Bureau of Indian Affairs – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona and State of Arizona negotiated an Agreement to Amend Compact between the Tohono O'odham Nation and the State of Arizona governing Class III gaming; this notice announces approval of the Agreement to Amend Compact.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for renewal for the collection of information for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) Part B and C Child Count. The information is currently authorized by OMB Control Number 1076-0176, which expires June 30, 2017.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs is seeking comments on the renewal of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the collection of information for the Tribal Energy Development Capacity (TEDC) program authorized by OMB Control Number 1076-0177. This information collection expires August 31, 2017.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is seeking comments on the renewal of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the collection of information for the Home-living Programs and School Closure and Consolidation. This information collection is currently authorized by OMB Control Number 1076-0164. This information collection expires July 31, 2017.

This notice announces approval by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the designation of Kern County, California, as a service area for the Tejon Indian Tribe for purposes of operating the BIA financial assistance and/or social services programs as authorized under 25 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 20.

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

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) owns or has an interest in irrigation projects located on or associated with various Indian reservations throughout the United States. We are required to establish irrigation assessment rates to recover the costs to administer, operate, maintain, and rehabilitate these projects. We are notifying you that we have adjusted the irrigation assessment rates at several of our irrigation projects and facilities to reflect current costs of administration, operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs is seeking comments on the renewal of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the collection of information for the ``Financial Assistance and Social Services'' authorized by OMB Control Number 1076-0017. This information collection expires June 30, 2017.

This notice announces the extension of the Class III gaming compact between the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the State of South Dakota.

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 of proceedings under the Act. This notice includes the current list of designated Tribal agents for service of notice.

This document announces details for Tribal consultation sessions to discuss the advance notice of proposed rulemaking on Licensed Indian Traders, which the Department of the Interior (Department) published on December 9, 2016. The Department is interested in whether to address the Indian trader regulations and, if so, how.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Office of Trust Services, Division of Water and Power, will be conducting five consultation sessions to obtain oral and written comments on the implementation of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act with regard to Indian dam safety.

The Secretary of the Interior has selected proposed members to form the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Accountability Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (Committee) which will recommend revisions to the existing regulations to implement the Secretary's responsibility to define the standards, assessments, and accountability system for Bureau-funded schools, as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Representatives were nominated by Tribes whose students attend Bureau-funded schools. After considering nominations, the Secretary proposes to appoint the persons named in this notice as Tribal Committee members. Tribes, Tribal organizations, and individual Tribal members may submit comments on the proposed Tribal Committee membership, apply for Tribal membership on the Committee, or submit other nominations for Tribal membership on the Committee. The Secretary also proposes to appoint Federal representatives to the Committee as listed.

The Principal Deputy Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs made a final agency determination to acquire 1.08 acres, more or less, of land in trust for the Craig Tribal Association, Alaska, for economic development and other purposes on January 10, 2017.

On February 22, 1945, the Secretary of the Interior issued an Order restoring to the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians of Minnesota (``Tribe'') certain lands that the Tribe had previously ceded to the United States for use by non-Indians. The lands restored to the Tribe by the 1945 Order are lands that were continuously held in trust by the United States since the cessions, that were never sold or otherwise disposed of, and for which the Tribe was never paid. This notice provides a partial list of the legal descriptions of lands restored to the Tribe by the 1945 Order. The Secretary included in the 1945 Order ``lands which have been assessed for drainage works by the State of Minnesota under the authority of the Volstead Act of May 20, 1908 . . . subject to any existing valid rights.'' The Department has reviewed and resolved title issues that arose regarding applicability of the Volstead Act. Thus, without further delay, these legal descriptions are published as representing lands among the lands restored to the Tribe as trust lands.

This notice announces the availability of the Department's new Guidelines for Implementing the Indian Child Welfare Act. These guidelines are intended to assist those involved in child custody proceedings in understanding and uniformly applying the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and the Department's regulations. All such parties including the courts, State child welfare agencies, private adoption agencies, Tribes, and family membershave a stake in ensuring the proper implementation of this important Federal law designed to protect Indian children, their parents, and Indian tribes.

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), as lead agency, intends to gather information necessary for preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) in connection with the Tule River Tribe's (Tribe) proposed Eagle Mountain Casino Relocation Project in Tulare County, California. This notice also opens public scoping to identify potential issues, concerns and alternatives to be considered in the EIS.

The Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs made a final agency determination to acquire 9.39 acres, more or less, of land in trust for the Puyallup Tribe of the Puyallup Reservation for gaming and other purposes on November 29, 2016.

The Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs made a final agency determination to acquire 165.81 acres, more or less, of land in trust for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana, for gaming and other purposes on November 17, 2016.

The Department of the Interior (Department) is considering whether to propose an administrative rule that would comprehensively update 25 CFR part 140 (Licensed Indian Traders) in an effort to modernize the implementation of the Indian Trader statutes consistent with the Federal policies of Tribal self-determination and self- governance. The current regulations were promulgated in 1957 and have not been comprehensively updated since 1965. The purpose of this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) is to solicit public comments on whether and how the Department should update 25 CFR part 140, including how the Indian Trader regulations might be updated to govern who trades on Indian land and how the regulations can better promote Tribal self-determination regarding trade on Indian lands. In this ANPRM, the Department also announces dates and locations for Tribal consultations and public meetings to consider this issue.

On June 20, 2016, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced Tribal consultation on potential updates to probate regulations and announced that it would accept written comments until August 1, 2016. We are reopening the comment period to allow additional time for Tribal and public comment and will accept all comments received before January 4, 2017.

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), as lead agency, intends to gather information necessary for preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) in connection with the Redding Rancheria's (Tribe) application requesting that the United States acquire approximately 232 acres of land in trust in Shasta County, California, for the construction and operation of a casino resort.

This notice informs the public that the Principal Deputy Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs proclaimed approximately 359.11 acres, more or less, an addition to the reservation of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation of Washington.

This final rule updates the Tribal Transportation Program regulations (formerly the Indian Reservation Roads Program) to comply with statutory updates. The Tribal Transportation Program is a program to address the surface transportation needs of Tribes. This rule reflects statutory changes in the delivery options for the program, clarifies the requirements for proposed roads and access roads to be added to, or remain in, the inventory, revises certain sections that were provided for informational purposes, and makes technical corrections.

The State of California and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation entered into a Tribal- State compact governing Class III gaming. This notice announces that the compact is taking effect.