Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 217 / Thursday, November 10, 2005 / Notices 68473 

and/or additional placement of rip-rap 

used to stabilize the drainage. Measures 

will be taken during construction to 

minimize impact to the habitat, 

including the use of silt fencing to 

reduce the amount of sediment from 

construction activities that reaches the 

creek. Mitigation is planned for 

approximately 0.2 hectare (0.5 acre) in 

addition to the 14.4 hectares (35.5 acres) 

of varying amounts of restoration, 

enhancement, and creation of on-site 

upland and riparian Preble’s habitat as 

described in the original HCP. Limited 

enhancement has already occurred on 

3.3 hectares (8.1 acres) of uplands from 

the removal of cattle grazing to 

encourage existing native grass 

recovery. This results in a mitigation 

ratio of 2.14:1 for temporary impacts as 

well as permanent impacts. The 

mitigation will likely provide a net 

benefit to the Preble’s and other wildlife 

by improving and creating new riparian 

areas, planting of native shrubs and 

grasses, and protecting the habitat 

corridor along Black Forest Creek from 

any future development. All of the 

proposed mitigation area is within the 

boundaries of the Struthers Ranch 

property, all of which is included in the 

drainage basin of Black Forest Creek. 

We will evaluate the permit 

amendment application, the EA/HCP, 

and comments submitted therein to 

determine whether the application 

meets the requirements of section 10(a) 

of the Act. If it is determined that those 

requirements are met, a permit 

amendment will be issued for the 

incidental take of the Preble’s in 

conjunction with the Struthers Ranch 

Property. The final permit decision will 

be made no sooner than 30 days after 

the date of this notice. 

Dated: October 14, 2005. 

Ralph O. Morgenweck, 

Regional Director, Region 6. 

[FR Doc. 05–22439 Filed 11–9–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[NV–030–5101–ER–F340; N–76800, N–

76897] 

Notice of Availability for the North 

Valleys Rights-of-Way Projects Final 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Land Management, Carson 

City Field Office, Nevada. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of a final 

environmental impact statement (EIS) 

for the North Valleys Rights-of-Way 

Projects and initiation of a 30-day 

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), notice is given that 

the Bureau of Land Management, Carson 

City Field Office (BLM) has prepared, 

with the assistance of a third-party 

consultant, a Final EIS for the proposed 

North Valleys Rights-of-Way Projects, 

and has made the document available 

for public and agency review. The 

proposed Projects include the 

construction and operation of two 

separate water supply and transmission 

projects located in Washoe County, 

Nevada. Rights-of-way applications 

were submitted to the BLM from 

Intermountain Water Supply, LTD and 

Fish Springs Ranch, LLC for production 

well(s), pump station(s), transmission 

pipeline(s), terminal water storage tank, 

electrical substation, overhead power 

lines, and access road rights-of-way. 

DATES: Effective Dates: The comment 

period for the Final EIS will commence 

with the publication of this notice. The 

formal comment period will end 30 

days after publication of this notice. 

Comments should be received on or 

before the end of the comment period at 

the address listed below. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be sent to BLM Carson City Field Office, 

Attn: Terri Knutson, 5665 Morgan Mill 

Road, Carson City, NV 89701; Fax (775) 

885–6147; or e-mail address 

nvalleyswater_eis@blm.gov. A limited 

number of the Final EIS may be 

obtained at the above BLM Field Office 

in Carson City, NV. Comments, 

including names and street 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 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: For 

additional information, write to the 

above address or call Terri Knutson 

(BLM Environmental Planner) at (775) 

885–6156 or Ken Nelson (BLM Realty 

Specialist) at (775) 885–6114. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM 

Carson City Field Office received 

separate rights-of-way applications from 

the Fish Springs Ranch, LLC and 

Intermountain Water Supply, LTD, two 

independent water companies, 

proposing to construct and operate 

water transmission pipelines across 

public lands in Washoe County, 

Nevada. The BLM determined that due 

to the same timing, geography, and 

similarity of the types of actions, the 

two proposals would be analyzed in one 

EIS, together known as the North 

Valleys Rights-of-Way Projects. Each 

company is proposing to construct and 

operate water supply and transmission 

projects to meet present and future 

water demands of the Stead/Silver Lake/ 

Lemmon Valley areas (North Valleys) in 

Washoe County. The proposed Projects 

consist of groundwater production 

wells, pump station(s), transmission 

pipeline(s), electrical substation, 

overhead power lines, and terminal 

water storage tank to convey water. The 

Fish Springs Ranch, LLC proposed 

pipeline (carrying 8000 acre-feet per 

year) would begin at the Fish Springs 

Ranch and proceed approximately 33 

miles to the North Valleys. The 

Intermountain Water Supply, LTD 

original proposal included a water 

pipeline to convey approximately 3500 

acre-feet per year that would begin in 

Dry Valley and proceed east a short 

distance before tying into the same 

general route south approximately 24 

miles to the North Valleys. As a result 

of a review of public comments and 

groundwater modeling results for the 

Draft EIS, Intermountain Water Supply, 

LTD has reduced their proposed 

pumping rate to a total of 2500 acre-feet 

per year for the Final EIS. 

The Final EIS assesses the impacts of 

the two proposed rights-of-way actions 

and the No Action alternatives and 

considers an alternative alignment of 

the pipelines. The Final EIS addresses 

issues brought forth through scoping 

and the Draft EIS and has been 

evaluated by an interdisciplinary team 

of specialists. The proposed rights-ofway cross several jurisdictions with 

permitting responsibilities, therefore, 

the following agencies or entities are 

active participants in the EIS process as 

formal cooperating agencies: U.S. Fish & 

Wildlife Service; U.S. Bureau of Indian 

Affairs; U.S. Geological Survey; Sierra 

Army Depot; Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe; 

68474 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 217 / Thursday, November 10, 2005 / Notices 

Susanville Indian Rancheria; California 

Department of Water Resources; 

California Department of Fish and 

Game; Lassen County, CA; Washoe 

County, NV; City of Reno; City of 

Sparks; Airport Authority of Washoe 

County; and Truckee Meadows Regional 

Planning Agency. 

Public participation has occurred 

throughout the EIS process. A Notice of 

Intent to Prepare an EIS was published 

in the Federal Register on September 

15, 2003 and the public comment period 

was initiated. A public scoping open 

house was held in Reno, NV in October 

2003 and eight additional presentations 

were conducted between October 2003 

and April 2004. A Notice of Availability 

for the Draft EIS was published in the 

Federal Register on May 20, 2005 and 

a 60-day comment period was initiated. 

Two public open houses and three local 

government presentations were 

conducted in Reno, NV and one 

community public meeting was 

conducted in Susanville, CA. A total of 

26 comment letters were received on the 

Draft EIS and the letters and responses 

to comments are included in the Final 

EIS. 

Comments on the Final EIS should be 

as specific as possible and should refer 

to specific pages or chapters in the 

document. After the comment period 

ends, all comments will be considered 

by the BLM in preparing the Record of 

Decision (ROD). 

Dated: September 27, 2005. 

Donald T. Hicks, 

Manager, Carson City Field Office. 

[FR Doc. 05–22345 Filed 11–9–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[WO–220–05–1020–JA–VEIS] 

Notice of Availability of Draft 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement and Environmental Report 

for Vegetation Treatments on Public 

Lands Administered by the Bureau of 

Land Management in the Western 

United States, Including Alaska 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability for public 

review and comment. 

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

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969 (NEPA), the BLM is making 

available for public review and 

comment a draft national programmatic 

EIS and environmental report on 

vegetation treatments involving the use 

of chemical herbicides and other 

methods on the public lands 

administered by BLM in 17 western 

states, including Alaska. 

DATES: Written or e-mailed comments 

for the review of the EIS and 

environmental report may be submitted 

through January 9, 2006. BLM will hold 

public meetings to solicit written and 

oral comments on the proposed action 

during the 60-day public review period. 

Dates and time locations for the 

public meetings are as follows: 

Date & time Locations BLM contact 

November 28, 2005: 6 p.m. Open House, 7 

p.m. Public Meeting.

BLM Office, 333 SW 1st Avenue, 3rd Floor 

Conference Room, Portland, Oregon 97204.

Michael Campbell, PH: (503) 808–6031. 

November 29, 2005: 6 p.m. Open House, 7 

p.m. Public Meeting.

Clarion Hotel, 2600 Auburn Blvd., Sacramento, CA.Dianna Brink, PH: (916) 978–4645. 

November 30, 2005: 6 p.m. Open House, 7 

p.m. Public Meeting.

Little America Hotel, 500 South Main Street, 

Salt Lake City, Utah 84101.

Laura J. Williams, PH: (801) 539–4027. 

December 1, 2005: 6 p.m. Open House, 7 p.m. 

Public Meeting.

Marriott Pyramid North, 5151 San Francisco 

Rd. NE, Albuquerque, NM.

Bernie Chavez, PH: (505) 438–7668. 

December 5, 2005: 6 p.m. Open House, 7 p.m. 

Public Meeting.

Grand Vista Hotel, 2790 Crossroads Blvd., 

Grand Junction, CO.

Melodie Lloyd, PH: (970) 244–3097. 

December 6, 2005: 6 p.m. Open House, 7 p.m. 

Public Meeting.

Holiday Inn—Airport Hotel, 3300 S. Vista, 

Boise, ID.

Sharon Paris, PH: (208) 373–4028. 

December 7, 2005: 6 p.m. Open House, 7 p.m. 

Public Meeting.

BLM Office, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, 

MT.

Theresa Hanley, PH: (406) 896–5068. 

December 8, 2005: 6 p.m. Open House, 7 p.m. 

Public Meeting.

Holiday Inn—Yellowstone, Room 204 West 

Fox Farm Road, Cheyenne, WY.

Ken Henke, PH: (307) 775–6041. 

December 13, 2005: 6 p.m. Open House, 7 

p.m. Public Meeting.

BLM Office, 4701 N Torrey Pines Dr., Las 

Vegas, NV.

Kirsten Cannon, PH: (702) 515–5057. 

December 13, 2005: 6 p.m. Open House, 7 

p.m. Public Meeting.

Courtyard by Marriott—Embassy Row, 1600 

Rhode Island Avenue, NW., Washington 

DC.

Sharon Wilson, PH: (202) 425–5130. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be sent to: Project Manager, National 

Vegetation EIS, BLM Nevada State 

Office, P.O. Box 12000, Reno, NV 

89520–0006. Comments may also be 

sent by e-mail to vegeis@nv.blm.gov. 

Individual respondents may request 

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. Such requests 

will be honored to the extent allowed by 

law. The BLM will not consider 

anonymous comments. All submissions 

from organizations and businesses, and 

from individuals identifying themselves 

as representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

available for public inspection in their 

entirety. The Draft EIS and associated 

documents will be available for review 

in either hard copy or on compact disks 

(CDs) at all BLM State, District, and 

Field Office public rooms. The entire 

document can also be reviewed or 

downloaded at the BLM National Web 

site http://www.blm.gov/. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

national, draft programmatic EIS will 

provide a comprehensive analysis of 

BLM’s use of chemical herbicides in its 

various vegetation treatment programs 

related to hazardous fuels reduction, 

noxious weed and invasive terrestrial 

plant species management, resource 

rehabilitation following catastrophic 

fires and other disturbances. In 

addition, an accompanying 

environmental report will provide an