81952 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 243 / Thursday, December 17, 2020 / Notices 

• For the four Census Regions (to be 

used for those metropolitan areas that 

are not covered by a CPI city-survey and 

non-metropolitan areas). 

AAFs use the same Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

metropolitan area definitions, as revised 

by HUD, that are used for the FY 2021 

FMRs. 

Area Definitions 

To make certain that they are using 

the correct AAFs, users should refer to 

the Area Definitions Table section at 

http://www.huduser.gov/portal/ 

datasets/aaf.html. The Area Definitions 

Table lists CPI areas in alphabetical 

order by state, and the associated 

Census region is shown next to each 

state name. Areas whose AAFs are 

determined by local CPI surveys are 

listed first. All metropolitan areas with 

local CPI survey areas have separate 

AAF schedules and are shown with 

their corresponding county definitions 

or as metropolitan counties. In the six 

New England states, the listings are for 

counties or parts of counties as defined 

by towns or cities. The remaining 

counties use the CPI for the Census 

Region and are not separately listed in 

the Area Definitions Table at http://

www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ 

aaf.html. 

Puerto Rico uses its own AAFs 

calculated from the Puerto Rico CPI as 

adjusted by the PRCS, the Virgin Islands 

uses the South Region AAFs and the 

Pacific Islands use the West Region 

AAFs. 

Todd M. Richardson, 

General Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office 

of Policy Development and Research. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27708 Filed 12–16–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R2–NWRS–2020–N072; 

FVRS84510200000–20X–FF02R05000] 

Notice of Receipt of Right-of-Way 

Application for Natural Gas Pipeline 

Crossing San Bernard National Wildlife 

Refuge 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Receipt of Right-ofWay Application for Natural Gas 

Pipeline; request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service has received two applications 

for 30-year right-of-way permits from 

Baymark Pipeline LLC and South Texas 

NGL Pipeline LLC, respectively. The 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will open 

the National Wildlife Refuge System 

lands, allowing for this infrastructure, 

under the authority of the National 

Wildlife Refuge System Administration 

Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

requests public comment on the permit 

applications and associated documents. 

DATES: We must receive any written 

comments on or before January 19, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments or 

requests by any one of the following 

methods. 

• Email: jennifer_sanchez@fws.gov 

(use ‘‘Enterprise ROW’’ as your subject 

line). 

• Fax: 979–964–4021 (use ‘‘Enterprise 

ROW’’ as your subject line). 

• U.S. mail: Project Leader, Texas 

Mid-coast Complex, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 2547 County Road 316, 

Brazoria, TX 77422. 

Public Availability of Comments 

• Written comments we receive will 

become part of the public record 

associated with this action. Please be 

aware that your entire comment— 

including your personal identifying 

information, address, phone number, 

and email—may be made publicly 

available at any time. While you may 

request in your comment that we 

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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Sanchez, 979–964–4011 

(phone), or jennifer_sanchez@fws.gov 

(email). Individuals who are hearing or 

speech impaired may call the Federal 

Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339 for 

TTY assistance. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), has 

received two applications for 30-year 

right-of-way (ROW) permits under the 

Mineral Leasing Act. 

Applicants’ Permit Proposals 

Baymark Pipeline LLC and South 

Texas NGL Pipeline LLC have each 

requested a 30-ft-wide pipeline right-ofway across a 203-ft-long section of the 

San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge 

NWR in Brazoria County, Texas. 

The applicants request ROW permits 

for the following pipelines: 

Applicant Pipeline description Material to be transported 

Baymark Pipeline LLC ...................................................... 12-inch-diameter pipeline, steel ...................................... natural gas (ethylene). 

South Texas NGL Pipeline LLC ....................................... 8-inch-diameter pipeline, steel ........................................ natural gas (propylene). 

The ROW permits, if granted by the 

Service, would enable each respective 

applicant to construct, operate, 

maintain, and terminate an ethylene and 

propylene pipeline. The purpose of the 

new pipelines would be to transport 

ethylene and propylene through 

Matagorda, Brazoria, Galveston, and 

Harris Counties in Texas. The requested 

ROWs would be collocated within an 

existing 30-fit pipeline ROW that is 

used by Florida Gas and Lavaca to 

transport natural gas. The existing 

pipeline ROW is not an exclusive area; 

therefore, additional uses may be 

collocated within the same cleared 

corridor. 

The applicants’ pipelines would be 

installed by means of a conventional 

bore technique under refuge land; 

therefore, the construction would not 

require trenching on refuge lands. No 

additional permit boundaries beyond 

the existing ROW are required. The bore 

holes would be located 300 ft outside 

the refuge property line on adjacent 

private lands. 

Next Steps 

This notice informs the public that 

the Service will process the ROW 

permit applications from Baymark 

Pipeline LLC and South Texas NGL 

Pipeline LLC, which includes the 

preparation of the National 

Environmental Policy Act 

documentation along with terms and 

conditions of the right-of-way permit. 

Authority 

Applications for ROW for natural gas 

pipelines are to be filed in accordance 

with Section 28 of the Mineral Leasing 

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 243 / Thursday, December 17, 2020 / Notices 81953 

Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. Ch. 3A § 181), as 

amended, (41 Stat. 437, Pub. L. 66–146). 

