Published 60-Day FRN

78780

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 220 / Thursday, November 16, 2023 / Notices

Authority: 5 U.S.C. Ch. 10.
Kenneth Shaffer,
Deputy Executive Director, Federal
Geographic Data Committee.
[FR Doc. 2023–25246 Filed 11–15–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4338–11–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Geological Survey
[GX23DJ56UFK1000]

Agency Information Collection
Activities: Request for Comments on
the USGS Water Use Data Acquisition
U. S. Geological Survey,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.

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AGENCY:

SUMMARY: In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) is proposing a new information
collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before January
16, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on
this information collection request (ICR)
by mail to Cheryl Dieter, USGS
Maryland-Delaware-DC Water Science
Center, 5522 Research Park Drive,
Catonsville, MD 21228, or by email at
[email protected]. Please reference
‘OMB Information Collection 1028—
NEW USGS Water Use Data Acquisition’
in the subject line of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Cheryl Dieter by mail
at Maryland-Delaware-DC Water
Science Center, 5522 Research Park
Drive, Catonsville, MD 21228; by email
at [email protected], or by telephone at
443–883–0761. Individuals in the
United States who are deaf, deafblind,
hard of hearing, or have a speech
disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. You may
also view the ICR at https://
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the PRA, 44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq. and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all
information collections require
approval. We may not conduct or
sponsor, nor are you required to
respond to, a collection of information

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unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
As part of our continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we invite the public and other
Federal agencies to comment on new,
proposed, revised, and continuing
collections of information. This helps us
assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize
the public’s reporting burden. It also
helps the public understand our
information collection requirements and
provide the requested data in the
desired format.
We are especially interested in public
comment addressing the following:
(1) Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether or not the
information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the
burden for this collection of
information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) How the agency might minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of response.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. Before including your
address, phone number, email address,
or other personally identifiable
information (PII) in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire
comment—including your PII—may be
made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us to withhold your
PII from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Abstract: This notice identifies an
information collection activity that the
USGS Water Availability and Use
Science Program has submitted to OMB
for approval to collect information on
the use of water resources in the United
States. The information is used by USGS
scientists to estimate water use in
several categories including (but not
limited to) public-supply, domestic,
irrigation, thermoelectric-cooling,
industrial, mining, aquaculture, and
livestock applications. USGS national
water-use estimates are disseminated to
stakeholders and the general public on
an ongoing basis and fulfill
requirements of the SECURE Water Act.
The information also supports regional
and national water-availability studies

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in the United States. The USGS has
produced estimates of annual water use
by category aggregated at the countyand state level every five years since
1950. For 2020, models will be used to
produce the estimates and they will be
made at a higher temporal and spatial
resolution than previous years’
estimates. Model estimates are
dependent on validation using the data
collected nationally for specific wateruse facilities. USGS water-use
specialists will request reported wateruse data annually from non-federal
agencies. This collection also aims to
request data from facilities on an ad hoc
basis to acquire data for categories of
use or locations where state-reported
data are not sufficient for estimating
water use. Respondents can provide
relevant data in a variety of electronic
formats, usually via websites, file
sharing, or email. Information will also
be gathered on the water-use datadelivery needs of USGS water-use
stakeholders and other end users.
Title of Collection: USGS Water Use
Data Acquisition.
OMB Control Number: 1028–NEW.
Form Number: DI–3680.
Type of Review: New collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: State
and local government agencies,
Individuals or households, businesses,
Tribal governments.
Water-Resource Agencies
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Respondents: 300.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 300.
Initial contact: 150 with completion
time of 1 minute.
Data submission: 150 with
completion time of 4 hours.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 603 hours.
Water-Use Facilities
Estimated Number of Annual
Respondents: 7,500.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 7,500.
Initial contact: 5,000 with completion
time of 1 minute.
Data submission: 2,500 with
completion time of 4 hours.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 10,084 hours.
Individual Water Users
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Respondents: 1,500.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 7,000.
Initial contact: 1,000 with completion
time of 1 minute.
Data submission: 6,000 with
completion time of 0.5 hours.

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 220 / Thursday, November 16, 2023 / Notices
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 3,017 hours.
Data End-Users
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Respondents: 300.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 300.
Initial contact: 150 with completion
time of 1 minute.
Data submission: 150 with
completion time of 15 minutes.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 41 hours.
Totals Combining All Four InformationCollection Components
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Respondents: 9,600.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 15,100.
Estimated Completion Time per
Response: 1 minute–4 hours.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 13,745 hours.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: Once per
year, except monthly for individual
water-user reporting component.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour
Burden Cost: None.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, nor is a person required to
respond to, a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
The authority for this action is the
PRA.
Donald W. Cline,
U.S. Geological Survey, Associate Director for
Water.
[FR Doc. 2023–25249 Filed 11–15–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
Fish and Wildlife Service
[BLM_FRN_MO4500175331]

Notice of Intent To Prepare a
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement To Reconsider a Highway
Right-of-Way Application and
Associated Amendment of an
Incidental Take Permit, Washington
County, Utah
Bureau of Land Management,
Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.

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AGENCY:

SUMMARY: In compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of
1976, as amended (FLPMA), and the

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Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA), the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) and the Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS), as co-lead
agencies, intend to prepare a
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (SEIS) to further consider the
effects of granting a right-of-way (ROW)
to the Utah Department of
Transportation (UDOT) for the Northern
Corridor Project (a proposed highway)
as well as a potential amendment to the
Incidental Take Permit (ITP) issued to
Washington County, Utah, under
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. This
notice announces the beginning of the
scoping process to solicit public
comments and identify issues.
DATES: This notice initiates the public
scoping process for the SEIS. The BLM
and FWS request the public submit
comments concerning the scope of the
analysis, potential alternatives, impacts
of the proposed action and alternatives,
and identification of relevant
information and studies by December
18, 2023. To afford the BLM and FWS
the opportunity to consider comments
in the Draft SEIS, please ensure your
comments are received prior to the close
of the 30-day scoping period or 15 days
after the last public meeting, whichever
is later.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
related to the highway ROW and
associated amendment of an ITP by any
of the following methods:
• Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/
eplanning-ui/project/2026562/510.
• Mail: Bureau of Land Management,
Attn: Northern Corridor SEIS, 345 East
Riverside Drive, St. George, UT 84790.
Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined online at https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/2026562/570 and at the BLM St.
George Field Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dawna Ferris-Rowley, NCA Manager,
Red Cliffs and Beaver Dam Wash NCAs,
telephone (435) 688–3200; address 345
East Riverside Drive, St. George, UT
84790; email BLM_UT_
[email protected]. Contact Ms.
Ferris-Rowley to have your name added
to our mailing list. Individuals in the
United States who are deaf, deafblind,
hard of hearing, or have a speech
disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services for
contacting Ms. Ferris-Rowley.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.

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78781

The BLM
and FWS are issuing this Notice of
Intent pursuant to NEPA, 42 United
States Code (U.S.C.) 4321 et seq.; the
Council on Environmental Quality
regulations for implementing NEPA, 43
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts
1500–1508; and the Department of the
Interior’s NEPA regulations, 43 CFR part
46.
The SEIS is being prepared to
supplement the analysis contained in
the 2020 Final EIS (FEIS) by BLM and
FWS (the entire FEIS can be found at:
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/1502103/570).
On September 4, 2018, UDOT
submitted an application for a ROW
grant for the Northern Corridor Project
north of the City of St. George, Utah, on
BLM-managed and non-Federal lands
within the Red Cliffs National
Conservation Area (NCA) and Red Cliffs
Desert Reserve. To consider the
application, the BLM needed to also
consider amending the St. George Field
Office and Red Cliffs NCA Resource
Management Plans (RMPs). The Red
Cliffs NCA was established through the
passage of the Omnibus Public Land
Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C.
460www), and the Red Cliffs Desert
Reserve was established for the
protection of the Mojave desert tortoise
under the 1995 Washington County
Habitat Conservation Plan. In 2015,
pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
ESA, Washington County applied to
renew and amend the ITP. The restated
and amended Habitat Conservation Plan
associated with the ITP application
described the Northern Corridor
highway as a potential changed
circumstance, which would be partially
offset with the addition of a new sixth
zone to the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve
(Reserve Zone 6) as the primary
conservation strategy.
In accordance with NEPA, the BLM
and FWS prepared an EIS to analyze the
environmental impacts associated with
the proposed action and reasonable
alternatives. The BLM also consulted
with the FWS to meet the requirements
in Section 7 of the ESA. The FWS
issued a biological opinion to the BLM
that determined the ROW and
amendments to the RMPs were not
likely to jeopardize the continued
existence of the Mojave desert tortoise
and that they were not likely to destroy
or adversely modify designated critical
habitat for the desert tortoise. The FWS
issued an intra-agency biological
opinion which determined that the ITP
is not likely to jeopardize the continued
existence of the Mojave desert tortoise,
Holmgren milkvetch, Shivwits
milkvetch, dwarf bear-poppy, Siler
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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