78780 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 220 / Thursday, November 16, 2023 / Notices 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. Ch. 10. 

Kenneth Shaffer, 

Deputy Executive Director, Federal 

Geographic Data Committee. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25246 Filed 11–15–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4338–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Geological Survey 

[GX23DJ56UFK1000] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Request for Comments on 

the USGS Water Use Data Acquisition 

AGENCY: U. S. Geological Survey, 

Department of the Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), the U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS) is proposing a new information 

collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before January 

16, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on 

this information collection request (ICR) 

by mail to Cheryl Dieter, USGS 

Maryland-Delaware-DC Water Science 

Center, 5522 Research Park Drive, 

Catonsville, MD 21228, or by email at 

cadieter@usgs.gov. Please reference 

‘OMB Information Collection 1028— 

NEW USGS Water Use Data Acquisition’ 

in the subject line of your comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request additional information about 

this ICR, contact Cheryl Dieter by mail 

at Maryland-Delaware-DC Water 

Science Center, 5522 Research Park 

Drive, Catonsville, MD 21228; by email 

at cadieter@usgs.gov, or by telephone at 

443–883–0761. 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. You may 

also view the ICR at https://

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 

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

information collections require 

approval. We may not conduct or 

sponsor, nor are you required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. 

As part of our continuing effort to 

reduce paperwork and respondent 

burdens, we invite the public and other 

Federal agencies 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. 

We are especially interested in public 

comment addressing the following: 

(1) Whether or not the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether or not the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the 

burden for this collection of 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and 

(4) How the agency might minimize 

the burden of the collection of 

information on those who are to 

respond, including through the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of response. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. Before including your 

address, phone number, email address, 

or other personally identifiable 

information (PII) in your comment, you 

should be aware that your entire 

comment—including your PII—may be 

made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us to withhold your 

PII from public review, we cannot 

guarantee that we will be able to do so. 

Abstract: This notice identifies an 

information collection activity that the 

USGS Water Availability and Use 

Science Program has submitted to OMB 

for approval to collect information on 

the use of water resources in the United 

States. The information is used by USGS 

scientists to estimate water use in 

several categories including (but not 

limited to) public-supply, domestic, 

irrigation, thermoelectric-cooling, 

industrial, mining, aquaculture, and 

livestock applications. USGS national 

water-use estimates are disseminated to 

stakeholders and the general public on 

an ongoing basis and fulfill 

requirements of the SECURE Water Act. 

The information also supports regional 

and national water-availability studies 

in the United States. The USGS has 

produced estimates of annual water use 

by category aggregated at the countyand state level every five years since 

1950. For 2020, models will be used to 

produce the estimates and they will be 

made at a higher temporal and spatial 

resolution than previous years’ 

estimates. Model estimates are 

dependent on validation using the data 

collected nationally for specific wateruse facilities. USGS water-use 

specialists will request reported wateruse data annually from non-federal 

agencies. This collection also aims to 

request data from facilities on an ad hoc 

basis to acquire data for categories of 

use or locations where state-reported 

data are not sufficient for estimating 

water use. Respondents can provide 

relevant data in a variety of electronic 

formats, usually via websites, file 

sharing, or email. Information will also 

be gathered on the water-use datadelivery needs of USGS water-use 

stakeholders and other end users. 

Title of Collection: USGS Water Use 

Data Acquisition. 

OMB Control Number: 1028–NEW. 

Form Number: DI–3680. 

Type of Review: New collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: State 

and local government agencies, 

Individuals or households, businesses, 

Tribal governments. 

Water-Resource Agencies 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 300. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 300. 

Initial contact: 150 with completion 

time of 1 minute. 

Data submission: 150 with 

completion time of 4 hours. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 603 hours. 

Water-Use Facilities 

Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 7,500. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 7,500. 

Initial contact: 5,000 with completion 

time of 1 minute. 

Data submission: 2,500 with 

completion time of 4 hours. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 10,084 hours. 

Individual Water Users 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 1,500. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 7,000. 

Initial contact: 1,000 with completion 

time of 1 minute. 

Data submission: 6,000 with 

completion time of 0.5 hours. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 220 / Thursday, November 16, 2023 / Notices 78781 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 3,017 hours. 

Data End-Users 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 300. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 300. 

Initial contact: 150 with completion 

time of 1 minute. 

Data submission: 150 with 

completion time of 15 minutes. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 41 hours. 

Totals Combining All Four InformationCollection Components 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 9,600. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 15,100. 

Estimated Completion Time per 

Response: 1 minute–4 hours. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 13,745 hours. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Frequency of Collection: Once per 

year, except monthly for individual 

water-user reporting component. 