Amy Lueders, 

Southwest Region Director, Interior Region 

6, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27752 Filed 12–16–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–R8–ES–2020–0142; 

FXES1120800000–201–FF08ENVS00] 

Receipt of Incidental Take Permit 

Application and Draft Low-Effect 

Habitat Conservation Plan, and Draft 

NEPA Compliance Documentation, for 

the Gamebird Substation Expansion in 

Pahrump, Nye County, Nevada 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of the 

proposed low-effect habitat 

conservation plan, and NEPA 

compliance documentation; request for 

comment. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, announce the receipt 

and availability of an application for an 

incidental take permit (ITP) under the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) and an 

associated draft low-effect habitat 

conservation plan (HCP). Additionally, 

consistent with the requirements of the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), we have prepared a draft loweffect screening form and environmental 

action statement supporting our 

preliminary determination that the 

proposed permit action qualifies for a 

categorical exclusion under NEPA. 

GridLiance West, LLC has applied for an 

ITP under the ESA for the Gamebird 

Substation Expansion in Pahrump, Nye 

County, Nevada. The ITP would 

authorize the take of one species 

incidental to the development and 

construction of the project. We invite 

the public and local, State, Tribal, and 

Federal agencies to comment on the 

permit application, proposed low-effect 

HCP, and NEPA categorical exclusion 

determination documentation. Before 

issuing the requested ITP, we will take 

into consideration any information that 

we receive during the public comment 

period. 

DATES: We must receive your written 

comments on or before January 19, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: 

Obtaining Documents: The documents 

this notice announces, as well as any 

comments and other materials that we 

receive, will be available for public 

inspection online in Docket No. FWS– 

R8–ES–2020–0142 at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Submitting Comments: To send 

written comments, please use one of the 

following methods and identify to 

which document your comments are in 

reference—the ITP application, draft 

HCP, or NEPA compliance 

documentation. 

• Internet: Submit comments at 

http://www.regulations.gov under 

Docket No. FWS–R8–ES–2020–0142. 

• U.S. Mail: Public Comments 

Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R8– 

ES–2020–0142; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service Headquarters, MS: PRB/3W, 

5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 

22041–3803. 

For more information, see Public 

Comments and Public Availability of 

Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glen 

W. Knowles, Field Supervisor, Southern 

Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office, by 

phone at 702–515–5244 or via the 

Federal Relay Service at 800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 

announce the receipt and availability of 

an application submitted by GridLiance 

West, LLC (applicant), for a 4-year 

incidental take permit (ITP) under 

section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered 

Species Act, as amended (ESA; 16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Application for the 

permit requires the preparation of an 

HCP with measures to avoid, minimize, 

and mitigate the impacts of incidental 

take of endangered or threatened species 

to the maximum extent practicable. The 

applicant prepared the draft Low Effect 

HCP for the Gamebird Substation 

Expansion pursuant to section 

10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. FWS 

consideration of issuing an ITP also 

requires evaluation of its potential 

impacts on the natural and human 

environment in accordance with NEPA. 

FWS has prepared a low-effect 

screening form and environmental 

action statement (categorical exclusion, 

or catex documentation), pursuant to 

NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its 

implementing regulations in the Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR 

1501.4, to preliminarily determine if the 

proposed HCP qualifies as a low-effect 

HCP, eligible for a categorical exclusion. 

Background 

Except for permitted exceptions, 

section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1538 et 

seq.) prohibits the taking of fish and 

wildlife species listed as endangered 

under section 4 of the ESA; by 

regulation, take of certain species listed 

as threatened is also prohibited (16 

U.S.C. 1533(d); 50 CFR 17.31). 

Regulations governing the permitted 

exception for allowable incidental take 

of endangered and threatened species 

are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32. For more 

about the Federal habitat conservation 

HCP program, go to http://www.fws.gov/ 

endangered/esa-library/pdf/hcp.pdf. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Compliance 

The proposed permit issuance triggers 

the need for compliance with the NEPA. 

The draft catex documentation was 

prepared to determine if issuance of an 

ITP, based on the draft HCP, would 

individually or cumulatively have only 

a minor or negligible effect on the 

species covered in the HCP, and would 

therefore qualify as a low-effect HCP 

eligible for a categorical exclusion from 

further environmental analysis under 

NEPA. 

Proposed Action 

Under the proposed action, the 

Service would issue an ITP to the 

applicant for a period of 4 years for 

certain covered activities (described 

below) related to the expansion of the 

existing Gamebird Substation. The 

applicant has requested an ITP for one 

covered species, the Mojave desert 

tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), which 

was, and remains as listed under the 

ESA as threatened in April 1990. 

Habitat Conservation Plan Area 

The geographic scope of the draft 

habitat conservation plan (HCP) area 

encompasses 18.2 acres in Nye County, 

Nevada, where the expansion will 

occur. 

Covered Activities 

The proposed section 10(a) ITP would 

allow incidental take of one covered 

species from covered activities in the 

proposed HCP area. The applicant is 

requesting incidental take authorization 

for covered activities, including site 

preparation, geotechnical drilling, 

associated infrastructure development, 

expansion of the substation, and the 

installation of a 230-kilovolt (kV) 

transmission line to connect the 

substation to an existing 230-kV 

transmission line that runs from 

Pahrump to the Sloan Canyon Switch. 

The applicant has proposed to 

minimize and mitigate for the direct 

impacts to desert tortoises and its 

habitat in the HCP area through the 

following measures: 

1. Implementing a worker 

environmental awareness training 

program;