Department of the Interior June 18, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Regional Water Management Plan for the Sacramento River Contractors (Regional Plan) is available for review. Participating Contractors include: Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District Meridian Farms Water Company Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District Sutter Mutual Water Company Provident Irrigation District Pelger Mutual Water Company Princeton-Codora-Glenn Irrigation District Natomas Central Mutual Water Company Reclamation District No. 108 Reclamation District No. 1004 Under the authority of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 (CVPIA) and the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) developed and published the Regional Criteria for Evaluating Water Management Plans for the Sacramento River Contractors (Regional Criteria) in 2004. The development and implementation of the Regional Criteria for the Sacramento Valley was an alternative pilot program to the current Standard Criteria for Evaluating Water Management Plans (Standard Criteria), as stated in the Water Conservation Administrative Proposal dated March 20, 1997. If the Contracting Officer deems this pilot program to be unsuccessful, the Regional Criteria will be discontinued. All subsequent Plans would then be evaluated under the current Standard Criteria. The above entities have developed the Regional Plan, which Reclamation has evaluated and preliminarily determined to meet the requirements of the Regional Criteria.

The Mineral Leasing Act provides a means by which a mining claimant may seek to convert an oil placer mining claim to a noncompetitive oil and gas lease if the claim was deemed conclusively abandoned because of the claimant's failure to timely file certain assessment work filings required by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). 30 U.S.C. 188(f). Since 1993, Congress has required annual maintenance fees in lieu of the assessment work filings required by FLPMA. On August 31, 1994, MW Petroleum Corporation and its co-claimants failed to pay the annual maintenance fee for oil placer mining claim, WMC-71464. On May 31, 1995, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) notified MW Petroleum and its co-claimants that the oil placer mining claim was null and void by operation of law. On August 24, 1995, in accordance with the requirements outlined in 30 U.S.C. 188(f), MW Petroleum Corporation filed a petition for conversion of the abandoned unpatented oil placer mining claim to a noncompetitive oil and gas lease. The claim to be converted is the Buffalo 19 unpatented oil placer mining claim, which is located in Park County, Wyoming. The description of the land is as follows:

Pursuant to section 2(b) of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, by section 4 of the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976, Stat. 1083, 30 U.S.C. 201(b), and to the regulations adopted as 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), part 3410, all interested parties are hereby invited to participate with Bowie Resources, LLC, on a pro rata cost sharing basis in a program for the exploration of unleased coal deposits owned by the United States of America in Delta County, Colorado:

The Department of the Interior (Department) proposes to remove its regulations implementing the government-wide common rule on nonprocurement debarment and suspension, and to adopt in their place the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) guidance. This regulatory action would implement OMB's initiative to streamline and consolidate all federal regulations on nonprocurement debarment and suspension into one part of the CFR. The Department does not intend to modify any of its current policy.