Department of the Interior November 28, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces a call for nominations to serve on the North Slope Science Initiative, Science Technical Advisory Panel in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) of 1972, 5 U.S.C. Appendix.

In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Civil Rights, Office of the Secretary, Department of the Interior (DOI) announces the proposed extension of a public information collection and seeks public comments on the provisions thereof.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Energy (DOE) as co-lead agencies, and the U.S. Forest Service (FS) of the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) of the Department of the Interior (DOI) as cooperating Federal Agencies (the Agencies) announce the availability of the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Designation of Energy Corridors on Federal Land in the 11 Western States (Final PEIS) (DOE/EIS-0386) that also proposes to amend 138 land use plans. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe, the California Energy Commission (CEC), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the State of Wyoming, and the Lincoln, Sweetwater, and Uinta counties and conservation districts in Wyoming are also cooperating agencies. The Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) are consulting agencies. The Agencies prepared the Final PEIS pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations, 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508; the DOE NEPA regulations, 10 CFR Part 1021; Compliance with Floodplain and Wetland Environmental Review Requirements, 10 CFR Part 1022; the BLM planning regulations, 43 CFR subpart 1610; and applicable FS planning regulations. Section 368 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), Public Law 109-58, directs the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, and the Interior, in consultation with FERC, states, tribal or local units of governments, as appropriate; affected utility industries; and other interested persons to designate, under their respective authorities, corridors on Federal land in the 11 Western States for oil, gas, and hydrogen pipelines as well as electricity transmission and distribution facilities; perform any environmental reviews that may be required to complete the designation of such corridors; and incorporate the designated corridors into relevant agency land use and resource management plans or equivalent plans. The 11 Western States are Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce our decision and availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Hanford Reach National Monument (Monument) Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (Final CCP/EIS). The ROD documents our selection of Alternative C-1, the Preferred Alternative in our Final CCP/EIS, for implementation as the Monument's CCP. Alternative C-1 addresses the key issues identified during the planning process and will best achieve the purposes and goals of the Monument as well as the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS). The Monument is located in Adams, Benton, Franklin, and Grant Counties, Washington.