28720 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 

Dated: June 9, 2009. 

Cartina Miller, 

NPS, Information Collection Clearance 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. E9–14221 Filed 6–16–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–52–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Minerals Management Service 

Coastal Impact Assistance Program 

(CIAP) Allocations, Fiscal Years 2009– 

2010 

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service 

(MMS), Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of 

Recipient Allocation Amounts for Fiscal 

Years 2009 and 2010. 

SUMMARY: The MMS is issuing this 

notice to advise the public of the 

availability of the individual allocation 

amounts available to each of the 73 

eligible recipients of the CIAP. The 

amounts are an important piece of 

information to be used by the States and 

Coastal Political Subdivisions (CPSs) in 

the completion of CIAP grant 

applications. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Colleen Benner, Minerals Management 

Service, 381 Elden Street, Mail Stop 

4040, Herndon, Virginia 20170. You 

may also contact Ms. Benner by 

telephone at (703) 787–1710. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Act) created 

CIAP by amending Section 31 of the 

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands 

Act (43 U.S.C. 1356(a)). Under the 

provisions of the Act, the authority and 

responsibility for the management of 

CIAP is vested in the Secretary of the 

Interior (Secretary). The Secretary has 

delegated this authority and 

responsibility to MMS. In the February 

16, 2007, continuing resolution, 

Congress approved a 3 percent 

appropriation of the CIAP funds to be 

used by MMS to administer the 

program. Under Section 384 of the Act, 

MMS shall disburse $250 million for 

each fiscal year 2007 through 2010 to 

eligible producing States and CPSs. 

Each eligible State is allocated its share 

based on the qualified OCS revenues 

generated off of its coast in proportion 

to the total qualified OCS revenues 

generated off the coast of all eligible 

States. In order to receive CIAP funds, 

States are required to submit a coastal 

impact assistance plan (Plan) that MMS 

must approve prior to disbursing any 

funds. All funds shall be disbursed 

through a grant process. The guidance 

has been developed by MMS to provide 

the information necessary for States to 

develop a Plan and submit it to MMS. 

The allotment amounts and guidelines 

may be found on the MMS Web site at 

http://www.mms.gov/offshore/ 

CIAPmain.htm. 

Dated: June 8, 2009. 

Walter D. Cruickshank, 

Acting Director, Minerals Management 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–14237 Filed 6–16–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–ES–2009–N116; 81440–1112– 

0000–F2] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Permits, Beacon Solar 

Energy Project, Kern County, CA 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to undertake 

scoping for an environmental document 

(Environmental Assessment or 

Environmental Impact Statement) 

related to a habitat conservation plan for 

the proposed Beacon Solar Energy 

Project. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), advise the 

public that we intend to conduct public 

scoping under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) to gather information necessary 

to help develop a NEPA document in 

connection with a proposed Habitat 

Conservation Plan (HCP) for the Beacon 

Solar Energy Project (Beacon HCP), 

currently under development by Beacon 

Solar LLC (the applicant). To be 

implemented near California City, in 

Kern County, California, the proposed 

Beacon HCP forms part of an incidental 

take permit application under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). The requested permit 

term is 45 years. We provide this notice 

to obtain suggestions, comments, and 

useful information from other agencies 

and the public on the scope of the 

document, including the significant 

issues deserving of study, the range of 

alternatives, and the range of impacts to 

be considered. 

DATES: We must receive any written 

comments on or before July 17, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Written Submissions: Please 

address written information, comments, 

or questions related to the preparation 

of the EA or EIS to Diane Noda, Field 

Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Ventura Fish and Wildlife 

Office, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, 

Ventura, CA 93003. Alternatively, you 

may fax comments to (805) 644–3958. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judy 

Hohman, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, 

(see ADDRESSES), telephone (805) 644– 

1766, extension 304. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

We intend to scope under NEPA (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to gather 

information necessary to help develop a 

NEPA document in connection with our 

proposed action or reaching a permit 

decision on the Beacon Solar Energy 

Project’s proposed HCP. The HCP forms 

part of an incidental take permit 

application under the Act (16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.). We provide this notice to 

obtain suggestions and information on 

the scope of issues and alternatives to be 

considered in the NEPA document. An 

EA is prepared for Federal actions that 

will have a less than significant effect 

on all resources impacted in the human 

environment, or to determine whether 

an EIS should be prepared. An EIS is 

prepared for Federal actions that will 

have a significant impact on one or 

more resources in the human 

environment. We will determine if an 

EA or an EIS will be prepared based on 

the public comments received and the 

complexity of issues identified during 

the scoping phase of the NEPA process. 

Section 9 of the Act and Federal 

regulations prohibit the ‘‘take’’ of fish 

and wildlife species listed as 

endangered or threatened. Take of 

federally listed fish or wildlife is 

defined under the Act to include the 

following activities: To harass, harm, 

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

capture, or collect, or to attempt to 

engage in any such conduct (16 U.S.C. 

1532). ‘‘Harm’’ in the definition of take 

includes significant habitat modification 

or degradation that kills or injures listed 

wildlife by significantly impairing 

essential behavioral patterns, including 

breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 

17.3(c)). Under section 10(a) of the Act, 

we may issue permits to authorize 

‘‘incidental take’’ of listed species. Any 

proposed incidental take must be 

incidental to otherwise lawful activities, 

not appreciably reduce the likelihood of 

the survival and recovery of the species 

in the wild, and minimize and mitigate 

the impacts of such take to the 

maximum extent practicable. In 

addition, the applicant must prepare a 

HCP describing the impact that will 

likely result from such taking, the 

strategy for minimizing and mitigating 

the incidental take, the funding 

available to implement such steps, 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 28721 

alternatives to such taking, and the 

reason such alternatives are not being 

implemented. To obtain an incidental 

take permit, an applicant must prepare 

a HCP that meets the issuance criteria 

established by the Service (50 CFR 

17.22(b)(2)). Should a permit be issued, 

the permit would include assurances 

under the Services’ ‘‘No Surprises’’ 

regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 

17.32(b)(5)). Regulations governing 

permits for threatened and endangered 

species, respectively, are at 50 CFR 13 

and 50 CFR 17. 

The issuance of an incidental take 

permit is a Federal discretionary action. 

Therefore, we must comply with NEPA 

and ensure that environmental 

information is available to public 

officials and citizens before making a 

decision on issuing the permit. 

Beacon HCP 

The applicant is proposing to 

construct, operate, and maintain a 250- 

megawatt (MW) renewable-energy solar 

thermal powerplant for 45 years on 

approximately 2,030 contiguous acres of 

retired agricultural land and Mojave 

desert scrub land. Specific covered 

activities associated with project 

construction include: deep trenching, 

grading, and filling to prepare the site 

for the installation of an array of solar 

collectors, construction of power 

generating equipment, cooling towers, 

evaporation ponds, administrative 

buildings, an interconnecting 

transmission line, an underground 

natural gas pipeline (or propane tanks 

on site); constructing and maintaining 

access roads, rechanneling a wash from 

the project site to the perimeter of the 

site, and constructing a fence around 

most of the 2,030 acre project site. 

Specific activities associated with 

operation and maintenance of the solar 

project include: maintaining roads, 

washing and replacing solar collectors, 

maintaining the rerouted channel, 

replacing electrical transmission line 

components, maintaining fences, and 

removal of all vegetation on the 2,030 

acres. Construction is expected to take 

up to 36 months. Facility operation is 

proposed for approximately 30 years. 

The facility decommissioning and 

habitat rehabilitation is expected to be 

completed before the end of the 

proposed 45-year permit term. 

The solar power plant would use an 

array of solar collectors, to track the 

sun’s movement and collect solar 

energy. Energy collected from the solar 

collectors would heat transfer fluid in a 

linear receiver to generate steam that 

drives a steam turbine to generate 

electrical power. The power would be 

carried from the 2,030-acre project site 

to an existing Los Angeles Department 

of Water and Power (LADWP) highvoltage transmission line by an 

interconnecting transmission line. A 

wet cooling tower would be constructed 

to provide cooling for the power 

generating equipment. The applicant 

anticipates that potential sources of 

water for construction, operation, and 

decommissioning of the Beacon Solar 

Facility would include using existing 

wells on the property previously used 

for irrigating crops, and/or drilling new 

wells near Koehn Dry Lake, and/or 

using tertiary treated waste water 

discharged from the wastewater 

treatment facilities located in the cities 

of Rosamond and/or California City. A 

lined 10-to-40-acre evaporation pond 

would be used to collect the waste 

stream from the project’s cooling water 

system. The evaporation pond would 

use the sun’s energy to remove water 

from the cooling system waste, after 

which, the concentrated, dewatered 

solid waste would be transported off site 

for disposal, likely to a disposal site 

already permitted by the State of 

California. 

The solar array field and natural gas 

pipeline, as well as part of the 

interconnecting transmission line and 

related power plant facilities, would be 

located east of State Route 14, while a 

relatively small area west of the 

highway would be used for the 

remaining portion of the 

interconnecting transmission line with 

an existing LADWP high-voltage 

transmission line at LADWP’s existing 

Barren Ridge Switching Station. The 

proposed facilities would be located 

within a 100-year flood plain. 

Species proposed for coverage in the 

Beacon HCP are those that occur within 

the HCP Planning Area, may be affected 

by the proposed covered activities, and 

are currently listed as federally 

threatened or endangered or may 

become federally listed during the term 

of the proposed permit. The Beacon 

HCP proposes to addresses three 

covered species: The federally 

threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus 

agassizii), the State threatened Mohave 

ground squirrel (Spermophilus 

mohavensis), and the State species of 

special concern western burrowing owl 

(Athene cunicularia). The construction, 

operation, maintenance, and 

decommissioning (disassembly) of the 

proposed project and rehabilitation 

(habitat restoration) of the proposed 

project site would likely result in 

incidental take of the desert tortoise, as 

well as impacts to the Mohave ground 

squirrel and western burrowing owl. 

Therefore, these three species are 

proposed to be covered in the Beacon 

HCP. Take may occur from vehicle 

collisions, capture and handlings of 

protected species to move them from 

harm’s way, and attraction of common 

ravens (predators to desert tortoises) to 

the project site by food, water, and trash 

from human sources. The potential risk 

to migratory birds of toxic salts in 

evaporation ponds is an additional 

biological issue. 

The area proposed for the solar array 

would be located in an area previously 

used for intensive agriculture. This area 

does not provide suitable habitat to 

support the desert tortoises. A small 

portion of the proposed project, the 

interconnecting transmission line from 

the solar array to an existing highvoltage transmission line, is located in 

suitable habitat that is occupied by 

desert tortoises. The proposed Beacon 

HCP would provide for the long-term 

conservation and management of the 

covered species and their habitats 

within the HCP’s planning area. The 

applicant is presently proposing to 

preserve in perpetuity 115 to 118 acres 

of suitable Mohave ground squirrel 

habitat at an off-site location. This 115- 

to-118-acre preserve would also include 

approximately 25 acres of suitable 

desert tortoise habitat as well as 20 acres 

of suitable western burrowing owl 

habitat. In addition, the applicant is 

proposing a 6-acre on site conservation 

easement for the western burrowing 

owl. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

The EA or EIS will consider the 

effects of issuing an incidental take 

permit for the proposed HCP and for a 

reasonable range of alternatives. These 

alternatives might vary by the location 

of the solar energy project; the number 

of covered species; the covered 

activities; different strategies for 

avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating 

the impacts of incidental take; the 

amount of land preserved or restored; 

the type of species conservation efforts; 

or a combination of these factors. A 

detailed description of all reasonable 

alternatives, including the proposed 

action, will be included in the EA or 

EIS. A No-Action alternative will be 

included in the analysis of the 

alternatives considered. 

The EA or EIS will identify all direct, 

indirect, and cumulative impacts of the 

proposed action and each alternative on 

the significant issues identified through 

this public scoping process; these issues 

will likely concern biological resources, 

land use, air quality, water resources, 

ground water, cultural resources, 

socioeconomics, visual resources, noise, 

traffic, geology, and soils. The proposed 

action and each alternative will identify 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
28722 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 

avoidance, minimization, and 

mitigation measures to reduce 

environmental impacts, and will 

mitigate species incidental-take to the 

maximum extent practicable. 

We anticipate that a draft EA or draft 

EIS and the associated draft Beacon 

Solar Energy Project HCP will be 

available in late 2009 and will have a 

public review period. The preparation 

and public review of the EA or EIS will 

be conducted in accordance with the 

requirements of NEPA, its implementing 

regulations (40 CFR 1500–1508; found 

at (http://www.legal.gsa.gov), other 

applicable Council on Environmental 

Quality regulations and NEPA guidance 

and our policies and procedures on 

compliance with those laws and 

regulations. 

We furnish this notice in accordance 

with 40 CFR 1501.2, 1501.7 1506.6, and 

1508.22 to obtain suggestions, 

comments, and useful information from 

other agencies and from the public on 

the scope of the EA or EIS, including 

identification of significant issues 

deserving of study, the range of actions, 

the range of alternatives, and the range 

of impacts to be considered. We 

welcome written comments from all 

interested parties to ensure that the full 

range of issues related to the permit 

request is identified. You may submit 

written comments by mail or facsimile 

transmission (see ADDRESSES). All 

comments we receive, including names 

and addresses, will become part of the 

official administrative record for this 

NEPA document. Before including your 

address, phone number, e-mail address, 

or other personal identifying 

information in your scoping comment, 

you should be aware that your entire 

comment—including your personal 

identifying information—may be 

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. 

Ken McDermond, 

Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Southwest 

Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–14215 Filed 6–16–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R5–R–2009–N0102; BAC–4311–K9– 

S3] 

Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge, 

Rockingham County, NH 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a 

comprehensive conservation plan and 

environmental assessment; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), intend to 

prepare a comprehensive conservation 

plan (CCP) and associated National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

document for Great Bay National 

Wildlife Refuge (NWR). We provide this 

notice in compliance with our CCP 

policy to advise other Federal and State 

agencies, Tribes, and the public of our 

intentions, and to obtain suggestions 

and information on the scope of issues 

to consider in the planning process. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, we 

must receive your written comments by 

July 17, 2009. Special mailings, 

newspaper articles, and other media 

announcements will be used to inform 

the public and State and local 

government agencies of the 

opportunities for input throughout the 

planning process. A public scoping 

meeting will be held early in the CCP 

development process. The date, time, 

and place for the meeting will be 

announced in the local media. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments, questions, 

and requests for information to: Great 

Bay National Wildlife Refuge, c/o Parker 

River NWR, 6 Plum Island Turnpike, 

Newburyport, MA 01950; 978–465–5753 

(phone); 978–465–2807 (fax); 

fw5rw_prnwr@fws.gov (e-mail); http:// 

www.fws.gov/northeast/parkerriver 

(Web site). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Mao Lin, Assistant Planner, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate 

Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035; 413– 

253–8556 (phone); 413–253–8468 (fax); 

northeastplanning@fws.gov (e-mail). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction 

With this notice, we initiate our 

process for developing a CCP for Great 

Bay NWR in Rockingham County, New 

Hampshire, which includes a 

conservation easement in Merrimack 

County, New Hampshire. Both units are 

managed by Parker River NWR in Essex 

County, Massachusetts. This notice 

complies with our CCP policy to (1) 

advise other Federal and State agencies, 

Tribes, and the public of our intention 

to conduct detailed planning on this 

refuge; and (2) obtain suggestions and 

information on the scope of issues to 

consider in the environmental 

document and during development of 

the CCP. 

Background 

The CCP Process 

The National Wildlife Refuge System 

Improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 

668dd–668ee) (Improvement Act), 

which amended the National Wildlife 

Refuge System Administration Act of 

1966, requires us to develop a CCP for 

each refuge. The purpose for developing 

a CCP is to provide refuge managers 

with a 15-year strategy for achieving 

refuge purposes and contributing to the 

mission of the National Wildlife Refuge 

System (NWRS), consistent with sound 

principles of fish and wildlife 

management, conservation, legal 

mandates, and our policies. In addition 

to outlining broad management 

direction for conserving wildlife and 

their habitats, CCPs identify wildlifedependent recreational opportunities 

available to the public, including 

opportunities for hunting, fishing, 

wildlife observation, wildlife 

photography, and environmental 

education and interpretation. We will 

review and update the CCP at least 

every 15 years in accordance with the 

Improvement Act. 

Each refuge of the NWRS was 

established for specific purposes. We 

use these purposes as the foundation for 

developing and prioritizing the 

management goals and objectives for 

each refuge within the NWRS mission, 

and to determine how the public can 

use each refuge. The planning process is 

a way for us and the public to evaluate 

management goals and objectives for the 

best possible conservation approach to 

this important wildlife habitat, while 

providing for wildlife-dependent 

recreational opportunities that are 

compatible with the refuge’s 

establishing purposes and the mission 

of the NWRS. 

Our CCP process provides 

participation opportunities for Tribal, 

State, and local governments; other 

Federal agencies, organizations, refuge 

neighbors, and the public. At this time, 

we encourage input in the form of 

issues, concerns, ideas, and suggestions 

for the future management of Great Bay 

NWR. 

We will conduct the environmental 

review of this project and develop an 

environmental assessment in 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES