33082 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 26, 1996 / Proposed Rules

§ 7.44 Services Performed Without Charge

or at a Reduced Charge.

(a) A fee is not to be charged to any

requester making a request under

subpart C for the first two hours of

search time unless the records are

requested for commercial use. For

purposes of this subpart, when a

computer search is required two hours

of search time will be considered spent

when the hourly costs of operating the

central processing unit used to perform

the search added to the computer

operator’s salary cost (hourly rate plus

16 percent) equals two hours of the

computer operator’s salary costs (hourly

rate plus 16 percent).

(b) A fee is not to be charged for any

time spent searching for a record

requested under subpart C if the records

are not for commercial use and the

requester is a representative of the news

media, an educational institution whose

purpose is scholarly research, or a noncommercial scientific institution whose

purpose is scientific research.

(c) A fee is not to be charged for

duplication of the first 100 pages

(standard paper, not larger than 8.5 x 14

inches) of records provided to any

requester in response to a request under

subpart C unless the records are

requested for commercial use.

(d) A fee is not to be charged to any

requester under subpart C to determine

whether a record is exempt from

mandatory disclosure unless the record

is requested for commercial use. A

review charge may not be charged

except with respect to an initial review

to determine the applicability of a

particular exemption to a particular

record or portion of a record. A review

charge may not be assessed for review

at the administrative appeal level. When

records or portions of records withheld

in full under an exemption that is

subsequently determined not to apply

are reviewed again to determine the

applicability of other exemptions not

previously considered, this is

considered an initial review for

purposes of assessing a review charge.

(e) Documents will be furnished

without charge or at a reduced charge if

the official having initial denial

authority determines that disclosure of

the information is in the public interest

because it is likely to contribute

significantly to public understanding of

the operations or activities of the

government and is not primarily in the

commercial interest of the requester.

(f) Factors to be considered by

officials of the Department authorized to

determine whether a waiver or

reduction of fees will be granted

include:

(1) Whether the subject matter of the

requested records concerns the

operations or activities of the Federal

government;

(2) Whether the disclosure is likely to

contribute to an understanding of

Federal government operations or

activities;

(3) Whether disclosure of the

requested information will contribute to

the understanding of the public at large,

as opposed to the individual

understanding of the requester or a

narrow segment of interested persons;

(4) Whether the contribution to public

understanding of Federal government

operations or activities will be

significant;

(5) Whether the requester has a

commercial interest that would be

furthered by the requested disclosure;

and

(6) Whether the magnitude of any

identified commercial interest to the

requester is sufficiently large in

comparison with the public interest in

disclosure that disclosure is primarily in

the commercial interest of the requester.

§ 7.45 Transcripts.

Transcripts of hearings or oral

arguments are available for inspection.

Where transcripts are prepared by a

nongovernmental contractor, and the

contract permits the Department to

handle the reproduction of further

copies, § 7.43 applies. Where the

contract for transcription services

reserves the sales privilege to the

reporting service, any duplicate copies

must be purchased directly from the

reporting service.

§ 7.46 Alternative Sources of Information.

In the interest of making documents

of general interest publicly available at

as low a cost as possible, alternative

sources shall be arranged whenever

possible. In appropriate instances,

material that is published and offered

for sale may be obtained from the

Superintendent of Documents, U.S.

Government Printing Office,

Washington, DC 20402; U.S. Department

of Commerce’s National Technical

Information Service (NTIS), Springfield,

Virginia 22151; or National AudioVisual Center, National Archives and

Records Administration, Capital

Heights, MD 20743–3701.

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 31,

1996.

Federico Pe ̃na,

Secretary of Transportation.

[FR Doc. 96–16248 Filed 6–25–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

and Plants; Notice of Public Hearing

and Reopening of Comment Period on

Proposed Threatened and Endangered

Status for Five Plants and a Lizard

From Monterey County, California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed Rule; notice of public

hearing and reopening of comment

period.

SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service), pursuant to the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act),

provides notice of a public hearing on

the proposed endangered status for

coastal dunes milkvetch (Astragalus

tener var. titi), Yadon’s piperia (Piperia

yadonii), Hickman’s potentilla

(Potentilla hickmanii), Monterey clover

(Trifolium trichocalyx) and the black

legless lizard (Anniella pulchra nigra);

and threatened status for Gowen cypress

(Cupressus goveniana ssp. goveniana).

In addition, the Service has reopened

the comment period. All parties are

invited to submit comments on this

proposal.

DATES: The public hearing will be held

from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday,

July 17, 1996, in Monterey, California.

The public comment period now closes

August 30, 1996. Any comments

received by the closing date will be

considered in the final decision on this

proposal.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be

held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, One

Golf Course Road, Monterey, California.

Written comments and materials

concerning this proposal may be

submitted at the hearing or sent directly

to the Field Supervisor, Ventura Field

Office, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B,

Ventura, California 93003. Comments

and materials will be available for

public inspection, by appointment,

during normal business hours at the

above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Connie Rutherford (see ADDRESSES

section) or at 805/644–1766.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Most of the habitat for the plants and

lizard is found in coastal habitats in

northern Monterey County. Coastal

dunes milk-vetch and Monterey clover

are restricted to private lands on the

Monterey Peninsula. Hickman’s

potentilla is restricted to two

populations: one on the Monterey
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 26, 1996 / Proposed Rules 33083

Peninsula, and one recently discovered

near Devil’s Slide in San Mateo County.

Gowen cypress stands occur on the

Monterey Peninsula, and at Point Lobos

State Reserve five miles to the south.

Yadon’s piperia occurs primarily on

private lands on the Monterey

Peninsula, with other populations

extending as far south as Palo Colorado

Canyon, and as far north as Blohm

Ranch north of Prunedale. The black

legless lizard occurs on private and

State Park lands between the Salinas

and Carmel Rivers, on the Monterey

Peninsula, and along Monterey Bay. A

few populations of Yadon’s piperia and

the black legless lizard occur on Federal

lands at Fort Ord.

The five plant taxa and the lizard are

threatened by one or more of the

following: alteration, destruction, and

fragmentation of habitat resulting from

urban and golf course development;

recreational activities; highway

widening; military activities;

competition with non-native species;

and alteration of natural fire cycles. All

taxa are also threatened with stochastic

extinction due to the small numbers of

populations or individuals.

On August 2, 1995, the Service

published a proposed rule on proposed

endangered status for Astragalus tener

var. titi, Piperia yadonii, Potentilla

hickmanii, Trifolium trichocalyx, and

the black legless lizard (Anniella

pulchra nigra); and threatened status for

Gowen cypress (Cupressus goveniana

ssp. goveniana (60 FR 39326). Section

4(b)(5)(E) of the Act requires that a

public hearing be held if one is

requested within 45 days of the

publication of the proposed rule in the

Federal Register. Public hearing

requests were received within the

allotted time period from Robert D.

Thornton of Nossaman, Guthner, Knox,

and Elliot in Irvine, California. Because

a Congressional moratorium on the

Service’s activities associated with final

listing actions was in effect from April

1995 to April 1996, scheduling of the

hearing had been delayed. The Service

has scheduled a public hearing on July

17, 1996, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel,

One Golf Course Road, Monterey,

California.

Anyone wishing to make statements

for the record should bring a written

copy of their statements to the hearing.

Oral statements may be limited in

length if the number of parties present

at the hearing necessitates such a

limitation. Oral and written comments

receive equal consideration. The Service

places no limits to the length of written

comments or materials presented at the

hearing or mailed to the Service. Legal

notices announcing the date, time, and

location of the hearing are being

published in newspapers concurrently

with this Federal Register notice.

The comment period on the proposal

was initially closed on October 17,

1995. To accommodate the hearing, the

public comment period is reopened

upon publication of this notice. Written

comments may now be submitted until

August 30, 1996, to the Service office in

the ADDRESSES section.

Authority

The authority for this action is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

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

Dated: June 19, 1996.

Thomas J. Dwyer,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 96–16240 Filed 6–25–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M