2240 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2024 / Notices 

Draft EIS will allow the consulting 

parties and the public an opportunity to 

review and comment on the process as 

provided in 36 CFR 800.8(c)(2). 

Purpose and Need 

The need for the BLM’s action 

(processing the Applicant’s application) 

is to respond to the Applicant’s request 

for a right-of-way (ROW) authorization 

to construct, operate, maintain, and 

decommission the proposed Project in 

accordance with the BLM’s 

responsibility under title V of FLPMA 

and 43 CFR part 2800. The BLM’s action 

of considering the ROW application also 

would meet the BLM’s obligation to 

contribute towards the legislative and 

administrative goals of advancing the 

development of renewable energy 

production on Federal public lands as 

directed by section 3104 of the Energy 

Act of 2020 and Executive Order 14057. 

The Project as proposed would not 

conform to the 1998 Las Vegas RMP as 

required by 43 CFR 1610.5–3(a). The 

BLM would need to amend the RMP to 

bring it into compliance. In particular, 

the Applicant’s proposed Project does 

not conform with the management 

objectives of the Project area’s VRM 

classification (Class III). 

The purpose of the BLM’s action is to 

determine if the Applicant’s Project and 

alternatives are consistent with relevant 

laws, regulations, and policies, and to 

consider whether to grant, grant with 

modifications, or deny the ROW. The 

purpose of the RMP Amendment is to 

ensure that any development of 

renewable energy production in the 

general vicinity of the Applicant’s 

proposed Project area conforms with the 

RMP’s provisions, as provided for in 43 

CFR 1610.5–3(c), specifically by 

reclassifying this geographic area as 

VRM Class IV. 

The Draft EIS addresses the direct, 

indirect, and cumulative environmental 

impacts of the Proposed Action and 

alternatives. Alternatives to the 

Proposed Action were developed by the 

BLM to avoid or reduce various resource 

conflicts. Key resource constraints 

include habitat for and presence of 

Mojave desert tortoise, which is listed as 

threatened under the Endangered 

Species Act, presence of waters of the 

United States, limited groundwater 

resources, vegetation at the Project site, 

and generation of dust. 

Alternatives Including the Preferred 

Alternative 

The BLM has analyzed three 

alternatives in detail, including the no 

action alternative. These are the 

Applicant Proposed Action, Alternative 

Action 1, and the No Action Alternative. 

Alternative Action 1 (referred to as 

the Resources Integration Alternative) 

was identified in response to issues 

raised by the public and agency 

considerations. The intent of the 

Resources Integration Alternative is to 

minimize disturbance to vegetation and 

soils within the solar facility by setting 

maximum allowable disturbance 

thresholds to vegetation during 

construction, setting restoration goals, 

and utilizing topography-spanning 

technologies for solar panel array 

installation. Setting a disturbance cap 

would ensure a consistent comparison 

of alternatives and outcomes for NEPA 

analysis purposes. Specifically, 

Alternative Action 1—Resources 

Integration Alternative would 

implement non-traditional development 

methods (overland travel), as this 

construction method is less intensive 

than traditional methods and is 

expected to improve the retention of 

native vegetation, wildlife habitat, soils, 

seed banks, and biological soil crusts 

while minimizing water quality impacts 

and air quality impacts from fugitive 

dust. 

The No Action Alternative would be 

a continuation of existing conditions 

and no new action would be taken. 

The BLM further considered seven 

additional alternatives but dismissed 

these alternatives from detailed analysis 

as explained in the Draft RMP 

Amendment/EIS. 

The State Director has identified 

Alternative Action 1—Resources 

Integration Alternative as the Preferred 

Alternative. Alternative Action 1— 

Resources Integration Alternative was 

found to best meet the State Director’s 

planning guidance and is designed to be 

a Project lifecycle alternative to not only 

address the impacts of construction, but 

also operations, maintenance, and 

decommissioning of the solar facility. 

Alternative Action 1—Resources 

Integration Alternative minimizes 

disturbance to vegetation and soils 

within the solar facility, thereby 

minimizing impacts to wildlife habitat, 

soils, air quality, and water quality. 

Mitigation 

The BLM included seven mitigation 

measures: dust control and stabilization 

(MM AIR–1), reducing the Project 

footprint (MM WILD–1), holding a job 

fair in a nearby community (MM EJ–1), 

facilitating Tribal consultation (MM 

NA–1), fire prevention and safety (MM 

PS–3), reducing cumulative 

transportation effects (MM TRAF–1), 

and advanced notification to Clark 

County Department of Aviation (MM V– 

1). These mitigation measures, along 

with required Solar Programmatic EIS 

Programmatic Design Features (PDFs), 

Southern Nevada District Office PDFs, 

and required management plans, are 

described in appendix B of the Draft 

RMP Amendment/EIS. 

Schedule for the Decision-Making 

Process 

The BLM will provide additional 

opportunities for public participation 

consistent with the NEPA and land use 

planning processes, including a 30-day 

public protest period and a concurrent 

60-day Governor’s consistency review 

on the Proposed RMP Amendment. The 

Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS is 

anticipated to be available for public 

protest by August 2024 with an 

Approved RMP Amendment and Record 

of Decision by October 2024. 

The BLM will continue to consult 

with Indian Tribal Nations on a 

government-to-government basis in 

accordance with Executive Order 13175, 

BLM MS 1780 and other Departmental 

policies. Tribal concerns, including 

impacts on Indian trust assets and 

potential impacts to cultural resources, 

will be given due consideration. 

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 review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 

43 CFR 1610.2) 

Jon K. Raby, 

State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00393 Filed 1–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–21–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[NPS–WASO–BSAD–CONC–NPS0036729; 

PPWOBSADC6, PPMVSCS1Y.Y00000, (244) 

P103601; OMB Control Number 1024–0233] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; National Park Service 

Leasing Program 

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. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2024 / Notices 2241 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before March 

12, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this 

information collection request (ICR) can 

be sent by mail 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 reference Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) Control 

Number 1024–0233 in the subject line of 

your comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request additional information about 

this ICR, contact Gordy Kito, Leasing 

Program Manager, Commercial Services 

Division by email at gordy_kito@

nps.gov; or by telephone at 202–354– 

2096. Please reference Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) Control 

Number 1024–0233 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. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

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

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

information collections require approval 

under the PRA. 

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. 

(4) How might the agency 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. We will include or 

summarize each comment in our request 

to OMB to approve this ICR. 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 review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Abstract: The NPS Leasing Program 

allows any person or entity to lease 

buildings and associated property 

administered by the Secretary of the 

Interior as part of the National Park 

System, under the authority of the 

Director of the NPS. A lease may not 

authorize an activity that could be 

authorized by a concessions contract or 

commercial use authorization. All leases 

must provide for the payment of fair 

market value rent. The Director may 

retain rental payments for park 

infrastructure needs and, in some cases, 

to provide administrative support of the 

leasing program. 

The authority to collect information 

for the Leasing Program is derived from 

54 U.S.C. 102101 et seq., 54 U.S.C. 

306121, and 36 CFR part 18. For 

competitive leasing opportunities, the 

regulations require the submission of 

proposals or bids by parties interested 

in applying for a lease. The regulations 

also require that the Director approve 

lease amendments, construction or 

demolition of structures, and 

encumbrances on leasehold interests. 

We collect information from anyone 

who wishes to submit a bid or proposal 

to lease a property. The Director may 

issue a request for bids if the amount of 

rent is the only criterion for award of a 

lease. The Director issues a request for 

proposals when the award of a lease is 

based on selection criteria other than 

the rental rate. A request for proposals 

may be preceded by a request for 

qualifications to select a ‘‘short list’’ of 

potential offerors that meet the 

minimum management, financial, and 

other qualifications necessary for the 

submission of a proposal. 

We use the information collected to 

evaluate offers, proposed subleases or 

assignments, proposed construction or 

demolition, the merits of proposed lease 

amendments, and proposed 

encumbrances. The completion times 

for each information collection 

requirement vary substantially 

depending on the complexity of the 

leasing opportunity. 

Title of Collection: National Park 

Service Leasing Program, 36 CFR part 

18. 

OMB Control Number: 1024–0233. 

Form Number: NPS Forms 10–352, 

10–353, 10–354, 10–355A and 10–355B. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: 

Individuals and businesses seeking to 

submit a bid or proposal to lease NPS 

property. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 250. 

Estimated Completion Time per 

Response: Varies from 4 hours to 45 

hours, depending on activity. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 1,649. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain a benefit. 

Frequency of Collection: On occasion. 

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour 

Burden Cost: None. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor and a person is not required to 

respond to a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. 

The authority for this action is the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

Phadrea Ponds, 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, 

National Park Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00546 Filed 1–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–52–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[NPS–WASO–NAGPRA–NPS0037229; 

PPWOCRADN0–PCU00RP14.R50000] 

Notice of Inventory Completion: 

University of Rhode Island, South 

Kingstown, RI 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native 

American Graves Protection and 

Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the 

University of Rhode Island, South 

Kingstown, RI (URI) has completed an 

inventory of human remains and 

associated funerary objects and has 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES