Department of the Interior July 16, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an appealable decision approving the surface and subsurface estates in certain lands for conveyance pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act will be issued to Swan Lake Corporation. The lands are in the vicinity of Sheldon Point, Alaska, and are located in:

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) proposes to address and eliminate the use of Colorado River water from the mainstream in the lower Colorado River basin (Lower Basin) without an entitlement. For the last eight years, the upper and lower Colorado River basins have experienced the worst drought conditions in approximately one hundred years of recorded history. This drought is the first sustained drought to be experienced on the Colorado River when all major storage facilities are in place and when Arizona, California, and Nevada (Lower Division States) are fully utilizing their basic Colorado River water apportionment of 7.5 million acre-feet per year. Reclamation believes that development of such a rule will help ensure the long-term sustainability of the lower Colorado River and in doing so will protect the water rights of lower Colorado River water entitlement holders. The rule establishes procedures that Reclamation will follow in making determinations of unlawful use of lower Colorado River water. The rule includes notice and appeal procedures for those persons or entities whose use of lower Colorado River water is identified as unlawful. Reclamation is seeking comments on the proposed rule including comments that identify any specific economic impacts to members of the public and to small businesses located within the boundary of the river aquifer. The comments should include any identified or potential economic impacts and the estimated costs of the impacts.