Department of the Interior March 31, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Council on Environmental Quality's Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA, the Department of the Interior (Department) has issued a Scoping Summary Report on the development of Lower Basin shortage guidelines and coordinated management strategies for the operation of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, particularly under low reservoir conditions. The Scoping Summary Report provides a summary of the issues raised during the scoping process and describes the Department's current assessment of the proposed scope of the environmental analysis to be included in the draft environmental impact statement (EIS). The Department anticipates that the Draft EIS will be published in December 2006. The report also includes a summary of the issues raised and comments received during the scoping process. Among other things, the report identifies how the Department anticipates addressing these issues. Dates and Addresses: The Department will accept, review, and incorporate, as appropriate, any additional public comments on the information contained in the Scoping Summary Report as part of the development of the Draft EIS, which the Department anticipates will be published in December 2006. The Department would prefer that any such comments be received by May 1, 2006, in order to allow full consideration during the development of the Draft EIS. Send written comments to: Regional Director, Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region, Attention: BCOO-1000, P.O. Box 61470, Boulder City, Nevada 89006-1470; faxogram at (702) 293-8156; or e-mail at strategies@lc.usbr.gov. The Scoping Summary Report is available on the Bureau of Reclamation's Web site at https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/ strategies/. If you would like a printed copy of the report, please contact Nan Yoder at telephone (702) 293-8500; facsimile (702) 293-8156; e-mail: strategies@lc.usbr.gov.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the Burley Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Proposed Cotterel Mountain Wind Power Project and Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment.

The National Park Service has evaluated and determined that the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve, located forty-five miles south of downtown Los Angeles, in Orange County, California appears to meet the criteria for national significance and proposes to recommend the site for designation as a National Natural Landmark. The public is invited to comment on this recommendation. The proposal will be considered by the National Park System Advisory Board at a meeting to be held on June 8, 2006 at Zion National Park, in the Majestic View Lodge, 2400 Zion Park Blvd., Springdale, Utah.

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, notice is hereby given that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Nevada State Office and Ely Field Office, will be initiating the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) and conducting public scoping meetings to analyze the proposed Lincoln County Land Act (LCLA) Groundwater Development Project, which will include production wells, a water transmission pipeline with lateral pipelines, electric lines, and communication lines. The purpose of the project is to develop and convey water from the Tule Desert area to land sold by the BLM under the LCLA, approximately 2 miles north of Mesquite, Nevada.