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

We are reopening the public comment period on the proposed Pennsylvania Regulatory Program rule published on July 31, 2006. The comment period is being reopened in order to afford the public more time to comment and allow enough time to hold a public hearing which has been requested by several individuals. We are also notifying the public of the date, time and location for the public hearing.

The Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (Services) advise interested parties of their intent to conduct public scoping meeting under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) necessary to gather information to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement (EIS), (collectively referred to as ``environmental document''). The Services anticipate permit applications from Stanford University (Stanford) submitted under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the incidental take of federally listed species. The permit applications would be associated with the Stanford University Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan) at Stanford in Palo Alto, CA. We provide this notice to: describe the proposed Plan and possible alternatives; advise other Federal and state agencies, affected Tribes, and the public of our intent to prepare an environmental document; announce the initiation of a public scoping period; obtain information to assist the Services in determining whether to write an EA or EIS; and obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to be included in the environmental document.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing its intention to request approval to continue the collections of information under 30 CFR Part 840, Permanent Program Inspection and Enforcement Procedures, and two Technical Training Program forms for nominations and payment of travel and per diem expenses. These information collection activities were previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and assigned clearance numbers 1029-0051 and -0120, respectively.

This notice advises the public that the Fish and Wildlife Service's Arkansas Ecological Service Field Office (ARFO), Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), have applied to the Fish and Wildlife Service (we or Service) for an enhancement of survival permit (permit) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The permit application includes a proposal that combines a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) for the candidate yellowcheek darter (Etheostoma moorei; YCD) with a Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) for the federally endangered speckled pocketbook (Lampsilis streckeri; SPB)jointly referred to as the ``Agreement.'' The term of the Agreement will be 30 years. If approved, the Agreement would allow the Applicants to issue Certificates of Inclusion (CI) throughout the upper Little Red River Watershed in Arkansas to eligible non-Federal landowners that complete an approved Property Owner Management Agreement (POMA). We announce the opening of a 30-day comment period and request comments from the public on the Applicant's permit application, the accompanying proposed Agreement, and the supporting National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation.

Notice is hereby given that Sea World, Inc., 7007 Sea World Drive, Orlando, Florida 32821 (Todd Robeck, D.V.M., Ph.D., Responsible Party and Principal Investigator) has been issued a permit to collect, receive, import, and export marine mammal specimens for scientific research purposes.

This final rule designates areas where personal watercraft (PWC) may be used to access Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina. This final rule implements the provisions of the National Park Service (NPS) general regulations authorizing park areas to allow the use of PWC by promulgating a special regulation. Individual parks must determine whether PWC use is appropriate for a specific park area based on an evaluation of that area's enabling legislation, resources and values, other visitor uses, and overall management objectives.

As part of ongoing recovery efforts for the endangered Columbia Basin distinct population segment of the pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis), this notice advises the public that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we), in cooperation with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), is making available for public review and comment a draft Template Safe Harbor Agreement (Agreement). The proposed Agreement addresses incidental take of Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits (CBPR) that could result from activities associated with ranching, farming, recreation, residential upkeep, conservation programs, and shrub steppe maintenance, restoration, and enhancement on an undeterminable number of non-Federal properties. The area covered by the proposed Agreement (Covered Area) includes portions of 6 counties in central Washington and totals approximately 2,650,000 acres. However, eligible properties that occur within the Covered Area and are most likely to be enrolled under the Agreement would primarily include those that have existing shrub steppe habitat and/or soil conditions that may be capable of supporting the species, either currently or in the foreseeable future. These lands, as well as adjacent properties that may receive intermittent use by CBPRs, such as for exploratory behavior or dispersal between suitable habitats, total approximately 750,000 acres. Implementation of the proposed Agreement would provide the opportunity for interested non-Federal and non-WDFW landowners and managers to voluntarily enroll their lands under the Agreement and receive an enhancement of survival permit pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). In exchange for the incidental take authority that would be provided by issuance of permits, participants who enroll their lands under this Agreement would implement conservation measures that would be expected to provide a net conservation benefit to the CBPR. The duration of the proposed Agreement is 20 years. The duration of associated permits could be for shorter periods, but would not exceed the duration of the Agreement. More detailed descriptions of the background biological information, Covered Area, proposed covered activities, conservation measures, and expected net conservation benefits are provided in the draft Agreement and in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. This also announces the receipt and availability for public review and comment three applications for incidental take permits for the enhancement of survival for the CBPR in conjunction with the Agreement. These applications have been received from The Nature Conservancy, Mr. Dave Billingsley and Mr. Peter Lancaster (Applicants). Issuance of these permits would authorize incidental take of CBPRs above the existing baseline conditions of enrolled properties that may result from the Applicants' proposed activities. Additional applications are expected in the near future from other non-Federal and non-WDFW landowners and managers who propose to enroll their lands under the Agreement. Future applications received by the Service from other prospective participants to the Agreement will be provided for public review in future notices. In accordance with Service responsibilities pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this notice also announces the availability, for public review, of a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) developed in conjunction with the proposed Agreement. We request comments from the public on the proposed Agreement, current permit applications, and the draft EA, all of which are available for public review and comment. To review the documents, see ``Availability of Documents'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

The following permits were issued.

The Minerals Management Service has prepared an environmental assessment and a Finding of No New Significant Impact for the proposed Alaska Region Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Beaufort Sea Planning Area Lease Sale 202. In this EA, OCS EIS/EA MMS 2006-001, MMS reexamined the potential environmental effects of the proposed action and its alternatives based on any new information regarding potential impacts and issues that were not available at the time the Alaska Region OCS Beaufort Sea Planning Area Oil and Gas Lease Sales 186, 195, and 202, Final Environmental Impact Statement, Volumes I through IV (multiple- sale EIS) was completed in February 2003.

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), in cooperation with the Spokane Tribe of Indians (Tribe), intends to file a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP) for the Spokane Indian Reservation, Washington, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and that the DEIS is now available for public review. The purpose of the proposed action is to update the Tribe's existing IRMP, in order to provide for the development of long-term resource management policies that will ensure direction and stability for sustained growth of reservation economics, compatible with traditional values and needs for a quality human environment. This notice also announces a public hearing to receive public comments on the DEIS.

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

Under the provisions of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the BLM announces its intentions to prepare an EIS and to solicit public comments regarding issues and resource information for the proposed Hiawatha Regional Energy Project, a natural gas development project consisting of conventional natural gas well development in established, producing fields.

Notice is hereby given that certain lands located in northwestern Nevada partly within the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area will be temporarily closed or restricted and certain activities will be temporarily prohibited in and around the Burning Man event site administered by the BLM Winnemucca Field Office in Pershing County, Nevada. The specified closures, restrictions and prohibitions are made in the interest of public safety at and around the public lands location of an event known as the Burning Man Festival. This event is authorized on public lands under a special recreation permit and is expected to attract approximately 37,000 participants this year. In summary, these lands will be closed or restricted with regard to the following: August 11, 2006 through September 18, 2006 inclusive: Discharge of firearms, possession of weapons, waste water disposal, camping, and circumstances and procedures for eviction of persons from public lands. August 25, 2006 through September 4, 2006 inclusive: Aircraft landing, possession of fireworks, possession of alcohol by minors, vehicle use, and all public uses.

The Bureau of Land Management published in the Federal Register of August 18, 2006, (71 FR 47826) a notice inviting all interested parties to participate with Jacobs Ranch Coal Company on a pro rata cost sharing basis in its program for the exploration of coal deposits owned by the United States of America. Inadvertently, the following lands included in the exploration license application were omitted from the notice.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Bureau of Land Management announces the availability of the ROD for the Cassia Resource Management Plan Amendment/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Cotterel Wind Power Project, located in south central Idaho. The decision contained in the ROD is two-fold. It approves both the amendment to the Cassia Resource Management Plan and the issuance of a right-of-way grant pursuant to Title V of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.

Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Compact and Chapter 5 of the TRPA Code of Ordinances, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the TRPA, and the California Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks) intend to prepare a joint EIS/EIS/EIR. The EIS/EIS/EIR would evaluate a restoration project along the reach of the Upper Truckee River that extends from its entry point at the southern boundary of Washoe Meadows State Park (SP) to that point just west of U.S. Highway 50 (U.S. 50) where the river exits Lake Valley State Recreation Area (SRA). Two public scoping meetings will be held to solicit comments from interested parties to assist in determining the scope of the environmental analysis, including the alternatives to be addressed, and to identify the significant environmental issues related to the proposed action.

This notice advises the public that the Cottonwood Creek Watershed Group (Applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for an enhancement of survival permit pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The permit application includes a proposed Safe Harbor Agreement (Agreement) between the Applicant and the Service for the threatened California red-legged frog (CRLF) (Rana aurora draytonii). The Agreement and permit application are available for public comment.

This notice advises the public that Congress has enacted the ``James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act of 2005'' (Act). The Act authorizes an expansion of the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge's (Refuge) approved boundary by approximately 750 acres, resulting in a revised Refuge boundary encompassing approximately 1,100 acres. This notice is being furnished consistent with section 4(c)(2) of the Act.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposes to extend the duration of Public Land Order (PLO) No. 6630 for an additional 20-year period. PLO No. 6630 withdrew 49.26 acres of public lands comprised of 61 islands and one waterfront lot in St. Louis County, Minnesota from surface entry and transferred jurisdiction from the BLM to the National Park Service to be administered as part of the National Park System. This notice also gives an opportunity to comment on the proposed action and to request a public meeting.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (RMP/EIS) for the Cottonwood Field Office and by this notice is announcing the opening of the comment period.

The Fish and Wildlife Service announces that a Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Finding of No Significant Impact for St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge are available for distribution. The plan was prepared pursuant to the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, and in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and describes how the refuge will be managed over the next 15 years.