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

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Approved Resource Management Plan Amendments/ Record of Decision for Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources to Address Land Use Allocations in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming (PRMP Amendments) and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (FPEIS). ADDRESSES: The document will be available electronically on the following Web site: https://ostseis.anl.gov. Copies of the Record of Decision (ROD) are available for public inspection at the following BLM Office locations: Colorado State Office, 2850 Youngfield Street, Lakewood, CO 80215. Utah State Office, 440 West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, UT 84101. Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone, Cheyenne, WY 82009. Vernal Field Office, 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078. Price Field Office, 125 South 600 West, Price, UT 84501. Richfield Field Office, 150 East 900 North, Richfield, UT 84701. Monticello Field Office, 435 North Main, P.O. Box 7, Monticello, UT 84535. White River Field Office, 220 E. Market Street, Meeker, CO 81641. Glenwood Springs Field Office, 2425 S. Grand Ave., Suite 101, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601. Grand Junction Field Office, 2815 H Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506. Kemmerer Field Office, 312 Highway 189 North, Kemmerer, WY 83101. Rawlins Field Office, at 1300 North Third, PO Box 2407, Rawlins, WY 82301. Rock Springs Field Office, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, WY 82901.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are approving amendments to the Kansas regulatory program (Kansas program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Kansas proposed revisions to its 2006 Revegetation Success Guidelines, Normal Husbandry Practices, and State Regulations. Kansas intends to revise its program to improve operational efficiency.

The following Water Management Plans are available for review: Glide Irrigation District Kanawha Water District Panoche Water District Clear Creek Community Services District Arvin Edison Irrigation District

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), the National Park Service (NPS) is announcing its intent to prepare a General Management Plan/ Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/EIS) for Mount Rushmore National Memorial (Memorial), South Dakota. This effort will update the 1980 GMP. The GMP/EIS will establish the overall direction for the Memorial, setting broad management goals for managing the area over the next 15 to 20 years. The GMP/EIS will prescribe desired resource conditions and visitor experiences that are to be achieved and maintained throughout the Memorial based on such factors as the Memorial's purpose, significance, special mandates, the body of laws and policies directing Memorial management, resource analysis, and the range of public expectations and concerns. The GMP/EIS also will outline the kinds of resource management activities, visitor activities, and developments that would be appropriate in the Memorial in the future. A range of reasonable alternatives for managing the Memorial will be developed through this planning process and will include, at a minimum, a no-action and a preferred alternative. Major issues the GMP/ EIS will address include changes in visitor use patterns and special events, adequacy and sustainability of existing facilities for visitor opportunities and activities and for Memorial operations, and partnership roles and opportunities. The need for new facilities such as maintenance, museum curation and storage, and interpretation will be examined. The GMP/EIS will evaluate the potential environmental effects of the alternative management approaches. As the first phase of the planning process, the NPS is beginning to scope the issues to be addressed in the GMP/EIS. All interested persons, organizations, Agencies, and Tribes are encouraged to submit comments and suggestions on issues and concerns that should be addressed in the GMP/EIS, and the range of appropriate alternatives that should be examined.

Pursuant to section 102 (2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended), the National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of the Draft General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/EIS) for Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, Virginia. Consistent with National Park Service laws, regulations, policies, and the purposes of the National Historical Park, the Draft GMP/EIS describes and analyzes four alternatives (A-D) to guide the management of the park over the next 20 years. The alternatives incorporate various management prescriptions to addresss the following issues: protecting park resources and values, interpretation, visitor facilities and services, access and circulation, related resources, partnership collaboration, and technical assistance. Alternative A is continuation of current management practices. Visitors would experience the park at sites owned and independently managed by the Key Partners. The NPS would provide technical assistance and bring national recognition and visibility to the park by virtue of being part of the national park system. Under Alternative B, visitors would experience the park at sites owned by the Key Partners and through electronic media and NPS ranger led tours and programs. Visitors would access the park via auto-touring routes and a few non-motorized trails located on Key Partner properties. The primary NPS role would be to provide interpretive programs and technical assistance. The Key Partners would have the responsibility for land and resource protection. There would be increased collaboration among the NPS and the Key Partners, with the NPS serving as a coordinator for resource and planning issues. Under Alternative C, visitors would experience the park at a NPS- developed and managed visitor center and at visitor focal areas owned and managed by the NPS and the Key Partners. The NPS and the Key Partners would coordinate interpretive programs at these sites. Visitors would access the park via auto-touring routes and a system of non-motorized trails that provides opportunities for interpretation. The NPS and the Key Partners would develop a coordinated land protection plan focused on protection of key historic sites that would become focal areas. The NPS and the Key Partners would develop formal agreements to undertake special projects and general park management. Alternative D is the preferred alternative. Under this alternative, visitors would experience the park at a NPS-developed and managed visitor center and at visitor focal areas owned and managed by the NPS and the Key Partners. The NPS and the Key Partners would coordinate interpretive programs at these sites. Visitors would access the park via auto-touring routes and an extensive system of non-motorized trails that provides opportunities for interpretation and recreation, that connect focal areas, and that tie to communities and resources outside the park. The NPS and the Key Partners would develop a coordinated land protection plan focused on protection of cultural landscapes, sensitive natural resource areas, and lands providing connections between NPS and Key Partner properties. The NPS and the Key Partners would develop formal agreements that define responsibilities for special projects, programs, events, and specific park operations. The Draft GMP/EIS evaluates the potential environmental consequences of implementing the alternatives. Impact topics include the cultural, natural, and socioeconomic environments. This notice also announces that public meetings will be held to solicit comments on the Draft GMP/EIS during the public review period. Dates, times, and locations will be announced on the agency's planning Web site https:// parkplanning.nps.gov/cebe, in local papers, and can be obtained by calling the park office at (540) 868-9176. Public Review: There are several ways to view the document: An electronic version of the document will be available for download, review, and comment on the agency's planning Web site https://parkplanning.nps.gov/cebe. CDs and a limited number of printed copies can be requested by contacting the park at (540) 868-9176 or by e-mailing park planner Christopher Stubbs at chris_stubbs@nps.gov. The document will be available for review at the park office at 7718\1/2\ Main St., Middletown, VA 22645. The National Park Service will accept comments on the Draft GMP/EIS from the public for a period of 90 days following publication of the Environmental Protection Agency's Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. Interested persons may check the planning Web site at https:// parkplanning.nps.gov/cebe for dates, times, and places of public meetings to be conducted by the NPS, or by calling (540) 868-9176. If you wish to comment, you may do so by any one of several methods. The preferred method of comment is via the internet at https:// parkplanning.nps.gov/cebe. You may mail your comments to Superintendent Diann Jacox, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP, P.O. Box 700, Middletown, VA 22645. You may also hand deliver your comments to the National Park Service office at 7718\1/2\ Main St., Middletown, VA. If you include your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire commentincluding your personal identifying informationmay be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are issuing this notice to advise the public that we intend to gather information necessary to prepare, in coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), a joint Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) on the PG&E Multiple-Region (North Coast, Central Coast, Sacramento Valley, Sierra) Operations, Maintenance, and Minor New Construction Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The HCP is being prepared under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). PG&E intends to request a permit to cover 75 species federally listed as threatened or endangered and 34 unlisted species that may become listed during the term of the permit. The permit is needed to authorize incidental take of listed species that could occur as a result of implementing activities covered under the HCP. The Service provides this notice to: (1) Describe the proposed action and possible alternatives; (2) advise other Federal and State agencies, affected Tribes, and the public of our intent to prepare an EIS/EIR; (3) announce the initiation of a public scoping period; and (4) obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues and alternatives to be included in the EIS/EIR.

Under the provisions of 30 U.S.C. 188(d) and (e), and 43 CFR 3108.2-3(a) and (b)(1), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas lease COC68149 from the following companies: (1) Delta Petroleum Corp., (2) Gasconade Oil Co., (3) Helm Energy, LLC, and (4) Riggs Oil and Gas Corp., for lands in San Miguel County, Colorado. The petition was filed on time and was accompanied by all the rentals due since the date the lease terminated under the law.

Under the provisions of 30 U.S.C. 188(d) and (e), and 43 CFR 3108.2-3(a) and (b)(1), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas lease COC68089 from the following companies: (1) Delta Petroleum Corp., (2) Gasconade Oil Co., (3) Helm Energy LLC, and (4) Riggs Oil and Gas Corp., for lands in San Miguel County, Colorado. The petition was filed on time and was accompanied by all the rentals due since the date the lease terminated under the law.

We (Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC. This IC is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2009. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The Secretary of the Interior proposes to withdraw 40 acres of public land from surface entry and mining on behalf of the Bureau of Land Management to protect the Parting of the Ways Historic Site in Sweetwater County. This notice segregates the land for up to 2 years from surface entry and mining while various studies and analyses are made to support a final decision on the withdrawal application. The land will remain open to the mineral leasing laws.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, published a final rule in the Federal Register on November 5, 2008, that sets forth regulations that authorize measures to increase harvest of certain populations of light geese, revise the regulations for the management of overabundant light goose populations, and modify the conservation order that will increase take of birds from such populations. That final rule contained errors in two amendatory instructions and certain corresponding text of the regulations; one error would incorrectly remove changes made to the regulations at 50 CFR part 20 in a series of final rules we published concerning hunting methods for resident Canada geese and the other mischaracterizes the contents of subpart E of 50 CFR part 21. This document corrects those errors.

The Bureau of Land Management published a Notice of Federal Competitive Coal Lease Sale Offer in the Federal Register on October 31, 2008 [73 FR 64981]. The DATES section of this notice incorrectly listed January 14, 2008 instead of January 14, 2009. The lease sale will be held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, January 14, 2009. Sealed bids must be received on or before 10 a.m., Wednesday, January 14, 2009.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of our final comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for Shell Keys National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). In the final CCP, we describe how we will manage this refuge for the next 15 years.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend existing approvals to collect certain information from lessees, operators, record title holders, operating rights owners, and the general public on oil and gas and operations on Federal lands.

Notice is hereby given of contractual actions that have been proposed to the Bureau of Reclamation and are new, modified, discontinued, or completed since the last publication of this notice on August 12, 2008. This notice is one of a variety of means used to inform the public about proposed contractual actions for capital recovery and management of project resources and facilities consistent with section 9(f) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939. Additional announcements of individual contract actions may be published in the Federal Register and in newspapers of general circulation in the areas determined by Reclamation to be affected by the proposed action.

The BLM announces the availability of the Approved Resource Management Plan (RMP)/Record of Decision (ROD) for the Monticello Field Office located in Utah. The Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management signed the ROD on November 17, 2008, which constitutes the final decision of the Department of the Interior and makes the Approved RMP effective immediately.

In accordance with section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and 43 CFR Part 3809, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Elko Field Office has prepared with the assistance of a third party contractor, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on Newmont Mining Corporation's proposed Emigrant Project Plan of Operations. The project area is located in Elko County about ten miles south of Carlin, Nevada. The DEIS analyzes potential environmental impacts that could result from the open pit mine project during the projected 10-year operating period. This is the second DEIS issued for this project. The original DEIS was issued March 25, 2005.

Notice is hereby given, in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770, 5 U.S.C. App 1, section 10), of the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth meetings of the Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee for Off-Road Vehicle Management at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. (See DATES section.)

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, published a notice requesting public comments on a right-of-way (ROW) permit application we received from Texas Gas Transmission, LLC (Texas Gas), to install a natural gas pipeline under lands within Hillside National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Holmes County, MS. The company chose an alternate route that bypasses Hillside NWR and no longer seeks a ROW permit from us, and has withdrawn its application. Therefore, we are not seeking comments on the application.