33046 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 20, 2001 / Proposed Rules

government and the States, or on the

distribution of power and

responsibilities among the various

levels of government, as specified in

Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255,

August 10, 1999), because it merely

authorizes State requirements as part of

the State RCRA hazardous waste

program without altering the

relationship or the distribution of power

and responsibilities established by

RCRA. A decision to authorize

California for these revisions also is not

subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR

19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not

economically significant and it does not

make decisions based on environmental

health or safety risks. The proposed rule

does not include environmental justice

related issues that require consideration

under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR

7629, February 16, 1994).

Under RCRA 3006(b), EPA grants a

state’s application for authorization as

long as the state meets the criteria

required by RCRA. It would thus be

inconsistent with applicable law for

EPA, when it reviews a state

authorization application, to require the

use of any particular voluntary

consensus standard in place of another

standard that otherwise satisfies the

requirements of RCRA. Thus, the

requirements of section 12(d) of the

National Technology Transfer and

Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C.

272 note) do not apply. As required by

section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (61

FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing

this proposed rule, EPA has taken the

necessary steps to eliminate drafting

errors and ambiguity, minimize

potential litigation, and provide a clear

legal standard for affected conduct. EPA

has complied with Executive Order

12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988) by

examining the takings implications of a

decision to authorize California for

these revisions in accordance with the

Attorney General’s Supplemental

Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk

and Avoidance of Unanticipated

Takings issued under the Executive

Order. A decision to authorize

California’s revisions will not impose an

information collection burden under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 271

Environmental protection,

Administrative practice and procedure,

Confidential business information,

Hazardous waste, Hazardous waste

transportation, Indian lands,

Intergovernmental relations, Penalties,

Reporting and record keeping

requirements.

Authority: This proposed action is issued

under the authority of sections 2002(a), 3006

and 7004(b) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act

as amended 42 U.S.C. 6912(a), 6926, 6974(b).

Dated: June 12, 2001.

Laura Yoshii,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 9.

[FR Doc. 01–15481 Filed 6–19–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018–AH03

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

and Plants; Notice of Availability of

Draft Economic Analysis, Reopening

of Comment Period, and Notice of

Public Hearing for the Proposed

Critical Habitat Determination for the

Quino Checkerspot Butterfly

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of

availability of draft economic analysis,

reopening of public comment period,

and notice of public hearing.

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (Service), announces

the availability of the draft economic

analysis for the proposed determination

of critical habitat for the Quino

checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas

editha quino) and the reopening of the

public comment period for the proposed

determination to allow all interested

parties to submit written comments on

the proposal and on the draft economic

analysis. Comments previously

submitted need not be resubmitted as

they have been incorporated into the

public record and will be fully

considered in the final rule.

Additionally, we are announcing that a

public hearing will be held on the

proposed critical habitat determination.

DATES: The original public comment

period on the critical habitat proposed

determination closed on April 9, 2001.

The public comment period is

reopened, and we will accept comments

until July 30, 2001. Comments must be

received by the 5:00 p.m. on the closing

date. Any comments that are received

after the closing date may not be

considered in the final decision on this

action. The public hearing will be held

on July 17, 2001, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00

p.m. and from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in

Escondido, California.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be

held at the Castle Creek Inn Resort,

29850 Circle R Way, Escondido,

California. Copies of the draft economic

analysis and proposed critical habitat

determination are available on the

Internet at http://carlsbad.fws.gov or by

writing to the Field Supervisor, U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, Carlsbad Fish

and Wildlife Office, 2730 Loker Avenue

West, Carlsbad, California, 92008.

Written comments should be sent to the

Field Supervisor. You may also send

comments by electronic mail (e-mail) to

fws1quino@fws.gov. Please submit

comments in ASCII file format and

avoid the use of special characters and

encryption. Please include ‘‘Attn: Quino

checkerspot butterfly’’ and your name

and return address in your e-mail

message. If you do not receive a

confirmation from the system that we

have received your e-mail message,

contact us directly by calling our

Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office at

phone number 760–431–9440.

Comments and materials received will

be available for public inspection, by

appointment, during normal business

hours at the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife

Office, at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Douglas Krofta, Branch Chief, Listing,

Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, at the

above address (telephone 760–431–

9440; facsimile 760–431–9624).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Quino checkerspot butterfly is a

member of the family Nymphalidae

(brush-footed butterflies) that occurs in

open habitat patches primarily in

coastal sage scrub and native plant

communities ranging from southwestern

Riverside County, California to northcentral Baja California, Mexico. The

primary host plant for Quino

checkerspot butterfly larvae is Plantago

spp. (plantain), while nectar sources for

adult butterflies primarily include

plants of the figwort plant family, or

closely related plants.

The adult Quino checkerspot butterfly

has a wingspan of approximately 4

centimeters (1.5 inches). The top sides

of the wings have a red, black, and

cream colored checkered pattern and

the bottom sides are dominated by a red

and cream marbled pattern. The

abdomen of Quino checkerspot

butterflies has red stripes across the top.

Quino checkerspot butterfly larvae are

black with a row of nine orange fleshy/

hairy extensions on their back. Pupae

are mottled black on a pale blue-gray

background and extremely well

camouflaged.

Historically, common in southern

California and north-central Baja

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 20, 2001 / Proposed Rules 33047

California, Mexico, the species had

declined to the point of needing

protection under the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).

On January 16, 1997, the Quino

checkerspot butterfly was listed as

endangered throughout its range (62 FR

2313). The Quino checkerspot

butterfly’s continued survival is

threatened primarily by habitat loss and

degradation, and encroachment by nonnative species. On February 7, 2001, the

Fish and Wildlife Service published a

rule proposing critical habitat for the

Quino checkerspot butterfly in the

Federal Register (66 FR 9476). We

proposed designation of approximately

121,814 hectares (301,010 acres) as

critical habitat for the Quino

checkerspot butterfly pursuant to the

Act. Proposed critical habitat is in

western Riverside and southern San

Diego Counties, California, as described

in the proposed rule.

Section 4(b)(2) of the Act requires that

the Secretary shall designate or revise

critical habitat based upon the best

scientific and commercial data available

and after taking into consideration the

economic impact of specifying any

particular area as critical habitat. Based

upon the previously published proposal

to designate critical habitat for the

Quino checkerspot butterfly and

comments received during previous

comment period, we have prepared a

draft economic analysis of the proposed

critical habitat designation, which is

available at the above Internet and

mailing address.

Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act (16 U.S.C.

1531 et seq.), requires that a public

hearing be held if it is requested within

45 days of the publication of a proposed

rule. In response to a request from the

Otay Land Company, the Service will

hold a public hearing on the date and

at the address described in the DATES

and ADDRESSES sections above.

Anyone wishing to make an oral

statement for the record is encouraged

to provide a written copy of their

statement and present it to the Service

at the hearing. In the event there is a

large attendance, the time allotted for

oral statements may be limited. Oral and

written statements receive equal

consideration. There are no limits to the

length of written comments presented at

the hearing or mailed to the Service.

Legal notices announcing the date, time,

and location of the hearing will be

published in newspapers concurrently

with the Federal Register notice.

Comments from the public regarding

the accuracy of this proposed rule are

sought, especially regarding:

(1) The location of any additional

populations of Quino checkerspot

butterflys and the reasons why any

habitat should or should not be

determined to be critical habitat;

(2) Additional information regarding

the validity of the primary constituent

elements described in the proposed

rule; and

(3) Additional information regarding

areas that may be essential as travel

corridors for connecting individual

Quino checkerspot butterfly

populations.

Reopening of the comment period

will enable the Service to respond to the

request for a public hearing on the

proposed action. The comment period

on this proposal now closes on July 30,

2001. Written comments should be

submitted to the Service office listed in

the ADDRESSES section.

Public Hearing

A public hearing on the proposed

determination of critical habitat for the

Quino checkerspot butterfly is

scheduled to be held on Tuesday, July

17, 2001, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

and from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the

Castle Creek Inn Resort, 29850 Circle R

Way, Escondido, California. Please

contact the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife

Office at the above address with any

questions concerning this public

hearing.

Public Comment Solicited

We have reopened the comment

period at this time in order to accept the

best and most current scientific and

commercial data available regarding the

proposed critical habitat determination

for the Quino checkerspot butterfly and

the draft economic analysis of proposed

critical habitat determination.

Previously submitted written comments

on this critical habitat proposal need not

be resubmitted. The current comment

period on this proposal closes on July

30, 2001. Written comments should be

submitted to the Carlsbad Fish and

Wildlife Office in the ADDRESSES

section.

Author

The primary author of this notice is

Douglas Krofta (see ADDRESSES section).

Authority

The authority for this action is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Dated: June 14, 2001.

Alexandra Pitts,

Acting Manager, California/Nevada

Operations Office, Region 1.

[FR Doc. 01–15477 Filed 6–19–01; 8:45am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P