Department of the Interior April 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This Call for Information and Nominations (hereinafter referred to as ``Call'') is the initial step in a single multisale process covering all lease sales in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico (GOM) planning areas included in the draft proposed 2007-2012 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program (see Federal Register, February 10, 2006, pages 7064-7068.) Eleven lease sales are specifically covered by this Call: six in the Central GOM and five in the Western GOM. The new configuration of the Central and Western GOM planning areas was announced in the draft proposed 2007-2012 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The Central GOM planning area related to this Call includes portions of areas previously included in the Eastern and Western GOM planning areas. Simultaneously with this Call, MMS is preparing a multisale Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) covering the same eleven sales in the Central and Western GOM. For each of the eleven individual lease sales associated with this Call, the MMS will comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), and the Coastal Zone Management Act.

The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), which analyzes the environmental impacts associated with incidental take permits that were previously issued under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), for take of the Alabama beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus ammobates). The DEIS also analyzes a full range of reasonable alternatives, including a No-Action alternative. The incidental take permits, previously issued to Gulf Highlands LLC and Beach Club West, involve the construction, occupancy, use, operation, and maintenance of two residential/recreational condominium development projects on the Fort Morgan Peninsula in Baldwin County, Alabama. We will hold a public meeting to inform the public and interested stakeholders about the DEIS and solicit their input on the document.

Following consultation with the General Services Administration, notice is hereby given that the Secretary of the Interior is renewing the Royalty Policy Committee. The Royalty Policy Committee will provide advice related to the performance of discretionary functions under the laws governing the Department of the Interior's management of Federal and Indian mineral leases and revenues. The Committee will review and comment on revenue management and other mineral-related policies and provide a forum to convey views representative of mineral lessees, operators, revenue payors, revenue recipients, governmental agencies, and the interested public.

Notice is hereby given, in accordance with Public Laws 92-463 and 94-579, that the California Desert District Advisory Council to the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior, will participate in a field tour of BLM-administered public lands on Friday, June 23, 2006, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and meet in formal session on Saturday, June 24 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Continental Labor Hall at the Desert Empire Fairgrounds, located at 520 South Richmond Road, Ridgecrest, California. The Council and interested members of the public will depart for the field tour at 7:30 a.m. from the parking lot of the Best Western China Lake Inn, located at 400 South China Lake Boulevard in Ridgecrest. The public is welcome to participate in the tour, but should plan on providing their own transportation, drinks, and lunch. Agenda topics for the formal session on Saturday will include updates by Council members and reports from the BLM District Manager and five field office managers. Additional agenda topics are being developed. Once finalized, the field tour and meeting agendas will be published in a news release prior to the meeting and posted on BLM's state Web site at https://www.blm.gov/ca/news/rac.html.

Pursuant to 43 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) 3425.4, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah State Office, held a public meeting on March 30, 2006 on the environmental assessment and Documentation of NEPA Adequacy (DNA), the proposed sale and requests public comment on the fair market value of the certain coal resources it proposes to offer for competitive lease sale. The EA/DNA analyzes and discloses direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of issuing a Federal coal lease competitively for 1,760.00 acres in Carbon County, Utah. The purpose of the public hearing was to solicit comments from the public on (1) the proposal to issue a Federal coal lease; (2) the proposed competitive lease sale; (3) the Fair Market Value (FMV) of the Federal coal; and (4) Maximum Economic Recovery (MER) of the Federal coal included in the tract.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service announces the availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the General Management Plan and Wilderness Study for Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of the Draft Recovery Plan for Two Plants from Rota (Nesogenes rotensis and Osmoxylon mariannense) (no common names) for public review and comment.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the Siskiyou Mountains salamander (Plethodon stormi) and Scott Bar salamander (Plethodon asupak) as threatened or endangered, under the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). We find that the petition and additional information in our files do not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing these species may be warranted. We will not be initiating a status review in response to this petition. We ask the public to submit to us any new information that becomes available concerning the status of, or threats to these species.

As required by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, notice is hereby given that the Yakima River Basin Conservation Advisory Group, Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project, Yakima, Washington, established by the Secretary of the Interior, will hold a public meeting. The purpose of the Conservation Advisory Group is to provide technical advice and counsel to the Secretary of the Interior and Washington State on the structure, implementation, and oversight of the Yakima River Basin Water Conservation Program.

Pursuant to Public Law 96-472, the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council (NEPEC) will hold a meeting. The meeting location is the U.S. Geological Survey, Building 3, Conference Room C, 345 Middlefield Rd., Menlo Park, CA 94025. The Committee is comprised of members from academia and the Federal government. The Committee shall advise the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on proposed earthquake predictions, on the completeness and scientific validity of the available data related to earthquake predictions, and on related matters as assigned by the Director. The Committee, which was recently reconstituted following a period of dormancy, will review past findings rendered by the NEPEC and by the California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council. They will also discuss recent trends in earthquake research that bear on the predictability of earthquake occurrence. Meetings of the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council are open to the public.

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an appealable decision approving lands for conveyance pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act will be issued to MTNT, Ltd., Successor in Interest to Chamai, Incorporated, for lands in the vicinity of McGrath, Alaska, and located in:

Pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act of February 25, 1920, as amended, and to Title 43, Code of Federal Regulations, subpart 3410, members of the public are hereby invited to participate with Western Fuels-Colorado, LLC, in a program for the exploration of unleased coal deposits owned by the United States of America containing approximately 10,810.40 acres in Montrose County, Colorado.

Acropolis II Development Enterprises, L.L.C. (Applicants) request incidental take permits (ITP) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. The Applicants anticipate taking Perdido Key beach mice (Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis) incidental to developing, constructing, and human occupancy of a two-condominium beachfront complex on Perdido Key in Escambia County, Florida (Projects). The Applicants' Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) describes the mitigation and minimization measures proposed to address the effects of both Projects to the Perdido Key beach mouse.

This notice constitutes an open call to the public to submit nomination applications for each of the following positions on the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Advisory Committee: Representative for the City of Palm Springs; Representative for a local developer or builder organization; Representative for the City of La Quinta; Representative for a local conservation organization; and Representative for the California Department of Fish and Game or the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

Pursuant to 43 Code of Federal Regulations 8341.2, effective on publication of this Notice; off-road vehicles (ORV) travel is restricted to existing roads and two-tracks (approximately 850 miles) on public lands on and in the vicinity of Spruce Mountain, south of Wells, Nevada. The public lands affected by this restriction are located in portions of T. 29 N., R. 64 E; T. 30 N., R. 63 thru 65 E.; and T. 31 thru 34 N., R. 62 thru 66 E., MDM, Elko County, Nevada. This notice also prohibits competitive events on public lands in the area. The purpose of this action is to protect important cultural resources and wildlife habitats.

This notice announces the availability of the final Coachella Valley Association of Governments Habitat Conservation Plan and Natural Community Conservation Plan (Plan), final Implementing Agreement, and final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/ EIR) for public review and comment. The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is considering the proposed action of issuing a 75-year incidental take permit, pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended (ESA), for 27 species in response to receipt of an application from the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG), Coachella Valley Conservation Commission, County of Riverside, Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Riverside County Parks and Open Space District, Riverside County Waste Management District, Coachella Valley Water District, Imperial Irrigation District, California Department of Transportation, California Department of Parks and Recreation, Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy, and the cities of Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, and Rancho Mirage (Applicants). The proposed permit would authorize take of individual members of animal species listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The permit is needed because take of species could occur during proposed urban development activities, rural infrastructure projects, and preserve management activities within a 1.1 million-acre planning area located in the Coachella Valley, California. The Final Plan also incorporates a Public Use and Trails Plan which includes proposals that address non-motorized recreation activities on Federal and non-Federal lands in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is a Cooperating Agency in this planning process and will use this EIR/EIS to make decisions on BLM-administered public lands pertaining to trail use in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains. These proposals constitute activity (implementation) level actions in furtherance of the California Desert Conservation Area Plan (1980), as amended, and the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Management Plan (2004). The BLM will issue a separate record of decision regarding non-motorized recreation activities on public lands.

The County of San Bernardino (Applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for a 10-year incidental take permit for one covered species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The application addresses the potential for ``take'' of the endangered Delhi Sands flower-loving fly (Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis) associated with the proposed realignment of the intersection of Valley and Pepper Avenues in the City of Colton, San Bernardino County, California. A conservation program to mitigate for the project activities would be implemented as described in the proposed Valley/Pepper Realignment Low Effect Habitat Conservation Plan (proposed Plan), which would be implemented by the Applicant. We are requesting comments on the permit application and on the preliminary determination that the proposed Plan qualifies as a ``Low- effect'' Habitat Conservation Plan, eligible for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. The basis for this determination is discussed in the Environmental Action Statement (EAS) and the associated Low Effect Screening Form, which are also available for public review.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 5- year review of 25 southwestern species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act). The purpose of reviews conducted under this section of the Act is to ensure that the classification of species as threatened or endangered on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants is accurate. The 5-year review is an assessment of the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the reopening of the public comment period and a public hearing on the proposed designation of critical habitat for the Fender's blue butterfly (Icaricia icarioides fenderi), Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii (Kincaid's lupine), and Erigeron decumbens var. decumbens (Willamette daisy).

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are announcing receipt of revisions to a previously proposed amendment to the Texas regulatory program (Texas program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). The revisions concern technical standards and normal husbandry practices regarding habitat for bobwhite quail and other grassland bird species. Texas intends to revise its program to encourage reclamation practices that are suitable for grassland bird species. This document gives the times and locations that the Texas program and proposed amendment to that program are available for your inspection and the comment period during which you may submit written comments on the revisions to the amendment.