Department of the Interior November 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we are notifying the public that we have submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) an information collection request (ICR) to renew approval of the paperwork requirements in this ICR titled ``30 CFR Parts 1202, 1206, 1210, 1212, 1217, and 1218, Solid Minerals and Geothermal Resources.'' This notice also provides the public a second opportunity to comment on the paperwork burden of these regulatory requirements.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of a record of decision (ROD) for the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) on the South Dakota Prairie Winds Project issued by the Department of Energy's Western Area Power Administration (Western), and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS). Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, and its implementing regulations, the Service participated as a cooperating agency in the preparation and release of the FEIS. The purpose of this ROD is to document the Service's decision to release and relinquish certain easement rights for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the proposed wind energy generation facilities on lands in Aurora County and Brule County, South Dakota, on which the Service holds an easement for waterfowl habitat protection. The action selected by the Service corresponds with the proposed alternative of the FEIS.

The following Water Management Plans are available for review: Orland-Artois Water District Kern Tulare Water District To meet the requirements of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 (CVPIA) and the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982, the Bureau of Reclamation developed and published the Criteria for Evaluating Water Management Plans (Criteria). For the purpose of this announcement, Water Management Plans (Plans) are considered the same as Water Conservation Plans. The above entities have developed a Plan, which Reclamation has evaluated and preliminarily determined to meet the requirements of these Criteria. Reclamation is publishing this notice in order to allow the public to review the plans and comment on the preliminary determinations. Public comment on Reclamation's preliminary (i.e., draft) determination is invited at this time.

Notice is hereby given that a temporary closure prohibiting climbing of all types, overnight camping, and the construction of new trails is in effect on public lands within the Castle Rocks Inter- Agency Recreation Area that are administered by the Burley Field Office, Bureau of Land Management.

Pursuant to 36 CFR 51.23, public notice is hereby given that the National Park Service proposes to extend the following expiring concession contract for a period of three years through November 30, 2013.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, notice is hereby given of meetings of the Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC). Comprised of 30 nonfederal invasive species experts and stakeholders from across the nation, the purpose of the Advisory Committee is to provide advice to the National Invasive Species Council, as authorized by Executive Order 13112, on a broad array of issues related to preventing the introduction of invasive species and providing for their control and minimizing the economic, ecological, and human health impacts that invasive species cause. The Council is co-chaired by the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Commerce. The duty of the Council is to provide national leadership regarding invasive species issues. Purpose of Meeting: The meeting will be held on December 7-9, 2010 in Washington, DC, and will focus primarily on Early Detection and Rapid Response as it relates to invasive species. The full ISAC will also consider a white paper entitled, Invasive Species and Climate Change, as drafted by the ISAC Task Team on Climate Change.

Pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) John Day-Snake Resource Advisory Council (JDSRAC) will meet as indicated below.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits activities with listed species unless a Federal permit is issued that allows such activities. The ESA laws require that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD)/Approved Amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan, the applicable Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the project site and the surrounding areas, located in the California Desert District. The Secretary of the Interior approved the ROD on November 4, 2010, which constitutes the final decision of the Department.

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will issue an appealable decision to Doyon, Limited. The decision will approve the conveyance of the surface and subsurface estates in the lands described below pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The lands are in the vicinity of Eagle, Alaska, and are located in:

The National Park Service and the United States Secret Service are withdrawing the September 22, 2010, Federal Register notice (75 FR 57811) announcing their intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment and to conduct scoping in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. 4321 (NEPA), to aid their consideration of certain proposed actions, including permanent roadway closures, the re- design of security elements, and the preservation of the historic landscape within President's Park South, to include the portion of E Street, NW., between 15th Street and 17th Street, in Washington, DC. The scoping process, public comment period, and public meeting referenced in that notice are now cancelled.

