Department of the Interior February 1, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has prepared a combined Draft Planning Report and Environmental Impact Statement (Draft PR/EIS) on the Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study (Storage Study). The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is a joint lead with Reclamation in the preparation of the Draft PR/EIS which will also be used to comply with requirements of the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). The cooperating agencies on this study are Yakima County; the U.S. Department of the Army: Yakima Training Center and the Seattle District of the U.S. Corps of Engineers; and the U.S. Department of Energy: Office of River Protection. The purpose of the Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study is to evaluate alternatives that would create additional water storage for the Yakima River basin and assess their potential to supply the water needed for ecosystem aquatic habitat, basin-wide agriculture, and municipal demands. The need for the study is based on the existing finite water supply and limited storage capability of the Yakima River basin in low water years. This finite supply and limited storage capacity do not meet the water supply demands in all years and result in significant adverse impact to the Yakima River basin's economy, which is agriculture-based, and to the basin's aquatic habitat, specifically, anadromous fisheries. The study seeks to identify means of increasing water storage available, including storage of Columbia River water, for purposes of improving anadromous fish habitat and meeting irrigation and municipal water supply needs.

The MMS proposes to amend its regulations for oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf to implement a mandate in the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. This proposed rule would (1) provide a credit to lessees who relinquish certain eligible leases in the Gulf of Mexico; (2) define eligible leases as those within 125 miles of the Florida coast in the Eastern Planning Area and certain leases within 100 miles of the Florida coast in the Central Planning Area; and (3) allow lessees to use the credits in lieu of monetary payment for either a lease bonus bid or royalty due on oil and gas production from most other leases in the Gulf of Mexico or to transfer the credits to other Gulf of Mexico lessees for their use.

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 Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Truckhaven Geothermal Leasing Area, Imperial County, managed by the El Centro Field Office.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing its intention to request continued approval for the collections of information under 30 CFR Parts 750 and 842 which relate to surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Indian Lands; and which allows the collection and processing of citizen complaints and requests for inspection, respectively.