riparian vegetation for 

agricultural production by the previous 

landowner during the 1970s. Although 

the property has been out of agricultural 

production for close to 15 years, the 

habitat remains dominated by nonnative 

and invasive noxious weeds. Currently, 

just over 200 acres is farmed to dryland 

row crops to help control nonnative 

weeds. 

Prior to acquisition by the Service, 

rock revetment was placed on the north 

end of the Llano Seco Riparian 

Sanctuary Unit by the Department of 

Water Resources in 1985 and 1986. The 

rock was placed in order to lock the 

Sacramento River in place ensuring that 

flood flows would continue to be 

diverted from the Sacramento River 

through the Goose Lake overflow 

structure and into the Butte Basin. 

When the Service acquired the ranch 

property in 1991, we did so with the 

understanding that our management 

activities would not impact the Goose 

Lake overflow structure that diverts 

flood water into the Butte Basin. 

Since the placement of rock revetment 

in 1986, the natural riverbank that is 

south of the revetment has eroded 

approximately 600 feet. The erosion on 

refuge property is directly across from 

the PCGID–PID pumping plant and fish 

screening facility. In 1999, the PCGID– 

PID consolidated three pumping plants 

into one new facility equipped with 

state-of-the-art fish screens. The fishscreening efficiency of the new PCGID– 

PID pumping plant is now endangered 

by the bank erosion on the refuge 

property and the migration of the 

Sacramento River. Although the rock 

revetment on the north edge of refuge 

property is decades old and eroding, it 

plays a key role in protecting the 

PCGID–PID pumping plant. As the bank 

erodes, the angle of flow and velocity of 

the water passing the screens will 

change, trapping fish against the screen 

rather than sweeping them past. 

Without some type of protection, it is 

likely the bank will continue to erode 

and the pumping plant facility will fail 

to meet guidelines for operation of the 

pumping-plant fish screens that were 

published by the National Marine 

Fisheries Service of National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration 

(Department of Commerce). 

To address these issues we are 

proposing the restoration of 

approximately 500 acres of the Llano 

Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit to 

improve habitat for wildlife with an 

emphasis on endangered and threatened 

species and the protection of the 

PCGID–PID pumping plant and fish 

screen facility. 

Previous Planning Studies 

In 2001, River Partners submitted a 

planning proposal to the CALFED BayDelta Program for grant funding to 

investigate the following problems: 

• River meander may threaten the 

operation of the PCGID–PID fish screen 

and pumping plant located across the 

river from the Llano Seco Riparian 

Sanctuary (part of the Sacramento River 

National Wildlife Refuge). 

• Current site conditions on much of 

the 950-acre Llano Seco Riparian 

Sanctuary have contributed little to 

endangered species recovery and overall 

riparian health. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 70 / Tuesday, April 12, 2011 / Notices 20369 

• Few restoration projects integrate 

an interdisciplinary scientific approach 

into project implementation, limiting 

the opportunities to learn restoration. 

In 2004, following approval of 

CALFED Bay-Delta Program grant 

funding, River Partners and an 

interdisciplinary team began studies to 

examine measures to protect the 

PCGID–PID pumping plant and fish 

screen facility and develop restoration 

options for the Llano Seco Riparian 

Sanctuary Unit. 

River Partners initiated a cooperative 

process with the Service and the 

PCGID–PID to address complex and 

potentially controversial issues 

associated with restoration activities 

and pumping plant and fish screen 

facility protection measures. MBK 

Engineers completed the Llano Seco 

Unit Sacramento River Mile 178 

Pumping Plant Protection Feasibility 

Study in August 2005 to identify 

alternatives that meet the PCGID–PID’s 

pumping plant and fish screen 

protection objectives. 

In 2005, River Partners prepared a 

Riparian Feasibility Study for the Llano 

Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit to 

investigate the feasibility of restoration 

and other management options for this 

area. Approximately 500 acres of the 

site was found to be dominated by 

nonnative plants, with poor wildlife 

habitat values, and suitable for 

restoration. 

In 2010, Ayres Associates refined the 

alternatives identified in the MBK 

study, identifying the most feasible 

alternatives that should be considered 

for protection of the PCGID–PID facility. 