On January 16, 2009, then Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne designated the following National Natural Landmarks: Big Bone Lick, Boone County, Kentucky; Cave Without a Name, Kendall County, Texas; Chazy Fossil Reef, Grand Isle County, Vermont and Clinton County, New York; and Nottingham Park Serpentine Barrens, Chester County, PA

Under the provisions of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a petition for reinstatement from Craig Settle for competitive oil and gas lease WYW160109 for land in Fremont County, Wyoming. The petition was filed on time and was accompanied by all the rentals due since the date the lease terminated under the law.

In this Candidate Notice of Review (CNOR), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), present an updated list of plant and animal species native to the United States that we regard as candidates for or have proposed for addition to the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. Identification of candidate species can assist environmental planning efforts by providing advance notice of potential listings, allowing landowners and resource managers to alleviate threats and thereby possibly remove the need to list species as endangered or threatened. Even if we subsequently list a candidate species, the early notice provided here could result in more options for species management and recovery by prompting candidate conservation measures to alleviate threats to the species. The CNOR summarizes the status and threats that we evaluated in order to determine that species qualify as candidates and to assign a listing priority number (LPN) to each species or to determine that species should be removed from candidate status. Additional material that we relied on is available in the Species Assessment and Listing Priority Assignment Forms (species assessment forms, previously called candidate forms) for each candidate species. Overall, this CNOR recognizes five new candidates, changes the LPN for four candidates, and removes one species from candidate status. Combined with other decisions for individual species that were published separately from this CNOR in the past year, the current number of species that are candidates for listing is 251. This document also includes our findings on resubmitted petitions and describes our progress in revising the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants during the period October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2010. We request additional status information that may be available for the 251 candidate species identified in this CNOR.

Notice is hereby given that the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission (the Commission) plans to meet and discuss currently authorized and proposed memorials in the District of Columbia and its environs.

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we are notifying the public that we have submitted to OMB an information collection request (ICR) to renew approval of the paperwork requirements in the regulations under 30 CFR 250, subpart E, ``Oil and Gas Well Completion Operations.'' This notice also provides the public a second opportunity to comment on the paperwork burden of these regulatory requirements.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) invites submissions describing interest in obtaining one or more commercial leases for the construction of a wind energy project(s) on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Maryland. The BOEMRE will use responses to this RFI to enable BOEMRE to gauge specific interest in commercial development of OCS wind resources in the area described, as required by 43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3). Parties wishing to obtain a commercial lease for a wind energy project should submit detailed and specific information as described below in the section entitled, ``Required Indication of Interest Information.'' Also, with this announcement the BOEMRE invites all interested and affected parties to comment and provide informationincluding information on environmental issues and concernsthat will be useful in the consideration of the RFI area for commercial wind energy leases. This RFI is published pursuant to subsection 8(p) of the OCS Lands Act, as amended by section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3)) and the implementing regulations at 30 CFR part 285. The Western edge of the RFI area is located approximately 10 nautical miles from the Ocean City, Maryland coast and the Eastern edge is approximately 27 nautical miles from the Ocean City, Maryland coast. This area was delineated in consultation with the BOEMRE Maryland Renewable Energy Task Force. A detailed description of the RFI area is found later in this notice.

Under the provisions of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a petition for reinstatement from Finley Company, et al., for competitive oil and gas lease NVN- 74793 for land in Nye County, Nevada. The petition was timely filed and was accompanied by all the rentals due since the lease terminated under the law.

This emergency rule establishes a manatee refuge in Citrus County, Florida, in the waters of Kings Bay, including its tributaries and connected waters because we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have determined that there is substantial evidence that there is imminent danger of a taking of one or more manatees (Trichechus manatus) in these waters. This emergency action is effective for 120 days. We will initiate the rulemaking process to establish a permanent manatee refuge in this area, including holding the first of several public meetings, within 10 days of the publication of this rule.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Central Montana Resource Advisory Council (RAC) will meet as indicated below.

This notice provides the names of individuals who have been appointed to serve as members of the Department of the Interior Performance Review Board.