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour 

Burden Cost: None. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, nor is a person required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. 

The authority for this action is the 

PRA. 

Donald W. Cline, 

U.S. Geological Survey, Associate Director for 

Water. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25249 Filed 11–15–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[BLM_FRN_MO4500175331] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement To Reconsider a Highway 

Right-of-Way Application and 

Associated Amendment of an 

Incidental Take Permit, Washington 

County, Utah 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal 

Land Policy and Management Act of 

1976, as amended (FLPMA), and the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (ESA), the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) and the Fish and 

Wildlife Service (FWS), as co-lead 

agencies, intend to prepare a 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement (SEIS) to further consider the 

effects of granting a right-of-way (ROW) 

to the Utah Department of 

Transportation (UDOT) for the Northern 

Corridor Project (a proposed highway) 

as well as a potential amendment to the 

Incidental Take Permit (ITP) issued to 

Washington County, Utah, under 

Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. This 

notice announces the beginning of the 

scoping process to solicit public 

comments and identify issues. 

DATES: This notice initiates the public 

scoping process for the SEIS. The BLM 

and FWS request the public submit 

comments concerning the scope of the 

analysis, potential alternatives, impacts 

of the proposed action and alternatives, 

and identification of relevant 

information and studies by December 

18, 2023. To afford the BLM and FWS 

the opportunity to consider comments 

in the Draft SEIS, please ensure your 

comments are received prior to the close 

of the 30-day scoping period or 15 days 

after the last public meeting, whichever 

is later. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

related to the highway ROW and 

associated amendment of an ITP by any 

of the following methods: 

• Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/ 

eplanning-ui/project/2026562/510. 

• Mail: Bureau of Land Management, 

Attn: Northern Corridor SEIS, 345 East 

Riverside Drive, St. George, UT 84790. 

Documents pertinent to this proposal 

may be examined online at https://

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2026562/570 and at the BLM St. 

George Field Office. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Dawna Ferris-Rowley, NCA Manager, 

Red Cliffs and Beaver Dam Wash NCAs, 

telephone (435) 688–3200; address 345 

East Riverside Drive, St. George, UT 

84790; email BLM_UT_

NorthernCorridor@blm.gov. Contact Ms. 

Ferris-Rowley to have your name added 

to our mailing list. 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 Ms. Ferris-Rowley. 

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: The BLM 

and FWS are issuing this Notice of 

Intent pursuant to NEPA, 42 United 

States Code (U.S.C.) 4321 et seq.; the 

Council on Environmental Quality 

regulations for implementing NEPA, 43 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 

1500–1508; and the Department of the 

Interior’s NEPA regulations, 43 CFR part 

46. 

The SEIS is being prepared to 

supplement the analysis contained in 

the 2020 Final EIS (FEIS) by BLM and 

FWS (the entire FEIS can be found at: 

https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/1502103/570). 

On September 4, 2018, UDOT 

submitted an application for a ROW 

grant for the Northern Corridor Project 

north of the City of St. George, Utah, on 

BLM-managed and non-Federal lands 

within the Red Cliffs National 

Conservation Area (NCA) and Red Cliffs 

Desert Reserve. To consider the 

application, the BLM needed to also 

consider amending the St. George Field 

Office and Red Cliffs NCA Resource 

Management Plans (RMPs). The Red 

Cliffs NCA was established through the 

passage of the Omnibus Public Land 

Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 

460www), and the Red Cliffs Desert 

Reserve was established for the 

protection of the Mojave desert tortoise 

under the 1995 Washington County 

Habitat Conservation Plan. In 2015, 

pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 

ESA, Washington County applied to 

renew and amend the ITP. The restated 

and amended Habitat Conservation Plan 

associated with the ITP application 

described the Northern Corridor 

highway as a potential changed 

circumstance, which would be partially 

offset with the addition of a new sixth 

zone to the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve 

(Reserve Zone 6) as the primary 

conservation strategy. 

In accordance with NEPA, the BLM 

and FWS prepared an EIS to analyze the 

environmental impacts associated with 

the proposed action and reasonable 

alternatives. The BLM also consulted 

with the FWS to meet the requirements 

in Section 7 of the ESA. The FWS 

issued a biological opinion to the BLM 

that determined the ROW and 

amendments to the RMPs were not 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of the Mojave desert tortoise 

and that they were not likely to destroy 

or adversely modify designated critical 

habitat for the desert tortoise. The FWS 

issued an intra-agency biological 

opinion which determined that the ITP 

is not likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of the Mojave desert tortoise, 

Holmgren milkvetch, Shivwits 

milkvetch, dwarf bear-poppy, Siler 


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