[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 192 (Friday, October 2, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62318-62320]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21769]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2020-0115; FXES11120800000-201-FF08ENVS00]


Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation 
Plan for the Spring Mountain Raceway Northern Expansion, Pahrump, Nye 
County, Nevada

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the

[[Page 62319]]

availability of a draft environmental assessment (EA) under the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We also announce receipt of 
an application for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered 
Species Act (ESA), and of a draft habitat conservation plan (HCP). 
Spring Mountain Raceway, LLC has applied for an ITP under the ESA for 
an expansion project in Pahrump, Nye County, Nevada. The ITP would 
authorize the take of one species incidental to the project. We invite 
the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment on 
the draft EA, HCP, and permit application. Before issuing the requested 
ITP, we will take into consideration any information we receive during 
the public comment period.

DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before November 2, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the draft EA, 
proposed HCP, and permit application in Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2020-0115 
at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Submitting Comments: To submit written comments, please use one of 
the following methods, and note to which document(s) your comments 
pertain.
     Internet: http://www.regulations.gov; search for and 
submit comments in Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2020-0115.
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R8-ES-2020-0115; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: 
PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

For more information, see Public Comments and Public Availability of 
Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glen W. Knowles, Field Supervisor, 
Southern Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office, by phone at 702-515-5244, or 
via the Federal Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), announce the availability of a draft Environmental 
assessment (draft EA) prepared pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and its 
implementing regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 
CFR 1506.6. We also announce receipt of an application submitted by 
Spring Mountain Raceway, LLC of Pahrump, Nevada (applicant), for a 5-
year incidental take permit (ITP) under section 10 (a)(1)(B) of the 
Endangered Species Act, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The 
application for the permit requires the preparation of a habitat 
conservation plan (HCP) with measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate 
the impacts of incidental take of endangered or threatened species to 
the maximum extent practicable. The applicant prepared the draft Spring 
Mountain Raceway Northern Expansion HCP pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) 
of the ESA. The purpose of the draft EA is to assess the effects of 
issuing the ITP and implementing the draft HCP on the natural and human 
environment.
    We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies 
to comment on the draft EA, HCP, and permit application. Before issuing 
the requested ITP, we will take into consideration any information we 
receive during the public comment period.

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1538) prohibits the taking of fish 
and wildlife species listed as endangered under section 4 of the ESA; 
by regulation, take of certain species listed as threatened is also 
prohibited. (16 U.S.C. 1533(d); 50 CFR 17.31). Regulations governing 
permits for endangered and threatened species are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 
17.32. For more about the Federal habitat conservation plan (HCP) 
program, go to http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/hcp.pdf.

National Environmental Policy Act Compliance

    The proposed permit issuance triggers the need for compliance with 
the NEPA. The draft EA was prepared to analyze the impacts of issuing 
an ITP based on the draft HCP and to inform the public of the proposed 
action, any alternatives, and associated impacts, and to disclose any 
irreversible commitments of resources.

Proposed Action Alternative

    Under the Proposed Action Alternative, the Service would issue an 
ITP to the applicant for a period of 5 years for certain covered 
activities (described below) to construct and operate an extension of 
the existing Spring Mountain Raceway. The extension includes 2.3 miles 
of additional track, flood management features, classrooms, parking 
area, and a paved paddock area for preparing cars. The applicant has 
requested an ITP for one covered species, the Mojave desert tortoise 
(Gopherus agassizii), which is listed under the ESA as threatened 
(April 2, 1990, 55 FR 12178).
Habitat Conservation Plan Area
    The geographic scope of the draft HCP area comprises 227 acres of 
private land in the town of Pahrump, in Nye County, Nevada, where the 
development will occur.
Covered Activities
    The proposed section 10(a) ITP would allow incidental take of one 
covered species from covered activities in the proposed HCP area. The 
applicant is requesting incidental take authorization for covered 
activities, including construction, operation, and maintenance of the 
facility within the 227 ac owned by the applicant.
    Construction would begin after installation of a desert tortoise 
exclusion fence and removal of all tortoises. Construction would entail 
clearing of vegetation; grading and leveling of soil to achieve desired 
topography for the track, facilities, and flood management features; 
digging and trenching for utilities; placement of the new track base 
and surface; construction of the flood management features; 
construction of the buildings, parking areas, and paddock; and 
installation of the necessary underground power, phone, sewer, and 
water pipelines to the buildings. These activities would remove 
approximately half of the native vegetation in the area based on the 
preliminary design, but may remove more based on final design and 
future reconfiguration of the facility. Operation and maintenance of 
the expansion would entail use of the facility in a manner consistent 
with the existing interconnected facility, all of which will occur on 
private property within the desert tortoise exclusion fencing. Covered 
activities also include construction, operation, and maintenance 
equipment and other vehicle travel on existing access roads to the 
facility.
    The applicant is proposing to implement best management practices, 
as well as general and species-specific measures to avoid and minimize 
the impacts of the take from the covered activities, including worker 
environmental and desert tortoise awareness training, installation and 
maintenance of desert tortoise exclusion fencing; tortoise removal, 
translocation, and monitoring; noxious weed management; dust control; 
and support of conservation and management measures to offset the loss 
of occupied habitat.

[[Page 62320]]

Covered Species
    The applicant has requested an ITP for one federally listed 
threatened species:
     Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii).

No Action Alternative

    Under the No-Action Alternative, the Service would not issue an ITP 
to the applicant, and the draft HCP would not be implemented. Under 
this alternative, the applicant may choose not to construct the 
facility or would do so in a manner presumed not to result in the take 
of ESA-listed species.

Public Comments

    We request data, comments, new information, or suggestions from the 
public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific 
community, Tribes, industry, or any other interested party on this 
notice, the draft EA and the draft HCP. If you wish to comment on the 
permit application, plan, and associated documents, you may submit 
comments by any one of the methods in ADDRESSES.

Public Availability of Comments

    Any comments we receive will become part of the decision 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.

Next Steps

    Issuance of an incidental take permit is a Federal proposed action 
subject to compliance with NEPA and section 7 of the ESA. We will 
evaluate the application, associated documents, and any public comments 
we receive as part of our NEPA compliance process to determine whether 
the application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA. If 
we determine that those requirements are met, we will conduct an intra-
Service consultation under section 7 of the ESA for the Federal action 
for the potential issuance of an ITP. If the intra-Service consultation 
confirms that issuance of the ITP will not jeopardize the continued 
existence of any endangered or threatened species, or destroy or 
adversely modify critical habitat, we will issue a permit to the 
applicant for the incidental take of the covered species.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 
1539(c)) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32), and NEPA (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and NEPA implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

Glen Knowles,
Field Supervisor, Southern Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-21769 Filed 10-1-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P