November 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), issue a final rule designating critical habitat for the Southern Resident killer whale (Orcinus orca) distinct population segment (DPS). Three specific areas are designated, (1) the Summer Core Area in Haro Strait and waters around the San Juan Islands; (2) Puget Sound; and (3) the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which comprise approximately 2,560 square miles (6,630 sq km) of marine habitat. We considered the economic impacts and impacts to national security, and concluded the benefits of exclusion of 18 military sites, comprising approximately 112 square miles (291 sq km), outweighed the benefits of inclusion because of national security impacts. We solicited comments from the public on all aspects of the proposed rule. An economic analysis, biological report, and Endangered Species Act (ESA) report were available for comment along with the proposed rule. The supporting documents have been finalized in support of the final critical habitat designation.

NMFS announces changes to management measures in the commercial and recreational Pacific Coast groundfish fisheries. These actions, which are authorized by the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), are intended to allow fisheries to access more abundant groundfish stocks while protecting overfished and depleted stocks.

The Willamette National Forest is planning to charge fees at six recreation sites. All sites have recently been reconstructed or amenities are being added to improve services and experiences. Fees are assessed based on the level of amenities and services provided, cost of operation and maintenance, market assessment, and public comment. The fees listed are only proposed and will be determined upon further analysis and public comment. Funds from fees would be used for the continued operation and maintenance of these recreation sites. Gold Butte and Timber Butte Lookouts will be available for overnight rental. A financial analysis is being completed to determine the rental fee but may range between $40 and $80 per night. Lookout rentals offer a unique experience and are a widely popular offering on National Forests. Gold Butte was recently resorted to maintain the lookout's eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places. Fees would continue to help protect and maintain lookouts and their historic integrity. The fee structure at Harralson Horse Camp would change from the required Recreation Pass to a $10 per campsite for overnight use. A fee of $5 per additional vehicle would be required per campsite. Recreation passes such as the Northwest Forest Pass would continue to cover day use fees at the trailhead. Additional amenities are proposed for the facility and may include hitching rails, additional corrals and campsites, and a water system. Improvements allow visitors with horses to safely secure their stock while protecting area resources from degradation. Elk Lake Campground is currently a fee free site. Improvements are being made including designating up to 17 campsites, installing fire rings, picnic tables and adding garbage service. Three new toilets were installed last year. Improvements will address sanitation and safety concerns, and improve deteriorating resource conditions and recreation experiences. A financial analysis is being completed to determine fee rates. The proposed fee to help maintain this site would range between $6 and $8 a campsite, $12-$16 for a double site, and $5 per one additional vehicle per campsite. Whitewater Trailhead would be re-established as a fee site since amenities such as toilets and garbage service have been added, and interpretive signing is being developed for this site. Recreation Passes such as the Northwest Forest Pass would cover day use fees for this trailhead. Northwest Forest Passes are $5 for a daily pass and $30 for an annual pass. The Forest Service proposes to continue charging a $5 per vehicle fee at Upper Arm Day Use Site from October through March. This newly constructed picnic site and formal swimming area opened in June of 2006, and is operated by Santiam Recreation under a concessionaire special use permit from April through September. The concessionaire currently charges a $5 per vehicle fee during the operating season of their permit.

The South Tahoe Greenway Multi-Use Trail is a California Tahoe Conservancy (Conservancy) proposed Class I or better trail that will link Meyers, California to Stateline, Nevada, generally following the former Caltrans U.S. Highway 50 Bypass Corridor. The trail will form the backbone of the bike trail network in South Lake Tahoe and line residential and lodging uses to jobs, schools, shopping, and recreation and community areas. The trail implements specific goals and policies of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (USFS), and Conservancy to provide a non-motorized alternative transportation corridor through South Lake Tahoe. Approximately 0.5 mile of the trail corridor will cross National Forest lands in approximately six locations.

This action proposes to revise Class E airspace at Mekoryuk, AK. Three new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) are being developed for the Mekoryuk Airport. Amendments to a Departure Procedure (DP) and two SIAPs are also being developed. Adoption of this proposal wouldresult in revision of existing Class E airspace upward from 700 feet (ft.) above the surface at Mekoryuk Airport, Mekoryuk, AK.

On September 29, 2006, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced the availability of the Proposed Upper Columbia Spring Chinook Salmon, Steelhead, and Bull Trout Recovery Plan (Plan) for public review and comment. In this notice, NMFS is extending the public comment period for this proposal to January 29, 2007. NMFS is soliciting review and comments from the public and all interested parties on the spring Chinook salmon and steelhead portions of the Proposed Plan. If comments are received on the bull trout portion of the Plan, NMFS will pass them on to the USFWS.

The EPA is proposing to approve New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services' (NH DES) request to implement and enforce its regulation entitled ``Asbestos Management and Control'' in lieu of the Asbestos National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (Asbestos NESHAP) as it applies to certain asbestos-related activities. Upon approval, NH DES' rule will be federally enforceable and will apply to all sources that otherwise would be regulated by the Asbestos NESHAP with the exception of inactive waste disposal sites that ceased operation on or before July 9, 1981. These inactive disposal sites are already regulated by State rules that were approved by EPA on May 23, 2003. NH DES' request seeks to adjust the federal rules by demonstrating the equivalency of its rules to the federal requirements.

This action proposes to revise Class E airspace at Gulkana, AK. Two new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) are being developed for the Gulkana Airport. Amendments to a Departure Procedure (DP) and two SIAPs are also being developed. Adoption of this proposal would result in revision of existing Class E airspace upward from 700 feet (ft.) and 1,200 ft. above the surface at Gulkana Airport, Gulkana, AK.

Notice is hereby given that Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 166 Water Street, Room 211, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543-1097, [Responsible Party: Nancy Thompson], has been issued a modification to scientific research Permit No. 1448.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the availability for public review of the draft revised Recovery Plan (Plan) for the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi). NMFS is soliciting review and comment on the Plan from the public and all interested parties, and will consider and address all substantive comments received during the comment period.

Pursuant to FAA's rulemaking provisions governing the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for exemption part 11 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), this notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of 14 CFR. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of any petition or its final disposition.

Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), CEQ NEPA Regulations (40 CFR 1502.9[c][1]), and Public Resources Code, sections 21000-21177 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the California Code of Regulations, title 14, section 15088.5 of the CEQA Guidelines, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the lead Federal agency; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), a cooperating Federal agency; the Reclamation Board of the State of California, the lead State agency; and the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA), the local sponsor, have made available for public review and comment a Draft EIS/ EIR for the Folsom DS/FDR Action. The Folsom DS/FDR Draft EIS/EIR describes five action alternatives which include numerous features that address previously identified and ongoing dam safety, flood damage reduction, and security issues by modifying Folsom Dam and Appurtenant Structures (the Folsom Facility). The alternatives include features that would address Reclamation's dam safety objectives and the Corps' flood damage reduction objectives jointly, as well as features or increments that would exclusively address dam safety, security, or flood damage reduction objectives and would be constructed and authorized by the respective agencies. Engineering, economic, and environmental studies have been conducted to help determine reasonable design alternatives and their impacts. The no action alternative is also included in these analyses. As part of the NEPA process, two public hearing sessions will be held to provide interested individuals and organizations with an opportunity to comment verbally and in writing on the Folsom DS/FDR Draft EIS/EIR. The first hour of each public hearing session will allow time to review information stations and displays, ask questions, and provide written comments on comment forms; the formal hearing will be held for one hour and be extended to two hours if needed. Information gathered from the EIS/EIR review process will be used in conjunction with technical and economic principles to determine the preferred alternative.

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) as joint Lead Agencies, with the Crow Tribe of Indians, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), as Cooperating Agencies, intend to gather information necessary for preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Extension of the Absaloka Coal Mine on the Crow Indian Reservation, Montana. The proposed BIA action, taken under the Indian Mineral Development Act, is the approval of a coal lease by the Crow Tribe to Westmoreland Resources Inc. (WRI) and associated approval of allotted Indian and Crow tribal surface estate use agreements. In addition, the OSMRE will use this EIS to support a decision on the application for a surface mining permit to be filed by WRI involving the same acreage, commonly known as the Absaloka Mine ``South Extension;'' the MDEQ will use it in considering approval of permit revisions to facilitate mining of coal adjacent to the South Extension that is presently under the Absaloka Mine, which MDEQ administers; and the EPA may use the EIS in considering issuance of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits for any point source water discharges on the Reservation. The purpose of this project is to extend the operating life of the Absaloka Mine and continue to provide an economic base for the Crow Tribe, while providing an energy source for the generation of electricity at distant power plants. This notice also announces a public scoping meeting to identify potential issues and alternatives to be considered in the EIS.

EPA issued a final rule in the Federal Register of November 14, 2006, concerning amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 12(b) export notification regulations at subpart D of 40 CFR part 707. This document is being issued to correct a typographical error.

Under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92463, EPA gives notice of a meeting of the Environmental Technology Subcommittee of the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT). NACEPT provides advice and recommendations to the Administrator of EPA on a broad range of environmental policy, technology, and management issues. The Environmental Technology Subcommittee was formed to assist EPA in evaluating its current and potential role in the development and commercialization of environmental technologies by suggesting how to optimize existing EPA programs to facilitate the development of sustainable private sector technologies, and by suggesting alternative approaches to achieving these goals. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the Subcommittee's draft report on these issues. A copy of the agenda for the meeting will be posted at https://www.epa.gov/ocem/nacept/cal- nacept.htm.

On September 19, 2006, the State of Georgia's Department of Natural Resources, through the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA EPD), submitted a final State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision to remove the transportation control measure (TCM) related to a compressed natural gas refueling station/park and ride transportation center project in Douglas County, Georgia. This TCM was originally submitted by GA EPD for inclusion into the Atlanta portion of the Georgia SIP on August 29, 1997. EPA approved this TCM into the Georgia SIP through direct final rulemaking published in the Federal Register on June 24, 1998 (effective on August 10, 1998). Subsequently, the project sponsor determined that the equipment necessary to implement this project is no longer available, and thus, this TCM cannot be implemented as originally anticipated. No SIP credit was claimed for this program, nor were emission benefits ever realized for this TCM because it was never implemented. Through this rulemaking, EPA is proposing to approve the removal of this TCM from the Atlanta portion of the Georgia SIP because this SIP revision meets Clean Air Act requirements. In the Final Rules Section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State's SIP revision as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no significant, material, and adverse comments are received in response to this rule, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this document. Any parties interested in commenting on this document should do so at this time.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect approval of an abbreviated new animal drug application (ANADA) filed by Sparhawk Laboratories, Inc. The ANADA provides for use of neomycin sulfate oral solution in livestock for the treatment and control of bacterial enteritis.