[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31170-31172]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14254]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2017-0105; FXES11140200000-189-FF02ENEH00]


Environmental Impact Statement for the American Electric Power 
American Burying-Beetle Habitat Conservation Plan in Arkansas, 
Oklahoma, and Texas

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability: Notice of receipt of a permit 
application; and announcement of public meetings.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), announce the 
availability of the environmental impact statement (EIS) and habitat 
conservation

[[Page 31171]]

plan (HCP) for incidental take permit (ITP) application under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. American Electric Power 
(AEP) requested a 30-year American burying beetle (ABB) ITP in 
Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. If granted, the ITP would authorize ABB 
take resulting from AEP's electrical lines and support facilities 
repair, maintenance, and construction, as well as activities carried 
out as part of the HCP's conservation strategy.

DATES: Comments: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or 
before August 17, 2018. Comments submitted electronically at http://www.regulations.gov (see Public Participation under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on the closing 
date. Any comments we receive after the closing date may not be 
considered in the final decision on these actions.

ADDRESSES: See Public Participation under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for 
how to obtain documents for review and submit comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonna Polk, Field Supervisor, via U.S. 
mail at Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 9014 E 21st St., Tulsa, OK 74129; or via phone at 
918-581-7458.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(FWS), announce the availability of several documents related to an 
incidental take permit (ITP) application under the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). American 
Electric Power (AEP) requested a 30-year American burying beetle 
(Nicrophorus americanus; ABB) ITP in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. If 
granted, the ITP would authorize ABB incidental take resulting from 
AEP's electrical lines and support facilities repair, maintenance, and 
construction, as well as activities carried out as part of the HCP's 
conservation strategy. In addition to this notice of the environmental 
impact statement (EIS), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is 
publishing a notice announcing the EIS, as required under the Clean Air 
Act, section 309 (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.; see EPA's Role in the EIS 
Process below).

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA and its implementing regulations prohibit 
``take'' of fish and wildlife species listed as threatened or 
endangered. However, section 10(a) authorizes us to issue permits to 
take listed wildlife species where take is incidental to, and not the 
purpose of, otherwise lawful activities and where the applicant meets 
certain statutory requirements.
    We prepared a notice of intent (NOI) to prepare a EIS for American 
Electric Power's (AEP) habitat conservation plan (HCP), which was 
published in the Federal Register on January 19, 2017 (82 FR 6625). We 
held four public scoping meetings throughout the Plan Area in Arkansas, 
Oklahoma, and Texas in February 2017. We incorporated issues identified 
during the initial scoping meetings into the EIS, dated March 2018. You 
can find a summary of the comments we received during the scoping 
period in the EIS, Appendix D.

Proposed Action

    Our proposed Federal action evaluated in the EIS is approving AEP's 
HCP and issuing an incidental take permit (ITP) under section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. The ITP would authorize ABB incidental take 
that may result from covered activities in the plan area over the 30-
year ITP term.

EPA's Role in the EIS Process

    In addition to our publication of this notice, EPA is publishing a 
notice in the Federal Register announcing the EIS for American Electric 
Power's American-burying Beetle Habitat Conservation Plan in Oklahoma, 
Arkansas, and Texas, as required under the Clean Air Act, section 309. 
The EPA's publication date of the notice of availability is the 
official beginning of the public comment period. The EPA is charged 
with reviewing all Federal agencies' EISs and commenting on the 
adequacy and acceptability of the environmental impacts of proposed 
actions in EISs.
    The EPA also serves as the repository (EIS database) for EISs which 
Federal agencies prepare. All EISs must be filed with EPA, which 
publishes a notice of availability on Fridays in the Federal Register. 
For more information, see https://www.epa.gov/nepa. You may search for 
EPA comments on EISs, along with EISs themselves, at https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-public/action/eis/search.

Public Participation

Public Meetings

    We will hold four public meetings, one each in McAlester, OK; 
Texarkana, TX; Little Rock, AR; and Tulsa, OK, during the public 
comment period. The dates, times, and specific locations of the 
meetings will be announced in local newspapers at least two weeks 
before the meetings and will also be posted on our Oklahoma website, at 
https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/Oklahoma/. The public meetings will be 
physically accessible to people with disabilities. Please direct 
requests for reasonable accommodations (e.g., auxiliary aids or sign 
language interpretation) to Larry Levesque, by phone at 918-382-4509 or 
via email at [email protected], at least 5 working days prior 
to the date of the meeting you wish to attend.

Obtaining Documents for Review

     Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Habitat 
Conservation Plan (HCP): You may obtain copies of the EIS and HCP by 
any of the following methods.
    Internet:
     http://www.regulations.gov (search for Docket No. FWS-R2-
ES-2017-0105).
     http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/Oklahoma (search for 
permit number TE81211C-0).
    U.S. Mail: Field Supervisor (at the address in FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT; reference ``OKES HCP EIS; TE81211C-0'').
    In-Person: Copies of the EIS and HCP are also available for public 
inspection and review at the following locations, by appointment and 
written request only, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.:
     Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office (at the address 
in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
     U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 500 Gold Avenue SW, Room 
6034, Albuquerque, NM 87102 (telephone: 505-248-6920).
     Department of the Interior, Natural Resources Library, 
1849 C St. NW, Washington, DC 20240.
     Incidental Take Permit Application: You may obtain copies 
of the incidental take permit application by any of the following 
methods.
    U.S. Mail: Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. 
Box 1306, Room 6034, Albuquerque, NM 87103 (attention: Environmental 
Review Branch).
    Email: [email protected].
     Public Comments: View submitted comments on http://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2017-0105.
     Comments on the EIS from the Environmental Protection 
Agency: For how to view comments on the EIS from the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA), or for information on EPA's role in the EIS 
process, see EPA's Role in the EIS Process under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

Submitting Comments

    You may submit written comments by one of the following methods:
     Internet: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the

[[Page 31172]]

instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2017-0105.
     Hard Copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R2-ES-2017-0105; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service Headquarters, MS: BPHC; 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 
22041-3803.
     Public Meetings: We will also accept written and oral 
comments at four public meetings, to be announced.
    We request that you submit comments by only the methods described 
above. We will post all information received on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means we will post any personal 
information you provide us (see Public Availability of Comments).

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).

Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-14254 Filed 7-2-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P