63602 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 178 / Friday, September 15, 2023 / Notices 

11, 2022, the TIG announced they had 

reviewed project idea submissions and 

initiated drafting an RP/EA, which 

would include a reasonable range of 

restoration alternatives (projects) for the 

Birds Restoration Type. 

The TIG released the Draft RP/EA for 

public review and comment on March 

14, 2023, and published a notice of 

availability in the Federal Register (88 

FR 15734). The comment period ran 

through April 28, 2023. To facilitate 

public understanding of the document, 

the TIG held webinars on March 28 and 

April 4, 2023, during which public 

comments were solicited. After the 

public review period closed, the TIG 

reviewed the comments received, 

prepared responses to those comments, 

finalized the plan, and prepared a 

FONSI. 

Overview of the Open Ocean TIG’s 

Final RP/EA 

In the Final RP/EA, the Open Ocean 

TIG analyzes a reasonable range of 11 

alternatives and, pursuant to NEPA, a 

no action alternative. The TIG’s seven 

preferred alternatives, listed below, 

were selected for funding and 

implementation. 

• Predator Removal and Seabird 

Nesting Colony Restoration at Mona 

Island 

• Seabird Nesting Colony 

Reestablishment and Protection at 

Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge 

• Seabird Nesting Colony Protection 

and Enhancement at Dry Tortugas 

National Park 

• Seabird Bycatch Reduction in 

Northeast U.S. and Atlantic Canada 

Fisheries 

• Northern Gannet Nesting Colony 

Restoration in Eastern Canada 

• Common Tern Nesting Colony 

Restoration in Manitoba 

• Invasive Goat Removal to Restore 

Seabird Nesting Habitat in St. Vincent 

and the Grenadines 

Funding to implement the selected 

alternatives will come from the Birds 

restoration allocation. The total 

estimated cost to implement the seven 

selected alternatives is approximately 

$33,280,000. Restoration planning in the 

Open Ocean Restoration Area will 

continue. 

Administrative Record 

The Administrative Record for the 

Final RP/EA can be viewed 

electronically at https://www.doi.gov/ 

deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord under 

folder 6.5.2.2.3. 

Authority 

The authority for this action is the Oil 

Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et 

seq.), its implementing Natural Resource 

Damage Assessment regulations found 

at 15 CFR 990, and the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its 

implementing regulations found at 40 

CFR 1500–1508. 

Mary Josie Blanchard, 

Department of the Interior, Director of Gulf 

of Mexico Restoration. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19738 Filed 9–14–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_NV_FRN_MO4500171133] 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

Nevada Vanadium Company Gibellini 

Vanadium Mine Project, Eureka 

County, Nevada 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (NEPA), and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

announces the availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Nevada Vanadium Company 

Gibellini Vanadium Mine Project. 

DATES: The BLM will not issue a 

decision on the proposal for a minimum 

of 30 days after the date that the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

publishes its Notice of Availability in 

the Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: The Final EIS and 

documents pertinent to this proposal are 

available for review on the BLM 

ePlanning project website at https:// 

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2000633/510. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Scott Distel, Project Manager, telephone: 

(775) 635–4093; address: 50 Bastian 

Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada, 89820; 

email: sdistel@blm.gov. Individuals in 

the United States who are deaf, 

deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a 

speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, 

TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services for 

contacting Mr. Distel. Individuals 

outside the United States should use the 

relay services offered within their 

country to make international calls to 

the point-of-contact in the United 

States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for the Proposed 

Action 

The BLM’s purpose for the action is 

to respond to Nevada Vanadium 

Company’s (NVV) proposal, as 

described in its proposed Plan of 

Operations, and to analyze the potential 

environmental effects associated with 

the Proposed Action, which is the 

operator’s proposed Plan of Operations, 

and alternatives to the Proposed Action. 

NEPA mandates that the BLM evaluate 

the potential effects of the Proposed 

Action and develop alternatives. The 

BLM’s need for the action is established 

by the BLM’s responsibilities under 

section 302 of FLPMA and the BLM 

Surface Management Regulations at 43 

CFR subpart 3809 to respond to a 

proposed Plan of Operations and ensure 

that operations prevent unnecessary or 

undue degradation of the public lands. 

Proposed Action and Alternatives 

Under the proposed Plan of 

Operations, NVV would construct and 

operate an open pit mine in the 

southern extent of the Fish Creek Range. 

Facilities associated with the Proposed 

Action include development of an open 

pit mine, rock disposal area, crushing 

facilities and stockpile, heap leach pad, 

process facility, process and make-up 

water ponds, borrow areas, mine and 

access roads, water and power supply 

lines, and ancillary facilities. The 

estimated project life consists of 1.5 

years of construction, 7 years of 

operation, 4 years of active reclamation 

and closure, and up to 30 years of postclosure monitoring. In addition, NVV 

would complete exploration operations 

as part of the proposed Plan of 

Operations. The project area includes a 

total of 6,456 acres of BLM-administered 

public lands, of which approximately 

806 acres of surface disturbance would 

occur due to project-related operations. 

No state or private lands are included in 

the project area. The operator would 

reclaim surface disturbances under the 

Proposed Action and would prevent 

unnecessary or undue degradation of 

the lands. Final reclamation of the 

project area would occur at the end the 

project although every effort would be 

made to identify concurrent reclamation 

opportunities during the life of the 

operation. 

The South Access Road Alternative 

would include the same mine 

components as described for the 

Proposed Action, except the access road 

would be constructed in a different 

location. This alternative access road 

would be approximately 7 miles long 

and extend from County Road M–103 

(Duckwater Road) to the project area. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 178 / Friday, September 15, 2023 / Notices 63603 

The access road would be constructed 

parallel to the power line corridor. 

Overall, this alternative would result in 

approximately 38 additional acres of 

surface disturbance relative to the 

Proposed Action. Total surface 

disturbance would include 844 acres of 

BLM-administered land. Postreclamation topography would be 

similar to that of the Proposed Action, 

except the access road would be in a 

different location. 

The Renewable Energy Alternative 

would consist of the same overall 

operations as described for the Proposed 

Action except this alternative would 

include supporting the mine operations 

with a combination of renewable energy 

sources and a utility interconnection 

with future large-scale battery storage. 

This alternative would include the 

installation of a solar energy facility 

with enough solar electric photovoltaic 

capacity for the site to become a net 

generation facility with battery storage 

able to perform peak smoothing and 

daily load management. 

This alternative would result in 

approximately 33 additional acres of 

surface disturbance compared to the 

Proposed Action. Total surface 

disturbance for the Renewable Energy 

Alternative would include 839 acres of 

public lands. 

Under the No Action Alternative, the 

BLM would not authorize the Plan of 

Operations, and the operations 

described in the Proposed Action would 

not occur. Mineral resources would 

remain undeveloped, and the 

construction and operation of the 

proposed mine and associated facilities 

would not occur. 

Based on the analyses contained in 

the EIS for the proposed Gibellini 

Vanadium Mine Project, and after 

carefully considering input received 

from the public and cooperating 

agencies, the BLM has selected the 

Renewable Energy Alternative as the 

BLM’s environmentally preferred 

alternative. 

Public comments on the Draft EIS 

received and internal BLM review were 

considered and incorporated as 

appropriate into the Final EIS. Public 

comments resulted in the addition of 

clarifying text but did not significantly 

change the impact analyses. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.) 

Douglas W. Furtado, 

District Manager, Battle Mountain District. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19920 Filed 9–14–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–21–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[NPS–WASO–VRP–WS—NPS0036398 ; 

PPWOWMADL3, PPMPSAS1Y.TD0000 (222); 

OMB Control Number 1024–0022] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Backcountry/Wilderness 

Use Permit 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 we, 

the National Park Service (NPS) are 

proposing to renew an information 

collection with revisions. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before October 

16, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

suggestions on the information 

collection requirements should be 

submitted by the date specified above in 

DATES to https://www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under Review— 

Open for Public Comments’’ or by using 

the search function. Please provide a 

copy of your comments to Phadrea 

Ponds, NPS Information Collection 

Clearance Officer (ADIR–ICCO), 13461 

Sunrise Valley Drive (MS–244) Reston, 

VA 20192 (mail); or phadrea_ponds@

nps.gov (email). Please include 1024– 

0022 in the subject line of your 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request additional information about 

this Information Collection Request 

(ICR), contact Roger Semler, Chief, 

Wilderness Stewardship Division at 

roger_semler@nps.gov (email) or 202– 

430–7615 (Phone). Please reference 

OMB Control Number 1024–0022 in the 

subject line of your comments. 

Individuals in the United States who are 

deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have 

a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, 

TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their country to make 

international calls to the point of 

contact in the United States. You may 

also view the ICR at https://

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 

3501et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), we 

provide the public and other Federal 

agencies with an opportunity to 

comment on new, proposed, revised, 

and continuing collections of 

information. This helps us assess the 

impact of our information collection 

requirements and minimize the public’s 

reporting burden. It also helps the 

public understand our information 

collection requirements and provide the 

requested data in the desired format. 

A FederalRegister notice with a 60- 

day public comment period soliciting 

comments on this collection of 

information was published on (87 FR 

73776) on December 1, 2022. We 

received the following comments in 

response to that Notice: 

Comment #1: Email From John Ryter on 

12/1/2022 

I’d like to comment on the proposal 

to require permits for climbing in 

national parks. It’s hard to determine 

whether this proposal means climbers 

would be required to get permits in 

advance, and whether there would be 

limits on the number of permits 

available for a given day. If there is a 

limit on how many are available on a 

given day, I am concerned that the 

addition of permits would cause fewer 

climbers to abandon or reschedule their 

climbs due to weather, and we would 

see an increase in injuries, rescues, and 

fatalities occurring in national parks. 

This could be mitigated by reducing the 

time in advance that permits could be 

acquired (e.g., cannot get permits more 

than 4 days in advance), but that 

presents its own challenges. 

There are already cases where a 

permit is a de facto requirement for 

doing a climb, such as those where 

backcountry camping is necessary for 

most non-professional climbers. In my 

experience, this hasn’t been an issue 

(there have been enough sites available 

that it was possible to get a site the day 

of), but since so many climbs require 

early starts (6 a.m. or earlier), day-of 

permits would be pretty challenging to 

do. It would also be good to link those 

sorts of campsites, like the lower saddle 

of the Grand Teton, with the climbing 

permits in some way so people don’t 

end up with one and not the other. 

If it’s simply a sign-in sheet at the 

trailhead, that seems very reasonable 

and I have no concerns. My only other 

question is what the cutoff grade for 

climbing would be—all off-trail travel, 

class 3 or 4 or higher, or roped vs unroped? Either way, being able to do the 

permit at the trailhead or online would 

be a great idea. 

NPS Response/Action Taken 

During the 60-day Federal Register 

comment period, the National Park 

Service proposed creating a new Form 


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