51368 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 15, 2021 / Notices 

(16 U.S.C. 1539). 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. Impacts to plants do not fall 

under the definition of ‘‘take’’; therefore, 

the Service cannot authorize incidental 

take of plants. However, the Service 

cannot issue an ITP that would 

jeopardize the continued existence or 

adversely modify the designated critical 

habitat of any listed species. 

Applicant’s Proposed Project 

The applicant requests a 50-year ITP 

to take the five bat species. The 

applicant determined that take is 

reasonably certain to occur incidental to 

enactment of forest and habitat 

management activities statewide on 42 

million acres of covered species habitat. 

The proposed conservation strategy in 

the applicant’s proposed HCP is 

designed to avoid, minimize, and 

mitigate the impacts of habitat and 

forest management on the covered 

species. The biological goals and 

objectives are to minimize potential take 

of the five covered species through 

minimization measures and to provide 

habitat conservation measures for the 

covered species to offset any impacts 

from implementation of habitat and 

forest management activities. The 

estimated level of take from the project 

is 20.38 adult Indiana bats, 0.02 

northern long-eared bats, 0.11 little 

brown bats, and 1.81 tricolored bats on 

an annual basis. As a result of proposed 

avoidance measures, the likelihood of 

take for gray bat has been greatly 

reduced such that a measurable level of 

take is not anticipated to occur. To 

offset the impacts of the taking of the 

five covered bat species, the applicant 

proposes to avoid habitat loss-related 

impacts from habitat and forest 

management, by instituting avoidance 

measures during the management 

process, such as avoiding certain 

activities during the active maternity 

season, and implement species habitat 

protection, enhancement, or restoration 

on 28,000 acres. Beneficial and net 

effects of the conservation strategy 

include the successful management of 

forests, which protect potential habitat 

for bats; site-level maintenance and 

promotion of roost trees and foraging 

habitat; the protection and management 

of 28,000 acres of priority bat 

management zones targeted at treeroosting covered species; the protection 

and enhancement of caves; and other 

specific measures that minimize or 

avoid effects to the covered species. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

The issuance of an ITP is a Federal 

action that triggers the need for 

compliance with NEPA. We prepared a 

draft EA that analyzes the 

environmental impacts on the human 

environment resulting from three 

alternatives: A no-action alternative, a 

no take alternative, the applicant’s 

proposed action, and an early planning 

mitigation alternative. 

Next Steps 

The Service will evaluate the permit 

application and the comments received 

to determine whether the application 

meets the requirements of section 10(a) 

of the ESA. We will also conduct an 

intra-Service consultation pursuant to 

section 7 of the ESA to evaluate the 

effects of the proposed take. After 

considering the above findings, we will 

determine whether the permit issuance 

criteria of section 10(a)(l)(B) of the ESA 

have been met. If met, the Service will 

issue the requested ITP to the applicant. 

Request for Public Comments 

The Service invites comments and 

suggestions from all interested parties 

on the proposed HCP, draft EA, and 

supporting documents during a 30-day 

public comment period (see DATES). In 

particular, information and comments 

regarding the following topics are 

requested: 

1. The effects that implementation of 

any alternative could have on the 

human environment; 

2. Whether or not the significance of 

the impact on various aspects of the 

human environment has been 

adequately analyzed; and 

3. Any other information pertinent to 

evaluating the effects of the proposed 

action on the human environment 

including Indiana, gray, northern longeared, little brown, and tricolored bats. 

Availability of Public Comments 

You may submit comments by one of 

the methods shown under ADDRESSES. 

We will post on http://regulations.gov 

all public comments and information 

received electronically or via hardcopy. 

All comments received, including 

names and addresses, will become part 

of the administrative record associated 

with this action. 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 request in your comment that 

we 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 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

and its implementing regulations (50 

CFR 17.22) and the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 

4371 et seq.) and its implementing 

regulations (40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR 46). 

Lori Nordstrom, 

Assistant Regional Director, Ecological 

Services. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19929 Filed 9–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Geological Survey 

[GX21DK20H2S0000; OMB Control Number 

1028–0114] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; National Ground-Water 

Monitoring Network Cooperative 

Funding Application 

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Information 

Collection; request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 

the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are 

proposing to renew an information 

collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before October 

15, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. U.S. Geological Survey, 

Information Collections Officer, 12201 

Sunrise Valley Drive MS 159, Reston, 

VA 20192; and by email to gs-info_

collections@usgs.gov. Please reference 

OMB Control Number 1028–0114 in the 

subject line of your comments. 

