34494 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 104 / Tuesday, May 30, 2000 / Notices

Section 9 of the Act and Federal

regulations prohibit the ‘‘taking’’ of any

species listed as endangered or

threatened. The term ‘‘take’’ is defined

under the Act to mean harass, harm,

pursue, hunt, shoot, would, kill, trap,

capture, or collect, or to attempt to

engage in any such conduct. Harm is

defined to include significant habitat

modification or degradation where it

actually kills or injures wildlife by

significantly impairing essential

behavioral patterns, including breeding,

feeding, and sheltering.

The species currently listed under the

Act that are being proposed for coverage

under the Permit include the Columbia

River Basin population of the bull trout

(Salvelinus confluentus) and the

coterminous United States population of

the bald eagle (Haliaeetus

leucocephalus), both currently listed as

threatened. The District also plan to

address a number of unlisted fish and

wildlife species in the Plan, such as the

western sage grouse (Centrocercus

urophasianus phaios), Colombian

sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus

phasianellus columbianus), and the

pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis),

among other. Should any of the unlisted

species addressed in the Plan be listed

under the Act in the future,

participating landowners would receive

incidental take coverage for them under

the specific provisions of the Permit.

The District also plans to seek separate

Permit coverage for several species

listed under the Act that fall within the

purview of the Secretary of Commerce,

as administered by the National Marine

Fisheries Service, including the upper

Columbia River Basin populations of

spring chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus

tshawytscha) and steelhead ( O. mykiss),

both listed as endangered, and the

middle Columbia River population of

steelhead, listed as threatened.

Under NEPA, reasonable alternatives

to a proposed project must be developed

and considered in the Service’s

environmental review. At a minimum,

the alternatives developed must

include: (1) A No Action alternative,

which describes current management

and resource conditions and potential

future impacts incurred under this

scenario; and (2) the Proposed Action,

with thorough descriptions of its

management features and anticipated

resource conservation benefits and

potential impacts. For the present

environmental review, the No Action

alternative will reflect the baseline

conditions in Douglas County under

current agricultural management

practices. The Proposed action

alternative will be represented by the

District’s Plan and its associated

management measures. Additional

project alternatives may be developed

based upon input received from this and

future scoping notices during

development of the EIS.

Comments and suggestions are invited

from all interested parties to ensure that

the full range of issues related to these

proposed actions are addressed and that

all significant issues are identified. The

Service requests that comments be as

specific as possible. Comments are

specifically requested to include

information regarding: the direct,

indirect, and cumulative impacts that

implementation of the proposal could

have on endangered and threatened

species and their habitats; other possible

alternatives; potential adaptive

management and/or monitoring

provisions; funding issues; baseline

environmental conditions in Douglas

County; other plans or projects that

might be relevant to this project; and

minimization and mitigation efforts. In

addition to considering impacts on

listed species and their habitats, the EIS

must include information on impacts

resulting from the alternatives on other

components of the human environment.

These other components include such

things as air quality, water quality and

quantity, geology and soils, cultural

resources, other fish and wildlife

species, social resources, and economic

resources.

The environmental review for this

project will be conducted in accordance

with the requirements of NEPA (42

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Federal regulations

implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1500-

1508), other appropriate Federal laws

and regulations, and the policies and

procedures of the Service for

compliance with those regulations.

Dated: May 22, 2000.

Carolyn A. Bohan,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1, Fish and

Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon.

[FR Doc. 00–13385 Filed 5–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CA–660–00–1990–00; CACA20139 and

CACA22901]

Transit Mixed Concrete Company

Proposed Sand and Gravel Mining

Operation, Soledad Canyon, Los

Angeles County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Department of the Interior, Palm

Springs-South Coast Field Office,

California Desert District.

