35120 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 106 / Thursday, June 1, 2000 / Notices

scrub-jay habitat within the Project site

due to habitat degradation. The no

action alternative may also expose the

Applicants under Section 9 of the Act.

The preferred alternative would affect

about 79 acres of occupied scrub-jay

habitat and possibly 92 acres of

currently unoccupied but restorable

habitat, while protecting and enhancing

324 acres of occupied habitat and

unoccupied but restorable habitat in

northern Indian River County. With

management of habitat, existing

conditions are expected to improve over

the long-term for scrub-jays in northern

Indian River County.

As stated above, the Service has made

a preliminary determination that the

issuance of the ITP is not a major

Federal action significantly affecting the

quality of the human environment

within the meaning of section 102(2)(C)

of NEPA. This preliminary information

may be revised due to public comment

received in response to this notice and

is based on information contained in the

draft EA and HCP.

The Service will also evaluate

whether the issuance of a section

10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with section 7

of the Act by conducting an intraService section 7 consultation. The

results of the biological opinion, in

combination with the above findings,

will be used in the final analysis to

determine whether or not to issue the

ITP.

Dated: May 25, 2000.

H. Dale Hall,

Acting Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 00–13655 Filed 5–31–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Availability, Draft

Assessment Plan

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (Service), on behalf of the

Department of the Interior (DOI), as a

natural resource trustee, announces the

release for public review of the Draft

Assessment Plan (AP) for the Natural

Resource Damage Assessment and

Restoration of the August 27, 1998,

Clinch River Chemical Spill. The Draft

AP describes the DOI’s proposal to

assess natural resources injured as a

result of chemical spill in the Clinch

River in Tazewell County, Virginia.

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before July 1, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the

Draft AP may be made to: Susan

Lingenfelser, Ph.D., U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Virginia Field Office,

6669 Short Lane, Gloucester, Virginia

23061.

Written comments or materials

regarding the Draft AP should be sent to

the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Susan Lingenfelser, Ph.D.,

Environmental Contaminants Branch,

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Virginia

Field Office, 6669 Short Lane,

Gloucester, Virginia 23061. Interested

parties may also call (804) 693–6694.

Ext. 113, or send e-mail to

susan_lingenfelser@fws.gov for further

information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August

27, 1998, a tanker truck overturned on

U.S. Route 460 in Tazewell County,

Virginia. The truck released

approximately 1,250 gallons of Octocure

554-revised, a rubber accelerant, into an

unnamed tributary about 500 feet from

its confluence with the Clinch River.

The spill turned the river a snowy white

color and appeared to have killed most

aquatic organisms, including three

species of federally listed endangered

mussels, for at least 6.6 miles

downstream.

Under the authority of the

Comprehensive Response,

Compensation and Liability Act of 1980,

as amended (CERCLA), ‘‘natural

resource trustees may assess damages to

natural resources resulting from a

discharge of oil or a release of a

hazardous substance * * * and may seek

to recover those damages.’’ Natural

resource damage assessments are

separate from the cleanup actions

undertaken at a hazardous waste or spill

site, and provide a process whereby the

natural resource trustees can determine

the proper compensation to the public

for injury to natural resources. The

natural resource damage assessment

process seeks to: (1) Determine whether

injury to, or loss of, trust resources has

occurred: (2) ascertain the magnitude of

the injury or loss: (3) calculate the

appropriate compensation for the injury,

including the cost of restoration; and (4)

develop a restoration plan that will

restore, rehabilitate, replace, and/or

acquire equivalent resources for those

resources that were injured or lost.

The Draft AP presents the trustee’s

approaches for determining the

quantifying natural resource injuries

and calculating the damages associated

with those injuries. By developing an

Assessment Plan, the trustee can ensure

that the natural resource damage

assessment will be completed at a

reasonable cost relative to the

magnitude of damages. this Assessment

Plan presents proposed assessment

methodologies to potentially

responsible parties, other trustees,

affected agencies, and to the public, so

that these groups can productively

participate in the assessment process.

The Draft AP is being released in

accordance with the Natural Resource

Damage Assessment Regulations found

at Title 43 of the Code of Federal

Regulation Part II.

Interested members of the public are

invited to review and comment on the

Draft AP. Copies of the Draft AP are

available from the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service’s Virginia Field Office

at 6669 Short Lane, Gloucester, Virginia

23061. Additionally the Draft AP is

available for review at the Tazewell

County Main Library, 310 East Main

Street. Tazewell, Virginia 24651 and the

Tazewell County Library, Richlands

Branch, 102 Suffolk Avenue, Richlands,

Virginia 24641. All comments received

on the Draft AP will be considered and

a response provided either through

revision of this Draft AP and

incorporation into the Final Assessment

Plan, or by letter to the commentor.

Author

The primary author of this notice is

Susan Lingenfelser, Ph.D., U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Virginia Field Office at

6669 Short Lane, Gloucester, Virginia

23061.

Authority: The authority for this action is

the Comprehensive Environmental Response.

Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as

amended (‘‘CERCLA’’), 42 U.S.C.

Dated: May 22, 2000.

Mamie A. Parker,

Acting Regional Director, Region 5, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 00–13614 Filed 5–31–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Issuance of Right-of-Way Permit

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public

that the Fish and Wildlife Service will

issue a right-of-way permit to Petroleum

Properties Corporation for the

construction of a 20-inch underground

natural gas pipeline on lands of the

Sutter National Wildlife Refuge in