[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 157 (Tuesday, August 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40327-40328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17502]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-ES-2018-N065; FXES11140200000-189-FF02ENEH00]


Incidental Take Permit Applications Received To Participate in 
the American Burying-Beetle Amended Oil and Gas Industry Conservation 
Plan in Oklahoma

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as amended, we, the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on 
Federally-listed American burying-beetle incidental take permit (ITP)

[[Page 40328]]

applications. The applicants anticipate American burying-beetle take as 
a result of impacts to Oklahoma habitat the species uses for breeding, 
feeding, and sheltering. The take would be incidental to the 
applicants' activities associated with oil and gas well field and 
pipeline infrastructure (gathering, transmission, and distribution), 
including geophysical exploration (seismic), construction, maintenance, 
operation, repair, decommissioning, and reclamation. If approved, the 
permits would be issued under the approved American Burying Beetle 
Amended Oil and Gas Industry Conservation Plan (ICP) Endangered Species 
Act Section 10(a)(1)(B) Permit Issuance in Oklahoma.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received on or 
before September 13, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may obtain copies of all documents and submit comments 
on the applicants' ITP applications by one of the following methods. 
Please refer to the proposed permit number when requesting documents or 
submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered 
Species--HCP Permits, P.O. Box 1306, Room 6093, Albuquerque, NM 87103.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marty Tuegel, Branch Chief, by U.S. 
mail at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Review Division, 
P.O. Box 1306, Room 6078, Albuquerque, NM 87103; or by telephone at 
505-248-6651.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), we, 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on ITP 
applications to take the Federally-listed American burying-beetle 
(Nicrophorus americanus) during oil and gas well field infrastructure 
geophysical exploration (seismic) and construction, maintenance, 
operation, repair, and decommissioning, as well as oil and gas 
gathering, transmission, and distribution pipeline infrastructure 
construction, maintenance, operation, repair, decommissioning, and 
reclamation in Oklahoma.
    If approved, the permits would be issued to the applicants under 
the American Burying Beetle Amended Oil and Gas Industry Conservation 
Plan (ICP) Endangered Species Act Section 10(a)(1)(B) Permit Issuance 
in Oklahoma. The original ICP was approved on May 21, 2014, and the 
``no significant impact'' finding notice was published in the Federal 
Register on July 25, 2014 (79 FR 43504). The draft amended ICP was made 
available for comment on March 8, 2016 (81 FR 12113), and approved on 
April 13, 2016. The ICP and the associated environmental assessment/
finding of no significant impact are available on our website at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/oklahoma/ABBICP. However, we are no longer 
taking comments on these finalized, approved documents.

Applications Available for Review and Comment

    We invite local, state, Tribal, and Federal agencies, and the 
public to comment on the following applications under the ICP, for 
incidentally taking the Federally-listed American burying-beetle. 
Please refer to the appropriate proposed permit number (TE84779C, 
TE84778C, or TE84781C) when requesting application documents and when 
submitting comments. Documents and other information the applicants 
have submitted are available for review, subject to Privacy Act (5 
U.S.C. 552a) and Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) 
requirements.

Permit TE84779C

Applicant: Midship Pipeline Company, LLC, Houston, TX.

    Applicant requests a permit for oil and gas upstream and midstream 
production, including oil and gas well field infrastructure geophysical 
exploration (seismic) and construction, maintenance, operation, repair, 
and decommissioning, as well as oil and gas gathering, transmission, 
and distribution pipeline infrastructure construction, maintenance, 
operation, repair, decommissioning, and reclamation in Oklahoma.

Permit TE84778C

Applicant: Blue Water Resources, LLC, Tulsa, OK.

    Applicant requests a permit for oil and gas upstream and midstream 
production, including oil and gas well field infrastructure geophysical 
exploration (seismic) and construction, maintenance, operation, repair, 
and decommissioning, as well as oil and gas gathering, transmission, 
and distribution pipeline infrastructure construction, maintenance, 
operation, repair, decommissioning, and reclamation in Oklahoma.

Permit TE84781C

Applicant: VM ARKOMA Stack, LLC, Oklahoma City, OK.

    Applicant requests a permit for oil and gas upstream and midstream 
production, including oil and gas well field infrastructure geophysical 
exploration (seismic) and construction, maintenance, operation, repair, 
and decommissioning, as well as oil and gas gathering, transmission, 
and distribution pipeline infrastructure construction, maintenance, 
operation, repair, decommissioning, and reclamation in Oklahoma.

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 the ESA, section 10(c) (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22) and the 
National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its 
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: May 14, 2018.
Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-17502 Filed 8-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P