ACTION: Notice of availability of Final

Environmental Impact Statement.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) of 1969 and 40 CFR 1503.4,

notice is hereby given that the Bureau

of Land Management (BLM) has

prepared a Final Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) for the Transit Mixed

Concrete (TMC) Company Sand and

Gravel Mining Project proposed for

construction and operation off of

Soledad Canyon Road and State

Highway 14, in an unincorporated area

of Los Angeles County, California.

Interested citizens are invited to

review the Final EIS. Hard copies of the

Final EIS may be obtained by

telephoning or writing the contact

persons listed below. The Technical

Appendices and Volumes 1 through 6

are also available on CD-ROM. The CDROM is in Adobe Acrobat Reader

format, and contains a free download of

Acrobat Reader so it can be opened

easily. Public reading copies are

available at the following County of Los

Angeles public libraries: Canyon

Country Library (18536 Soledad Canyon

Road, Santa Clarita); Newhall Library

(22704 W. Ninth Street, Santa Clarita);

and the Valencia Library (23743 W.

Valencia Boulevard, Santa Clarita).

DATES: BLM will be rendering a decision

on the proposed Project no sooner than

July 3, 2000.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Elena Misquez, BLM, Palm SpringsSouth Coast Field Office at (760) 251–

4810. To obtain copies of the Final EIS,

contact Ms. Linda Brody of Chambers

Group Inc. at (949) 261–5414. Fax

requests can be sent to the attention of

Ms. Linda Brody at (949) 261–8950.

Please specify either CD–ROM or the

specific volume(s) desired (see

Supplemental Information below).

Please include name, complete mailing

address (no P.O. Boxes), and phone

number on all requests.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has

prepared a Final EIS for the Transit

Mixed Concrete (TMC) Company Sand

and Gravel Mining Project. The Project

is proposed for construction and

operation in an unincorporated area

within Los Angeles County, north of

Soledad Canyon Road, south of the

Antelope Valley Freeway (State

Highway 14), and west of Agua Dulce

Canyon. TMC proposes to mine a total

of 83 million tons of sand and gravel

over a 20-year period. The Project site

is located on ‘‘split-estate’’ lands where

the surface is privately owned and the

minerals are federally owned and

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 104 / Tuesday, May 30, 2000 / Notices 34495

administered by the BLM. The Draft EIS

was released for public review on May

6, 1999, and the Supplement to the Draft

EIS (SDEIS) was released November 17,

1999. The public comment period for

both of these documents closed January

10, 2000.

The Final EIS incorporates changes

based on public comments received on

the Draft EIS, SDEIS, and technical

appendices, including final conformity

determination for air quality. The Final

EIS also includes responses to written

comments received during the public

comment period for the DEIS and

SDEIS, responses to the BLM public

hearing held July 2, 1999, and responses

to comments on Los Angeles County’s

Draft EIR for the Project. The Final EIS

is comprised of the following volumes:

• Final EIS—Main Text Volume

(incorporates changes to DEIS and

SDEIS text)

• Final EIS—Technical Appendices

Volume (incorporates changes to DEIS

Appendices)

• Volume 1—Responses to Comments

(Responses to all written and oral

comments received on the DEIS, SDEIS,

and DEIR)

• Volume 2—DEIS and SDEIS Written

Comment Letters (includes federal,

state, and local agencies, community

groups, associations, consulting firms,

and individual letters)

• Volume 3—BLM Public Hearing

Transcript

• Volume 4—DEIR Written Comment

Letters from State and Local Agencies,

Community Groups, Associations, and

Consulting Firms

• Volume 5—DEIR Written Comment

Letters from Individuals/Petitions/Form

Letters

• Volume 6—County DEIR Public

Hearing Transcripts

Dated: May 23, 2000.

Danella George,

Acting Field Manager.

[FR Doc. 00–13440 Filed 5–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–40–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY–920–1310–01; WYW147467)

Notice of Proposed Reinstatement of

Terminated; Oil and Gas Lease

Pursuant to the provisions of 30

U.S.C. 188(d) and (e), and 43 CFR

3108.2–3(a) and (b)(1), a petition for

reinstatement of oil and gas lease

WYW147467 for lands in Sweetwater

County, Wyoming, was timely filed and

was accompanied by all the required

rentals accruing from the date of

termination.

