Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 92 / Friday, May 11, 2001 / Notices 24151

destroyed; (3) construction limits will

be fenced or flagged prior to

construction activities to avoid

inadvertent disturbance of areas outside

the construction zone; (4) the proper use

and disposal of oil and gasoline will be

enforced; and (5) all trash associated

with construction activities will be

properly contained and disposed.

To mitigate for the permanent loss of

occupied habitat due to the proposed

activities, the Applicant proposes to

revegetate 6.0 acres of non-native

grassland in Deer Canyon Park Preserve

with coastal sage scrub vegetation. The

revegetated area would connect patches

of fragmented coastal sage scrub that lie

to the north and south. A restoration

HCP will be developed that includes

performance criteria, such as percent

cover by native and non-native plants,

native plant diversity, and evidence of

natural reproduction, which must be

met. The restoration plan must be

reviewed and approved by the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service.

The HCP considered the following

alternatives: (1) The proposed project;

(2) use of a mitigation fee; (3) redesign

of the project; and (4) no project or no

action alternative.

The proposed project involves the

issuance of a permit under section

10(a)(1)(B) of the Act to authorize the

incidental take of the threatened coastal

California gnatcatcher during facilities

improvement and fire management

activity. The project impacts 1.39 acres

of coastal sage scrub occupied by the

coastal California gnatcatcher.

Mitigation for the project is the

revegetation of 6.0 acres of non-native

grassland with coastal sage scrub

vegetation.

The use of a mitigation fee to

compensate for the loss of coastal sage

scrub, as outlined in the Central and

Coastal Orange County Natural

Community Conservation Plan (NCCP),

is not authorized for this project because

Deer Canyon Park Preserve is designated

as an Existing Use Area, and the in-lieu

fee mitigation program is not available

to mitigate for take of gnatcatchers

within Existing Use Areas unless

specifically authorized by the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service and California

Department of Fish and Game.

Under the redesign alternative, the

applicant would redesign the project to

further reduce impacts to coastal sage

scrub vegetation. The applicant states

that it is not possible to further redesign

the project and meet project goals.

Under the No Project alternative the

project would not occur. Therefore an

incidental take permit would not be

required and the Applicant would

abandon the proposed project.

The Service has determined that the

HCP qualifies as a ‘‘Low Effect’’ Habitat

Conservation Plan as defined by the

Fish and Wildlife Service’s Habitat

Conservation Planning Handbook

(November 1996). Our determination

that a habitat conservation plan

qualifies as a low-effect plan is based on

the following three criteria: (1)

Implementation of a plan would result

in minor or negligible effects on

federally listed, proposed, and

candidate species and their habitats; (2)

implementation of a plan would result

in minor or negligible effects on other

environmental values or resources; and

(3) impacts of a plan, 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

which would be considered significant.

The Service therefore has made a

preliminary determination that approval

of the HCP qualifies as a categorical

exclusion under NEPA, as provided by

the Department of the Interior Manual

(516 DM 2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6,

Appendix 1). Based on this preliminary

determination, we do not intend to

prepare further NEPA documentation.

The Service will consider public

comments in making its final

determination on whether to prepare

such additional documentation.

This notice is provided pursuant to

section 10(a) of the Endangered Species

Act and Service regulations for

implementing the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (40

CFR 1506.6). The Service will evaluate

the permit application, the HCP, and the

associated documents and comments

submitted thereon to determine whether

the application meets the requirements

of section 10(a) of the Endangered

Species Act. If we determine that the

requirements are met, we will issue a

permit for the incidental take of the

coastal California gnatcatcher. A final

decision on permit issuance will be

made no sooner than 30 days from the

date of this notice.

Dated: April 23, 2001.

Jill Parker,

Acting Deputy Manager, California/Nevada

Operations Office, Fish and Wildlife Service,

Sacramento, California.

[FR Doc. 01–11897 Filed 5–10–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–U

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV–030–1990–EX]

Notice of Availability for the Oil-Dri

Corporation of Nevada’s Reno Clay

Plant Project Draft Environmental

Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Department of the Interior.

COOPERATING AGENCIES: U.S. Bureau of

Indian Affairs, Reno-Sparks Indian

Colony, and Washoe County, Nevada.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft

environmental impact statement (EIS)

for the Oil-Dri Corporation of Nevada

Reno Clay Plant Project, notice of public

meeting, and initiation of a 60-day

public comment period.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C)

of the National Environmental Policy

Act (NEPA) and 40 CFR 1500–1508

Council on Environmental Quality

Regulations (CEQ), and 43 CFR 3809

Surface Management Regulations, notice

is given that the Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) Carson City Field

Office has prepared, with the assistance

of a third-party consultant, a Draft EIS

on the proposed Reno Clay Plant

Project, and has made the document

available for public and agency review.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft

EIS must be submitted or postmarked to

the BLM no later than July 10, 2001.

Written comments may also be

presented at a public open house that is

scheduled for May 30, 2001, from 5 pm

to 7 pm, at the BLM Nevada State

Office, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Reno,

NV.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the

Draft EIS should be addressed to:

Bureau of Land Management, Carson

City Field Office, 5665 Morgan Mill

Road, Carson City, NV 89701, Attn:

Terri Knutson, Oil-Dri EIS Project

Manager. Comments may also be sent

via electronic mail to the following

address: tknutson@nv.blm.gov or via

fax: (775) 885–6147. A limited number

of copies of the Draft EIS may be

obtained at the above BLM Field Office

in Carson City, NV. In addition, the

Draft EIS is available on the internet via

the Carson City Field Office Home Page

at: www.nv.blm.gov/carson.

Comments, including names and

addresses of respondents, will be

available for public review at the above

address during regular business hours

(7:30 a.m.–5 p.m.), Monday through

Friday, except holidays, and may be

published as part of the EIS. Individual

respondents may request

24152 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 92 / Friday, May 11, 2001 / Notices

confidentiality. If you wish to withhold

your name or street address from public

review or from disclosure under the

Freedom of Information Act, you must

state this prominently at the beginning

of your written comment. However, we

will not consider anonymous

comments. Such requests will be

honored to the extent allowed by law.

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 inspection in

their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Terri Knutson, Oil-Dri EIS Project

Manager, Bureau of Land Management,

5665 Morgan Mill Road, Carson City,

NV 89701, (775) 885–6156.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Oil-Dri

Corporation of Nevada (Oil-Dri) has

submitted a Plan of Operations for the

construction, operation, and

reclamation of a mining operation and

processing facility located

approximately ten miles north of the

Reno/Sparks area in Hungry Valley,

Washoe County, Nevada. The proposed

mining operation, known as the Reno

Clay Plant Project, would be located on

305 acres of public and 40 acres of

private land and would result in the

development of two open pit mine

areas, construction of a processing

facility, construction and/or upgrade of

haul and access roads, and continued

exploration activities. Construction is

scheduled to begin in the Fall of 2001

and continue for approximately 20

years.

The Draft EIS analyzes the

environmental impacts associated with

the proposed mining and processing

facilities, two access alternatives, and

the no action alternative. Issues

analyzed include geology, minerals,

paleontology, air resources, aesthetics

(visual & noise), water resources, soils,

vegetation, range resources, wildlife,

special status species, land use, access,

recreation, cultural resources, Native

American Religious Concerns, social &

economic resources, and Environmental

Justice.

A copy of the Draft EIS has been sent

to all individuals, agencies, and groups

who have expressed interest in the

project or as mandated by regulation or

policy. A limited number of copies are

available upon request from the BLM at

the address listed above. In addition, the

document is available on the Carson

City Field Office Home Page at the

address above.

Public participation has occurred

throughout the EIS process. A Notice of

Intent to Prepare an EIS was published

in the Federal Register on July 22, 2000

(Pages 43779–43780) and the 30-day

public scoping period was initiated. A

public open house was held in Reno on

August 8, 2000 and additional

presentations were made to three

Washoe County Citizen Advisory

Boards and to a community meeting at

the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony.

To assist the BLM in identifying and

considering issues and concerns on the

proposed action and alternatives,

comments on the Draft EIS should be as

specific as possible. Comments should

also refer to specific pages or chapters

in the document. After the comment

period ends, all comments will be

analyzed and considered by the BLM in

preparing the Final EIS.

Dated: April 23, 2001.

John Singlaub,

Manager, Carson City Field Office.

[FR Doc. 01–10912 Filed 5–10–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[MT–090–1990EX–01]

Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) announces the

availability of a Draft Supplemental

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

for Reclamation of the Zortman and

Landusky Mines in Phillips County,

Montana. This is a supplement to the

1996 Final EIS on Reclamation Plan

Modifications and Mine Life Extensions

at the Zortman and Landusky Mines.

The Draft Supplemental EIS addresses

12 reclamation alternatives, six for the

Zortman Mine and six for the Landusky

Mine. The BLM and Montana

Department of Environmental Quality

(DEQ) are co-lead agencies for the

preparation of the Supplemental EIS.

The Environmental Protection Agency

and the Fort Belknap Indian Community

Council are participating agencies.

DATES: The comment period on the Draft

Supplemental EIS will end on July 9,

2001.

ADDRESSES: Address all written

comments to Zortman/Landusky Mine

Reclamation Plan SEIS, c/o Bureau of

Land Management, Lewistown Field

Office, P.O. Box 1160, Lewistown, MT

59457–1160. Comments may also be

sent electronically to:

ZLReclamation_EIS@blm.gov. Please

include your name and complete

mailing address on all comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Scott Haight, 406–538–1930.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This EIS is

a draft supplement to the March 1996

Final EIS Zortman and Landusky Mines

Reclamation Plan Modifications and

Mine Life Extensions. With the

bankruptcy of the mines’ operator,

Zortman Mining, Inc., the BLM and

DEQ are overseeing reclamation at the

mines. The Draft Supplemental EIS has

been prepared to analyze additional

reclamation alternatives developed by

the agencies that may constitute a

substantial change from those presented

in the 1996 Final EIS. The Draft

Supplemental EIS presents 12

reclamation plans, six for reclamation of

the Zortman Mine and six for

reclamation of the Landusky Mine. The

reclamation plans were developed based

upon public scoping comments and

through consultation with the Fort

Belknap government and the

Environmental Protection Agency. The

Draft Supplemental EIS discloses the

environmental consequences of each

alternative. Alternative Z6 is identified

in the Draft Supplemental EIS as the

DEQ and BLM preferred reclamation

alternative for the Zortman Mine, and

Alternative L4 is identified as the

preferred reclamation alternative for the

Landusky Mine. The identification of

the preferred alternatives does not

constitute an agency decision but is

intended to help focus public comment

on the alternatives more likely to be

selected.

Authority: Sec. 102, Pub. L. 91–190, 83

Stat. 853 (42 U.S.C. 4332).

Dated: May 1, 2001.

Bruce W. Reed,

Field Manager, Bureau of Land Management.

[FR Doc. 01–11875 Filed 5–10–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–DN–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CA–360–01–1430–EU; CACA–37660]

Notice of Realty Action,

Noncompetitive Sale of Public Lands

in Trinity County, California for

Community Purposes, Case File

CACA–37660

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Department of the Interior, Redding

Field Office, Redding, CA.

ACTION: Notice of segregation and sale of

public land.