60802 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 190 / Friday, October 1, 2010 / Notices 

not be known for many years; however, 

current natural resources and resource 

services that have been impacted due to 

the discharged oil include but are not 

limited to the following (as of August 

19, 2010): 

• Over 950 miles of shoreline 

habitats, including salt marshes, sandy 

beaches, and mangroves. 

• A variety of wildlife, including 

birds, sea turtles, and marine mammals. 

As of June 29, 2010: 

Æ Over 1,900 oiled birds captured and 

over 1,850 visibly oiled dead birds 

collected. 

Æ Over 400 oiled sea turtles captured 

and 17 visibly oiled dead sea turtles 

collected. 

Æ 5 visibly oiled dead marine 

mammals collected. 

• Lost human use opportunities 

associated with various natural 

resources in the Gulf region, including 

fishing, swimming, beach-going and 

viewing of birds and wildlife. 

• Waters of the Gulf of Mexico and 

adjoining coastal States. 

• Various other biota, including 

benthic communities and fish. 

• Water column habitat. 

Accordingly, the Trustees have 

determined they have jurisdiction to 

pursue restoration under the OPA. 

Determination To Conduct Restoration 

Planning 

Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.42(a), the 

Trustees determined that: 

1. Observations and data collected 

pursuant to 15 CFR 990.43 demonstrate 

that injuries to natural resources and the 

services they provide have resulted from 

the Incident or Incidents; however, the 

nature and extent of such injuries have 

not been fully determined at this time. 

The Trustees have identified numerous 

categories of impacted and potentially 

impacted resources, including fish, 

shellfish, marine mammals, turtles, 

birds, and other sensitive resources, as 

well as their habitats, such as wetlands, 

marshes, beaches, mudflats, bottom 

sediments, corals, and the water 

column, as well as effects to human use 

resulting from the impacts on the 

resources. The Trustees have been 

conducting, and continue to conduct, 

activities to evaluate injuries and 

potential injuries within these 

categories. More information on these 

resource categories will be available in 

the Administrative Record (‘‘AR,’’ as 

defined below), including assessment 

work plans developed jointly by the 

Trustees and BP and information 

gathered during the preassessment. The 

full nature and extent of injuries will be 

determined during the injury 

assessment phase of restoration 

planning. 

2. Response actions employed for this 

spill include in situ burning, dispersant 

applications, containment and 

skimming of oil, and removal 

operations. These response actions have 

not addressed and are not expected to 

address all injuries resulting from the 

discharges of oil. Although response 

actions were initiated soon after the 

explosion and continue to date, they 

have been unable to prevent injuries to 

many natural resources, and the size, 

nature, and location of the discharges 

have prevented recovery of most of the 

oil. In addition, some of these response 

actions have caused or are likely to 

cause injuries to natural resources and 

the services they provide, including 

destruction of sensitive marshes, 

beaches, and other habitats, and impacts 

to human uses of resources. While 

injured natural resources may 

eventually recover naturally to the 

condition they would have been in had 

the discharges not occurred, interim 

losses have occurred, or are likely to 

occur in the future, and these will 

continue until baseline conditions are 

achieved. In addition, there have been 

and will continue to be losses of and 

diminution of human uses of the 

resources resulting from the impacts to 

the natural resources and from the 

response actions themselves. 

3. Feasible restoration actions exist to 

address the natural resource injuries 

and losses, including lost human uses, 

resulting from the discharges of oil. 

Assessment procedures are available to 

scale the appropriate amount of 

restoration required to offset these 

ecological and human use service 

losses. During the restoration planning 

phase, the Trustees will evaluate 

potential projects, determine the scale of 

restoration actions needed to make the 

environment and the public whole, and 

release a draft Restoration Plan for 

public review and comment. 

Based upon these determinations, the 

Trustees intend to proceed with 

restoration planning for the Incident or 

Incidents. 

Administrative Record 

The U.S. Department of the Interior, 

acting on behalf of the Trustees, is in the 

process of establishing and opening an 

Administrative Record (‘‘AR’’) in 

compliance with 15 CFR 990.45 and 

applicable State authorities. The AR 

will be publicly accessible and include 

documents considered by the Trustees 

during the preassessment, assessment, 

and restoration planning phases of the 

NRDA performed in connection with 

the Incident or Incidents. The AR will 

be augmented with additional 

information over the course of the 

NRDA process. The availability of the 

AR will be addressed in one or more 

future notices and announcements. 

State-specific ARs may also be kept and 

will be made available by State trustees 

in their normal course of business. 

Opportunity To Comment 

The Trustees invite the public to 

participate in restoration planning for 

this Incident or Incidents in accordance 

with 15 CFR 990.14(d) and State 

authorities. The Trustees will be 

providing substantial opportunities for 

public involvement in the restoration 

planning for this Incident or Incidents. 

The opportunities for public 

involvement will be addressed in future 

notices and announcements. 

Dated: September 2, 2010. 

Cindy Dohner, 

DOI Authorized Official, U.S. Department of 

the Interior. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24706 Filed 9–29–10; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R1–ES–2010–N185; 10120–1112– 

0000–F2] 

Availability of a Draft Environmental 

Assessment and Habitat Conservation 

Plan, and Receipt of Application for an 

Incidental Take Permit From Benton 

County, OR 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of application and 

availability of documents for public 

comment. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), advise the 

public that Benton County, Oregon, has 

submitted an application to the Service 

for an incidental take permit (permit) 

under the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (ESA). Included with 

the application is a habitat conservation 

plan (HCP) and a proposed 

implementing agreement (IA). We also 

announce the availability of a draft 

environmental assessment (EA) under 

the authority of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 

42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.). 

DATES: We must receive any written 

comments on the draft EA, HCP, and IA 

from interested parties no later than 

November 1, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Documents: The draft EA, 

HCP, and IA are available electronically 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 190 / Friday, October 1, 2010 / Notices 60803 

on the World Wide Web at http://www.

fws.gov/oregonfwo/

ToolsForLandowners/

HabitatConservationPlans/. 

Alternatively, you may request 

documents and information by writing 

to Mikki Collins, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, 2600 SE. 98th Avenue, Suite 

100, Portland, OR 97266; or by faxing 

her at (503) 231–6195. 

Comments: Submit comments by 

e-mail to OFWOcomment@fws.gov; in 

the subject line, include the identifier 

‘‘Benton County HCP.’’ Comments and 

materials we receive will be available 

for public inspection, by appointment, 

during normal business hours at the 

above address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mikki Collins, at the address or phone 

listed above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with section 10(a)(2)(A) of 

the ESA (U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), Benton 

County has prepared an HCP designed 

to minimize and mitigate take of the 

proposed covered species. The permit 

application is related to county 

construction activities, road 

maintenance, utilities construction, 

water system management, and prairie 

habitat management activities in Benton 

County, Oregon. 

We furnish this notice to allow other 

agencies and the public an opportunity 

to review and comment on these 

documents. All comments we receive 

will become part of the public record 

and will be available for review 

pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA. 

Section 9 of the ESA and Federal 

regulations prohibit the ‘‘taking’’ of a 

species listed as endangered or 

threatened. The term ‘‘take’’ is defined 

under the ESA to mean to harass, harm, 

pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, 

capture, or collect, or to attempt to 

engage in any such conduct. ‘‘Harm’’ is 

defined to include significant habitat 

modification or degradation where it 

actually kills or injures wildlife by 

significantly impairing essential 

behavioral patterns, including breeding, 

feeding, and sheltering. 

We may issue permits, under limited 

circumstances, to take listed species 

incidental to, and not the purpose of, 

otherwise lawful activities. Our 

regulations governing permits for 

endangered species are promulgated in 

50 CFR 17.22, and regulations governing 

permits for threatened species are 

promulgated in 50 CFR 17.32. 

The area proposed to be covered by 

the permit consists of private and nonFederal public lands in Benton County, 

and encompasses approximately 7,651 

ha (18,906 ac). Other entities that are 

considered cooperators in the HCP due 

to their land ownership and 

management activities include the City 

of Corvallis, Oregon Department of 

Transportation, Oregon State University, 

and the Greenbelt Land Trust. Approval 

of the HCP would allow us to issue a 

permit to Benton County that would 

authorize incidental take coverage and/ 

or regulatory assurances for potential 

impacts on five federally listed species: 

Fender’s blue butterfly (Icaricia 

icarioides fenderi) (endangered), 

Kincaid’s lupine (Lupinus sulphureus 

ssp. Kincaidii) (threatened), Willamette 

daisy (Erigeron decumbens var. 

decumbens) (endangered), Bradshaw’s 

lomatium (Lomatium bradshawii) 

(endangered), and the Nelson’s 

checkermallow (Sidalcea nelsoniana) 

(threatened). The permit would also 

cover one candidate species for listing— 

Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly 

(Euphydryas editha taylorii)—and one 

species of concern—the peacock 

larkspur (Delphinium pavonaceum). 

Although take of plant species is not 

prohibited under the ESA and therefore 

cannot be authorized under an 

incidental take permit, plant species are 

proposed to be included on the permit 

in recognition of the conservation 

benefits provided to them under the 

HCP. 

All seven species identified above 

will be covered under the permit on 

county-owned lands. The Fender’s blue 

butterfly and the five plant species will 

be covered on land owned or managed 

by the City of Corvallis, Oregon State 

University, and the Oregon Department 

of Transportation. The Taylor’s 

checkerspot is not known to occur on 

these properties. The Fender’s blue 

butterfly will be the only covered 

species under the permit on the 

remaining private lands. The permittee 

would receive assurances under the 

Service’s ‘‘No Surprises’’ regulation 

(50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)) for 

all species included on the incidental 

take permit. For any currently unlisted 

covered animal species, take 

authorization would become effective 

concurrent with their listing, should the 

species be listed under the ESA during 

the permit term. Benton County has 

requested a permit term of 50 years. 

Potential impacts are anticipated to 

result from (1) home, farm, and forestrelated construction and utility 

construction/maintenance on private 

lands; (2) public service facility 

construction; (3) transportation and 

work within road rights of way; 

(4) water and wastewater management; 

(5) habitat restoration, enhancement, 

and management (including monitoring 

and plant material collection) activities 

(both as a HCP mitigation measure and 

as a conservation activity at parks, 

natural areas, and open spaces); 

(6) agricultural activities; and 

(7) emergency response activities on 

non-Federal public lands and lands 

owned or held under conservation 

easement by specific conservation 

organizations. Under the permit, Benton 

County would have authorization to 

issue certificates of inclusion under the 

ESA permit to non-Federal landowners 

needing a County permit or agricultural 

building authorization. 

The HCP includes estimates of 

permanent impacts over the 50-year 

permit term to include: the loss of 2.1 

hectares (5.2 acres) of Fender’s blue 

butterfly nectar habitat; 57 square 

meters (.01 acres) of Taylor’s 

checkerspot habitat; 410 square meters 

(4,410 square feet) of Kincaid’s lupine 

foliar cover; 222 Nelson’s 

checkermallow plants; 2 Bradshaw’s 

lomatium plants; 1 Willamette daisy 

plant; and 56 Peacock larkspur plants. A 

primary conservation measure of the 

HCP is the designation of over 200 

hectares (500 acres) of Prairie 

Conservation Areas where habitat 

restoration and enhancement activities 

for the covered species will occur. The 

HCP also includes measures to avoid 

and minimize incidental take of the 

covered species. 

We prepared a draft EA that analyzed 

the potential effects of implementing 

two alternatives on the human 

environment: A no-action alternative 

and a proposed action. Five additional 

alternatives were explored but omitted 

from further analysis. 

We invite the public to comment on 

the HCP, draft EA, and draft IA during 

the 30-day public comment period (see 

DATES). Please direct comments to the 

contact listed in the ADDRESSES section, 

and any questions to the contact listed 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. Before including your 

address, phone number, e-mail address, 

or other personal identifying 

information in your comment, you 

should be aware that your entire 

comment—including your personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available at any time. While 

you can ask us in your comment to 

withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

We provide this notice under ESA 

and NEPA regulations. We will evaluate 

the application, associated documents, 

and comments submitted thereon to 

determine whether the application 

meets the requirements of the ESA and 

NEPA. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
60804 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 190 / Friday, October 1, 2010 / Notices 

Dated: September 1, 2010. 

Theresa E. Rabot, 

Deputy Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Region 1, Portland, Oregon. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24730 Filed 9–30–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLOPRP0600 L51010000.ER0000 

LVRWH09H0600; HAG 10–0338] 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the West Butte Wind Power Right-ofWay, Crook and Deschutes Counties, 

OR 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) Deschutes Resource 

Area, Prineville, Oregon, has prepared a 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) for the West Butte Wind Power 

Right-of-Way and by this Notice is 

announcing its availability. 

DATES: A Record of Decision (ROD) may 

be signed no sooner than 30 days after 

the Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes its Notice of Availability of 

the Final EIS in the Federal Register. 

The availability of the ROD will be 

announced through a subsequent 

Federal Register notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Storo, BLM West Butte Wind 

Power Right of Way Project Lead: 

telephone (541) 416–6885; address 3050 

NE. 3rd Street, Prineville, Oregon 

97754; e-mail: 

or_west_butte_eis@blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

applicant, West Butte Wind Power, LLC, 

has requested a right-of-way (ROW) 

authorization to construct 3.9 miles of 

road and an adjacent power 

transmission line on public land to 

support the construction of up to 52 

wind turbines and ancillary facilities on 

adjacent private land. The portion of the 

project on public lands is the ‘‘Proposed 

Action.’’ Actions occurring on private 

land are called ‘‘connected actions.’’ The 

project is 25 air miles southeast of Bend, 

Oregon, located on the north side of US 

Highway 20. The Draft EIS analyzing 

impacts of the project was released for 

public comment on April 2, 2010 [75 FR 

16828]. Approximately 36 comments 

were received on the Draft EIS. The 

comments were incorporated, where 

appropriate, to clarify the analysis 

presented in the Final EIS. The Final 

EIS analyzes a No Action Alternative, 

the Proposed Action, and one other 

alternative. These alternatives were 

shaped in part by comments received 

from the public and internal BLM 

review. 

Alternative 1—Proposed Action. This 

alternative includes the granting of a 

ROW for construction and operation of 

an access road and transmission line 

across lands administered by the BLM. 

Consideration of this alternative 

includes an analysis of the connected 

action of West Butte Wind Power 

constructing and operating a wind farm 

and associated facilities (e.g., access 

road, transmission line, substation, and 

an operations and maintenance 

building) on privately held lands. 

Alternative 2—Northern Access Road 

Alternative. This alternative includes an 

analysis of an alternate main access road 

through the Juniper Acres Development, 

the facilities related to the connected 

action as described in Alternative 1, and 

a ROW through BLM-administered 

public land for a 3.9-mile transmission 

line. 

Alternative 3—No Action Alternative. 

This alternative includes denying a 

ROW for construction and operation of 

an access road and transmission line 

across lands administered by the BLM. 

The preferred alternative is 

Alternative 1, the Proposed Action. 

Coordination with the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service is occurring to ensure 

that an Avian Protection Plan is 

prepared that will sufficiently address 

overall project impacts to golden eagles. 

Deborah J. Henderson-Norton, 

BLM Prineville District Manager. 

Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 and 1506.10 

[FR Doc. 2010–24557 Filed 9–30–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–33–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Reclamation 

Nimbus Hatchery Fish Passage 

Project, Lower American River, 

California 

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of the 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement/ 

Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) 

and notice of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

the California Environmental Quality 

Act (CEQA), the Bureau of Reclamation, 

the lead Federal agency, and the 

California Department of Fish and Game 

(CDFG), acting as the lead State agency, 

have made available for public review 

and comment a Draft EIS/EIR for the 

Nimbus Hatchery Fish Passage Project 

(Project). The purpose of the Project is 

to create and maintain a reliable system 

for collecting adult fish at the Nimbus 

Fish Hatchery (Hatchery). Reclamation 

maintains the Hatchery to meet 

mitigation obligations for spawning 

areas blocked by construction of 

Nimbus Dam. CDFG operates the 

Hatchery under a contract with 

Reclamation and is responsible for the 

management of the fishery resources 

within the adjacent lower American 

River. The Hatchery was constructed in 

1955 under the American River Basin 

Development Act (October 14, 1949, 63 

Stat. 852) along with Nimbus and 

Folsom Dams. The Draft EIS/EIR 

describes and presents the 

environmental effects of three action 

alternatives and the No-Action 

Alternative. Written comments will be 

accepted from agencies, organizations 

and individuals on the Draft EIS/EIR. 

DATES: Submit written comments on the 

Draft EIS/EIR by November 30, 2010. 

Public meetings will be held to 

receive comments on the Draft EIS/EIR 

and provide further clarification 

regarding the Project on Thursday, 

November 4, 2010 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. 

and from 6:30 to 8 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on 

the Draft EIS/EIR to Mr. David 

Robinson, Central California Area 

Office, Bureau of Reclamation, 7794 

Folsom Dam Road, Folsom, CA 95630– 

1799; or e-mail at 

IBRFOODHatchPass@usbr.gov. 

Public meetings will be held at the 

California State University Sacramento 

Aquatic Center, 1901 Hazel Avenue, 

Gold River, CA 95670. 

Copies of the Draft EIS/EIR may be 

requested from Ms. Janet Sierzputowski 

at 916–978–5112, TTY 916–978–5608, 

or e-mail at jsierzputowski@usbr.gov. 

The Draft EIS/EIR is also accessible from 

the following Web sites: http:// 

www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/ 

nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=5216 

or http://www.usbr.gov/mp/ccao/ 

hatchery/index.html. 

See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section for locations where copies of the 

Draft EIS/EIR are available for public 

review. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Robinson at the CCAO general 

telephone number 916–988–1707, TTY 

916–989–7285, or e-mail at 

IBR2FOODHatchPass@usbr.gov. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES