Bureau of Indian Affairs 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service are submitting the information collection, titled ``Indian Self- Determination and Education Assistance Act Programs, 25 CFR 900'' to the Office of Management and Budget for renewal. The information collection, OMB Control 1076-0136, is used to process contracts, grants or cooperative agreements for award by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service as authorized by the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, as amended. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Health and Human Services invite you to submit comments to the OMB on the information collection described below.

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), with the cooperation of the Native Village of Eyak, the Federal Highway Administration, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, intends to file a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the proposed oil spill facility at Shepard Point, near Cordova, Alaska, and that the FEIS is now available for public review. The purpose of the proposed project, the Cordova Area Oil Spill Facility, is to provide a deepwater staging facility for the rapid deployment of equipment to the sites of any oil spills that might occur in the Prince William Sound and environs.

The Associate Deputy Secretary made a final agency determination to acquire approximately 31,777.066 acres, more or less, of land into trust for the Jicarilla Apache Tribe of New Mexico on December 4, 2006. This notice is published in the exercise of authority delegated by the Secretary of the Interior to the Associate Deputy Secretary by 209 DM 8.

This document extends the comment period for the proposed rule published on Thursday, October 5, 2006 (71 FR 58769), which establishes procedures that an Indian tribe must follow in seeking to conduct gaming on lands acquired after October 17, 1988. This document also contains corrections to the proposed rule. The regulation relates to gaming on trust lands acquired after October 17, 1988.

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.

The Department of the Interior (DOI), Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (OIEED), is seeking comments on the collection of information necessary for utilization of the Loan Guaranty, Insurance, and Interest Subsidy Program. This is necessary to continue the use of forms for this program approved by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The public will have the opportunity to comment on the time and expense required by these forms to access the program.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) owns, or has an interest in, irrigation facilities located on various Indian reservations throughout the United States. We are required to establish rates to recover the costs to administer, operate, maintain, and rehabilitate those facilities. We request your comments on the proposed rate adjustments.

On August 8, 2006, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Secretary proposed to amend several of their regulations related to Indian trust management (see 71 FR 45173). The purpose of the amendments is to further fulfill the Secretary's fiduciary responsibilities to federally recognized tribes and individual Indians and to meet the Indian trust management policies in the Indian Land Consolidation Act (ILCA), as amended by the American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004 (AIPRA). These amendments address Indian trust management issues in the areas of probate, probate hearings and appeals, tribal probate codes, life estates and future interests in Indian land, the Indian land title of record, and conveyances of trust or restricted land. There is also an ``Application for Consolidation by Sale'' form that is associated with one of these amendments. This notice reopens the comment period for an additional 60 days to January 2, 2007. The BIA and Office of Secretary are reopening the comment period for an additional 60 days to ensure that all interested parties, including tribes and individual Indians, have the opportunity to review the proposed rule and prepare their comments.

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are renewing the information collection found in the general grazing regulations. The purpose of this data collection is to ensure that grazing regulations are administered for the benefit of Indian tribes and individual Indians. We invite your comments on this renewal of OMB Control No. 1076-0157.

This notice announces that the Information Collection Request for Documented Petitions for Federal Acknowledgment as an Indian Tribe will expire December 31, 2006. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are seeking comments on this information collection before we request extension from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget.

This notice informs the public of the Secretary's approval of the Tribal-State Compact between the State of Oklahoma and Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma.

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) instead of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed operations and maintenance of the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project upon transfer. This notice also announces a public comment period. The purpose of this notice and public comment period is to obtain additional suggestions and information from other agencies and the public regarding BIA's intention to prepare an EA instead of an EIS. Because the BIA has already held public meetings to satisfy scoping requirements for preparation of an EIS, and the subject matter of the EA is identical, at this time, the BIA does not intend to hold additional public meetings. However, if the need for additional public meetings becomes evident through public comment or otherwise, the BIA will hold additional public meetings.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs proposes to establish procedures that an Indian tribe must follow in seeking to conduct gaming on lands acquired after October 17, 1988. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows Indian tribes to conduct class II and class III gaming activities on land acquired after October 17, 1988, only if the land meets certain exceptions. This proposed rule establishes a process for submitting and considering applications from Indian tribes seeking to conduct class II or class III gaming activities on lands acquired in trust after October 17, 1988.

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), with the cooperation of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI), intends to collect information necessary to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed 61 acre fee-to- trust land transfer in Jackson County, Mississippi, and for the proposed use of that land, together with an adjacent 40 acre tract of Choctaw Reservation land in the same county, for a casino project. The purpose of the proposed action is to help meet land base and economic needs of the MBCI. This notice also announces a public scoping meeting to identify potential issues, alternatives and content for inclusion in the EIS.

This notice publishes approval of the Tribal-State Compact between the State of Oklahoma and Caddo Nation of Oklahoma.

This notice publishes approval of the Memorandum of Incorporation of Most Favored Nations Amendments to the Tribal-State Compact for class III gaming between the State of Washington and Lummi Nation.

This notice publishes the Liquor Control Ordinance of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma (Tribe). The Ordinance regulates and controls the possession, sale and consumption of liquor within the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma including all land within the definition of ``Indian country'' as established and described by Federal law under the jurisdiction of the Tribe. This Ordinance allows for possession and sale of alcoholic beverages within the Pawnee Nation, and increases the ability of the tribal government to control the Tribe's liquor distribution and possession. At the same time it will provide an important source of revenue for the continued operation and strengthening of the tribal government and the delivery of tribal services.

The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, proposes to amend its regulations by adding a new part to provide for Tribal Energy Resource Agreements (TERAs) between the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) and Indian tribes under Section 2604 of the Indian Energy Resource Development and Self-Determination Act. The proposed regulations provide the process under which the Secretary will grant authority to an Indian tribe to review and approve leases business agreements and rights-of-way for specific energy development activities on tribal lands through an approved TERA. The Department invites your comments on the proposed rule.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Secretary propose to amend several of their regulations related to Indian trust management to further fulfill the Secretary's fiduciary responsibilities to federally recognized tribes and individual Indians and to meet the Indian trust management policies articulated by Congress in the Indian Land Consolidation Act (ILCA), as amended by the American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004 (AIPRA). These amendments address Indian trust management issues in the areas of probate, probate hearings and appeals, tribal probate codes, life estates and future interests in Indian land, the Indian land title of record; and conveyances of trust or restricted land. There is also an ``Application for Consolidation by Sale'' form that is associated with one of these amendments.

This notice is published in exercise of authority delegated by the Secretary of the Interior to the Principal Deputy Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs by 209 DM 8. The regulations implementing the Indian Child Welfare Act provide that Indian tribes may designate an agent other than the tribal chairman for service of notice proceedings under the Act, 25 CFR 23.12. The Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal Register on an annual basis the names and addresses of the designated agents. This is the current list of Designated Tribal Agents for service of notice, and includes the listings of designated tribal agents received by the Secretary of the Interior prior to the date of this publication.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) announces the availability of a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a drought management plan for the operation of the Kerr Hydroelectric Project, Flathead Lake, Montana. In addition to mailing the draft EIS to cooperating agencies and those who previously requested the document, the BIA has made the draft EIS available at the Polson City Library, 2 First Avenue East, Polson, Montana, and the Flathead County Library, 247 First Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana. Additionally, the draft EIS may be obtained on the following Web site: https://www.flatheadlake- eis.com. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public, other Federal agencies, tribal, State, and local governments, organizations and businesses of the availability of the draft EIS and to announce public hearings to discuss the draft EIS.

This notice announces that the Information Collection Request for Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for a Certificate of Degree of Indian or Alaska Native Blood (CDIB) has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act. The BIA is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

This notice publishes approval of the gaming compact between the Eastern Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation and the State of Wyoming.

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Bureau) proposes to submit the Information Collection Request for the Payment for Appointed Counsel in Involuntary Indian Child Custody Proceedings in State courts to OMB for review and renewal. This information collection is cleared under OMB Control Number 1076-0111 through December 31, 2006.

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as lead agency, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as co-lead agency, and the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) Nation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as cooperating agencies, intends to file a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) with the EPA for the proposed Clean Fuels Refinery, and that the DEIS is now available for public review. The proposed federal actions are: (1) The taking into trust of 469 acres of fee land by the BIA in support of the MHA Nation's proposal to construct and operate a clean fuels refinery and produce buffalo forage; and (2) the issuance by the EPA of a Clean Water Act, Draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Discharge (NPDES) permit for the discharge of treated wastewater from the proposed refinery. This notice also advises the public of the availability of the Draft NPDES permit (ND- 0030988) for review, and announces public hearings on the DEIS and Draft NPDES permit.