35118 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 106 / Thursday, June 1, 2000 / Notices

Supervisor, Ecological Services Field

Office, Phoenix, AZ, (see address

above). Please refer to permit number

TE–026887–0 when submitting

comments. All comments received,

including names and addresses, will

become part of the official

administrative record and may be made

available to the public.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Doug Duncan at the above Tucson Sub

Office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 9

of the Act prohibits the ‘‘taking’’ of

threatened and endangered species such

as the Gila topminnow and desert

pupfish. However, the Service, under

limited circumstances, may issue

permits to take threatened or

endangered wildlife species incidental

to, and not the purpose of, otherwise

lawful activities. Regulations governing

permits for endangered species are at 50

CFR 17.22.

The proposed action is issuance of an

enhancement of survival permit and

implementation of the Safe Harbor

Agreement as submitted by the

Applicant. The Safe Harbor Agreement

provides for actions that promote

conservation and recovery of the Gila

topminnow and desert pupfish by

providing refugia sites. One refugium

site in Tempe, Arizona, is proposed for

release of Gila topminnow and desert

pupfish. Other sites owned by the

Arizona Department of Transportation

within the natural ranges of the species

may be used as refugia for either

species. Sites will be determined

mutually by the Service and the Arizona

Department of Transportation. The Safe

Harbor Agreement is designed to

provide a net conservation benefit to the

Gila topminnow and desert pupfish.

The Safe Harbor Agreement has

stipulations for monitoring of species

populations and habitats and

functioning of the Safe Harbor

Agreement. The Safe Harbor Agreement

also provides for funding the mitigation

measures and monitoring.

APPLICANT: The Arizona Department of

Transportation intends to manage

certain retention basins and other sites

for Gila topminnow and desert pupfish.

The incidental take of these fish may

occur at the release sites during certain

management activities. The Service

anticipates that this Safe Harbor

Agreement will provide a net

conservation benefit for these two

species of native Arizona fish.

Geoffrey L. Haskett,

Regional Director, Region 2, Albuquerque,

New Mexico.

[FR Doc. 00–13691 Filed 5–31–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of a Draft Environmental

Assessment and Preliminary Finding

of No Significant Impact, and Receipt

of an Application for an Incidental Take

Permit for Residential, Commercial,

and School Board Development in

Northern Indian River County, FL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

Indian River County Board of County

Commissioners and City of Sebastian

City Council (Applicants) request an

incidental take permit (ITP) pursuant to

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

Species Act of 1973 (U.S.C. 1531 et

seq.), as amended (Act). The Applicants

anticipate taking up to seven families of

the threatened Florida scrub-jay

(Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay),

over the next 30 years incidental to the

clearing of land associated with

residential construction in northern

Indian River County, including infill in

the existing Sebastian Highlands

subdivision located within the city

limits of Sebastian. Take is also

requested for commercial development

on about 88 acres of property owned by

the City of Sebastian. Indian River

County School Board anticipates that

take of scrub-jays may also occur in the

future due to expansion of school

facilities on about four acres. The

anticipated take and measures to

minimize and mitigate these takings

will occur in sections 18, 19, 20, 29, and

30, Township 31 South, Range 39 East

and sections 13, 14, 23, 24, 25, and 26,

Township 31 South, Range 38 East,

northern Indian River County, Florida.

The issuance of land clearing permits

by the City of Sebastian will destroy

about 79 acres of habitat occupied by

the scrub-jay in residential areas.

Another 88 acres of habitat within

commercial property owned by the City

of Sebastian and about 4 acres of

property owned by the School Board is

currently unoccupied by scrub-jays, but

may become occupied due to proposed

habitat management activities. Future

development within these parcels may

also result in take of scrub-jays.

Measures to mitigate for taking of scrubjays are proposed by the Applicants. A

more detailed description of the

mitigation and minimization measures

to address the effects of the Project to

the scrub-jay are outlined in the

Applicant’s Habitat Conservation Plan

(HCP), the Service’s draft Environmental

Assessment (EA), and in the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section

below.

The Service also announces the

availability of a draft EA and HCP for

the incidental take application. Copies

of the draft EA and/or HCP may be

obtained by making a request to the

Regional Office (see ADDRESSES).

Requests must be in writing to be

processed. This notice also advises the

public that the Service has made a

preliminary determination that issuing

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 the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as

amended (NEPA). The preliminary

Finding of No Significant Impact

(FONSI) is based on information

contained in the draft EA and HCP. The

final determination will be made no

sooner than 30 days from the date of

this notice. This notice is provided

pursuant to Section 10 of the Act and

NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

The Service specifically requests

information, views, and opinions from

the public via this Notice on the federal

action, including the identification of

any other aspects of the human

environment not already identified in

the Service’s draft EA. Further, the

Service is specifically soliciting

information regarding the adequacy of

the HCP as measured against the

Service’s ITP issuance criteria found in

50 CFR parts 13 and 17.

If you wish to comment, you may

submit comments by any one of several

methods. You may mail comments to

the Service’s Regional Office (see

ADDRESSES). You may also comment via

the internet to ‘‘david_dell@fws.gov’’.

Please submit comments over the

internet as an ASCII file avoiding the

use of special characters and any form

of encryption. Please also include your

name and return address in your

internet message. If you do not receive

a confirmation from the Service that we

have received your internet message,

contact us directly at either telephone

number listed below (see FURTHER

INFORMATION). Finally, you may hand

deliver comments to either Service

office listed below (see ADDRESSES). Our

practice is to make comments, including

names and home addresses of

respondents, available for public review

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 106 / Thursday, June 1, 2000 / Notices 35119

during regular business hours.

Individual respondents may request that

we withhold their home address from

the administrative record. We will

honor such requests to the extent

allowable by law. There may also be

other circumstances in which we would

withhold from the administrative record

a respondent’s identity, as allowable by

law. If you wish us to withhold your

name and address, you must state this

prominently at the beginning of your

comments. We will not; however,

consider anonymous comments. We

will make all submissions from

organizations or businesses, and from

individuals identifying themselves as

representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, available

for public inspection in their entirety.

DATES: Written comments on the ITP

application, draft EA, and HCP should

be sent to the Service’s Regional Office

(see ADDRESSES) and should be received

on or before July 3, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review

the application, HCP, and EA may

obtain a copy by writing the Service’s

Southeast Regional Office, Atlanta,

Georgia. Documents will also be

available for public inspection by

appointment during normal business

hours at the Regional Office, 1875

Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta,

Georgia 30345 (Attn: Endangered

Species Permits), or Field Supervisor,

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Post

Office Box 2676, Vero Beach, Florida

32961–2676. Written data or comments

concerning the application, or HCP

should be submitted to the Regional

Office. Requests for the documentation

must be in writing to be processed.

Please reference permit number

TE026007–0 in such comments, or in

requests of the documents discussed

herein.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

David Dell, Regional HCP Coordinator,

(see ADDRESSES above), telephone: 404/

679–7313, facsimile: 404/679–7081; or

Mr. Mike Jennings, Fish and Wildlife

Biologist, South Florida Field Office,

Vero Beach, Florida (see ADDRESSES

above), telephone: 561/562–3909.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The scrubjay is geographically isolated from other

species of scrub-jays found in Mexico

and the Western United States. The

scrub-jay is found exclusively in

peninsular Florida and is restricted to

xeric uplands (predominately in oak

dominated scrub). Increasing urban and

agricultural development have resulted

in habitat loss and fragmentation which

has adversely affected the distribution

and numbers of scrub-jays. The total

estimated population is between 7,000

and 11,000 individuals.

The decline in the number and

distribution of scrub-jays in eastern

Florida has likely been greater than in

most regions of the State. Eastern coastal

Florida has experienced tremendous

urban growth in the past 50 years and

much of this commercial and residential

development has occurred on the dry

soils which historically supported

scrub-jay habitat. Based on existing soils

data, much of the historic and current

scrub-jay habitat of coastal east Florida

occurs along a narrow stretch of historic

sand dunes that are situated on a northsouth axis from Dade to Flagler County.

Much of this area of Florida was settled

early because few wetlands restricted

urban and agricultural development.

Due to the effects of urban and

agricultural development over the past

100 years, much of the remaining scrubjay habitat is now relatively small and

isolated. What remains is largely

degraded due to the exclusion of fire

which is needed to maintain xeric

uplands in conditions suitable for scrubjays.

Remnant patches of suitable scrub-jay

habitat remain in northern Indian River

County, particularly within the large

residential subdivision of Sebastian

Highlands. Seven families of scrub-jay

are known to persist in 317 singlefamily residential lots. Scrub-jays

within Sebastian Highlands are part of

a larger complex of scrub-jays that

occupy xeric uplands of eastern coastal

Florida. This complex of scrub-jay

families (metapopulation) ranges from

central Brevard County south to

northern Indian River County and

represents one of the largest

metapopulations of scrub-jays

remaining in the State. Scrub-jays

within Sebastian Highlands represent

the southern-most distribution of this

metapopulation. The continued survival

of scrub-jays in this metapopulation will

depend on the maintenance of suitable

habitat and the restoration of unsuitable

habitat in key locations.

Scrub-jay use of Sebastian Highlands

has been reported periodically since

1991. Early surveys documented the

presence of about 26 families of scrubjays in and near Sebastian Highlands.

Since that time there has been a steady

decline in the numbers and distribution

of scrub-jays in northern Indian River

County. Habitat degradation and

continued habitat fragmentation are

believed responsible for this decline.

Scrub-jays currently occupy about 79

acres within Sebastian Highlands

subdivision.

The Applicants recognize that the

conservation of scrub-jays and

fulfillment of existing land-use plans

which call for residential infill within

Sebastian Highlands cannot reasonably

be achieved on a lot-by-lot basis through

existing regulatory mechanisms. As a

result, the Applicants jointly agreed to

address the conservation needs of this

species through preparation of an HCP

for northern Indian River County.

Land clearing permits issued by the

City of Sebastian in preparation for

residential, commercial, or School

Board construction will destroy habitat

and result in death of, or injury to,

scrub-jays, incidental to the carrying out

of these otherwise lawful activities.

Habitat alteration associated with the

proposed residential development will

reduce the availability of feeding,

nesting, sheltering habitat for scrub-jays.

About 79 acres of habitat currently

occupied by scrub-jays is expected to be

destroyed incrementally as residential

build-out occurs in Sebastian Highlands

over the next 30 years. Another 92 acres

encompassing city-owned commercial

property and School Board property

may also result in the take of scrub-jays.

However, these sites are not currently

occupied by scrub-jays and would only

become so due to conservation measures

proposed in the HCP. These interim

conservation measures could provide

habitat for scrub-jays until such time

that demand for commercial facilities or

school expansion are necessary. If these

sites are managed well in the interim

and scrub-jay subsequently recolonize

them, future take may occur during

construction activities.

The Applicant’s HCP and the

Service’s EA describe the following

minimization and mitigation strategy to

be employed by the Applicants to offset

the impacts of the Project to the scrubjay:

• The Applicants agree to perpetually

preserve and manage about 324 acres of

scrub-jay habitat in northern Indian

River County in a manner that will

create a mosaic of habitats suitable for

this species.

• The Applicants agree to perpetually

preserve and manage about 253 acres of

unsuitable scrub-jay habitat for use as

buffers areas and dispersal corridors for

the scrub-jay.

• The Applicants agree to restore and

manage 92 acres of potentially suitable

scrub-jay habitat on an interim basis,

until such time that demand for

commercial facilities and/or school

expansion require construction within

these areas.

The EA considers the environmental

consequences of two action alternatives

which would require issuance of an ITP.

The no action alternative (not issue the

ITP) will ultimately result in loss of

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