Individuals who are hearing or speech 

impaired may call the Federal Relay 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 15, 2021 / Notices 51369 

Service at 1–800–877–8339 for TTY 

assistance. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request additional information about 

this ICR, contact Daryll Pope by email 

at dpope@usgs.gov, or by telephone at 

(804) 261–2630. You may also view the 

ICR at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/ 

do/PRAMain. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the PRA and 5 CFR 

1320.8(d)(1), 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 April 20, 

2021. (Federal Register/Vol. 86, No. 74, 

20515). No comments were received. 

As part of our continuing effort to 

reduce paperwork and respondent 

burdens, we are again soliciting 

comments from the public and other 

Federal agencies on the proposed ICR 

that is described below. 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 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. 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 USGS administers the 

National Ground-Water Monitoring 

Network which was developed through 

work with the Federal Advisory 

Committee on Water Information 

(ACWI) and its Subcommittee on 

Ground Water (SOGW). This network is 

required as part of Public Law 111–11, 

Subtitle F-Secure Water: Section 9507, 

42 U.S.C. 10367, ‘‘Water Data 

Enhancement by United States 

Geological Survey.’’ The NGWMN 

consists of an aggregation of wells and 

spring from existing Federal, State, 

Tribal, and local groundwater 

monitoring networks. To support data 

providers for the NGWMN, the USGS 

will be providing funding through 

cooperative agreements to waterresource agencies that collect 

groundwater data. The USGS will be 

soliciting applications for funding that 

will request information from the 

Agency collecting the data. Elements 

will include contact information (phone 

number and email address), and a 

proposal describing their proposed work 

in support of the NGWMN. The 

proposal will describe the groundwater 

networks to be included in the 

NGWMN, the purpose of the networks, 

and the Principal aquifers that are 

monitored. Proposals may include work 

to become a new data provider to the 

NGWMN, support for maintaining 

connections to agency databases, and 

work to enhance NGWMN sites 

(updating metadata, well maintenance, 

well drilling, and support for 

continuous water-level monitoring 

equipment). The proposal would require 

estimates of costs to complete the above 

tasks and a timeline for planned 

completion. The proposal will be 

reviewed by the USGS and the NGWMN 

Program Board who will make funding 

recommendations. 

Title of Collection: National GroundWater Monitoring Network Cooperative 

Funding Application. 

OMB Control Number: 1028–0114. 

Form Number: None. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: Multistate, state or local water-resources 

agencies who operate groundwater 

monitoring networks. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 60. 

Estimated Completion Time per 

Response: 2 hours to read 40 hours to 

complete application. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 880. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory 

to be considered for funding. 

Frequency of Collection: Annually. 

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.). 

Janice Fulford, 

Director, USGS WMA Observing Systems 

Division. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19821 Filed 9–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4338–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

[212A2100DD/AAKC001030/ 

A0A501010.999900253G] 

Indian Gaming; Approval of TribalState Class III Gaming Compact in the 

State of Connecticut 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice publishes the 

approval of the Agreement Between the 

Mohegan Tribe of Indians of 

Connecticut (Tribe) and the State of 

Connecticut (State) to amend the Tribe’s 

Class III Gaming Compact (Amendment) 

and Memorandum of Understanding 

(MOU). 

DATES: The Amendment takes effect on 

September 15, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Paula L. Hart, Director, Office of Indian 

Gaming, Office of the Deputy Assistant 

Secretary—Policy and Economic 

Development, Washington, DC 20240, 

paula.hart@bia.gov, (202) 219–4066. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 

section 11 of the Indian Gaming 

Regulatory Act (IGRA), Public Law 100– 

497, 25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq., the 

Secretary of the Interior shall publish in 

the Federal Register notice of approved 

Tribal-State compacts for the purpose of 

engaging in Class III gaming activities 

on Indian lands. As required by 25 CFR 

293.4, all compacts and amendments are 

subject to review and approval by the 

Secretary. The Amendment, the MOU 

and the State of Connecticut House Bill 

No. 6451 (State Gaming Act) work in 

unison to provide the Mohegan Tribe 

and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES