Department of the Interior February 4, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability for review of the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and Environmental Assessment (EA) for Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). The Service prepared the Draft CCP/EA in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997. We request public comments.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is amending its regulations at 43 CFR part 3130 pertaining to oil and gas resources in the National Petroleum ReserveAlaska (NPR-A). The rule makes oil and gas administrative procedures in NPR-A consistent with Section 347 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The rule amends the administrative procedures for the efficient transfer, consolidation, segregation, suspension, and unitization of Federal leases in the NPR-A. The rule also changes the way the BLM processes lease renewals, lease extensions, lease expirations, lease agreements, exploration incentives, lease consolidations, and termination of administration for conveyed lands in the NPR-A. Finally, the rule makes the NPR-A regulation on additional bonding consistent with the regulations that apply outside of the NPR-A.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), after receiving nominated oil and gas lease parcels and appropriate lease stipulations from the Forest Service (FS), sold and issued 12 leases, and sold 23 other leases that have not been issued. An appeal to the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) resulted in a stay being granted for the 12 issued leases. Upon request, the appeal was remanded back to the BLM for resolution. The IBLA decision held that BLM had relied on an inadequate/stale NEPA analysis in reaching its decision to sell and issue the lease parcels. In the case of oil and gas leasing decisions on National Forest system lands, and in conformance with a MOU between the BLM and FS which identifies the need for BLM to be a cooperating agency, the NEPA analysis that was relied on by BLM to inform leasing decisions was adopted from the appropriate and applicable Forest Service NEPA. This supplemental EIS will address the issues identified by IBLA as inadequately or inappropriately addressed in previous NEPA analyses informing leasing decisions, and other issues identified through scoping.