[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 160 (Thursday, August 20, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42110-42111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20053]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2009-N153; 1112-0000-80221-F2]


Proposed Low Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Pahrump 
Valley General Store Shopping Center, Nye County, NV

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of application.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received an 
application from Pahrump 194, LLC (Applicant) for an incidental take 
permit (permit), under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. 
The requested 7-year permit would authorize the incidental take of the 
threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) on 60 acres of habitat 
associated with the development of a shopping center complex within the 
town limits of Pahrump, Nevada.
    We request comments on the permit application and on whether the 
proposed Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) qualifies as a ``low-effect'' 
HCP, eligible for a categorical exclusion under the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. We explain the 
basis for this possible determination in a draft Environmental Action 
Statement (EAS), which is also available for public review.

DATES: We must receive comments in writing, no later than 5 p.m. on 
September 21, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Address comments to Robert D. Williams, State Supervisor, by 
U.S. mail at Fish and Wildlife Service, Nevada Fish and Wildlife 
Office, 4701 North Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130; or by fax 
at (702) 515-5231 (for further information and instruction on the 
reviewing and commenting process, see Public Review and Comment section 
below).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeri Krueger, Habitat Conservation 
Planning Coordinator, Fish and Wildlife Service (see ADDRESSES), 
telephone (702) 515-5230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Documents

    Individuals wishing copies of the application, proposed HCP, or EAS 
should contact us by telephone (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) or 
by letter (see ADDRESSES). Copies of the subject documents are also 
available for public inspection during regular business hours at the 
Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES).

Background

    Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 
16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and Federal regulations prohibit the ``take'' 
of a fish or wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened. Take 
of federally listed fish or wildlife is defined under section 3 of the 
Act as including to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, 
trap, capture or collect, or to attempt to engage in such conduct'' (16 
U.S.C. 1538). We may, under limited circumstances, issue permits to 
authorize ``incidental take'' of listed species. ``Incidental take'' is 
defined by the Act as take that is incidental to, and not the purpose 
of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing 
permits for threatened species and endangered species, respectively, 
are at 50 CFR 17.32 and 50 CFR 17.22.
    The Applicant is seeking a permit with a 7-year term for the 
incidental take of the desert tortoise. The Applicant proposes to 
develop and carry out construction activities on 60 acres of land, 
associated with the development of the shopping center, improvement of 
adjacent roadways, installation of utility services, and construction 
of flood control facilities. The shopping center complex is estimated 
to occupy 300,000 square feet with a 175,000 square-foot retail anchor 
tenant. The shopping center will be constructed within the General 
Commercial Zoning District located on the east side of State Route 160 
in the town of Pahrump. Construction is expected to take approximately 
3 to 5 years to complete. The Applicant is requesting a 7-year 
incidental take permit to include the estimated 5-year construction 
period and an additional 2 years in the event that construction delays 
occur. The entire 60-acre parcel will be developed, resulting in the 
incidental take of any desert tortoises that may occupy the site and 
the permanent loss of 60 acres of desert tortoise habitat.
    To minimize and mitigate adverse effects to desert tortoise from 
the loss of

[[Page 42111]]

60 acres of desert tortoise habitat, the Applicant proposes to: (1) 
Survey for and remove all tortoises from the project site prior to 
surface disturbing activities; (2) install a temporary fence during 
construction activities to ensure tortoises do not gain access to the 
project site and wander into harm's way; (3) ensure trash and food 
items are disposed of properly to avoid attracting predators; (4) 
present a desert tortoise awareness program to all construction workers 
on the site; and (5) provide funding in the amount of $550 per acre of 
habitat disturbed to the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center in Clark 
County, Nevada, to support development and implementation of 
conservation and recovery actions for the tortoise under the guidance 
of the Service's Desert Tortoise Recovery Office in Reno, Nevada.
    Approval of the HCP may qualify as a categorical exclusion under 
NEPA, as provided by the Departmental Manual (516 DM 2 Appendix 1 and 
516 DM 8) and as a ``low-effect'' plan as defined in the Habitat 
Conservation Planning Handbook (Service, November, 1996). Determination 
of low-effect HCPs is based upon the plan having: Minor or negligible 
effects on federally listed, proposed, or candidate species and their 
habitats; minor or negligible effects on other environmental values or 
resources; and impacts that, considered together with the impacts of 
other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable similarly situated 
projects, would not result, over time, in cumulative effects to the 
environmental values or resources which would be considered 
significant. If it is found to qualify as a low-effect HCP, further 
NEPA documentation would not be required.

Public Review and Comment

    If you wish to comment on the permit application, draft EAS, or 
proposed HCP, you may submit your comments to the address listed in the 
ADDRESSES section of this document. We will evaluate this permit 
application, associated documents, and comments we receive to determine 
whether the permit application meets the requirements of section 10(a) 
of the Act and NEPA regulations. Before including your address, phone 
number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, 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. If we determine that the 
requirements are met, we will issue an incidental take permit under 
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act to the Applicant for take of the desert 
tortoise, incidental to otherwise lawful activities in accordance with 
the terms of the permit. We will not make our final decision until 
after the end of the 30-day comment period and will fully consider all 
comments we receive during the comment period.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Act and NEPA 
implementing regulations at 40 CFR 1506.6.

    Dated: August 14, 2009.
Robert D. Williams,
State Supervisor, Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office, Reno, Nevada.
[FR Doc. E9-20053 Filed 8-19-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P