Department of the Interior November 13, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces that the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will conduct a meeting on matters pertaining to management and protection of wild, free-roaming horses and burros on the Nation's public lands.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Indiana regulatory program (Indiana program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Indiana proposes revisions to its rules to allow commercial forestry (trees) to be planted on reclaimed prime farmland provided all remaining reclamation requirements for prime farmland are met. Indiana also proposes to restructure several of its provisions and make some minor language changes. Indiana intends to revise its program to improve operational efficiency. This document gives the times and locations that the Indiana program and proposed amendment to that program are available for your inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written comments on the amendment, and the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.

The ``Criteria for Developing Refuge Water Management Plans'' (Refuge Criteria), as applied in the following areas, are now available for public comment. North Grassland State Wildlife Area, China Island North Grassland State Wildlife Area, Salt Slough Merced National Wildlife Refuge Los Banos State Wildlife Area Mendota State Wildlife Area San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Delevan National Wildlife Refuge Colusa National Wildlife Refuge Kern National Wildlife Refuge Volta State Wildlife Area Pixley National Wildlife Refuge The Refuge Criteria provides a common methodology, or standard, for efficient use of water by Federal Wildlife Refuges, State Wildlife Management Areas and Resource Conservation Districts that receive water under provisions of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA). They document the process and format by which Refuge Water Management Plans (Plans) should be prepared and submitted to Reclamation as part of the Refuge/District Water Supply Contracts and Memorandum of Agreements. The Refuge Criteria refers to Refuges, Wildlife Areas and Resource Conservation Districts as Refuges. Those Refuges that entered into water supply contracts with Reclamation, as a result of the CVPIA and subsequent Department of the Interior administrative review processes, are required to prepare Plans using the Refuge Criteria.

The public is invited to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species and marine mammals.

This notice announces the availability of the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the Orange County Southern Subregion Natural Community Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan), for public review and comment. The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is considering the proposed action of issuing three 75-year incidental take permits, pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), for 32 species in response to receipt of applications from the County of Orange (County), Rancho Mission Viejo, LLC (RMV) and Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD) (Applicants). The proposed permits would authorize take of individual members of animal species listed under the ESA. The permits are needed because take of species could occur during proposed urban development activities and associated infrastructure on Rancho Mission Viejo, expansion of the Prima Deshecha Landfill, the extension of Avenida La Pata, maintenance and operation of Santa Margarita Water District facilities, and reserve management activities within an approximately 132,000-acre Plan Area in southern Orange County, California. The Orange County Southern Subregion Habitat Conservation Plan also serves as a proposed Natural Community Conservation Plan under the State of California's Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (NCCPA). The EIS analyzes the impacts of the Plan/NCCP and a Master Streambed Alteration Agreement which involves action by the County of Orange and the California Department of Fish and Game. For that reason, the EIS also serves as an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to satisfy requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in addition to those of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Comments regarding the Final EIS/EIR may be submitted to the Service pursuant to NEPA during a 30-day waiting period [See DATES].