44298 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 169 / Thursday, August 30, 2018 / Notices 

Public Availability of Comments 

All comments we receive become part 

of the public record associated with this 

action. Requests for copies of comments 

will be handled in accordance with the 

Freedom of Information Act, NEPA, and 

Service and Department of the Interior 

policies and procedures. 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 to withhold your 

personal identifying information from 

public review, we cannot guarantee that 

we will be able to do so. All 

submissions from organizations or 

businesses, and from individuals 

identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

made available for public disclosure in 

their entirety. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

10(c) of the ESA and ESA implementing 

regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32) 

and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and 

it’s implementing regulations (40 CFR 

1506.6). 

Dated: August 20, 2018. 

James Broska, 

Acting Deputy Regional Director, Southwest 

Region, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18809 Filed 8–29–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–ES–2018–N081; 

FXES11140800000–178–FF08ECAR00] 

Habitat Conservation Plan for the 

Least Bell’s Vireo; Categorical 

Exclusion for Chandler’s Sand and 

Gravel Project, Orange, California 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, have received an 

application from Chandler’s Sand and 

Gravel, LLC for a 10-year incidental take 

permit for the endangered least Bell’s 

vireo pursuant to the Endangered 

Species Act, as amended. We are 

requesting comments on the permit 

application and on our preliminary 

determination that the applicant’s 

accompanying proposed habitat 

conservation plan (HCP) qualifies as low 

effect, eligible for a categorical 

exclusion under the National 

Environmental Policy Act. The basis for 

this determination is discussed in our 

environmental action statement (EAS) 

and associated low-effect screening 

form, which are also available for public 

review. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

received on or before October 1, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: 

Submitting Comments: You may 

submit comments by one of the 

following methods. Please include ‘‘OC 

Mine HCP’’ at the beginning of your 

comments. 

• U.S. Mail: Field Supervisor, 

Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, 2177 Salk 

Avenue, Suite 250, Carlsbad, CA 92008. 

• Fax: Field Supervisor, 760–431– 

9624. 

• Email: fw8cfwocomments@fws.gov. 

Obtaining Documents: You may 

obtain copies of the documents by the 

following methods: 

• Internet: https://www.fws.gov/ 

carlsbad/HCPs/HCP_Docs.html. 

• Telephone: 760–431–9440. 

• U.S. Mail: Carlsbad Fish and 

Wildlife Office (address above). 

• In-Person: You may examine the 

documents by appointment during 

regular business hours at the Carlsbad 

Fish and Wildlife Office (address 

above). Please call to make an 

appointment (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Karen Goebel, Assistant Field 

Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife 

Office, 760–431–9440. If you use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD), please call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS) at 800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the 

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

have received an application from 

Chandler’s Sand and Gravel, LLC 

(applicant) for a 10-year incidental take 

permit for one covered species pursuant 

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

Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 

16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The application 

addresses the anticipated ‘‘take’’ of the 

endangered least Bell’s vireo (Vireo 

bellii pusillus; vireo) associated with 

regrading a 14-acre property and filling 

an abandoned pit mine on site in the 

City of Orange, Orange County, 

California. A conservation program to 

avoid, minimize, and mitigate for 

project activities would be implemented 

as described in the applicant’s proposed 

habitat conservation plan (HCP). 

We are requesting comments on the 

permit application and on our 

preliminary determination that the 

proposed HCP qualifies as a low-effect 

HCP, eligible for a categorical exclusion 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA; 

42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The basis for 

this determination is discussed in our 

EAS and associated low-effect screening 

form, which are also available for public 

review. 

Background 

Section 9 of the ESA and its 

implementing Federal regulations 

prohibit the take of animal species listed 

as endangered or threatened. ‘‘Take’’ is 

defined under the ESA as to ‘‘harass, 

harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, 

trap, capture, or collect [listed animal 

species], or to attempt to engage in such 

conduct’’ (16 U.S.C. 1538). ‘‘Harm’’ 

includes significant habitat modification 

or degradation that actually kills or 

injures listed wildlife by significantly 

impairing essential behavioral patterns 

such as breeding, feeding, or sheltering 

(50 CFR 17.3). However, under section 

10(a) of the ESA, the Service may issue 

permits to authorize incidental take of 

listed species. ‘‘Incidental taking’’ is 

defined by the ESA implementing 

regulations as taking that is incidental 

to, and not the purpose of, carrying out 

an otherwise lawful activity (50 CFR 

17.3). Regulations governing incidental 

take permits for endangered and 

threatened species, respectively, are 

found in the Code of Federal 

Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 

17.32. 

Applicant’s Proposed Project 

The project is located on a 14-acre 

property in the City of Orange in Orange 

County, California. The applicant 

requests a 10-year permit under section 

10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. If we approve the 

permit, the applicant anticipates taking 

vireo as a result of permanent impacts 

to 2.0 acres of riparian woodland that 

the species uses for breeding, feeding, 

and sheltering. The take would be 

incidental to the applicant’s activities 

associated with the regrading of the 

property and filling the abandoned pit 

mine on site. 

