Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 17, 2023 / Notices 71597 

ANNUALIZED BURDEN TABLE—Continued 

Information collection Number of 

respondents 

Frequency of 

response 

Responses 

per annum 

Burden hour 

per response 

Annual 

burden hours 

Hourly cost 

per response Annual cost 

Tracking Emails/Texts ................................... 900 2 1,800 0.13 234.00 11.05 2,585.70 

Tracking Calls ........................................ 900 3 2,700 0.17 459.00 11.05 5,071.95 

Totals ..................................................... 2,936 ........................ 42,826 ........................ 279,892.89 ........................ 1,588,630.99 

B. Solicitation of Public Comment 

This notice is soliciting comments 

from members of the public and affected 

parties concerning the collection of 

information described in Section A on 

the following: 

(1) Whether the proposed collection 

of information is necessary for the 

proper performance of the functions of 

the agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) The accuracy of the agency’s 

estimate of the burden of the proposed 

collection of information; 

(3) Ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and 

(4) Ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on those 

who are to respond; including through 

the use of appropriate automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of responses. 

(5) ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on those 

who are to respond, including the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

HUD encourages interested parties to 

submit comments in response to these 

questions. 

C. Authority 

Section 3507 of the Paperwork 

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

chapter 35. 

Anna P. Guido, 

Department Reports Management Office, 

Office of Policy Development and Research, 

Chief Data Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22847 Filed 10–16–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–ES–2023–0156; 

FXES11140800000–190–FF08EVEN00] 

Draft Categorical Exclusion and Draft 

General Conservation Plan for 

Amphibians in Southern Santa Cruz 

County, California 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 

availability of a draft general 

conservation plan (GCP), as well as an 

associated draft categorical exclusion 

(CatEx), for development activities in 

Santa Cruz County, California. The 

Service developed the GCP in 

accordance with the Endangered 

Species Act to provide a streamlined 

mechanism for proponents engaged in 

activities associated with residential 

development and associated 

infrastructure, construction and 

maintenance on public lands, and 

habitat restoration, to meet statutory and 

regulatory requirements while 

promoting conservation of the California 

red-legged frog, California tiger 

salamander, and Santa Cruz long-toed 

salamander. The Service also prepared 

the draft CatEx in accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act to 

evaluate the potential effects to the 

natural and human environment 

resulting from issuing permits under the 

GCP. We invite comment on these 

documents from agencies, Tribes, and 

the public. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

received on or before November 16, 

2023. 

ADDRESSES: 

Obtaining Documents: The documents 

this notice announces, as well as any 

comments and other materials that we 

receive, will be available for public 

inspection online in Docket No. FWS– 

R8–ES–2023–0156 at https://

www.regulations.gov. 

Submitting Comments: If you wish to 

submit comments on any of the 

documents, you may do so in writing by 

any of the following methods: 

• Online: https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on Docket No. FWS–R8–ES–2023–0156. 

• U.S. mail: Public Comments 

Processing; Attn: Docket No. FWS–R8– 

ES–2023–0156; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg 

Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041–3803. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Chad Mitcham, Fish and Wildlife 

Biologist, by email at chad_mitcham@

fws.gov, or by telephone at 805–644– 

1766. 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-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 

announce the availability of a draft 

general conservation plan (GCP) and the 

associated draft categorical exclusion 

(CatEx), for development activities in 

Santa Cruz County. The draft GCP was 

developed by the Service in accordance 

with section 10(a)(2)(A) of the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

The GCP meets the issuance criteria as 

required by section 10(a)(2)(B) of the 

Act for issuance of a section 10(a)(1)(B) 

incidental take permit (ITP). The 

Service developed the GCP to provide a 

streamlined mechanism for proponents 

engaged in activities associated with the 

construction and maintenance of 

residential dwellings and associated 

infrastructure, construction, and 

maintenance on public lands, such as 

roads, drainages, and parks, and habitat 

restoration, to meet statutory and 

regulatory requirements while 

promoting conservation of the California 

red-legged frog (Rana draytonii), 

California tiger salamander (Ambystoma 

californiense), and Santa Cruz long-toed 

salamander (Ambystoma 

macrodactylum croceum). Permits 

issued under the GCP would authorize 

incidental take of the covered species 

for up to 5 years after each respective 

permit is issued. The GCP would 

authorize incidental take of the covered 

species, via permanent habitat loss, 

within 90 acres (ac) of the approximate 

14,314-ac plan area in southern Santa 

Cruz County. The Service prepared the 

draft CatEx in accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to 

evaluate the potential effects to the 

natural and human environment 

resulting from issuing permits under the 

GCP. We invite comment on the GCP 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1

I I I I I I I 
71598 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 17, 2023 / Notices 

and associated documents from 

agencies, Tribes, and the public. 

Background 

The Service listed the California redlegged frog as threatened on May 23, 

1996 (61 FR 25813), the California tiger 

salamander as threatened on August 4, 

2004 (69 FR 47212), and the Santa Cruz 

long-toed salamander as endangered on 

March 11, 1967 (32 FR 4001). Section 9 

of the Act and its implementing 

regulations prohibit the take of fish or 

wildlife species listed as endangered or 

threatened. ‘‘Take’’ is defined under the 

Act to include the following activities: 

‘‘[T]o harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, 

wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or 

to attempt to engage in any such 

conduct’’ (16 U.S.C. 1532); however, 

under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, we 

may 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 of an otherwise 

lawful activity. Regulations governing 

incidental take permits for threatened 

and endangered species are, 

respectively, in the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.32 and 

17.22. Issuance of an incidental take 

permit also must not jeopardize the 

existence of federally listed fish, 

wildlife, or plant species. All species 

included in an incidental take permit 

would receive assurances under our 

‘‘No Surprises’’ regulations (50 CFR 

17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)). 

The proposed action is approval of 

the GCP and subsequent issuance of 

incidental take permits. The Service 

prepared the GCP to provide a more 

efficient and standardized mechanism 

for proponents engaged in activities 

associated with the construction and 

maintenance of residential dwellings 

and associated infrastructure, 

construction and maintenance on public 

lands such as roads, drainages, and 

parks, and habitat restoration on nonFederal lands. The GCP meets permit 

issuance criteria as required by section 

10(a)(2)(B) of the Act and enables 

implementation of a programmatic 

permitting and conservation process to 

address a suite of proposed activities 

over a defined planning area. The 

proposed GCP would allow private 

individuals, local and State agencies, 

and other non-Federal entities to meet 

the statutory and regulatory 

requirements of the Act by applying for 

permits and complying with the 

requirements of the GCP, including all 

applicable avoidance, minimization, 

and mitigation actions. 

Our Preliminary Determination Under 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

The Service has made a preliminary 

determination that GCP issuance and 

the subsequent issuance of permits 

under the GCP is neither a major 

Federal action that will significantly 

affect the quality of the human 

environment within the meaning of 

section 102(2)(C) of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), nor 

will it individually or cumulatively 

have more than a negligible effect on the 

species covered in the GCP. Therefore, 

the Service anticipates GCP issuance 

qualifies for a categorical exclusion 

pursuant to the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

regulations (40 CFR 1501.4), the 

Department of the Interior’s (DOI) NEPA 

regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI’s 

Departmental Manual (516 DM 

8.5(C)(2)). 

Public Comments 

If you wish to comment on the GCP 

and associated documents, you may 

submit comments by any one of the 

methods in ADDRESSES. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email 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 view, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Authority 

The Service provides this notice 

under section 10(c) of the Endangered 

Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and 

its implementing regulations (50 CFR 

17.32) and the National Environmental 

Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 

its implementing regulations (40 CFR 

1500–1508 and 43 CFR 46). 

Stephen P. Henry, 

Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife 

Office, Ventura, California. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22808 Filed 10–16–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–ES–2023–0202; 

FXES11130800000–178–FF08EVEN00] 

Application for Renewal of Incidental 

Take Permit; Interim Programmatic 

Habitat Conservation Plan for the 

Mount Hermon June Beetle and Ben 

Lomond Spineflower, Santa Cruz 

County, CA 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of permit 

renewal application; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce 

receipt of an application from the 

County of Santa Cruz (applicant) for 

renewal of an existing incidental take 

permit under the Endangered Species 

Act. The applicant has requested a 

renewal that will extend permit 

duration by 20 years from the date the 

permit is reissued. The permit would 

continue to authorize take of the 

federally endangered Mount Hermon 

June beetle that is incidental to 

otherwise lawful activities associated 

with the approved Interim 

Programmatic Habitat Conservation Plan 

for the Endangered Mount Hermon June 

Beetle and Ben Lomond Spineflower. 

We invite comment on the application 

and associated documents from 

agencies, Tribes, and the public. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

received on or before November 16, 

2023. 

ADDRESSES: 

Obtaining Documents: The documents 

this notice announces, as well as any 

comments and other materials that we 

receive, will be available for public 

inspection online in Docket No. FWS– 

R8–ES–2023–0202 at https:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Submitting Comments: If you wish to 

submit comments on any of the 

documents, you may do so in writing by 

any of the following methods: 

• Online: https:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on Docket No. FWS–R8–ES–2023–0202. 

• U.S. mail: Public Comments 

Processing; Attn: Docket No. FWS–R8– 

ES–2023–0202; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg 

Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041–3803. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Chad Mitcham, Fish and Wildlife 

Biologist, by email at chad_mitcham@

fws.gov, or by telephone at 805–644– 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1