The lessee has agreed to the amended

lease terms for rentals and royalties at

rates of $10.00 per acre, or fraction

thereof, per year and 162⁄3 percent,

respectively.

The lessee has paid the required $500

administrative fee and $125 of

reimburse the Department for the cost of

this Federal Register notice. The lessee

has met all the requirements of

reinstatement of the lease as set out in

Section 31(d) and (e) of the Mineral

Lands Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C.

188), and the Bureau of Land

Management is proposing to reinstate

lease WYW147467 effective February 1,

2000, subject to the original terms and

conditions of the lease and the

increased rental and royalty rates cited

above.

Theresa M. Stevens,

Acting Chief, Leasable Minerals Section.

[FR Doc. 00–13393 Filed 5–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–22–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY–920–1310–01; WYW147466]

Notice of Proposed Reinstatement of

Terminated Oil and Gas Lease

Pursuant to the provisions of 30

U.S.C. 188(d) and (e), and 43 CFR

3108.2–3(a) and (b)(1), a petition for

reinstatement of oil and gas lease

WYW147466 for lands in Sweetwater

County, Wyoming, was timely filed and

was accompanied by all the required

rentals accruing from the date of

termination. The lessee has agreed to

the amended lease terms for rentals and

royalties at rates of $10.00 per acre, or

fraction thereof, per year and 162⁄3

percent, respectively.

The lesee has paid the required $500

administrative fee and $125 to

reimburse the Department for the cost of

this Federal Register notice. The lessee

has met all the requirements for

reinstatement of the lease as set out in

Section 31 (d) and (e) of the Mineral

Lands Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C.

188), and the Bureau of Land

Management is proposing to reinstate

lease WYW147466 effective February 1,

2000, subject to the original terms and

conditions of the lease and the

increased rental and royalty rates cited

above.

Theresa M. Stevens,

Acting Chief, Leasable Minerals Section.

[FR Doc. 00–13397 Filed 5–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–22–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AA210–00–1610–01–2410]

Public Land and Resources; Planning,

Programming, and Budgeting

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notification of availability of

Draft Land Use Planning Manual and

Handbook.

SUMMARY: The Federal Land Policy and

Management Act (FLPMA) and the

regulations at 43 CFR part 1600 require

the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

to prepare Resource Management Plans

(RMPs) to provide management

direction for the public lands. The

objective of land use planning is to

ensure that BLM lands are managed

under the principles of multiple use and

sustained yield (FLPMA, sec. 102 (a)

(7)); in a manner that will protect the

quality of scientific, scenic, historical,

ecological, environmental, air and

atmospheric, water resource, and

archaeological values; that, where

appropriate, will preserve and protect

certain public lands in their natural

condition; that will provide food and

habitat for fish and wildlife and

domestic animals; and that will provide

for outdoor recreation and human

occupancy and use (FLPMA, sec. 102 (a)

(8)); and in a manner that recognizes the

Nation’s need for domestic sources of

minerals, food, timber, and fiber from

the public lands (FLPMA, sec. 102 (a)

(12)).

The BLM’s current guidance for the

preparation of land use plans is a

manual that was prepared in the 1980s,

shortly after the BLM published its

planning regulations in 1983. The BLM

is developing new guidance and is

providing the public an opportunity to

review the proposed guidance and to

provide input. The Planning Manual

and Handbook, when finalized, will

provide direction in implementing the

requirements of FLPMA and the BLM

planning regulations.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

addition to serving as BLM’s primary

tool for determining resource protection

and allocations in the management of

the public lands, RMPs provide the

public a voice in BLM’s land and

resource management programs. They

establish goals and objectives for

resource management (i.e., desired

future outcomes, based on standards

and guidelines and, new regulatory

requirements), measures needed to

achieve them, and parameters for use.

They identify lands which are open or