75556 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2004 / Notices 

Dated: December 9, 2004. 

Mark R. Johnston, 

Director, Office of Special Needs Assistance 

Programs.

[FR Doc. 04–27401 Filed 12–16–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–29–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Bureau of Reclamation 

[INT–FES–04–47] 

Final Environmental Impact Statement/

Environmental Impact Report for 

Proposed Adoption of the Lower 

Colorado River Multi-Species 

Conservation Program, Final Lower 

Colorado River Multi-Species Habitat 

Conservation Plan, Final Biological 

Assessment, Incidental Take Permit 

Application, Draft Implementing 

Agreement, and Draft Funding and 

Management Agreement

AGENCIES: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 

Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and 

the Bureau of Reclamation 

(Reclamation) published a Federal 

Register notice on June 18, 2004 (69 FR 

34185) that informed the public of the 

availability of the Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement/Draft Environmental 

Impact Report (DEIS/DEIR) for the 

Lower Colorado River Multi-Species 

Conservation Program (LCR MSCP), 

Application for Section 10 Incidental 

Take Permit (ITP), Draft Lower Colorado 

River Multi-Species Habitat 

Conservation Plan (HCP), Draft 

Biological Assessment (BA), and Draft 

Implementing Agreement (IA). 

The notice provided for a 60-day 

comment period; comments were 

accepted pursuant to the notice through 

August 18, 2004. The notice also 

advised the public that the Service 

received an ITP application for the LCR 

MSCP pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of 

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). The ITP would 

authorize the LCR MSCP permittees’

incidental take of the following 

federally listed and candidate species: 

southwestern willow flycatcher 

(Empidonax traillii extimus) 

(flycatcher), Yuma clapper rail (Rallus 

longirostris yumanensis) (clapper rail), 

desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) 

(tortoise), bonytail (Gila elegans) 

(bonytail), humpback chub (Gila cypha) 

(humpback), razorback sucker 

(Xyrauchen texanus) (razorback), 

yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus 

americanus) (cuckoo), and relict leopard 

frog (Rana onca) (frog). The ITP would 

also address incidental take for 19 other 

species of animals and plants that are 

not federally listed or candidate species 

at this time. The proposed take would 

occur in Mohave, La Paz, and Yuma 

counties, Arizona; San Bernardino, 

Riverside, and Imperial counties, 

California; and Clark County, Nevada, as 

a result of water storage and delivery, 

power generation, and other associated 

federal and non-federal water 

management actions and activities on 

the lower Colorado River from the full 

pool elevation of Lake Mead to the 

Southerly International Boundary with 

Mexico. 

A Final HCP, which makes revisions 

to the Draft HCP submitted as part of the 

application package (Application), has 

been submitted to the Service as 

required by the Act for consideration of 

issuance of an ITP, pursuant to section 

10(a)(1)(B). The HCP provides measures 

to minimize and mitigate the effects of 

the proposed incidental take of listed, 

candidate, and other species. 

Reclamation, the Service, Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM), Bureau of 

Indian Affairs (BIA), National Park 

Service (NPS), and Western Area Power 

Administration (Western), have 

completed a Final BA, which includes 

an evaluation of the effects of specific 

ongoing and potential future federal 

actions, including Reclamation’s 

discretionary LCR operations and 

maintenance activities. In addition, the 

BA addresses Reclamation’s proposed 

implementation of the conservation 

plan and conservation measures 

described in the BA and in the HCP for 

the listed, candidate, and other covered 

species. 

The Service, Reclamation, and The 

Metropolitan Water District of Southern 

California, as joint lead agencies, have 

issued a Final Environmental Impact 

Statement/Final Environmental Impact 

Report (FEIS/FEIR) to evaluate the 

impacts of, and alternatives for, the 

possible issuance of an ITP and the 

implementation by Reclamation of 

conservation measures described in the 

BA and the HCP. 

As of the June 18, 2004, Federal 

Register Notice, a Draft IA that 

represented the positions of the federal 

and non-federal entities that are 

anticipated to participate in the LCR 

MSCP had not yet been completed. 

Subsequent to the publication of the 

June 18, 2004, Federal Register notice, 

letters of financial commitment from 

representatives of the States of Arizona, 

California and Nevada were received by 

the Secretary of the Interior on August 

17, 2004, during the public comment 

period on the Draft LCR MSCP program 

documents. These letters provide a 

commitment to ‘‘share in the agreed 

upon LCR MSCP costs equally with the 

United States on a 50/50 federal/nonfederal basis.’’

A number of other public comments 

received pursuant to the June 18, 2004, 

Federal Register notice sought 

information regarding the financial 

assurances necessary to implement the 

LCR MSCP. The commitments 

contained in the August 17, 2004, letters 

from Arizona, California, and Nevada 

have now been incorporated into a Draft 

Funding and Management Agreement 

(FMA), which was developed during 

negotiations between the federal and 

non-federal parties to the LCR MSCP 

and is published as Exhibit A to the 

Final HCP. In addition, the parties have 

also developed a Draft IA, which is 

published as Exhibit B to the Final HCP. 

Subsequent to publication of this 

Federal Register Notice and the FEIS/

FEIR and other program documents, the 

Draft IA and Draft FMA will be 

presented to the relevant approving 

officials and respective boards. No final 

decisions have been made by the federal 

or non-federal parties with respect to 

the financial commitments or other 

provisions set forth in the August 17th 

letters and the Draft FMA, or with 

respect to the provisions in the Draft IA. 

Appropriate revisions, if any, will be 

included in any Final FMA and Final 

IA. Appropriate information regarding 

the issues addressed in the Draft FMA 

and the Draft IA will also be included 

in any Record of Decision (ROD) issued 

by the Secretary with respect to the LCR 

MSCP.

DATES: No decision will be made on the 

proposed action until at least 30 days 

after the United States Environmental 

Protection Agency’s (EPA) Notice of 

Availability for the LCR MSCP FEIS/

FEIR has been published in the Federal 

Register. At this time, it is anticipated 

the Secretary of the Interior will 

complete a ROD in January 2005.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the LCR MSCP 

FEIS/FEIR, Final HCP, Final BA, Draft 

IA, and Draft FMA are available for 

public inspection and review at the 

locations listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section. An internet 

version of the documents is available on 

the LCR MSCP Web site, http://

www.lcrmscp.org. In addition, copies 

are available upon request from Mr. 

Steve Spangle, Field Supervisor, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, 2321 West 

Royal Palm Road, Suite 103, Phoenix, 

AZ, 85021; or Mr. Glen Gould, Bureau

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2004 / Notices 75557

of Reclamation, P.O. Box 61470, LC–

2011, Boulder City, NV, 89006–1470.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Mr. 

Steve Spangle, Field Supervisor, Fish 

and Wildlife Service, 2321 West Royal 

Palm Road, Suite 103, Phoenix, AZ, 

85021 or (602) 242–0210; or Mr. Glen 

Gould, Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 

61470, LC–2011, Boulder City, NV, 

89006–1470 or (702) 293–8702.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice advises the public that the 

Service and Reclamation, with the 

participation of other federal and nonfederal agencies, have gathered the 

information necessary to: (1) Formulate 

alternatives and determine impacts for 

the FEIS/FEIR related to the issuance of 

an ITP for the LCR MSCP; and (2) 

develop and implement the HCP, which 

provides measures to minimize and 

mitigate the effects of incidental take of 

federally listed species to the maximum 

extent practicable. 

Section 9 of the Act prohibits the 

‘‘taking’’ of threatened and endangered 

species. However, the Service, under 

limited circumstances, may issue ITPs 

to take threatened or endangered 

wildlife species when such taking is 

incidental to, and not the purpose of, 

otherwise lawful activities. Regulations 

governing issuance of ITPs pursuant to 

the Act are published at 50 CFR Parts 13 

and 17. This notice is provided 

pursuant to Section 10(c) of the Act and 

applicable NEPA regulations (40 CFR 

1506.6).