Summary of Alternatives 

No Action Alternative 

Under the No Action alternative, only 

the ongoing removal and management of 

invasive plant species would occur at 

the Riparian Sanctuary. No active 

restoration of native plants would occur. 

Maintenance activities for the PCGID– 

PID pumping plant and fish screens 

would continue, but no new actions 

would be taken to prevent river 

meander. 

Action Alternatives 

A full range of reasonable alternatives 

will be developed based on the River 

Partners 2005 feasibility study, the 2010 

Ayres feasibility study, and public input 

received during this scoping period. The 

2005 River Partners study identified 

restoration measures consisting of full 

plantings or site-specific plantings of 

the Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit. 

The 2010 Ayres feasibility study 

identified the following measures to 

protect the PCGID–PID pumping plant 

and fish screen facility: Construction of 

spur dikes, traditional riprap revetment, 

traditional riprap with a low berm, and 

traditional riprap with removal of 

existing revetment. A combination of 

these measures will be used to develop 

a range of alternatives. 

Public Comment 

We are furnishing this notice in 

accordance with section 1501.7 of the 

NEPA implementing regulations to 

obtain suggestions and information from 

other agencies and the public on the 

scope of issues to be addressed in the 

EIS/EIR. We invite written comments 

from interested parties to ensure 

identification of the full range of issues. 

Written comments we receive become 

part of the public record associated with 

this action. Before including your 

address, phone number, e-mail address, 

or other personal identifying 

information in your comment, you 

should be aware that the 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. 

Public Scoping Meeting 

In addition to providing written 

comments, the public is encouraged to 

attend a public scoping meeting to 

provide us with suggestions and 

information on the scope of issues and 

alternatives to consider when drafting 

the EIS/EIR. A public scoping meeting 

will be held on the date shown in the 

DATES section. 

Persons needing reasonable 

accommodations in order to attend and 

participate in the public meeting should 

contact us at the address listed in the 

ADDRESSES section no later than 1 week 

before the public meeting. Information 

regarding this proposed action is 

available in alternative formats upon 

request. We will accept both oral and 

written comments at the scoping 

meeting. 

NEPA Compliance 

Information gathered through this 

scoping process will assist us in 

developing a range of alternatives to 

address restoration of the Llano Seco 

Riparian Sanctuary Unit and protection 

of the PCGID–PID pumping plant and 

fish screen facility. A detailed 

description of the proposed action and 

alternatives will be included in the EIS/ 

EIR. The EIS/EIR will identify the 

direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts 

of the alternatives on biological 

resources, cultural resources, land use, 

air quality, water quality, water 

resources, and other environmental 

resources. It will also identify 

appropriate mitigation measures for 

adverse environmental effects. 

We will conduct environmental 

review in accordance with the 

requirements of NEPA, as amended (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), its implementing 

regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), 

other applicable regulations, and our 

procedures for compliance with those 

regulations. The environmental 

document will be prepared to meet both 

the requirements of NEPA and the 

California Environmental Quality Act 

(CEQA). The CDFG is the CEQA lead 

agency. We anticipate that a draft EIS/ 

EIR will be available for public review 

in the fall of 2011. 

Dated: April 6, 2011. 

Alexandra Pitts, 

Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region. 

[FR Doc. 2011–8664 Filed 4–11–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLMT921000–11–L13200000–EL0000–P; 

MTM 101687–MTM 101688] 

Notice of Invitation–Coal Exploration 

License Applications MTM 101687 and 

MTM 101688 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Members of the public are 

hereby invited to participate with the 

Spring Creek Coal Company on a pro 

rata cost sharing basis in a program for 

the exploration of coal deposits owned 

by the United States of America in lands 

located in Big Horn County, Montana, 

encompassing a combined 9,011.61 

acres. 

DATES: Any party seeking to participate 

in this exploration program must send 

written notice to both the Bureau of 

Land Management and Spring Creek 

Coal Company as provided in the 

‘‘ADDRESSES’’ section below no later than 

May 12, 2011 or 10 calendar days after 

the last publication of this Notice in the 

Sheridan Press newspaper, whichever is 

later. This Notice will be published 

once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in 

the Sheridan Press, Sheridan, Wyoming. 

Such written notice must refer to serial 

numbers MTM 101687 or MTM 101688. 

ADDRESSES: The proposed exploration 

license and plan are available for review 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES