VPCA Rule RIN 1018–AY29 (79 FR 42525)

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 140 / Tuesday, July 22, 2014 / Notices
(3) Impacts of the plan, considered
together with the impacts of other past,
present, and reasonably foreseeable
similarly situated projects, would not
result, over time, in cumulative effects
to environmental values or resources
that would be considered significant. As
more fully explained in our
environmental action statement and
associated Low-Effect Screening Form,
the applicant’s proposed project
qualifies as a ‘‘low-effect’’ project. This
preliminary determination may be
revised based on our review of public
comments that we receive in response to
this notice.
Public Comments
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.
If you wish to comment, you may
submit comments by any one of several
methods. Please reference TE40185B–0
in such comments. You may mail
comments to the Fish and Wildlife
Service’s Mississippi Field Office (see
ADDRESSES). You may also comment via
the internet to david_felder@fws.gov.
Please include your name and return
address in your internet message. If you
do not receive a confirmation from us
that we have received your internet
message, contact us directly at either
telephone number listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Finally,
you may hand-deliver comments to the
office listed under ADDRESSES.

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Covered Area
The area encompassed by the HCP
and ITP application is the 2.46 acre
hydrocarbon test well drilling pad and
associated access road, located at
latitude 31.319229, longitude 7
¥88.783426, Greene County,
Mississippi.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the ITP application,
including the HCP and any comments
we receive, to determine whether the
application meets the requirements of
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. We will
also evaluate whether issuance of a
section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with
section 7 of the Act by conducting an
intra-Service section 7 consultation. We
will use the results of this consultation,
in combination with the above findings,

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in our final analysis to determine
whether or not to issue the ITP. If we
determine that the requirements are
met, we will issue the ITP for the
incidental take of gopher tortoises.
Authority
We provide this notice under Section
10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: July 15, 2014.
Cary Norquist,
Assistant Field Supervisor, Mississippi Field
Office.
[FR Doc. 2014–17193 Filed 7–21–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–R9–ES–2011–0099;
FF09E40000 145 FXES11150900000]
RIN 1018–AY29

Policy Regarding Voluntary Prelisting
Conservation Actions
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Announcement of draft policy
and solicitation of public comment.
AGENCY:

We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, announce a draft
policy on crediting voluntary
conservation actions taken for species
prior to their listing under the
Endangered Species Act. The proposed
policy seeks to give landowners,
government agencies, and others
incentives to carry out voluntary
conservation actions for nonlisted
species by allowing the benefits to the
species from a voluntary conservation
action undertaken prior to listing under
the Act to be used—either by the person
who undertook such action or by a third
party—to mitigate or to serve as a
compensatory measure for the
detrimental effects of another action
undertaken after listing. This policy will
help us further our efforts to protect
native species and conserve the
ecosystems on which they depend.
DATES:
General Comments: We will accept
comments from all interested parties
until September 22, 2014. Please note
that if you are using the Federal
eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES
below), the deadline for submitting an
electronic comment is 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time on this date.
Comments on the Information
Collections Aspects of this Proposal:
Comments on the information collection
aspects of the proposed policy will be
SUMMARY:

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considered if received by August 21,
2014.
ADDRESSES:
General Comments: You may submit
comments by one of the following
methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov. In the Search box
enter the Docket number for the
proposed policy, which is FWS–R9–ES–
2011–0099. You may enter a comment
by clicking on ‘‘Comment Now!’’. Please
ensure that you have found the correct
document before submitting your
comment.
• U.S. mail or hand delivery: Public
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS–R9–ES–2011–0099; Division of
Policy and Directives Management; U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N.
Fairfax Drive, PDM–2042; Arlington, VA
22203.
We will post all comments on
http://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us
(see Request for Information below for
more information).
Comments on the Information
Collection Aspects of this Proposal:
Send comments specific to the
information collection aspects of this
proposed policy to Desk Officer for the
Department of the Interior at OMB—
OIRA at (202) 395–5806 (fax) or OIRA_
Submission@omb.eop.gov (email).
Please provide a copy of your comments
to the Service Information Collection
Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, MS 2042–PDM, 4401
North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA
22203 (mail), or hope_grey@fws.gov
(email).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim
Serfis, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Branch of Communication and
Candidate Conservation, 4401 N Fairfax
Drive, Suite 420, Arlington, VA 22203,
telephone 703/358–2171; facsimile 703/
358–1735.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service or FWS) is charged with
implementing the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.) (Act); the goal of the Act is to
provide a means to conserve the
ecosystems upon which listed species
depend and a program for listed species
conservation. Through its Candidate
Conservation program, the Service
encourages the public to take
conservation actions for species prior to
them being listed under the Act. Doing
so may result in precluding the need to
list a species, may result in listing a

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species as threatened instead of
endangered, or, if a species becomes
listed, may provide the basis for its
recovery and eventual removal from the
protections of the Act. As explained
below, the proposed policy provides
incentives to the public to implement
these prelisting conservation actions.
Recognizing that species benefit from
focused conservation actions taken to
address threats to their survival, the
Service encourages landowners to
conserve candidate and other at-risk
species by stabilizing and increasing
populations so that the species may not
need listing. In March 2012, the Service
published in the Federal Register an
advance notice of proposed rulemaking
inviting the public to identify potential
changes to our regulations under the Act
(77 FR 15354, March 15, 2012). Our goal
was to create additional incentives and
improve or expand existing ones for
landowners and others to invest in early
voluntary conservation actions to
benefit species that may become listed
as threatened or endangered species.
Because we received a request from the
Association of Fish and Wildlife
Agencies to extend the comment period,
we published a notice in the Federal
Register extending the comment period
an additional 60 days (77 FR 28347,
May 14, 2012).
The comments and recommendations
in the 95 responses the Service received
in response to the advance notice of
proposed rulemaking supported the
tenet that, if the need to list a species
under the Act can be avoided, everyone,
including the species, benefits. The
responses also underscored the need for
incentives for individuals and agencies,
both Federal and State, to invest in
conservation actions for species prior to
listing. The comments and
recommendations made by the
individuals, organizations, and agencies
covered an array of issues such as the
need for guidance on developing
crediting programs, updating the
Service’s mitigation policy, the need for
conservation strategies to guide
candidate conservation agreements,
streamlining the conservation agreement
process, and improving conservation
banking. The comments are available at
http://www.regulations.gov in Docket
No. FWS–R9–ES–2011–0099.
The proposed policy described herein
is based on recommendations generated
by the advance notice of proposed
rulemaking. The Service will address
other recommendations through
additional regulations, policies, or
guidance.
Introduction: Incentivizing voluntary
conservation action prior to listing. The
proposed policy has two stated

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purposes, as set forth in section 1. The
first, and more general of these, is to
incentivize voluntary conservation
actions on behalf of species before they
reach the point at which they need to be
listed as threatened or endangered
under the Act. Such voluntary
conservation actions, if carried out at a
sufficient scale, could contribute to
precluding the need to list the species.
The proposed policy seeks to reward
those who voluntarily undertake to help
the species when they have no legal
obligation to do so. As described in
more detail later, the reward is that the
benefits to the species from a voluntary
conservation action undertaken prior to
listing can be used—either by the
person who undertook that action or by
a third party—to mitigate or be a
compensatory measure for the
detrimental effects of another action
undertaken after listing. In this policy,
the credit earned by undertaking a
prelisting conservation action can be
transferred to a third party if the
prelisting conservation action and the
credit are for the same species and
within the same State.
Clarifying existing regulations at 50
CFR 402.14(g)(8). A second, more
narrow, purpose of the proposed policy
is to clarify a provision that has been in
the regulations that implement section 7
of the Act since 1986, but that received
little explanation then or thereafter.
That provision, set forth in 50 CFR
402.14(g)(8), states that the Service ‘‘will
give appropriate consideration to any
beneficial actions taken by the Federal
agency or applicant, including any
actions taken prior to the initiation of
consultation’’ during the course of
consultation under section 7(a)(2) of the
Act or ‘‘early consultation’’ under
section 7(a)(3). The proposed policy
makes clear that beneficial actions
‘‘taken prior to the initiation of
consultation’’ include actions taken
prior to listing, provided they meet the
policy’s definition of a ‘‘voluntary
prelisting action.’’ In addition to
clarifying that prelisting beneficial
actions are among the actions to be
given ‘‘appropriate consideration,’’ the
policy also clarifies how the Service
will give appropriate consideration to
those beneficial actions that are subject
to the policy. Specifically, in the course
of section 7 consultations, the Service
will consider the beneficial effects of a
voluntary prelisting conservation action
to be included as part of the
environmental baseline for the agency
action if requested by the action agency
or, in the case of an agency action
involving a permit applicant, by such
applicant.

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The policy also makes clear that the
Service will evaluate the conservation
value of a prelisting conservation action
based on its inclusion and priority in a
conservation strategy for the species. A
conservation strategy is a foundational
document that should guide all
conservation efforts for at-risk nonlisted
species, including Federal, State, Tribal,
and private conservation actions. A
strategy can be authored by any one of
these entities, but ideally it will be
created as a joint effort. Coordinated
efforts will likely result in better
conservation outcomes for the species
and efficiencies in implementing and
monitoring conservation actions. From
the Service’s perspective, the primary
goal of the strategy is to provide the
necessary information to guide
management of a species so that it does
not need the protections of the Act.
How voluntary prelisting conservation
actions are to be treated. Section 2 of
the policy sets forth in general terms
how the Service will treat voluntary
prelisting conservation actions. Two
possibilities are described. First, such
an action can be treated as a mitigation
or a compensatory measure to offset the
impacts of the incidental taking of a
listed species for which a permit is
sought under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
Act. Alternatively, where a proposed
action that detrimentally affects a listed
species is authorized, funded, or carried
out by a Federal agency, the voluntary
prelisting conservation action can be
treated as a compensatory measure for
the proposed action. Section 7 of the
Act, unlike Section 10(a)(1)(B), does not
explicitly require that detrimental
impacts be mitigated, but it is longestablished practice under section 7 that
Federal agencies or their permit
applicants can incorporate mitigating
measures into their proposed projects so
as to reduce their overall impact. The
proposed policy makes clear that
voluntary prelisting conservation
measures can be used in this manner.
Section 2 of the proposed policy also
establishes that a voluntary prelisting
conservation action undertaken by
anyone, including a Federal agency, can
be treated as described in the policy if
the action is undertaken in a State that
chooses to participate. Thus, unlike
some other incentive-based policies
(e.g., the Safe Harbor Agreements policy
(64 FR 32717, June 17, 1999) and the
Candidate Conservation Agreements
with Assurances (CCAA) policy (64 FR
32726, June 17, 1999)) that apply only
to non-Federal property owners, the
proposed policy applies to anyone or
any entity who wants to take advantage
of it and who undertakes the prelisting

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conservation action in a participating
State.
Defining voluntary prelisting
conservation actions. Section 3 of the
proposed policy defines ‘‘voluntary
prelisting conservation actions.’’ The
definition has three key components.
First, the action has to be undertaken
before the species it is intended to
benefit is listed under the Act. An
action can be undertaken at any time
prior to listing, including after the
species has been proposed for listing.
Once a species is listed, however, no
new voluntary prelisting conservation
actions can occur for the species, but
ongoing actions initiated prior to listing
would continue. The policy also
specifies that actions taken prior to the
policy being finalized will not be
considered. Second, the action must be
truly voluntary, one that is not required
by the Act or by any other Federal,
State, or local regulatory mechanism.
Acknowledging the jurisdiction of the
States over nonlisted species, the last
component requires the action be
undertaken as part of a Stateadministered program. In short, the
proposed policy contemplates the active
engagement of the States in designing
and implementing a program to
encourage voluntary prelisting
conservation actions, as further
described in section 4 of the proposed
policy. The policy also makes it clear
that States can use Federal funds in
accordance with Section 6 of the Act to
measure, monitor, and provide oversight
to ensure the successful implementation
and maintenance of the voluntary prelisting conservation actions as they
relate to candidate species. The States
may contract with a third party to fulfill
the measuring, monitoring, and
oversight obligations that are necessary
to ensure the successful implementation
and maintenance of the voluntary
prelisting conservation actions.
Relationship to CCAAs and similar
agreements. Although CCAAs and
voluntary prelisting conservation
actions covered by the proposed policy
serve the same purpose, conservation of
nonlisted species before they become
listed, they employ different
mechanisms, have different approval
requirements, and have other important
differences.
First, CCAAs and voluntary prelisting
conservation actions employ different
mechanisms for achieving a
conservation benefit to the species. A
CCAA is intended to provide a property
owner (non-Federal) with an assurance
that, if the species covered by the CCAA
is later listed as threatened or
endangered, no new restrictions or
conservation obligations will be

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imposed on the property owner for that
species. In contrast, the purpose of the
proposed policy’s treatment of a
voluntary prelisting conservation action
is to give a property owner (Federal or
non-Federal) the opportunity to have
that action serve as mitigation or a
compensatory measure for the
detrimental impact of an action
undertaken after the species is listed as
endangered or threatened.
Second, CCAAs are subject to more
exacting approval requirements. To
qualify for a CCAA, a non-Federal
property owner must commit to carry
out conservation measures that,
assuming other necessary property
owners were to carry out commensurate
conservation measures, would be
sufficient to preclude the need to list a
species. In contrast, to be treated as a
voluntary prelisting conservation action
under the proposed policy, an action
need only be beneficial to a particular
species; the policy requires no specific
magnitude of benefit.
While it is possible for a voluntary
prelisting conservation action to satisfy
the requirements of both the CCAA
policy and this proposed policy, the
action cannot be treated under both
policies: Using a conservation action as
mitigation or a compensatory measure
against a future detrimental action is
inconsistent with the intent of the
CCAA policy to secure durable
conservation commitments that would
constitute a particular property owner’s
necessary contributions to precluding
the need to list a species.
Role of the States. The role of the
States under the proposed policy,
should they choose to participate, is
addressed in greater detail in section 4.
This section of the proposed policy aims
to ensure the primacy of the States in
conserving species before they are
listed, while ensuring an effective
partnership with the Service so that
voluntary prelisting conservation
actions will be recognized by the
Service in the event that the species is
later listed. An important role of the
States is to ensure that voluntary
prelisting conservation actions are
effectively implemented and
maintained. The primary tracking and
oversight is to be done by the States
who will then annually provide
information on the conservation actions
to the Service. In short, to avail
themselves of the postlisting
opportunity provided by the proposed
policy, persons planning to undertake
voluntary prelisting conservation
actions must do so within the
framework of a State- or multi-Stateapproved program; the most recent
version of a State Wildlife Action Plan

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or other State conservation strategies
should provide useful guidance as to
both the type and the location of
conservation actions that would be most
beneficial for particular species.
Some States may have their own laws
or regulatory authorities (separate from
the Act) under which they can impose
mitigation requirements for certain
activities. If that is the case, and a
person who undertakes a voluntary
prelisting conservation action is allowed
by the State to treat the benefits of that
action as fulfilling the mitigation
requirements of State law, the
individual cannot subsequently use the
same action as mitigation for a separate
activity carried out after listing. That is,
if used prior to listing to meet the
mitigation requirements of State law,
the benefits of prelisting conservation
actions cannot be used again as
mitigation for separate actions carried
out later. Use of prelisting conservation
to meet State mitigation requirements
should be reflected in the register
maintained by a State so as to prevent
such double counting.
Role of the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The role of the Service is addressed in
section 5 of the proposed policy. This
section explains that the Service will
assist the State(s), as needed, in tracking
the implementation and maintenance of
the prelisting conservation actions.
While States have the primary role in
managing species that are not listed
under the Act, they may not have the
necessary resources to fully track the
prelisting conservation actions.
Consequently, the Service will assist the
States, as needed, to help achieve the
mutual goal of conserving species before
they need to be listed under the Act.
Additionally, the Service will
coordinate between the State(s) and
other Federal agencies to help develop
conservation actions and assist in
tracking the implementation and
maintenance of those actions.
Quantifying beneficial and
detrimental impacts. Providing credit
for an effort to mitigate or serve as a
compensatory measure for the impacts
of a detrimental action on a species (or
any other resource) requires measuring
both the detrimental impact and the
offsetting benefit to be secured through
a mitigation action or compensatory
measure. Section 6 of the proposed
policy provides that, in evaluating the
impacts of both detrimental actions and
beneficial actions, the Service will use
the same criteria, standards, and metrics
to quantify the former as it uses to
quantify the latter. However, over time,
new scientific information may indicate
that the metric may need revision or a
new metric should be used. The Service

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will work with the landowner to decide
if the metric needs to be changed. In
cases where failure to utilize a new or
revised metric would appreciably
reduce the likelihood of survival and
recovery of the affected species in the
wild, the Service will require a new or
improved metric as appropriate and will
alert the landowner. The proposed
policy does not itself specify what those
uniform criteria, standards, or metrics
should be or even how they should be
developed. Instead, those will need to
be developed separately and are likely
to vary from species to species or
situation to situation. However, the
benefit of a voluntary prelisting
conservation action for which credit is
given must be greater than the detriment
from the action for which the credit is
used, that is, the benefit from the
prelisting action, combined with the
detriment from a later action, must
result in a positive assistance to the
recovery of the species. This would be
achieved by setting aside a specific
percentage of the credits to gain a
positive assistance to the recovery of the
species. The specific percentage will
depend on the species and the nature of
the actions. In addition, a voluntary
prelisting conservation action can be
supplemented with an additional
postlisting conservation action so that
the combined benefit of prelisting and
postlisting conservation actions is
greater than the detriment from the
postlisting detrimental actions.
Preferential use of voluntary prelisting
conservation actions to offset the
impacts of post-listing activities. Since
the purpose of the proposed policy is to
incentivize voluntary prelisting
conservation actions by allowing the
benefits of such actions to serve as
mitigation or a compensatory measure
for the detriments of postlisting actions,
that purpose would clearly be undercut
if the Service were routinely to require
some other form of mitigation or
compensatory measure for actions that it
consults on or authorizes after listing.
Put differently, those who invest in
prelisting conservation actions under
the proposed policy are likely to want
a reasonable assurance that, when the
Service evaluates the mitigation or
compensatory measure needs for
postlisting activities, we will give
consideration to those alreadyestablished mitigation or compensatory
measures. This scenario does not
require that in all cases the Service must
use prelisting conservation actions as
mitigation or a compensatory measure
for post-listing detrimental actions.
Where there is a mitigation or
compensatory measure alternative that

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clearly produces a better, or more
certain, environmental outcome, the
Service can require or encourage its use.
Likewise, if the proponent of a
postlisting action can achieve a
commensurate environmental outcome
with less effort, cost, and time
expended, the proposed policy allows
such proponent the flexibility to make
that choice.
Effect of using voluntary prelisting
conservation actions to offset the impact
of post-listing activities. As previously
noted, section 4 of the proposed policy
makes clear that, if a State treats the
benefits of a prelisting conservation
action as meeting State mitigation
requirements for actions carried out
prior to listing, the use of those benefits
precludes their later reuse. In a parallel
fashion, section 7 of the proposed policy
provides that, after listing, once the
Service allows the benefits of a
prelisting conservation action to serve
as mitigation or a compensatory
measure for the impacts of a postlisting
action, those same benefits may not be
used again to offset the impacts of other
later postlisting actions.
Proposed Policy Regarding Voluntary
Prelisting Conservation Actions
Section 1. Purpose: The purpose of
this policy is to incentivize voluntary
conservation efforts on behalf of species
before they are listed as endangered or
threatened species under the
Endangered Species Act (‘‘Act’’), and to
clarify the manner in which the Service
‘‘will give appropriate consideration to
any beneficial actions taken by the
Federal agency or applicant, including
any actions taken prior to the initiation
of consultation’’ under section 7(a)(2) or
7(a)(3) of the Act, as provided in 50 CFR
402.14(g)(8).
Section 2. Treatment of Voluntary
Prelisting Conservation Actions. If
requested to do so by the person or
Federal, State, Tribe, or local
government agency that undertakes a
qualifying voluntary prelisting
conservation action, or by a third party
to whom the credits have been
transferred, the Service will treat the
action as (1) a measure to minimize and
mitigate the impact of the taking of an
endangered or threatened species
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
Act, or (2) an intended compensatory
measure of a proposed Federal agency
action subject to the consultation
requirements of section 7(a)(2) or 7(a)(3)
of the Act. Specifically, in the course of
section 7 consultations, the Service will
consider the beneficial effects of
voluntary prelisting conservation
actions to be included as part of the
environmental baseline for the action

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under consideration if requested by the
action agency or, in the case of an
agency action involving a permit
application, by such applicant. The
Service’s determination of the effects of
the action being considered under these
two sections of the Act will reflect the
conservation value of the voluntary
prelisting action based on priority
actions identified in a conservation
strategy for the species. The credits
earned by undertaking a prelisting
conservation action may be transferred
to a third party but must be used for the
same species and within the same State
where the credit was earned.
Section 3. Definition of Voluntary
Prelisting Conservation Actions. As used
in this policy, the term ‘‘voluntary
prelisting conservation action’’ refers to
any conservation measure undertaken to
benefit a nonlisted species of plant or
wildlife as described below, including
but not limited to, the acquisition or
transfer of ownership of land or water
or interests therein for conservation
purposes; the restraint or
relinquishment of the lawful use of a
particular resource negatively affecting
such species; the establishment,
restoration, enhancement, or
commitment to continue management of
habitat for such species; and the
cooperation either in the introduction of
such species into a portion of its
historical range where it is absent or in
the augmentation of such species in an
area where it occurs. The benefit of the
voluntary prelisting conservation action
for which credit is given must be greater
than the detriment of the action for
which the credit is used, that is the
benefit from the prelisting action
combined with the detriment of a the
postlisting action must result in positive
assistance to the recovery of the species.
In addition, a voluntary prelisting
conservation action can be
supplemented with an additional
postlisting conservation action so that
the combined benefit of prelisting and
postlisting conservation actions is
greater than the detriment from the
postlisting detrimental action.
A voluntary prelisting conservation
action must be:
(1) Beneficial to a species that is, or
may become, a candidate or proposed
for listing as threatened or endangered,
(2) Started prior to the final listing of
the benefitted species as an endangered
or threatened species under the Act, and
after the date this policy is finalized.
The actions may be part of an already
established conservation program, plan,
or strategy or be included in such a
program, plan, or strategy that has been
developed after the date this policy is
finalized.

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(3) Not required by any Federal, State,
or local law, regulation, permit, or other
regulatory mechanism.
(4) Undertaken as part of a State- or
multi-State-administered program,
including the most recent version of a
State Wildlife Action Plan or other State
conservation strategy that is intended to
encourage voluntary conservation
measures for the species.
Section 6 funds may be used to
measure, monitor, and oversee the
implementation of the pre-listing
conservation actions as they relate to
candidate species.
Section 4. Role of the States. A State
choosing to participate in the voluntary
prelisting conservation actions crediting
system established by the proposed
policy must maintain a register of all
voluntary prelisting conservation
actions undertaken pursuant to a State
or multi-State-administered program as
described above and for which the
property owners have requested
treatment under the proposed policy,
and must record any transfer to a third
party of the mitigation or compensatory
measure rights associated with such
actions. The State will provide
appropriate oversight to ensure the
effective implementation and
maintenance of voluntary prelisting
conservation actions and provide a
mechanism to notify the Service of each
voluntary prelisting conservation action.
Such actions could be based on or found
in the most recent version of its State
Wildlife Action Plans or other State
conservation strategy for the species and
could be performed by a third party,
including a Federal agency. If a State- or
multi-State-administered program
allows voluntary prelisting conservation
actions to serve as mitigation or a
compensatory measure for the
environmental impacts of activities
regulated by the State and undertaken
prior to the listing of a species as an
endangered or threatened species, the
State will reflect the use of such
voluntary prelisting conservation
actions for such purposes in its register,
and, to the extent so used, such
voluntary prelisting conservation
actions will no longer be available for
treatment as provided in this policy.
Section 5. Role of the Fish and
Wildlife Service. The Service, when
requested, will assist the State, to the
extent its resources allow, with the
measuring, monitoring, and oversight
functions described in section 4. The
Service will coordinate between the
State and other Federal agencies to help
develop conservation actions and
oversee implementation of actions taken
by other Federal agencies to ensure
effectiveness and maintenance of those

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actions. The Service will review any
voluntary prelisting conservation
program for consistency with this policy
and the other mitigation policies and
guidelines established by the Service.
Section 6. Evaluating the Impacts of
Voluntary Prelisting Conservation
Actions. In treating any voluntary
prelisting conservation action as a
measure to minimize and mitigate the
impact of the taking of any endangered
or threatened species pursuant to
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, or as an
intended part of any proposed Federal
action subject to the consultation
requirements of section 7(a)(2) or 7(a)(3)
of the Act, the Service will evaluate the
beneficial impacts of such action
according to the same criteria,
standards, and metrics that it uses to
evaluate the beneficial impacts of other
mitigating or compensatory measures
and the detrimental impacts of activities
that give rise to mitigating or
compensatory measures. However, over
time, new scientific information may
indicate that the metric may need
revision or a new metric should be used.
The Service will work with the
landowner to advise them of the need
for a change. In cases where failure to
utilize a new or revised metric would
appreciably reduce the likelihood of
survival and recovery of the affected
species in the wild, the Service will
require a new or improved metric as
appropriate and will alert the
landowner. Species-specific metrics will
be developed to facilitate the evaluation
of the prelisting conservation actions
and the detrimental actions. The benefit
of a voluntary prelisting conservation
action for which credit is given must be
greater than the detriment from the
action for which the credit is used, that
is, the benefit from the prelisting action,
combined with the detriment from a
later action, must result in a positive
assistance to the recovery of the species.
The positive assistance to the recovery
of the species will be achieved by
setting aside a specific percentage of the
credits. The specific percentage will
depend on the species and the nature of
the actions.
Section 7. Effect of Treating a
Voluntary Prelisting Conservation
Action as a Mitigating or Compensatory
Measure. To the extent that a voluntary
prelisting conservation action is treated
by the Service as a measure to minimize
or mitigate any future impact of the
taking of an endangered or threatened
species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B)
of the Act, or as an intended
compensatory measure of a Federal
agency action subject to the consultation
requirements of section 7(a)(2) or 7(a)(3)

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42529

of the Act, such action may not be used
again.
Request for Information
We intend that a final policy will
consider information and
recommendations from all interested
parties. We, therefore, solicit comments,
information, and recommendations from
governmental agencies, Indian Tribes,
the scientific community, industry
groups, environmental interest groups,
and any other interested parties. All
comments and materials received by the
date listed above in DATES will be
considered prior to the approval of a
final document.
In addition to more general comments
and information, we ask that you
comment on the following specific
aspects of the policy:
(1) The policy requires an overall
positive assistance to the species; how
should we define this benefit?
(2) The policy requires that a
prelisting conservation action be part of
a State plan. What approach should we
take if there is no State plan for the
species?
(3) For those species for which the
State does not have the authority or
jurisdiction, should we revise the policy
to allow prelisting conservation actions
for these species to receive credit? If so,
how would these prelisting
conservation actions be tracked and
monitored?
(4) How should we quantify the value
of the voluntary prelisting conservation
actions and credits?
(5) Based on the species and the
nature of the actions, how should we
determine the percentage set aside?
(6) The policy allows for the transfer
of credits. How could we develop an
uncomplicated trading system
mechanism?
If you submit information via http://
www.regulations.gov, your entire
submission—including any personal
identifying information—will be posted
on the Web site. If your submission is
made via a hardcopy that includes
personal identifying information, you
may request at the top of your document
that we withhold this information from
public review. However, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
We will post all hardcopy submissions
on http://www.regulations.gov.
Required Determinations
As mentioned above, we intend to
apply this policy, when finalized, in
considering prelisting voluntary
conservation efforts. Below we discuss
compliance with several Executive
Orders and statutes as they pertain to
this draft policy.

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 140 / Tuesday, July 22, 2014 / Notices

Regulatory Planning and Review
(Executive Orders 12866 and 13563)
Executive Order 12866 provides that
the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of
Management and Budget will review all
significant rules. OIRA has determined
that this policy is not a significant rule.
Executive Order 13563 reaffirms the
principles of E.O. 12866 while calling
for improvements in the nation’s
regulatory system to promote
predictability, to reduce uncertainty,
and to use the best, most innovative,
and least burdensome tools for
achieving regulatory ends. The
executive order directs agencies to
consider regulatory approaches that
reduce burdens and maintain flexibility
and freedom of choice for the public
where these approaches are relevant,
feasible, and consistent with regulatory
objectives. E.O. 13563 emphasizes
further that our regulatory system must
be based on the best available science
and that the rulemaking process must
allow for public participation and an
open exchange of ideas. We have
developed this policy in a manner
consistent with these requirements.

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Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601
et seq.)
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act
(RFA), as amended by the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C.
601 et seq., whenever an agency is
required to publish a notice of
rulemaking for any proposed or final
rule, it must prepare and make available
for public comment a regulatory
flexibility analysis that describes the
effects of the rule on small entities (i.e.,
small businesses, small organizations,
and small government jurisdictions).
However, no regulatory flexibility
analysis is required if the head of the
agency certifies the rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
The SBREFA amended the RFA to
require Federal agencies to provide a
statement of the factual basis for
certifying that the rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
This draft policy sets forth the
Service’s policy regarding the
consideration of voluntary prelisting
conservation actions through Section 7
of the Act should a species be listed. A
full description of the action, why it is
being considered, and the legal basis for
this action are set forth earlier in this
document. The policy will provide an
incentive to Federal, State, or local
government agencies, Indian Tribes,

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nongovernmental organizations, or
private individuals to take voluntary
conservation actions for species before
they are listed under the Act.
The Service, States, local government
agencies, Indian Tribes,
nongovernmental organizations, or
private landowners are the entities that
are affected by this draft policy.
However, the effect is very limited; if
they so choose, each entity would only
need to report, to the State, limited
information on any voluntary
conservation action they took and
wished to receive credit under this
policy. Therefore, for the reasons
described above, this draft policy would
not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small
entities.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.)
In accordance with the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 1501 et
seq.):
(a) On the basis of information
contained in the ‘‘Regulatory Flexibility
Act’’ section above, this draft policy
would not ‘‘significantly or uniquely’’
affect small governments. We have
determined and certify pursuant to the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, 2
U.S.C. 1502, that this policy would not
impose a cost of $100 million or more
in any given year on local or State
governments or private entities. As
explained above, small governments
could potentially be affected because
the draft policy could place additional
requirements on any city, county, or
other local municipalities. However, the
requirement, which is to collect
minimal information on any prelisting
conservation actions they voluntarily
choose to implement and report to their
State wildlife agency, would only result
in a minimal effect.
(b) This draft policy would not
produce a Federal mandate on State,
local, or Tribal governments or the
private sector of $100 million or greater
in any year; that is, it is not a
‘‘significant regulatory action’’’ under
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
This policy could impose only minimal
obligations on local or tribal
governments and as well as on State
governments if they choose to
participate. As such, a Small
Government Agency Plan is not
required.
Takings—Executive Order 12630
In accordance with Executive Order
12630, this draft policy would not have
significant takings implications. This
draft policy would not pertain to
‘‘taking’’ of private property interests,

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nor would it directly affect private
property. A takings implication
assessment is not required because this
draft policy (1) would not effectively
compel a property owner to suffer a
physical invasion of property and (2)
would not deny all economically
beneficial or productive use of the land
or aquatic resources. This draft policy
would substantially advance a
legitimate government interest (establish
a policy through which the Service
would consider voluntary prelisting
conservation actions through Section 7
of the Act should a species become
listed) and would not present a barrier
to all reasonable and expected beneficial
use of private property.
Federalism—Executive Order 13132
In accordance with Executive Order
13132 (Federalism), this draft policy
does not have significant Federalism
effects and a Federalism assessment is
not required. This draft policy pertains
only to the Service’s treatment of
voluntary prelisting conservation
actions should the species become listed
under the Act, and would not have
substantial direct effects on the States,
on the relationship between the Federal
Government and the States, or on the
distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various
levels of government. A State that
chooses to participate under the policy
must monitor prelisting conservation
actions. Since States have an existing
mechanism to conduct the monitoring
for other purposes, the proposed policy
does not create a new requirement.
Civil Justice Reform—Executive Order
12988
In accordance with Executive Order
12988 (Civil Justice Reform), this draft
policy would not unduly burden the
judicial system and meets the
requirements of sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2)
of the Order. The establishment of a
policy for the Service to consider
voluntary prelisting conservation
actions in the context of Section 7 of the
Act should the species be listed should
not significantly affect or burden the
judicial system.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This proposed policy contains a
collection of information that we have
submitted to OMB for review and
approval under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.). We 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.
OMB Control No.: 1018–NEW.

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 140 / Tuesday, July 22, 2014 / Notices
organizations; and State, tribal and local
governments.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
obtain or retain a benefit.

Title: Voluntary Prelisting
Conservation Actions.
Service Form Number(s): None.
Description of Respondents:
Individuals; businesses and

Number of
respondents

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Activity

Number of
responses

Frequency of Collection: Ongoing for
recordkeeping and annually for
reporting.

Completion time per response

Total annual
burden hours

Report Information to States:
Individuals ........................................................................
Private Sector ...................................................................
Government ......................................................................
States Collect and Report Information to the Service ............

20
280
100
10

20
280
100
10

15
15
15
20

minutes .............................
minutes .............................
minutes .............................
hours .................................

5
70
25
200

Totals ........................................................................

410

410

................................................

300

We will collect the following
information:
• Description of the prelisting
conservation action being taken.
• Location of the action (does not
include a specific address).
• Name of the entity taking the action
and their contact information (email
address only).
• Frequency of the action (ongoing for
X years, or one-time implementation)
and an indication if the action is
included in a State Wildlife Action
Plan.
• Any transfer to a third party of the
mitigation or compensatory measure
rights.
We estimate that 10 States will choose
to participate. Each State will collect
information from landowners,
businesses and organizations, and tribal
and local governments that wish to
receive credit for voluntary prelisting
conservation actions. States may collect
this information via an Access database,
Excel spreadsheet, or other database of
their choosing and submit the
information to the Fish and Wildlife
Service (via email) annually. We will
use this information to calculate the
amount of credits that the entity taking
the conservation action will receive. We
will keep track of the credits and notify
the entity of how much credit they have
earned. The entity can then use these
credits to mitigate or offset the
detrimental effects of other actions they
take after the species is listed (assuming
it is listed).
As part of our continuing efforts to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we invite the public and other
Federal agencies to comment on any
aspect of the reporting burden
associated with this proposed
information collection. We specifically
invite comments concerning:
• Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
implementation of the proposed
Prelisting Conservation Actions policy,

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including whether or not the
information will have practical utility;
• The accuracy of our estimate of the
burden for this collection of
information;
• Ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be
collected; and
• Ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents.
If you wish to comment on the
information collection requirements of
this proposed policy, send your
comments directly to OMB (see detailed
instructions under the heading
Comments on the Information
Collection Aspects of this Proposal in
the ADDRESSES section). Please
identify your comments with 1018–
AY29. Please provide a copy of your
comments to the Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer (see
detailed instructions under the heading
Comments on the Information
Collection Aspects of this Proposal in
the ADDRESSES section).
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA)
We have analyzed the proposed
policy in accordance with the criteria of
the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4332(c)), the Council
on Environmental Quality’s Regulations
for Implementing the Procedural
Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 1500–
1508), and the Department of the
Interior’s NEPA procedures (516 DM 2
and 8; 43 CFR part 46).
We have determined that the
proposed policy is categorically
excluded from NEPA documentation
requirements consistent with 40 CFR
1508.4 and 43 CFR 46.210(i). This
categorical exclusion applies to policies,
directives, regulations, and guidelines
that are ‘‘of an administrative, financial,
legal, technical, or procedural nature.’’
This action does not trigger an
extraordinary circumstance, as outlined
in 43 CFR 46.215, applicable to the

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categorical exclusion. Therefore, the
proposed policy does not constitute a
major Federal action significantly
affecting the quality of the human
environment.
Government-to-Government
Relationship With Tribes
In accordance with the President’s
memorandum of April 29, 1994,
‘‘Government-to-Government Relations
with Native American Tribal
Governments’’ (59 FR 22951), Executive
Order 13175 ‘‘Consultation and
Coordination with Indian Tribal
Governments,’’ and the Department of
the Interior Manual at 512 DM 2, we
have considered possible effects on
federally recognized Indian tribes and
have preliminarily determined that
there are no potential adverse effects of
issuing this draft policy. Our intent with
the draft policy is to provide a
consistent approach to the consideration
of voluntary prelisting conservation
actions, including those taken on Tribal
lands. We will continue to work with
Tribes as we finalize this draft policy.
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use
Executive Order 13211 (Actions
Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use) requires agencies
to prepare Statements of Energy Effects
when undertaking certain actions. The
draft policy, if made final, is not
expected to significantly affect energy
supplies, distribution, or use. Therefore,
this action is not a significant energy
action and no Statement of Energy
Effects is required.
Clarity of the Draft Policy
We are required by Executive Orders
12866 and 12988 and by the
Presidential Memorandum of June 1,
1998, to write all rules in plain
language. This means that each rule or
policy we publish must:
a. Be logically organized;

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 140 / Tuesday, July 22, 2014 / Notices

b. Use the active voice to address
readers directly;
c. Use clear language rather than
jargon;
d. Be divided into short sections and
sentences; and
e. Use lists and tables wherever
possible.
If you feel that we have not met these
requirements, send us comments by one
of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. To
better help us revise this draft policy,
your comments should be as specific as
possible. For example, you should tell
us the numbers of the sections or
paragraphs that are unclearly written,
which sections or sentences are too
long, the sections where you believe
lists or tables would be useful, etc.
Authors
The primary authors of the draft
policy are staff members of the
Ecological Services Program, Branch of
Communications and Candidate
Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive,
Arlington, VA 22203.

20005; or by fax, 202–371–6447. Written
or faxed comments should be submitted
by August 6, 2014. 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.
Dated: July 1, 2014.
J. Paul Loether,
Chief, National Register of Historic Places/
National Historic Landmarks Program.
CONNECTICUT
New London County
Mystic Bank, 39 Main St., Old Mystic,
14000476
FLORIDA
Pinellas County

Authority
The authority for this action is the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Gulfport Casino, 5500 Shore Blvd., Gulfport,
14000477

Dated: May 8, 2014.
Stephen Guertin,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.

United States Post Office and Courthouse,
750 Missouri Ave., East Saint Louis,
14000478

[FR Doc. 2014–17022 Filed 7–21–14; 8:45 am]

Cherokee County

ILLINOIS
St. Clair County

KANSAS

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

Baxter Springs High School, (Public Schools
of Kansas MPS) 1520 Cleveland Ave.,
Baxter Springs, 14000479

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

MARYLAND

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National Park Service

Frederick County

[NPS–WASO–NRNHL–16123;
PPWOCRADI0, PCU00RP14.R50000]

Catoctin Mountain Park, 6602 Foxville Rd.,
Thurmont, 14000484

National Register of Historic Places;
Notification of Pending Nominations
and Related Actions

NEW MEXICO

Nominations for the following
properties being considered for listing
or related actions in the National
Register were received by the National
Park Service before June 28, 2014.
Pursuant to section 60.13 of 36 CFR part
60, written comments are being
accepted concerning the significance of
the nominated properties under the
National Register criteria for evaluation.
Comments may be forwarded by United
States Postal Service, to the National
Register of Historic Places, National
Park Service, 1849 C St. NW., MS 2280,
Washington, DC 20240; by all other
carriers, National Register of Historic
Places, National Park Service, 1201 Eye
St. NW., 8th floor, Washington, DC

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San Miguel County
Santa Fe Trail—West San Jose Segment,
Address Restricted, San Jose, 14000481
OHIO
Butler County
Central Avenue Historic District, Central
Ave., Middletown, 14000480
OREGON
Multnomah County
Woodlark Building, 813–817 SW. Alder St.,
Portland, 14000482
WISCONSIN
Brown County
Beaten, John, Store, 620 George St., De Pere,
14000483
A request for removal has been received for
the following resource:

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OREGON
Yamhill County
Baxter House, 407 Church St., Dayton,
87000331
[FR Doc. 2014–17159 Filed 7–21–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312–51–P

INTERNATIONAL TRADE
COMMISSION
Notice of Receipt of Complaint;
Solicitation of Comments Relating to
the Public Interest
U.S. International Trade
Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

Notice is hereby given that
the U.S. International Trade
Commission has received a complaint
entitled Certain Communications or
Computing Devices, and Components
Thereof, DN 3022; the Commission is
soliciting comments on any public
interest issues raised by the complaint
or complainant’s filing under section
210.8(b) of the Commission’s Rules of
Practice and Procedure (19 CFR
210.8(b)).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa
R. Barton, Secretary to the Commission,
U.S. International Trade Commission,
500 E Street, SW., Washington, DC
20436, telephone (202) 205–2000. The
public version of the complaint can be
accessed on the Commission’s
Electronic Document Information
System (EDIS) at EDIS,1 and will be
available for inspection during official
business hours (8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.)
in the Office of the Secretary, U.S.
International Trade Commission, 500 E
Street SW., Washington, DC 20436,
telephone (202) 205–2000.
General information concerning the
Commission may also be obtained by
accessing its Internet server at United
States International Trade Commission
(USITC) at USITC.2 The public record
for this investigation may be viewed on
the Commission’s Electronic Document
Information System (EDIS) at EDIS.3
Hearing-impaired persons are advised
that information on this matter can be
obtained by contacting the
Commission’s TDD terminal on (202)
205–1810.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Commission has received a complaint
and a submission pursuant to section
SUMMARY:

1 Electronic Document Information System
(EDIS): http://edis.usitc.gov.
2 United States International Trade Commission
(USITC): http://edis.usitc.gov.
3 Electronic Document Information System
(EDIS): http://edis.usitc.gov.

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