The applicant proposes to mitigate 

permanent impacts to 2.0 acres of 

occupied vireo habitat through the 

creation of 1.48 acres and enhancement 

of 1.88 acres of vireo habitat on site and 

enhancement of 2.53 acres of vireo 

habitat off site. All of the created and 

enhanced habitat will be conserved and 

managed in perpetuity. 

The applicant’s proposed HCP also 

contains measures to minimize the 

effects of construction activities on the 

vireo, including the following: 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 169 / Thursday, August 30, 2018 / Notices 44299 

Oversight of project activities by a 

biological monitor; fencing the project 

limits; removing vegetation outside the 

vireo nesting season; implementing a 

Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan 

to avoid and minimize erosion, 

sedimentation, and pollution in 

adjacent native habitat; removing 

invasive plant species from the project 

work area; minimizing the use of project 

lighting; storing and removing trash; 

controlling dust; ensuring that fire 

suppression equipment at all times; and 

monitoring and reporting to the Service 

upon project completion. 

Proposed Action and Alternatives 

The Proposed Action consists of the 

issuance of an incidental take permit 

and implementation of the proposed 

HCP, which includes measures to avoid, 

minimize, and mitigate impacts to the 

vireo. If we approve the permit, take of 

vireo would be authorized for the 

applicant’s activities associated with the 

implementation of the OC Reclamation 

Mine project. In the proposed HCP, the 

applicant considers the No Action 

Alternative. Under the No Action 

Alternative, no incidental take of least 

Bell’s vireo resulting from habitat 

modification would occur, and no longterm protection and management would 

be afforded to the species. The No 

Action Alternative would not meet the 

primary goal of the proposed Project, 

which is serve as a receiver site for 

excess fill and to fill the abandoned pit 

mine. Because the abandoned pit mine 

contains the habitat supporting the 

vireo, it is not possible to implement the 

project and avoid incidental take of 

vireo. 

Our Preliminary Determination 

The Service has made a preliminary 

determination that approval of the HCP 

and issuance of an incidental take 

permit qualify for categorical exclusion 

under NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as 

provided by the Department of the 

Interior implementing regulations in 

part 46 of title 43 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 

46.215), and that the HCP qualifies as a 

low-effect plan as defined by the Habitat 

Conservation Planning Handbook 

(December 2016). 

We base our determination that a HCP 

qualifies as a low-effect plan on the 

following three criteria: 

(1) Implementation of the HCP would 

result in minor or negligible effects on 

federally listed, proposed, and 

candidate species and their habitats; 

(2) Implementation of the HCP would 

result in minor or negligible effects on 

other environmental values or 

resources; and 

(3) Impacts of the HCP, considered 

together with the impacts of other past, 

present, and reasonably foreseeable 

similarly situated projects, would not 

result, over time, in cumulative effects 

to environmental values or resources 

that would be considered significant. 

Based upon this preliminary 

determination, we do not intend to 

prepare further NEPA documentation. 

We will consider public comments in 

making the final determination on 

whether to prepare such additional 

documentation. 

Next Steps 

We will evaluate the proposed HCP 

and comments we receive to determine 

whether the permit application meets 

the requirements and issuance criteria 

under section 10(a) of the ESA (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). We will also 

evaluate whether issuance of a section 

10(a)(1)(B) incidental take permit would 

comply with section 7 of the ESA by 

conducting an intra-Service 

consultation. We will use the results of 

this consultation, in combination with 

the above findings, in our final analysis 

to determine whether or not to issue a 

permit. If the requirements and issuance 

criteria under section 10(a) are met, we 

will issue the permit to the applicant for 

incidental take of vireo. 

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 may ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

10 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). 

G. Mendel Stewart, 

Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife 

Office, Carlsbad, California. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18908 Filed 8–29–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of the Secretary 

[189D0102DM DLSN00000.000000 

DS61200000 DX61201; OMB Control 

Number 1090–0011] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; DOI Generic Clearance 

for the Collection of Qualitative 

Feedback on Agency Service Delivery 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 

the Office of the Secretary are proposing 

to renew an information collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before October 

1, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on 

this information collection request (ICR) 

to the Office of Management and 

Budget’s Desk Officer for the 

Department of the Interior by email at 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov; or via 

facsimile to (202) 395–5806. Please 

provide a copy of your comments to 

Jeffrey Parrillo, 1849 C Street NW, 

Washington, DC 20240; or by email to 

jeffrey_parrillo@ios.doi.gov. Please 

reference OMB Control Number 1090– 

0011 in the subject line of your 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request additional information about 

this ICR, contact Jeffrey Parrillo, 1849 C 

Street NW, Washington, DC 20240; or by 

email to jeffrey_parrillo@ios.doi.gov. 

You may also view the ICR at http://

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the 

general 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 Federal Register notice with a 60- 

day public comment period soliciting 

comments on this collection of 

information was published on March 

22, 2018 (83 FR 12590). No comments 

were received. 

We are again soliciting comments on 

the proposed ICR that is described 


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