Department of the Interior October 15, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The public is invited to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with marine mammals.

The public is invited to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species and marine mammals.

The public is invited to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA) as amended, notice is hereby given that Letters of Authorization to take Pacific walruses and polar bears incidental to oil and gas industry exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea and adjacent western coast of Alaska have been issued.

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, a Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) has been prepared by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Ely Field Office for the White Pine Energy Station (WPES) and is now available. This document evaluates the environmental effects of constructing a coal-fired electric power generating plant (up to 1,600- megawatts) and associated features on public lands in White Pine County, Nevada.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the least chub (Iotichthys phlegethontis) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing of the least chub may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this notice, we are initiating a status review of the species, and we will issue a 12-month finding to determine if the petitioned action is warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial data regarding this species. We will make a determination on critical habitat for this species if, and when, we initiate a listing action.

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an appealable decision approving lands for conveyance pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act will be issued to Calista Corporation for lands located in the vicinity of Newtok and Chefornak, Alaska. Notice of the decision will also be published four times in the Anchorage Daily News.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has examined and found suitable for classification and conveyance under the provisions of the Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) Act, as amended, approximately 80 acres of public land in Lander County, Nevada. Lander County proposes to use the land for a waste water treatment facility.

The Department of the Interior (Department) is amending its regulations by adding a new part to codify its procedures for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which are currently located in chapters 1-6 of Part 516 of the Departmental Manual (DM). This rule contains Departmental policies and procedures for compliance with NEPA, Executive Order (E.O.) 11514, E.O. 13352 and the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508). Department officials will use this rule in conjunction with and supplementary to these authorities. The Department believes that codifying the procedures in regulations that are consistent with NEPA and the CEQ regulations will provide greater visibility to that which was previously contained in the DM and enhance cooperative conservation by highlighting opportunities for public engagement and input in the NEPA process. The Department will continue to maintain Department's information and explanatory guidance pertaining to NEPA in the DM and Environmental Statement Memoranda (ESM) to assist bureaus in complying with NEPA. Bureau-specific NEPA procedures remain in 516 DM Chapters 8-15 and bureau guidance in explanatory and informational directives. Maintaining explanatory information in the Department's DM chapters and ESM, and bureau-specific explanatory and informational directives will facilitate timely responses to new ideas, new information, procedural interpretations, training needs, and editorial changes to assist field offices when implementing the NEPA process.