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

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (as amended) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the California Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks) as lead agencies have made available for public review and comment a joint Draft EIS/EIR for the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area and Folsom Power House State Historic Park General Plan/ Resource Management Plan (GP/RMP). The Draft EIS/EIR describes and presents the environmental effects of four alternatives, including no action, for future use of the project area for recreation and resource protection and management. The purpose of the public meeting is to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on environmental issues addressed in the Draft EIS/EIR. Written comments will be accepted from individuals and organizations on the Draft EIS/EIR.

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:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the reopening of the public comment period on the proposed designation of critical habitat for the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana) and proposed taxonomic revision under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We also announce the availability of the draft economic analysis (DEA) of the proposed critical habitat designation, and an amended required determinations section of the proposal. The DEA provides information about the pre- designation costs and forecasts post-designation costs associated with conservation efforts for Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep. The DEA estimates potential future costs due to conservation efforts (baseline costs) to be approximately $26.7 million and costs associated solely with the designation of critical habitat (incremental costs) to be approximately $135,000 in undiscounted dollars over a 20-year period in areas proposed as critical habitat. The amended required determinations section provides our determination concerning compliance with applicable statutes and Executive Orders that we have deferred until the information from the DEA of the proposal was available. We are reopening the comment period to allow all interested parties an opportunity to comment simultaneously on the proposed rule, the associated DEA, and the amended required determinations section. Comments submitted during the initial comment period from July 25 to September 24, 2007, on the proposed rule (72 FR 40956), or from October 9 to November 23, 2007, during the reopened comment period on the proposed rule (72 FR 57276) have been incorporated into the supporting for this rulemaking and need not be resubmitted. We will incorporate all comments into the supporting record as part of this comment period, and we will fully consider them when preparing our final determination.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing its intention to request renewed approval for the collection of information in 30 CFR 877Rights of Entry.

This notice announces that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act is soliciting comments on the Financial Assistance and Social Service program application forms in order to renew the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance. This information collection request is cleared under OMB control number 1076-0017 and expires on July 31, 2008.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Northwest California Resource Advisory Council will meet as indicated below.

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.