61300 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 203 / Friday, October 21, 2005 / Notices 

Homeownership Act of 1990 

(‘‘LIHPRHA’’) (see, in particular, section 

222(a)(2)(G)(i) of LIHPRHA, 12 U.S. 

4112 (a)(2)(G)) and the regulations at 24 

CFR 248.145(a)(9) requires that future 

rent adjustments for LIHPRHA projects 

be made by applying an annual factor to 

be determined by the Secretary to the 

portion of project rent attributable to 

operating expenses for the project and, 

where the owner is a priority purchaser, 

to the portion of project rent attributable 

to project oversight costs. 

III. Findings and Certifications 

Environmental Impact 

This issuance sets forth rate 

determinations and related external 

administrative requirements and 

procedures that do not constitute a 

development decision affecting the 

physical condition of specific project 

areas or building sites. Accordingly, 

under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(6), this notice is 

categorically excluded from 

environmental review under the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321). 

Executive Order 13132, Federalism 

This notice does not have federalism 

implications and does not impose 

substantial direct compliance costs on 

state and local governments or preempt 

State law within the meaning of 

Executive Order 13132 (entitled 

‘‘Federalism’’). 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Number 

The Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Number for this program is 

14.187. 

Dated: October 6, 2005. 

Frank L. Davis, 

General Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Housing. 

APPENDIX 

Operating Cost Adjustment Factors for 2006 

(percent) 

ALABAMA—3.3 

ALASKA—5.0 

ARIZONA—3.9 

ARKANSAS—3.6 

CALIFORNIA—3.0 

COLORADO—5.2 

CONNECTICUT—4.4 

DELAWARE—5.9 

DIST. OF COLUMBIA—3.6 

FLORIDA—3.6 

GEORGIA—3.9 

HAWAII—3.8 

IDAHO—3.8 

ILLINOIS—4.0 

INDIANA—4.0 

IOWA—5.5 

KANSAS—4.2 

KENTUCKY—4.2 

LOUISIANA—3.4 

MAINE—3.9 

MARYLAND—4.1 

MASSACHUSETTS—5.2 

MICHIGAN—4.4 

MINNESOTA—4.2 

MISSISSIPPI—3.4 

MISSOURI—3.6 

MONTANA—5.4 

NEBRASKA—3.9 

NEVADA—3.8 

NEW HAMPSHIRE—5.7 

NEW JERSEY—4.1 

NEW MEXICO—3.5 

NEW YORK—4.5 

N. CAROLINA—3.4 

N. DAKOTA—3.9 

OHIO—3.9 

OKLAHOMA—3.7 

OREGON—3.5 

PENNSYLVANIA—4.2 

RHODE ISLAND—3.4 

S. CAROLINA—3.6 

S. DAKOTA—4.2 

TENNESSEE—3.4 

TEXAS—4.1 

UTAH—3.6 

VERMONT—4.0 

VIRGINIA—3.6 

WASHINGTON—3.5 

W. VIRGINIA—3.8 

WISCONSIN—4.2 

WYOMING—4.2 

PACIFIC ISLANDS—3.4 

PUERTO RICO—2.9 

VIRGIN ISLANDS—3.6 

U.S. AVERAGE—4.0 

[FR Doc. E5–5842 Filed 10–20–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–27–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Endangered Species Recovery Permits 

and Applications 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

receipt of application. 

SUMMARY: The following applicant has 

applied for a permit to conduct certain 

activities with endangered species 

pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). This notice is provided 

pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act. 

DATES: Written data or comments must 

be received November 21, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: Written data or comments 

should be submitted to the Assistant 

Regional Director-Ecological Services, 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 

25486, Denver Federal Center, Denver, 

Colorado 80225–0486. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Permit 

Application Number—TE–105504. 

Applicant—Montana Department of 

Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The applicant 

requests a permit to take the gray wolf 

(Canis lupus) throughout locations in 

northern Montana where the species is 

listed as endangered. The applicant 

proposes to conduct research and 

monitoring of wolf populations, 

implement proactive strategies, and 

conduct, or direct, non-lethal and lethal 

control actions to reduce or resolve 

wolf-livestock and dog conflicts and 

human safety concerns, as is currently 

conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service) and in accordance 

with the 1999 Interim Wolf Control 

Plan. If the permit is issued, the 

applicant would assume responsibility 

from the Service for managing wolves in 

northwestern Montana. Take for control 

purposes would be consistent with the 

State Management Plan for wolves and 

the 1999 Interim Wolf Control Plan, 

which provide conditions on when wolf 

control is appropriate, including the 

following requirements—clear evidence 

that wolves were responsible for the 

livestock injury or death; reason to 

believe that additional losses would 

occur if the problem wolf or wolves 

were not controlled; that livestock 

grazing on Federal lands be in 

compliance with approved management 

plans and annual operating plans for 

allotments; and, that lethal control be 

authorized in writing prior to its 

implementation when possible. Nonlethal control would involve harassing 

wolves by using rubber bullets, 

projectile bean bags, or other scare 

tactics. These activities are aimed at 

enhancement of survival for the species 

in the wild. The Service has determined 

that a practical, responsive management 

program including control is essential to 

the wolf recovery effort (Service 1999). 

If issued, the permit would not affect 

ongoing wolf management in the 

remainder of the State of Montana 

conducted in accordance with the nonessential experimental population 

regulations found at 50 CFR 17.40(n). 

Additional information about wolf 

recovery and conservation in the 

northwestern United States, including 

control of problem wolves, can be found 

in various reports at http:// 

westerngraywolf.fws.gov/. 

Availability of Documents: 

Documents and other information 

submitted with this permit are available 

for review, subject to the requirements 

of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and 

Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 

552), by any party who submits a 

written request for a copy of such 

documents within 20 days of the date of 

publication of this notice to Kris Olsen, 

by mail (see ADDRESSES) or by telephone 

at 303–236–4256. A copy of the 

application is available for public 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 203 / Friday, October 21, 2005 / Notices 61301 

inspection at the Service’s Regional Web 

site at http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov. 

All comments received from individuals 

become part of the official public 

record. Requests for such comments will 

be handled in accordance with the 

Freedom of Information Act and the 

Council on Environmental Quality’s 

National Environmental Protection Act 

regulations [40 CFR 1506.6(f)]. Our 

practice is to make comments, including 

names and home addresses of 

respondents, available for public review 

during regular business hours. 

Individual respondents may request that 

we withhold their home address from 

the record, which we will honor to the 

extent allowable by law. If a respondent 

wishes us to withhold his/her name 

and/or address, this must be stated 

prominently at the beginning of the 

comment. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1539(c). 

Dated: September 22, 2005. 

Mary G. Henry, 

Regional Director, Denver, Colorado. 

[FR Doc. 05–21055 Filed 10–20–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[UT–080–05–1310–DB] 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Record of Decision for the Castle Peak 

and Eight Mile Flat Oil and Gas 

Expansion Project, Newfield Rocky 

Mountains, Inc. 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Final 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Record of Decision for the Castle Peak 

and Eight Mile Flat Oil and Gas 

Expansion Project, Newfield Rocky 

Mountains, Inc., Uintah and Duchesne 

Counties, Utah, and Notice of 30-day 

appeal period for the Record of 

Decision. 

SUMMARY: Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and associated 

regulations, the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) announces the 

availability of a Final Environmental 

Impact Statement (FEIS) and Record of 

Decision (ROD) for the Castle Peak and 

Eight Mile Flat oil and gas expansion 

project proposed by Newfield Rocky 

Mountains, Inc., formerly Inland 

Resources, Inc. This FEIS and ROD are 

being announced concurrently per 40 

CFR part 1506 (b) (2). 

DATES: Vernal Field Manager William 

Stringer signed the ROD on August 24, 

2005. The Decision will become final 

within 30 days after the Environmental 

Protection Agency publishes the filing 

notice for this FEIS and ROD in the 

Federal Register, pending any appeals 

to the Interior Board of Land Appeals as 

per 43 CFR 4.21. 

ADDRESSES: A copy of the FEIS and ROD 

has been sent to the affected Federal, 

State, and local government agencies, 

Native American Tribes and to 

interested parties. Copies of the FEIS 

and ROD are available for public 

inspection at the following BLM office 

locations: Bureau of Land Management, 

Utah State Office Public Room, 440 

West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake 

City, Utah 84101–1345 and the Bureau 

of Land Management, Vernal Field 

Office, 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 

84078. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean 

Nitschke-Sinclear, Project Manager, 

BLM Vernal Field Office, 170 South 500 

East, Vernal, UT 84078. Ms. NitschkeSinclear may also be reached at 435–

781–4400. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 8, 

2002 the BLM published a Notice of 

Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register 

announcing the preparation of an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

in response to a proposal submitted by 

Inland Resources, Inc. Inland Resources 

proposed to expand its existing 

waterflood oil recovery in the project 

area, located about 25 miles southwest 

of Vernal, Utah. The expansion would 

involve about 64,000 acres in Uintah 

and Duchesne counties. As proposed, 

drilling would involve about 973 

additional wells to fully develop the 

resource base. The proposed wells 

would be drilled on 40-acre spacing, 

drilling about 50% of the wells as 

producing wells and 50% as water 

injection wells. 

The Draft EIS (DEIS) was made 

available to the public for a 45-day 

review period during October-November 

2004. The BLM held a public meeting to 

receive oral comments on November 4, 

2004. A total of 94 written comments on 

the DEIS were received during the 

comment period. 

Based on the information contained in 

the DEIS, public comments received on 

the DEIS, consultation with 13 Native 

American Tribes having historical and/ 

or ethnological ties to the Uinta Basin, 

and information received from the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Services, the BLM has 

approved the agency-preferred 

alternative (Alternative A). This 

alternative allows oil and gas wells and 

associated ancillary facilities located on 

BLM-administered public lands located 

outside the existing Pariette Wetlands 

Area of Critical Environmental Concern 

(ACEC). The BLM has decided to defer 

approval of new wells and ancillary 

facilities located on BLM-administered 

public lands within the Pariette 

Wetlands ACEC until a comprehensive 

population inventory has been 

completed for the federally listed Uinta 

Basin hookless cactus (Sclerocactus 

glaucus) within suitable habitat on BLM 

lands within the Pariette Wash 

watershed. Future authorization of all or 

a portion of the wells on BLMadministered public lands within the 

ACEC will depend upon the location 

and size of cactus populations within 

the ACEC, and the results of sitespecific NEPA analysis on oil and gas 

development proposals within the 

ACEC boundary, including consultation 

with the Service. 

The decision to approve the agencypreferred alternative, with 

modifications, recognizes that oil and 

gas development has been ongoing 

within the area for over 50 years, and 

that nearly the entire project area has 

been leased. These leases represent 

valid existing rights. The decision also 

acknowledges that there are important 

natural and cultural resources within 

the area, including listed threatened 

species, and existing BLM Areas of 

Critical Environmental Concern 

(Pariette Wetlands, Lower Green River). 

This decision balances the rights to 

develop oil and gas, while protecting 

surface resources over the long term. It 

also acknowledges an unresolved 

conflict between oil and gas 

development, and protection and 

recovery of the Uinta Basin hookless 

cactus, a listed threatened species. By 

acquiring additional information about 

the location and condition of 

populations of this species within the 

ACEC and adjacent areas, the BLM will 

make better-informed decisions about 

where and how to place future oil and 

gas facilities. 

The decision provides the BLM 

approval to permit the following project 

components on BLM-administered 

lands within the Castle Peak and Eight 

Mile Flat Expansion Area: 778 oil and 

gas well locations; 261 miles of new and 

existing access roads, with adjacent 

parallel utility corridors for buried 

water and buried and/or surface natural 

gas gathering pipelines; 2 water 

filtration/injection plants and an 

associated 6.9 mile 12 kV electrical 

powerline; 3 to 5 new water wells 

installed in the Green River alluvium, 

connected to a centralized pump 

station; and 7.5 miles of buried water 

pipeline connecting the Green River