Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Regulations, 57177-57179 [05-19547]

Agencies

• Office of the Secretary
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 189 (Friday, September 30, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57177-57179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-19547]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary

43 CFR Part 10

RIN 1024-AC84


Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 
Regulations

AGENCY: Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Final rule; Technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 
1990 (the Act) assigns responsibility for implementation to the 
Secretary of the Interior. Secretarial Order 3261 assigns some of these 
responsibilities to other positions in the Department of the Interior 
and National Park Service. This technical amendment amends the rule to 
be consistent with the new assignment of responsibilities.

DATES: Effective September 30, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Sherry Hutt, Manager, National 
NAGPRA Program, National Park Service, 1849 C Street NW., (2253), 
Washington, DC 20240, telephone (202) 354-1479, facsimile (202) 371-
5197, e-mail: Sherry--Hutt@nps.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On November 16, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (the Act) into 
law. The Act addresses the rights of lineal descendants, Indian tribes, 
and Native Hawaiian organizations to Native American human remains, 
funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony 
with which they are affiliated. The Act assigns implementation 
responsibilities to the Secretary of the Interior.

Technical Amendment

    Secretarial Order 3261 reassigns some of these implementation 
responsibilities to other positions in the Department of the Interior 
and National Park Service to ensure efficient and effective 
implementation of the statutory requirements.
    Pursuant to the Secretarial Order, the Assistant Secretary for Fish 
and Wildlife and Parks is responsible for issuing regulations to carry 
out the Act after consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Indian 
Affairs; granting extensions of inventory deadlines; awarding grants to 
assist in implementation of NAGPRA to Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian 
organizations, and museums. In consultation with the Office of the 
Solicitor, the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks is 
also responsible for executing provisions of the Act regarding civil 
penalties against museums that fail to comply with NAGPRA, including 
investigating allegations of failure to comply with NAGPRA requirements 
and developing and assessing civil penalties.
    The Manager, National NAGPRA Program, reporting to the National 
Park Service Director through the Associate Director for Cultural 
Resources, is responsible for managing the operations of the National 
NAGPRA Program and provides staff support to the Assistant Secretary 
for Fish and Wildlife and

[[Page 57178]]

Parks. Such duties include preparing regulations for issuance by the 
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks; reviewing and 
recommending disposition of requests for extensions of the inventory 
deadline; publishing notices in the Federal Register; serving as the 
Designated Federal Official for the Native American Graves Protection 
and Repatriation Review Committee; in consultation with the Office of 
the Solicitor, providing technical assistance to the Department of 
Justice in implementation of the trafficking provisions of NAGPRA; 
developing and issuing guidelines, technical information, training and 
other programs; and administering grants to assist Indian tribes, 
Native Hawaiian organizations and museums in meeting their NAGPRA 
obligations. The National NAGPRA Program Manager is also responsible 
for providing staff to support the civil penalty responsibilities of 
the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, who will 
report directly to the Assistant Secretary in the performance of these 
duties.
    Some of the abovementioned responsibilities were previously 
assigned by regulation to the National Park Service Director or the 
Departmental Consulting Archeologist. This technical amendment revises 
the rule to be consistent with the realignment of implementation 
responsibilities in the Secretarial Order.

Good Cause for Immediate Adoption

    The Department of the Interior is issuing this technical amendment 
without prior notice and opportunity for comment as allowed by the 
Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553(B)). This provision 
allows an agency to issue a regulatory action without notice and 
opportunity for comment when the agency for good cause finds that 
notice and comment procedures are ``impracticable, unnecessary or 
contrary to the public interest.'' This technical amendment will 
clarify the delegation implementation responsibilities. Immediate 
implementation of the provisions of this amendment will benefit the 
public by ensuring efficient administration of the provisions of the 
Act. Failure to implement this amendment immediately could result in 
confusion and inefficiency that would adversely affect the public 
interest. For this reason, the Department of the Interior has 
determined that prior notice and an opportunity for comment would be 
impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to the public interest. This 
same rationale provides good cause to make the technical amendment 
effective immediately upon publication, as allowed by the 
Administrative Procedure Act (553 U.S.C. (d)(3)).

Compliance With Laws and Executive Orders

Regulatory Planning and Review (Executive Order 12866)

    This document is not a significant rule and has not been reviewed 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866.
    (1) This rule will not have an effect of $100 million or more on 
the economy. It will not adversely affect in a material way the 
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 
health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or 
communities.
    (2) This rule will not create a serious inconsistency or otherwise 
interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency. Actions 
taken under this rule will not interfere with other agencies or local 
government plans, policies or controls. This rule is an agency-specific 
rule.
    (3) This rule does not alter the budgetary effects of entitlements, 
grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights or obligations of 
their recipients. This rule will have no effects on entitlements, 
grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights or obligations of 
their recipients. No grants or other forms of monetary supplements are 
involved.
    (4) This rule does not raise novel legal or policy issues.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Department of the Interior certifies that this rulemaking will 
not have a significant economic effect on a substantial number of small 
entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA)

    This rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2), the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. This proposed rule:
    a. Does not have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or 
more.
    b. Will not cause a major increase in costs or prices for 
consumers, individual industries, Federal, State, or local government 
agencies, or geographic regions.
    c. Does not have significant adverse effects on competition, 
employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of 
U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    This rule does not impose an unfunded mandate on State, local, or 
tribal governments or the private sector of more than $100 million per 
year. The rule does not have a significant or unique effect on State, 
local or tribal governments or the private sector. This rule is an 
agency specific rule and does not impose any other requirements on 
other agencies, governments, or the private sector.

Takings (Executive Order 12630)

    In accordance with Executive Order 12630, the rule does not have 
significant takings implications. A taking implication assessment is 
not required. No taking of personal property will occur as a result of 
this rule.

Federalism (Executive Order 13132)

    In accordance with Executive Order 13132, the rule does not have 
sufficient Federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a 
Federalism Assessment.

Civil Justice Reform (Executive Order 12988)

    In accordance with Executive Order 12988, the Office of the 
Solicitor has determined that this rule does not unduly burden the 
judicial system and meets the requirements of sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) 
of the Order.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This regulation does not require an information collection from 10 
or more parties and a submission under the Paperwork Reduction Act is 
not required. An OMB Form 83-I is not required.

National Environmental Policy Act

    We have analyzed this rule in accordance with the criteria of the 
National Environmental Policy Act and 516 DM. This rule 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) and 512 DM 2, we have evaluated potential 
effects on Federally recognized Indian tribes and have determined that 
there are no potential effects.

List of Subjects in 43 CFR Part 10

    Administrative practices and procedure, Hawaiian Natives, Historic 
Preservation, Indians--Claims,

[[Page 57179]]

Museums, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

0
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Department of the Interior 
amends title 43, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows:

PART 10--NATIVE AMERICAN GRAVES PROTECTION AND REPATRIATION ACT 
REGULATIONS

0
1. The authority citation for Part 10 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.


0
2. Amend Sec.  10.2 by revising the second sentence of paragraph (b)(2) 
and revising paragraph (c)(3) to read as follows:


Sec.  10.2  Definitions.

    (b) * * *
    (2) * * * The Secretary will make available a list of Indian tribes 
and Indian tribal officials for the purposes of carrying out this 
statute through the Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (3) Manager, National NAGPRA Program means the official of the 
Department of the Interior designated by the Secretary as responsible 
for administration of matters relating to this part. Communications to 
the Manager, National NAGPRA Program, should be addressed to: Manager, 
National NAGPRA Program, National Park Service (MS 2253 MIB), 1849 C 
Street NW., Washington, DC 20240.

0
3. Revise paragraph (a) of Sec.  10.12 to read as follows:


Sec.  10.12  Civil penalties.

    (a) The Secretary's authority to assess civil penalties. The 
Secretary is authorized by section 9 of the Act to assess civil 
penalties on any museum that fails to comply with the requirements of 
the Act. The Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks may 
act on behalf of the Secretary.
* * * * *

Subpart D to Part 10--[Nomenclature Change]

0
4. In Subpart D, remove the words ``Departmental Consulting 
Archeologist'' wherever they appear and add in their place the words 
``Manager, National NAGPRA Program''.

    Dated: September 14, 2005.
Craig Manson,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 05-19547 Filed 9-29-05; 8:45 am]
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