60-Day FRN (89 FRN 2240)

2240

Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2024 / Notices

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Draft EIS will allow the consulting
parties and the public an opportunity to
review and comment on the process as
provided in 36 CFR 800.8(c)(2).
Purpose and Need
The need for the BLM’s action
(processing the Applicant’s application)
is to respond to the Applicant’s request
for a right-of-way (ROW) authorization
to construct, operate, maintain, and
decommission the proposed Project in
accordance with the BLM’s
responsibility under title V of FLPMA
and 43 CFR part 2800. The BLM’s action
of considering the ROW application also
would meet the BLM’s obligation to
contribute towards the legislative and
administrative goals of advancing the
development of renewable energy
production on Federal public lands as
directed by section 3104 of the Energy
Act of 2020 and Executive Order 14057.
The Project as proposed would not
conform to the 1998 Las Vegas RMP as
required by 43 CFR 1610.5–3(a). The
BLM would need to amend the RMP to
bring it into compliance. In particular,
the Applicant’s proposed Project does
not conform with the management
objectives of the Project area’s VRM
classification (Class III).
The purpose of the BLM’s action is to
determine if the Applicant’s Project and
alternatives are consistent with relevant
laws, regulations, and policies, and to
consider whether to grant, grant with
modifications, or deny the ROW. The
purpose of the RMP Amendment is to
ensure that any development of
renewable energy production in the
general vicinity of the Applicant’s
proposed Project area conforms with the
RMP’s provisions, as provided for in 43
CFR 1610.5–3(c), specifically by
reclassifying this geographic area as
VRM Class IV.
The Draft EIS addresses the direct,
indirect, and cumulative environmental
impacts of the Proposed Action and
alternatives. Alternatives to the
Proposed Action were developed by the
BLM to avoid or reduce various resource
conflicts. Key resource constraints
include habitat for and presence of
Mojave desert tortoise, which is listed as
threatened under the Endangered
Species Act, presence of waters of the
United States, limited groundwater
resources, vegetation at the Project site,
and generation of dust.
Alternatives Including the Preferred
Alternative
The BLM has analyzed three
alternatives in detail, including the no
action alternative. These are the
Applicant Proposed Action, Alternative
Action 1, and the No Action Alternative.

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Alternative Action 1 (referred to as
the Resources Integration Alternative)
was identified in response to issues
raised by the public and agency
considerations. The intent of the
Resources Integration Alternative is to
minimize disturbance to vegetation and
soils within the solar facility by setting
maximum allowable disturbance
thresholds to vegetation during
construction, setting restoration goals,
and utilizing topography-spanning
technologies for solar panel array
installation. Setting a disturbance cap
would ensure a consistent comparison
of alternatives and outcomes for NEPA
analysis purposes. Specifically,
Alternative Action 1—Resources
Integration Alternative would
implement non-traditional development
methods (overland travel), as this
construction method is less intensive
than traditional methods and is
expected to improve the retention of
native vegetation, wildlife habitat, soils,
seed banks, and biological soil crusts
while minimizing water quality impacts
and air quality impacts from fugitive
dust.
The No Action Alternative would be
a continuation of existing conditions
and no new action would be taken.
The BLM further considered seven
additional alternatives but dismissed
these alternatives from detailed analysis
as explained in the Draft RMP
Amendment/EIS.
The State Director has identified
Alternative Action 1—Resources
Integration Alternative as the Preferred
Alternative. Alternative Action 1—
Resources Integration Alternative was
found to best meet the State Director’s
planning guidance and is designed to be
a Project lifecycle alternative to not only
address the impacts of construction, but
also operations, maintenance, and
decommissioning of the solar facility.
Alternative Action 1—Resources
Integration Alternative minimizes
disturbance to vegetation and soils
within the solar facility, thereby
minimizing impacts to wildlife habitat,
soils, air quality, and water quality.
Mitigation
The BLM included seven mitigation
measures: dust control and stabilization
(MM AIR–1), reducing the Project
footprint (MM WILD–1), holding a job
fair in a nearby community (MM EJ–1),
facilitating Tribal consultation (MM
NA–1), fire prevention and safety (MM
PS–3), reducing cumulative
transportation effects (MM TRAF–1),
and advanced notification to Clark
County Department of Aviation (MM V–
1). These mitigation measures, along
with required Solar Programmatic EIS

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Programmatic Design Features (PDFs),
Southern Nevada District Office PDFs,
and required management plans, are
described in appendix B of the Draft
RMP Amendment/EIS.
Schedule for the Decision-Making
Process
The BLM will provide additional
opportunities for public participation
consistent with the NEPA and land use
planning processes, including a 30-day
public protest period and a concurrent
60-day Governor’s consistency review
on the Proposed RMP Amendment. The
Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS is
anticipated to be available for public
protest by August 2024 with an
Approved RMP Amendment and Record
of Decision by October 2024.
The BLM will continue to consult
with Indian Tribal Nations on a
government-to-government basis in
accordance with Executive Order 13175,
BLM MS 1780 and other Departmental
policies. Tribal concerns, including
impacts on Indian trust assets and
potential impacts to cultural resources,
will be given due consideration.
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 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.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10,
43 CFR 1610.2)
Jon K. Raby,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2024–00393 Filed 1–11–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331–21–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS–WASO–BSAD–CONC–NPS0036729;
PPWOBSADC6, PPMVSCS1Y.Y00000, (244)
P103601; OMB Control Number 1024–0233]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; National Park Service
Leasing Program
National Park Service, Interior.
Notice of information collection;
request for comment.

AGENCY:
ACTION:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the National Park Service (NPS) are
proposing to renew an information
collection.

SUMMARY:

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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2024 / Notices
Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before March
12, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on this
information collection request (ICR) can
be sent by mail to Phadrea Ponds, NPS
Information Collection Clearance Officer
(ADIR–ICCO), 13461 Sunrise Valley
Drive (MS–244) Reston, VA 20192
(mail); or [email protected]
(email). Please reference Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Control
Number 1024–0233 in the subject line of
your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Gordy Kito, Leasing
Program Manager, Commercial Services
Division by email at gordy_kito@
nps.gov; or by telephone at 202–354–
2096. Please reference Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Control
Number 1024–0233 in the subject line of
your comments. 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 of
contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, (PRA, 44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all
information collections require approval
under the PRA.
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.

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DATES:

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(4) How might the agency 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. We will include or
summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. 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 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.
Abstract: The NPS Leasing Program
allows any person or entity to lease
buildings and associated property
administered by the Secretary of the
Interior as part of the National Park
System, under the authority of the
Director of the NPS. A lease may not
authorize an activity that could be
authorized by a concessions contract or
commercial use authorization. All leases
must provide for the payment of fair
market value rent. The Director may
retain rental payments for park
infrastructure needs and, in some cases,
to provide administrative support of the
leasing program.
The authority to collect information
for the Leasing Program is derived from
54 U.S.C. 102101 et seq., 54 U.S.C.
306121, and 36 CFR part 18. For
competitive leasing opportunities, the
regulations require the submission of
proposals or bids by parties interested
in applying for a lease. The regulations
also require that the Director approve
lease amendments, construction or
demolition of structures, and
encumbrances on leasehold interests.
We collect information from anyone
who wishes to submit a bid or proposal
to lease a property. The Director may
issue a request for bids if the amount of
rent is the only criterion for award of a
lease. The Director issues a request for
proposals when the award of a lease is
based on selection criteria other than
the rental rate. A request for proposals
may be preceded by a request for
qualifications to select a ‘‘short list’’ of
potential offerors that meet the
minimum management, financial, and
other qualifications necessary for the
submission of a proposal.

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We use the information collected to
evaluate offers, proposed subleases or
assignments, proposed construction or
demolition, the merits of proposed lease
amendments, and proposed
encumbrances. The completion times
for each information collection
requirement vary substantially
depending on the complexity of the
leasing opportunity.
Title of Collection: National Park
Service Leasing Program, 36 CFR part
18.
OMB Control Number: 1024–0233.
Form Number: NPS Forms 10–352,
10–353, 10–354, 10–355A and 10–355B.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public:
Individuals and businesses seeking to
submit a bid or proposal to lease NPS
property.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 250.
Estimated Completion Time per
Response: Varies from 4 hours to 45
hours, depending on activity.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 1,649.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour
Burden Cost: None.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor and a person is not required to
respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
The authority for this action is the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Phadrea Ponds,
Information Collection Clearance Officer,
National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–00546 Filed 1–11–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312–52–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS–WASO–NAGPRA–NPS0037229;
PPWOCRADN0–PCU00RP14.R50000]

Notice of Inventory Completion:
University of Rhode Island, South
Kingstown, RI
National Park Service, Interior.
Notice.

AGENCY:
ACTION:

In accordance with the Native
American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the
University of Rhode Island, South
Kingstown, RI (URI) has completed an
inventory of human remains and
associated funerary objects and has

SUMMARY:

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