The LCR MSCP, the conservation 

program described in the HCP, and the 

BA were developed over the past seven 

years in a public process involving 

participants and stakeholders from 

potentially affected or interested groups 

on the LCR. These groups include 

federal agencies, i.e., the Service, 

Reclamation, BLM, BIA, NPS, and 

Western; six Tribes; the Lower Basin 

States of Arizona, California, and 

Nevada; and other interested LCR 

stakeholders. The groups were 

organized into a Steering Committee 

and various subject matter 

subcommittees to oversee the 

development of the LCR MSCP. 

Meetings of the Steering Committee 

were open to the public and time for 

public comment was included at each 

meeting. The LCR MSCP website 

contains information on meetings and 

documents. Three sets of public 

meetings were held from 1999 through 

2003 to explain the need for the LCR 

MSCP, request information on 

important issues for the NEPA process, 

receive input on the conservation 

program, and present alternatives. Three 

public hearings were held in July 2004 

to receive public comment on the DEIS/

DEIR. 

Proposed Action: The proposed action 

has two components. The first is the 

issuance of an ITP by the Service for 

covered activities on the LCR 

undertaken by the HCP applicants, 

pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 

Act. The activities that would be 

covered by the ITP are water- and 

power-related actions, and other 

specific identified non-federal activities 

involving the LCR. The area covered by 

the ITP (and the LCR MSCP) includes 

Lake Mead up to its full pool elevation 

of 1,229 feet, Lake Mohave up to its full 

pool elevation of 647 feet, Lake Havasu 

up to its full pool elevation of 450 feet, 

and the LCR and its historical 

floodplain from the highest elevation of 

Lake Mead to the Southerly 

International Boundary with the 

Republic of Mexico. The requested term 

of the permit is 50 years. To meet the 

requirements of a section 10(a)(1)(B) 

ITP, the LCR MSCP participants have 

developed and, with the cooperation of 

Reclamation, will implement the 

conservation plan described in the BA 

and in the HCP, which provides 

measures to minimize and mitigate 

incidental take of flycatchers, clapper 

rails, tortoises, bonytails, humpbacks, 

and razorbacks to the maximum extent 

practicable, and which ensures that the 

incidental take will not appreciably 

reduce the likelihood of the survival 

and recovery of these species in the 

wild. The conservation plan identified 

in the BA and the HCP also addresses 

potential impacts on the cuckoo and 

frog (candidate species) and 19 other 

species of animals and plants. 

The second component is the 

completion of consultation under 

section 7(a)(2) with Federal action 

agencies for their covered actions 

(identified in Chapter 2 of the BA), 

including implementation of the 

conservation plan by Reclamation as 

part of its proposed action (along with 

its identified continued and future 

operations and maintenance activities 

on the LCR). 

Alternatives: Three other alternatives 

are being considered as part of this 

process, as follows: 

1. No ITP—No issuance of an ITP. 

This alternative would require the LCR 

MSCP participants to pursue individual 

ESA compliance activities to address 

incidental take resulting from their 

actions or activities on the LCR or avoid 

taking actions that would result in 

incidental take. This approach would 

require the federal action agencies to 

consult separately on any proposed 

discretionary actions on the LCR.

2. Listed Species Only—Issuance of 

an ITP authorizing the same covered 

actions by the LCR MSCP participants 

but only requesting incidental take 

coverage for the six species currently 

listed as endangered or threatened 

pursuant to the Act. This alternative 

includes measures to minimize and 

mitigate for the potential take of 

federally listed species. 

3. Off-Site Conservation—Issuance of 

an ITP authorizing the same covered 

actions by the LCR MSCP participants 

and the same list of 27 species. Habitat 

restoration activities would occur 

outside of the LCR MSCP planning area 

in adjacent river basins. This alternative 

includes measures to minimize and 

mitigate for the potential take of 

federally listed species, candidate 

species, and other covered species. 

Pursuant to the June 10, 2004, order 

in Spirit of the Sage Council v. Norton, 

Civil Action No. 98–1873 (D.D.C.), the 

Service is enjoined from approving new 

section 10(a)(1)(B) permits or related 

documents containing ‘‘No Surprises’’

assurances until such time as the 

Service adopts new permit revocation 

rules specifically applicable to section 

10(a)(1)(B) permits in compliance with 

the public notice and comment 

requirements of the Administrative 

Procedure Act. This Federal Register

notice provides notice of a step in the 

review and processing for the potential 

issuance of a section 10(a)(1)(B) permit; 

any subsequent permit issuance will be 

in accordance with the Court’s order. 

Until such time as the Service’s 

authority to issue permits with ‘‘No 

Surprises’’ assurances has been 

reinstated, the Service will not approve 

any incidental take permits or related 

documents that contain ‘‘No Surprises’’

assurances, consistent with the Court’s 

order. 

Copies of the FEIS/FEIR, Final HCP, 

Final BA, ITP Application, Draft IA, and 

Draft FMA are available for public 

inspection and review at the following 

locations (by appointment at 

government offices): 

• Department of the Interior, Natural 

Resources Library, 1849 C. St. NW., 

Washington, DC, 20240. 

• Fish and Wildlife Service, 500 Gold 

Avenue SW., Room 4012, Albuquerque, 

NM, 87102. 

• Fish and Wildlife Service, 2321 

West Royal Palm Road, Suite 103, 

Phoenix, AZ, 85021. 

• Bureau of Reclamation, Lower 

Colorado Region, 500 Date Street, 

Boulder City, NV, 86009–1470. 

• Bureau of Reclamation, Upper 

Colorado Region, 125 South State Street, 

Room 6107, Salt Lake City, UT, 84138–

1102.

75558 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2004 / Notices 

• Bureau of Reclamation Library, 

Denver Federal Center, 6th Avenue and 

Kipling, Building 67, Room 167, Denver, 

CO, 80225. 

• Bureau of Reclamation, Phoenix 

Area Office, 2222 W. Dunlap Ave., Suite 

100, Phoenix, AZ, 85021. 

• Metropolitan Water District of 

Southern California, 700 N. Alameda 

St., Los Angeles, CA, 90017. 

• Government Document Service, 

Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 

85287. 

• Yuma County Library, 350 S. 3rd 

Ave., Yuma, AZ, 85384. 

• Palo Verde Valley Library, 125 W. 

Chanslor Way, Blythe, CA, 92225. 

• Mohave County Library, 1170 

Hancock Rd., Bullhead City, AZ, 86442. 

• Laughlin Library, 2840 South 

Needles Hwy., Laughlin, NV, 89029. 

• Clark County Library, 1401 East 

Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV, 89119. 

• James I. Gibson Library, 280 Water 

Street, Henderson, NV, 89015.

Dated: December 14, 2004. 

Willie R. Taylor, 

Director, Office of Environmental Policy and 

Compliance.

[FR Doc. 04–27677 Filed 12–16–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MN–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management 

[WY–920–1320–EL, WYW154595] 

Notice of Competitive Coal Lease Sale, 

Wyoming

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of competitive coal lease 

sale. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

certain coal resources in the Ten Mile 

Rim Tract described below in 

Sweetwater County, WY, will be offered 

for competitive lease by sealed bid in 

accordance with the provisions of the 

Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as 

amended (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).

DATES: The lease sale will be held at 10 

a.m., on Wednesday, January 19, 2005. 

Sealed bids must be submitted on or 

before 4 p.m., on Tuesday, January 18, 

2005.

ADDRESSES: The lease sale will be held 

in the First Floor Conference Room 

(Room 107) of the BLM Wyoming State 

Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, P.O. 

Box 1828, Cheyenne, WY 82003. Sealed 

bids must be submitted to the Cashier, 

BLM Wyoming State Office, at the 

address given above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie 

Weaver, Land Law Examiner, or Robert 

Janssen, Coal Coordinator, at 307–775–

6260, and 307–775–6206, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This coal 

lease sale is being held in response to 

a lease by application (LBA) filed by 

Bridger Coal Company. The Federal coal 

tract being considered for sale is 

adjacent to the Jim Bridger Mine 

operated by Bridger Coal Company. The 

coal resources to be offered consist of all 

reserves recoverable by underground 

mining methods in the followingdescribed lands located in Sweetwater 

County north of Point of Rocks, 

Wyoming. It is approximately 10 miles 

north of Interstate 80 and is 

immediately adjacent to the 

northwestern boundary of the existing 

Jim Bridger surface mine.

T. 21 N., R. 100 W., 6th PM, Wyoming. Sec. 

6: Lots 8–14, S1⁄2NE1⁄4, SE1⁄4NW1⁄4, 

E1⁄2SW1⁄4, SE1⁄4; 

T. 22 N., R. 100 W., 6th PM, Wyoming. Sec. 

30: Lots 5–8, E1⁄2W1⁄2, E1⁄2; 

T. 22 N., R. 101 W., 6th PM, Wyoming. Sec. 

26: Lots 1–16; Sec. 34: Lots 1, 2, 6–8, 13, 

NE1⁄4SE1⁄4, SW1⁄4SE1⁄4.

Containing 2,242.18 acres, more or less.

The tract is adjacent to sections 

within an existing federal coal lease to 

the south, to alternating sections under 

a private coal lease, and to an imbedded 

section under a State of Wyoming lease, 

all controlled by the Jim Bridger Mine. 

It is also adjacent to additional unleased 

federal and private coal to the east, 

north, and west. 

All of the acreage offered has been 

determined to be suitable for 

underground mining. There are no 

existing surface facilities or structures 

that will be impacted by the proposed 

underground mine. There are no 

producing oil and/or gas wells on the 

tract. All of the surface estate is 

controlled by the Jim Bridger Mine. 

The tract contains underground 

mineable coal reserves in the Deadman 

zone of the Fort Union formation 

currently being recovered in the 

adjacent, existing surface mine. In this 

area, the Deadman occurs in numerous 

seams, but only the D–41 seam is 

considered to be recoverable in the 

proposed mine area. This seam ranges 

from about 7–16 feet thick and occurs 

over the entire LBA. The depth from the 

surface ranges from about 250–1050 feet 

from the shallow southwest corner to 

the deep northeast corner. 

The tract contains an estimated 

32,145,000 tons of recoverable coal 

based on a longwall recovery method. 

This method assumes 7–8.5 foot 

recovery for continuous miner sections 

and 7–11 foot recovery for longwall 

panels. The estimate of recoverable 

reserves includes only the D–41 seam. 

The Ten Mile Rim LBA coal is ranked 

as subbituminous B. The overall average 

quality is approximately 9,900 BTU/lb. 

with about 10.25% ash, 0.59% sulfur, 

and 3.21% sodium in the ash. These 

quality averages are generally higher 

than the reserves currently being mined 

in the adjacent surface mine. 

The tract will be leased to the 

qualified bidder of the highest cash 

amount provided that the high bid 

equals the fair market value of the tract. 

The minimum bid for the tract is $100 

per acre or fraction thereof. No bid that 

is less than $100 per acre, or fraction 

thereof, will be considered. The bids 

should be sent by certified mail, return 

receipt requested, or be hand delivered. 

The Cashier will issue a receipt for each 

hand-delivered bid. Bids received after 

4 p.m., on Tuesday, January 18, 2005, 

will not be considered. The minimum 

bid is not intended to represent fair 

market value. The fair market value of 

the tract will be determined by the 

Authorized Officer after the sale. The 

lease issued as a result of this offering 

will provide for payment of an annual 

rental of $3.00 per acre, or fraction 

thereof, and of a royalty payment to the 

United States of 12.5 percent of the 

value of coal produced by strip or auger 

mining methods and 8 percent of the 

value of the coal produced by 

underground mining methods. The 

value of the coal will be determined in 

accordance with 30 CFR 206.250. 

Bidding instructions for the tract 

offered and the terms and conditions of 

the proposed coal lease are available 

from the BLM Wyoming State Office at 

the addresses above. Case file 

documents, WYW154595, are available 

for inspection at the BLM Wyoming 

State Office.

Alan Rabinoff, 

Deputy State Director, Minerals and Lands.

[FR Doc. 04–27486 Filed 12–16–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management 

[WY–030–1610–DS] 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Rawlins Resource Management 

Plan Revision

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 

for the Rawlins Resource Management 

Plan (RMP), Wyoming.