71444 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 2014 / Notices 

Title of Proposal: Standardized Form 

for Collecting Information Regarding 

Race and Ethnic Data. 

OMB Control Number if applicable: 

2535–0113. 

Description of the need for the 

information and proposed use: HUD’s 

standardized form for the Collection of 

Race and Ethnic Data complies with 

OMB’s revised standards for Federal 

Agencies issued, October 30, 1997. 

These standards apply to HUD Program 

Office and partners that collect, 

maintain, and report Federal Data on 

race and ethnicity for program 

administrative reporting. 

Agency form numbers, if applicable: 

HUD–27061. 

Members of Affected Public: 

Individuals or households, Business or 

other-for-profit, Not-for-profit 

institutions, State, Local or Tribal 

Government. 

Estimation of the total number of 

hours needed to prepare the information 

collection including number of 

responses, frequency of responses, and 

hours of responses: This proposal will 

result in no significant increase in the 

current information collection burden. 

An estimation of the total number of 

hours needed to provide the information 

for each grant application is 1 hour; 

however, the burden will be assessed 

against each individual grant program 

submission under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act; number of respondents 

is an estimated 11,000; 60% of 

responses will be quarterly and 40% 

annually. 

Status of the proposed information 

collection: Extension of a currently 

approved collection. 

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended. 

Dated: November 3, 2014. 

Loyd LaMois, 

Acting Director, Grants Management and 

Oversight Division, Office of Strategic 

Planning and Management. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28358 Filed 12–1–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R1–ES–2014–N238; 

FXES11120100000–156–FF01E00000] 

Draft Programmatic Candidate 

Conservation Agreements With 

Assurances and Receipt of 

Applications for Enhancement of 

Survival Permits for the Greater SageGrouse in Oregon; and Draft 

Environmental Assessment 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), have received 

applications from five Soil and Water 

Conservation Districts (SWCDs) for 

enhancement of survival (EOS) permits 

under the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (ESA). The permit 

applications include proposed 

programmatic candidate conservation 

agreements with assurances (CCAAs) for 

the greater sage-grouse, addressing 

conservation activities and ranching 

operations in Baker, Crook, Deschutes, 

Grant, Lake, Malheur, and southern 

Union Counties, Oregon. The Service 

also announces the availability of a draft 

environmental assessment (EA) 

addressing the proposed CCAAs and 

issuance of EOS permits in accordance 

with the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). We 

invite comments from all interested 

parties on the applications, including 

the CCAAs and the EA. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, written 

comments must be received from 

interested parties no later than January 

2, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: To request further 

information or submit written 

comments, please use one of the 

following methods, and note that your 

information request or comments are in 

reference to the Multi-County CCAA. 

• Internet: Documents may be viewed 

on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/

oregonfwo/. 

• Email: Jeff_Everett@fws.gov. Include 

‘‘Multi-County CCAA’’ in the subject 

line of the message or comments. 

• U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Oregon Fish and Wildlife 

Office, 2600 SE. 98th Ave., Suite 100, 

Portland, OR 97266. 

• Fax: 503–231–6195, Attn: MultiCounty CCAA. 

• In-Person Viewing or Pickup: 

Documents will be available for public 

inspection by appointment during 

normal business hours at the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, Oregon Fish and 

Wildlife Office, 2600 SE. 98th Ave., 

Suite 100, Portland, OR. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff 

Everett or Jennifer Siani, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, Oregon Fish and 

Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES), 

telephone: 503–231–6179. If you use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf, 

please call the Federal Information 

Relay Service at 800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have 

received five applications—from Baker 

Valley SWCD, Crook County SWCD, 

Grant SWCD, Lakeview SWCD, and 

Malheur County SWCD—for EOS 

permits under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the 

ESA for incidental take of sage-grouse 

(Centrocercus urophasianus). Each 

application includes a CCAA covering 

sage-grouse habitat on private lands in 

one or two counties in Oregon. The 

Service and the SWCDs prepared the 

CCAAs to provide landowners with the 

opportunity to voluntarily conserve the 

greater sage-grouse and its habitat while 

carrying out ranch operations. 

Background Information 

Private and other non-Federal 

property owners are encouraged to enter 

into CCAAs, in which they voluntarily 

undertake management activities on 

their properties to enhance, restore, or 

maintain habitat benefiting species that 

are proposed for listing under the ESA, 

candidates for listing, or species that 

may become candidates or proposed for 

listing. EOS permits are issued to 

applicants in association with approved 

CCAAs to authorize incidental take of 

the covered species from covered 

activities, should they become listed. 

Through a CCAA and its associated EOS 

permit, the Service provides assurances 

to property owners that they will not be 

subjected to increased land use 

restrictions if the covered species 

become listed under the ESA in the 

future, provided certain conditions are 

met. 

Application requirements and 

issuance criteria for EOS permits for 

CCAAs are found in the Code of 

Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.22(d) 

and 17.32(d), respectively. See also our 

joint policy on CCAAs, which we 

published in the Federal Register with 

the Department of Commerce’s National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, National Marine 

Fisheries Service (64 FR 32726; June 17, 

1999). 

On March 23, 2010, the Service 

determined that listing the greater sagegrouse under the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1538) 

was warranted, but precluded by the 

need to address higher priority species 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 2014 / Notices 71445 

first. A proposed listing determination 

is scheduled for September 2015. In 

anticipation of the potential listing of 

sage-grouse under the ESA, the SWCDs 

requested assistance from the Service in 

developing sage-grouse CCAAs for 

ranch management activities on behalf 

of private landowners in Baker, Crook, 

Deschutes, Grant, Lake, Malheur, and 

southern Union Counties, Oregon. 

Proposed Action 

The Service proposes to approve five 

programmatic CCAAs and to issue EOS 

permits, each with a term of 30 years, 

to the applicants for incidental take of 

greater sage-grouse caused by covered 

activities, if permit issuance criteria are 

met. Covered activities include 

rangeland treatments, livestock 

management, recreation, farm 

operations, and developments 

associated with ranching operations. 

The area covered under these proposed 

programmatic CCAAs is approximately 

2,312,673 acres of core area (or 

preliminary priority habitat) and lowdensity (or preliminary general habitat) 

sage-grouse habitat located in Baker, 

Crook, Deschutes, Grant, Lake, Malheur, 

and southern Union Counties, Oregon. 

Sage-grouse currently use habitats on 

the covered lands for lekking (breeding 

displays), late brood-rearing, and 

wintering. 

The draft programmatic CCAAs 

describe all of the threats to sage-grouse 

that have been identified on the covered 

lands, including: Loss and 

fragmentation of sagebrush habitat; large 

wildfires, as well as lack of fire in some 

areas; encroachment of junipers and 

other conifers; improper grazing; 

invasive plants; vegetation treatments 

that reduce or degrade sagebrush 

habitat; degradation of riparian areas; 

drought, as well as catastrophic 

flooding; disturbance from recreation 

and other activities; predation; West 

Nile virus; wild horse and burros; and 

insecticide use. The CCAAs also 

describe conservation measures 

landowners would implement to 

address each threat. Implementation of 

the programmatic CCAAs would benefit 

sage-grouse by reducing or eliminating 

threats to the species on the covered 

lands and by creating or maintaining 

habitat conditions that are suitable for 

all life-history stages of the species 

through the implementation of 

conservation measures. 

A private landowner who wishes to 

enroll under the programmatic CCAA 

would develop, in coordination with the 

SWCD, a site-specific plan (SSP) for the 

property to be enrolled. The SWCD 

would assist the landowner in 

identifying threats on the property and 

in selecting conservation measures to 

address those threats. Once the SSP is 

completed, the SWCD will submit it to 

the Service for approval. If the Service 

determines that an SSP is consistent 

with the terms and conditions 

established in the CCAA and EOS 

permit, the Service will issue a letter of 

concurrence to the SWCD approving the 

SSP. Upon Service approval of the SSP, 

the landowner and the SWCD will sign 

a Certificate of Inclusion in order for the 

landowner to receive coverage under the 

EOS permit issued to the SWCD for take 

of sage-grouse incidental to 

conservation and ranching activities, 

should the species become listed. Take 

authorization would become effective 

upon listing, as long as the enrolled 

landowner is in compliance with the 

terms and conditions of their SSP and 

the EOS permit. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Compliance 

Approval of programmatic CCAAs 

and issuance of EOS permits are Federal 

actions that trigger the need for 

compliance with NEPA. Pursuant to 

NEPA, we have prepared one draft EA 

to analyze the environmental impacts 

related to the issuance of all five EOS 

permits and implementation of their 

associated programmatic CCAAs. 

The EA analyses three alternatives: A 

‘‘no action’’ alternative, a landownerspecific alternative, and the proposed 

action. Under the no action alternative, 

the FWS would not enter into any 

additional CCAAs nor issue additional 

EOS permits for incidental take of sagegrouse associated with private ranching 

operations in Oregon; however, existing 

CCAAs and other conservation efforts 

would continue. The landownerspecific alternative would involve the 

development of CCAAs and issuance of 

EOS permits on an individual 

landowner-by-landowner basis. The 

proposed action alternative is a 

programmatic approach, in which the 

FWS would issue EOS permits to 

SWCDs and enter into multi-county 

CCAAs that will streamline landowner 

enrollment through certificates of 

inclusion. The proposed action is 

further described under ‘‘Proposed 

Action.’’ 

Public Comments 

You may submit your comments and 

materials by one of the methods listed 

in the ADDRESSES section. We 

specifically request information, views, 

opinions, or suggestions from the public 

on our proposed Federal permit actions. 

We particularly seek comments on the 

following: (1) Biological information 

and data concerning greater sage-grouse; 

(2) current or planned activities in the 

covered area and their possible impacts 

on sage-grouse; (3) identification of any 

other environmental effects that should 

be considered with regard to the 

proposed permit actions; and (4) 

information regarding the adequacy of 

the CCAAs pursuant to the requirements 

for permits at 50 CFR parts 13 and 17. 

Public Availability of Comments 

All comments and materials we 

receive become part of the public record 

associated with this action. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email address, or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comments, 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. Comments and materials we 

receive, as well as supporting 

documentation we use in preparing the 

EA, will be available for public 

inspection by appointment, during 

normal business hours, at our Oregon 

Fish and Wildlife Office (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Next Steps 

After completion of the EA based on 

consideration of public comments, we 

will determine whether adoption of the 

programmatic CCAAs warrants a finding 

of no significant impact or whether an 

environmental impact statement should 

be prepared pursuant to NEPA. We will 

evaluate the programmatic CCAAs, as 

well as any comments we receive, to 

determine whether implementation of 

the CCAAs would meet the criteria for 

issuance of EOS permits under section 

10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA. We will also 

evaluate whether the proposed permit 

action would comply with section 7 of 

the ESA by conducting an intra-Service 

section 7 consultation. We will consider 

the results of this consultation, in 

combination with the above findings, in 

our final analysis to determine whether 

or not to issue EOS permits to the 

SWCDs. We will not make the final 

NEPA and permit decisions until after 

the end of the 30-day public comment 

period on this notice, and we will fully 

consider all comments we receive 

during the public comment period. 

If we determine that the permit 

issuance requirements are met, the 

Service will issue EOS permits to the 

five SWCDs. The SWCDs would then 

begin processing applications from 

landowners interested in developing 

SSPs consistent with the CCAAs in 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
71446 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 2014 / Notices 

1The record is defined in sec. 207.2(f) of the 

Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 

CFR 207.2(f)). 

order to receive coverage for the 

incidental take of greater sage-grouse 

under the SWCDs’ EOS permits. 

Authority 

We provide this notice in accordance 

with the requirements of section 10 of 

the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and 

NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and their 

implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 

and 40 CFR 1506.6, respectively). 

Dated: November 17, 2014 . 

Richard Hannan, 

Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, 

Oregon. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28361 Filed 12–1–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

[Docket No. BOEM–2014–0077; 

MMAA104000] 

Environmental Assessment for Virginia 

Offshore Wind Technology 

Advancement Project on the Atlantic 

Outer Continental Shelf Offshore 

Virginia 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM), Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of an 

Environmental Assessment. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM) has prepared an 

Environmental Assessment (EA) to 

consider the reasonably foreseeable 

environmental consequences associated 

with the approval of wind energyrelated research activities offshore 

Virginia as proposed by the Virginia 

Department of Mines, Mineral, and 

Energy (DMME). The purpose of this 

notice is to inform the public of the 

availability of the EA and to solicit 

public comment on the EA for a 30-day 

public comment period. 

DATES: BOEM will conduct a public 

information meeting to explain the 

proposed activities analyzed in the EA 

and provide additional opportunity for 

public comment on the EA. The meeting 

will be held on Wednesday, December 

17, 2014, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the 

Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science 

Center, 717 General Booth Boulevard, 

Virginia Beach, Virginia 23451. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michelle Morin, BOEM Office of 

Renewable Energy Programs, 381 Elden 

Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia 

20170–4817, (703) 787–1340 or 

michelle.morin@boem.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

December 6, 2013, BOEM issued a 

Determination of No Competitive 

Interest (78 FR 73882) for a research 

lease requested by the Virginia 

Department of Mines, Minerals and 

Energy (DMME). DMME subsequently 

submitted a research activities plan 

(RAP) that describes the proposed 

construction, operation, maintenance, 

and eventual decommissioning of 

Virginia Offshore Wind Technology 

Advancement Project (VOWTAP). The 

RAP included the results of site 

characterization studies, such as 

geophysical, geotechnical, 

archaeological, and biological surveys. 

DMME’s proposed project would consist 

of two 6–MW wind turbine generators 

(WTGs), a 34.5-kilovolt (kV) alternating 

current (AC) submarine cable 

interconnecting the WTGs (inter-array 

cable), a 34.5 kV AC submarine 

transmission cable (export cable), and a 

34.5 kV underground cable (onshore 

interconnection cable) that would 

connect the proposed project with 

existing infrastructure located in the 

City of Virginia Beach. The U.S. 

Department of Energy (DOE) is 

proposing to provide funding in support 

of VOWTAP and is participating as a 

cooperating agency in the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

process. 

On March 14, 2014, BOEM published 

a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an 

EA in the Federal Register (79 FR 

14534). Comments received in response 

to the NOI can be viewed at: http://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

Docket ID BOEM–2014–0009. A public 

scoping meeting was held April 3, 2014 

in Virginia Beach, Virginia. BOEM used 

the input from the scoping process to 

solicit information regarding important 

environmental issues and alternatives 

that should be considered in the EA. 

Additionally, BOEM used the scoping 

process to identify and eliminate from 

detailed study issues which are not 

significant or issues that have been 

analyzed in prior environmental 

reviews. 

BOEM is seeking public input on the 

EA, including comments on the 

completeness and adequacy of the 

environmental analysis. BOEM will 

consider public comments on the EA in 

determining whether to issue a Finding 

of No Significant Impact (FONSI), or 

conduct additional analysis under the 

NEPA. 

The EA and information on the public 

information meeting can be found 

online at http://www.boem.gov/

Research-Nomination-Outside-and-tothe-West-of-the-WEADOE/. 

COMMENTS: Federal, State, and local 

government agencies, tribal 

governments, and other interested 

parties are requested to submit their 

written comments on the EA in one of 

the following ways: 

1. Electronically: http://

www.regulations.gov. In the entry 

entitled ‘‘Enter Keyword or ID,’’ enter 

BOEM–2014–0077, then click ‘‘search.’’ 

Follow the instructions to submit public 

comments and view supporting and 

related materials available for this 

document. 

2. In written form, delivered by hand 

or by mail, enclosed in an envelope 

labeled ‘‘Approval of the Virginia 

Offshore Wind Technology 

Advancement Project on the Atlantic 

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Offshore 

Virginia’’ to: Program Manager, Office of 

Renewable Energy, Bureau of Ocean 

Energy Management, 381 Elden Street, 

HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia 20170– 

4817. 

Comments must be received or 

postmarked no later than January 2, 

2015. All written comments received or 

postmarked during the comment period 

will be made available to the public. 

Authority: This Notice of Availability is 

published pursuant to 43 CFR 46.305. 

Dated: November 24, 2014. 

Walter D. Cruickshank, 

Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28164 Filed 12–1–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

[Investigation Nos. 701–TA–506 and 508 

and 731–TA–1238–1243 (Final)] 

Non-Oriented Electrical Steel From 

China, Germany, Japan, Korea, 

Sweden, and Taiwan 

Determinations 

On the basis of the record 1 developed 

in the subject investigations, the United 

States International Trade Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) determines, pursuant 

to sections 705(b) and 735(b) of the 

Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671d(b)) 

and (19 U.S.C. 1673d(b)) (‘‘the Act’’), 

that an industry in the United States is 

materially injured by reason of imports 

of non-oriented electrical steel from 

China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden, 

and Taiwan, provided for in 

subheadings 7225.19.00, 7226.19.10, 

and 7226.19.90 of the Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States, that have 

been found by the Department of 

Commerce to be sold in the United 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES