Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Notices 46829 

The proposed take would occur 

within SAWS’s rights-of-way (permit 

area) during construction of two water 

pipelines (by Micron and WRIP) in 

Bexar County, Texas, as a result of 

vegetation disturbance; excavation; 

temporary placement of excavated 

material; permanent placement of pipe, 

casings, and stabilizing materials; 

backfilling of excavated trenches; and 

restoration of surface conditions 

(covered activities). The permit area is 

160.4 acres. 

Documents Available for Review 

In accordance with the requirements 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; 

NEPA), we advise the public that: 

1. We have gathered the information 

necessary to determine impacts and 

formulate alternatives for the dEA 

related to potential issuance of an ITP 

to the applicant; and 

2. The applicant has developed a 

dHCP as part of the application for an 

ITP, which describes the measures the 

applicant has agreed to take to minimize 

and mitigate the effects of incidental 

take of the covered species to the 

maximum extent practicable pursuant to 

section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. 

As described in the dHCP, the 

proposed incidental take would occur 

within the rights-of-way of two 

proposed water pipelines in Bexar 

County, Texas, and would result from 

activities associated with otherwise 

lawful activities. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed action involves the 

issuance of an ITP by the Service for the 

covered activities in the permit area, 

pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 

ESA. The ITP would cover incidental 

take of the covered species associated 

with construction of the Micron and 

WRIP water pipelines within the permit 

area. 

To meet the requirements of a section 

10(a)(1)(B) ITP, the applicant has 

developed and proposes to implement 

its dHCP, which describes the 

conservation measures the applicant has 

agreed to undertake to minimize and 

mitigate for the impacts of the proposed 

incidental take of the covered species to 

the maximum extent practicable, and 

ensures that incidental take will not 

appreciably reduce the likelihood of the 

survival and recovery of these species in 

the wild. 

The applicant proposes to mitigate 

with the perpetual protection, 

management, and monitoring of 57.6 

acres of the undeveloped portion of 

SAWS’s Anderson Pump Station, which 

is adjacent to the proposed pipelines. 

Alternatives 

Two alternatives to the proposed 

action we are considering as part of this 

process are: 

1. No Action: No ITP would be issued. 

Under a No Action alternative, the 

Service would not issue the requested 

ITP, and SAWS would not construct the 

Micron and WRIP water pipelines. 

Therefore, the applicant would not 

implement the conservation measures 

described in the dHCP. 

2. Reduced Take and Reduced 

Mitigation: The Reduced Take and 

Reduced Mitigation alternative is 

similar to the Proposed Action in that 

the Service would issue an ITP for the 

proposed projects. However, the HCP 

under this alternative would be 

modified to cover a reduced area of 

karst zone impacts and thus would 

subsequently reduce the amount of 

conservation to offset the impacts. All 

other aspects of the proposed project 

and the HCP would remain the same. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Written comments 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 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 request in your comment that 

we withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 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 disclosure in 

their entirety. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

10(c) of the ESA and its implementing 

regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32) 

and NEPA and its implementing 

regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). 

Joy E. Nicholopoulos, 

Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region, 

Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21563 Filed 10–5–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–HQ–IA–2017–0059; 

FXIA16710900000–156–FF09A30000] 

Foreign Endangered Species Issuance 

of Permits 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of issuance of permits. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), have issued 

the following permits to conduct certain 

activities with endangered species, 

marine mammals, or both. We issue 

these permits under the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA) and the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). 

ADDRESSES: Documents and other 

information submitted with these 

applications are available for review, 

subject to the requirements of the 

Privacy Act and Freedom of Information 

Act, by any party who submits a written 

request for a copy of such documents to 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Division of Management Authority, 

Branch of Permits, MS: IA, 5275 

Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041; 

fax (703) 358–2281. To locate the 

Federal Register notice that announced 

our receipt of the application for each 

permit listed in this document, go to 

www.regulations.gov and search on the 

permit number provided in the tables in 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joyce Russell, (703) 358–2023 

(telephone); (703) 358–2281 (fax); or 

DMAFR@fws.gov (email). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On the 

dates below, as authorized by the 

provisions of the ESA, as amended (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; ESA), we issued 

requested permits subject to certain 

conditions set forth therein. For each 

permit for an endangered species, we 

found that (1) the application was filed 

in good faith, (2) the granted permit 

would not operate to the disadvantage 

of the endangered species, and (3) the 

granted permit would be consistent with 

the purposes and policy set forth in 

section 2 of the ESA. 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
46830 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Notices 

Permit number Applicant Receipt of application 

Federal Register notice 

Permit issuance 

date 

26612C ............. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.82 FR 28348; June 21, 2017 ............................. July 26, 2017. 

19878C ............. Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center .................... 82 FR 25615; June 2, 2017 ............................... July 17, 2017. 

24212C ............. University of Alaska Fairbanks ........................... 82 FR 25616; June 2, 2017 ............................... July 27, 2017. 

64163A ............. NH&S Holdings, LLC .......................................... 82 FR 24382; May 26, 2017 .............................. July 27, 2017. 

93674B ............. International Crane Foundation .......................... 82 FR 28348; June 21, 2017 ............................. July 28, 2017. 

71315A ............. Arizona Tortoise Compound ............................... 79 FR 65981; November 6, 2014 ...................... February 5, 2015. 

Authority: We issue this notice under the 

authority of the ESA, as amended (16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.). 

Joyce Russell, 

Government Information Specialist, Branch 

of Permits, Division of Management 

Authority. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21556 Filed 10–5–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLNVB00000.L51100000.GN0000.LVEMF

1703550.211B.17XMO#4500108947] 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Gold Bar Mine Project, Eureka 

County, Nevada 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (NEPA), and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) Mount Lewis 

Field Office, Battle Mountain, Nevada, 

has prepared a Final Environmental 

Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Gold 

Bar Mine Project (Project) in Eureka 

County, Nevada, and by this Notice is 

announcing its availability. 

DATES: The BLM will not issue a final 

decision on the proposal for a minimum 

of 30 days after the date that the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes its Notice of Availability in 

the Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the FEIS for the 

Project and other documents pertinent 

to this proposal may be reviewed at the 

Mount Lewis Field Office: 50 Bastian 

Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada 89820. 

The document is available for download 

at http://bit.ly/2gyfZms. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christine Gabriel—Project Manager, 

telephone 775–635–4000; address 50 

Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada 

89820; email blm_nv_bmdo_mlfo_gold_

bar_project_eis@blm.gov. Contact 

Christine Gabriel to have your name 

added to the project mailing list. 

Persons who use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) may call the 

Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1–800– 

877–8339 to contact the above 

individual during normal business 

hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a 

day, 7 days a week, to leave a message 

or question with the above individual. 

You will receive a reply during normal 

business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: McEwen 

Mining Inc. (MMI) proposes to develop 

a gold mine in the southwest portion of 

the Roberts Mountains approximately 

30 miles northwest of Eureka, Nevada. 

The mine plan boundary encompasses 

5,362 acres of public lands and 199 

acres of private lands located in Eureka 

County, Nevada. The proposed Project 

would include four open pits; waste 

rock dump areas (WRDAs); crushing, 

screening, and agglomeration facilities; 

heap leach pads (HLP), an associated 

process solution pond, and an event 

pond; an adsorption, desorption, and 

recovery (ADR) plant including barren 

and pregnant solution tanks; ancillary 

and other facilities including an 

explosive storage area, ammonium 

nitrate prill silos, liquid natural gas 

(LNG) Cryostorage or compressed 

natural gas (CNG) generators with a 

switch station, a truck shop and wash 

bay, a ready line, landfill, laydown 

areas, water and power infrastructure, 

buildings, yards, parking, storage, 

growth media stockpiles, production 

water wells (GBPW–210 and GBPW– 

211) and an associated water supply 

pipeline, groundwater monitoring wells 

(GBMW–01, GBMW–03, and GBMW– 

04), communication facilities, potable 

water and fire water facilities, septic 

systems, and fencing; and mine access 

roads (Three Bars Road, Atlas Haul 

Road, North Roberts Creek Road, Bypass 

Road [NVN–91566], and Roberts Creek 

Road). The Project would disturb 1,154 

acres, including re-disturbing 420 acres 

of existing, non-reclaimed disturbance 

from a previous abandoned mining 

operation; 718 acres of new disturbance; 

and 16 acres of new disturbance as a 

result of exploration. Of the 1,154 acres, 

185 acres would be on private land, and 

969 acres would be on public land. 

The proposed pit depths would not 

intercept groundwater. No pit 

dewatering would be necessary and no 

pit lakes are anticipated to form after 

mining operations end. The Final EIS, 

through scoping and a 45-day public 

comment period, has identified and 

analyzed impacts to the following 

resources areas: Water resources, air 

quality, vegetation resources, wildlife, 

grazing management, land use and 

access, aesthetics (noise and visual), 

cultural resources, paleontological 

resources, geological resources 

(including minerals and soils), 

recreation, social and economic values, 

hazardous materials, Native American 

cultural concerns, and wild horses. The 

proposed project area does not have any 

lands with wilderness characteristics 

(LWCs). The Pony Express National 

Historic Trail crosses existing Three 

Bars and North Roberts Creek Roads; 

however, public and recreational access 

to the National Historic Trail would not 

be affected by mining activities. 

The FEIS describes and analyzes the 

proposed Project’s direct, indirect, and 

cumulative impacts on all affected 

resources. In addition to the proposed 

Project, four alternatives were analyzed 

including the 25kV Overhead 

Distribution Line Alternative, the Three 

Bars Road/Atlas Haul Road as Only 

Access Alternative, the Mount Hope and 

North Roberts Creek Road for Light 

Vehicle Traffic Alternative, and the No 

Action Alternative. The Draft EIS was 

released for a 45-day public comment 

period, which ended April 17, 2017. A 

public meeting was held in Eureka, 

Nevada on March 22, 2017. A total of 

2,178 comment letters were received 

from the general public, agencies, 

special interest groups, businesses and 

organizations. The FEIS responds to all 

comments received. These public 

comments resulted in the addition of 

clarifying text, but did not significantly 

change the analysis. Based on the 

analysis in the FEIS, the BLM has 

determined that the preferred 

alternative is the approval of the Project, 

with accompanying mitigation measures 

and voluntary applicant-committed 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES