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

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the FWS and NMFS (Services), are issuing this notice to advise the public of our intent, in coordination with the San Francisco Planning Department, to conduct public scoping necessary to gather information to prepare a joint Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/ EIR). The EIS/EIR will analyze the environmental effects of the of the Services' proposed issuance of an incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, (hereafter ESA or Act), for a Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan) within a portion of the Alameda Creek watershed. The permit applicant is the City and County of San Francisco through its Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). The SFPUC intends to request a 30-year permit for five federally listed as threatened or endangered species and 12 unlisted species that may become listed during the term of the permit. The permit is needed to authorize the incidental take of threatened and endangered species that could occur as a result of the SFPUC's operations and maintenance activities on SFPUC lands within the Alameda Creek watershed. The Services provide this notice to (1) describe the proposed Plan and possible alternatives; (2) advise other Federal and State agencies, affected Tribes, and the public of the 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. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a separate Notice of Preparation for the EIS/EIR will be posted by the San Francisco Planning Department, Major Environmental Analysis (MEA) Division with the State Clearinghouse.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, North Slope Science Initiative (NSSI) Science Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) will meet in January 2009.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce that the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment (draft CCP/EA) is available for review and comment. Also available for review are the draft compatibility determinations for research and monitoring, media access, and environmental education and monitoring through a remote camera system.

The proposed rule modifies various Commission regulations to reduce reporting burdens on tribes, update costs for background investigations, clarify definitions and regulatory intent, and update audit requirements to consolidate and reflect industry standards.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), intend to prepare a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and associated National Environmental Policy Act documents for Culebra National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). We provide this notice in compliance with our CCP policy to advise other agencies and the public of our intentions, and to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to consider in the planning process.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. Sec. 552a), the Office of the Secretary of the Department of the Interior is issuing public notice of its intent to amend an existing Privacy Act system of records notice, OS-02, ``Individual Indian Monies (IIM) Trust Funds.'' The amendments will update the contact for further information, system locations, system manager and address, categories of records in the system, authority for maintenance of the system, routine uses of records maintained in the system, storage, safeguards, retention and disposal, procedures for contesting records, and records source categories.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), intend to prepare a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and associated National Environmental Policy Act documents for Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). We provide this notice in compliance with our CCP policy to advise other agencies and the public of our intentions, and to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to consider in the planning process.

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

The National Park Service (NPS) is terminating preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the General Management Plan amendment, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. A Notice of Intent to prepare the EIS for the Petrified Forest National Park General Management Plan Amendment was published at 72 FR 159, pages 46244 and 46245, August 17, 2007. The National Park Service has since determined that an Environmental Assessment (EA) rather than an EIS is the appropriate level of environmental documentation for the plan.

In accordance with Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations implementing the NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and applicable agency guidance, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and Draft Pony Express Resource Management Plan (RMP) amendment have been prepared in response to UNEV, LLC's right-of- way (ROW) application to construct and operate a liquid petroleum products pipeline on public lands from Woods Cross, Utah, to northeast Las Vegas, Nevada.

Graymont Western U.S., Inc. submitted a Plan of Operations on February 22, 2006, to expand their Limestone Hills quarry operation on unpatented mining claims on public lands west of Townsend, Montana. 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.), a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) has been prepared for the Graymont Western U.S., Inc. Proposed Mine Expansion administered by the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Butte Field Office and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Operations on public lands are on mining claims located in accordance with the General Mining Law of 1872, as amended (30 U.S.C. 22, et seq.). The DEIS addresses alternatives associated with Graymont Western U.S., Inc. Proposed Mine Expansion and recommends a preferred Alternative, allowing the expansion.

Public Land Order No. 7708 partially revoked 3 Public Land Orders and revoked 1 Public Land Order in its entirety. This order opens part of those previously withdrawn lands to mining and opens the remainder to such forms of disposition as may by law be made of National Forest System lands and to mining.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), is notifying the public that Reclamation, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has prepared and made available to the public a final environmental impact statement (Final EIS) for the proposed Southern Delivery System (SDS) project. The non- federal Project Participants (City of Colorado Springs, City of Fountain, Security Water District, and Pueblo West Metropolitan District) have made a request to Reclamation to issue long term excess capacity, conveyance, and exchange contracts for the use of Fryingpan- Arkansas Project facilities. Reclamation needs to decide if the requested contracts will be issued. The Project Participants' purpose is to provide a safe, reliable, and sustainable water supply for their customers through the foreseeable future. The Project Participants' needs are the following: The Project Participants have a need to use developed and undeveloped water supplies to meet most or all projected future demands through 2046. The Project Participants have a need to develop additional water storage, delivery, and treatment capacity to provide system redundancy. The Project Participants have a need to perfect and deliver their existing Arkansas Basin water rights. Reclamation published a Draft EIS on February 29, 2008. Reclamation published a Supplemental Information Report on October 3, 2008 to update and provide additional information that was not in the Draft EIS. Revisions were made to the Final EIS to incorporate additional analyses presented in the Supplemental Information Report, and responses to comments on the Draft EIS and Supplemental Information Report. The Final EIS includes written responses to all public comments on both the Draft EIS and Supplemental Information Report. It also identifies the Participants' Proposed Action as Reclamation's preferred alternative.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to revise the listing of the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), to include New Mexico. We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that changing the listing status of the contiguous United States Distinct Population Segment of Canada lynx to include New Mexico may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this notice, we are initiating a further review in response to the petition, and we will issue a 12-month finding to determine if the petitioned action is warranted. To ensure that our review is comprehensive, we are soliciting feedback from the public regarding this species.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) policies, the BLM announces the availability of the Records of Decision (RODs) for the Sage Steppe Ecosystem Restoration Strategy for the Alturas, Eagle Lake, and Surprise Field Offices. The RODs constitute the final decisions of the BLM and make the Sage Steppe Ecosystem Restoration Strategy effective immediately.

In accordance with Title IV of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act (Pub. L. 97-451), Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation timely filed a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas leases UTU27917, UTU27918, UTU47084, UTU79133, UTU79134, UTU79795, and UTU79796, for lands in Summit and San Juan County, Utah, and it was accompanied by all required rentals and royalties accruing from October 1, 2008, the date of termination.

This rule proposes to amend current regulations for designating bicycle use on National Park Service (NPS) lands. The proposed rule authorizes park superintendents to open existing trails to bicycle use within park units in accordance with appropriate park plans and compliance documents under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Historic Preservation Act, the NPS Organic Act, and the park's enabling legislation, and other applicable law. The proposed rule continues to require promulgation of a special regulation to build a new trail for bicycle use outside developed areas, or to open an existing trail to bicycle use if such action triggers one of the existing regulatory criteria requiring rulemaking in Section 1.5 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we are notifying the public that we have submitted to OMB an information collection request (ICR) to renew approval of the paperwork requirements in the regulations under 30 CFR 250, subpart H, Oil and Gas Production Safety Systems. This notice also provides the public a second opportunity to comment on the paperwork burden of these regulatory requirements.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list four species of penguins as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). After a thorough review of all available scientific and commercial information, we find that the petitioned action for the Campbell Plateau portion of the range of the New Zealand/Australia Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of the southern rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome) is warranted, and we propose to list this species as threatened under the Act in the Campbell Plateau portion of its range. This proposal, if made final, would extend the Act's protection to this species in that portion of its range. In addition, we find that listing under the Act is not warranted for the remainder of the range of the southern rockhopper penguin and throughout all or any portion of the range for the northern rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes moseleyi), macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus), and emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri).

The Fish and Wildlife Service (hereinafter Service) will conduct an open meeting on January 29, 2009, to identify and discuss preliminary issues concerning the 2009-10 migratory bird hunting regulations.

This order partially revokes a Public Land Order insofar as it affects approximately 75 acres of National Forest System land withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the public lands laws, including the mining laws and reserved for use by the Forest Service as the Rollinsville Ranger Station within the Roosevelt National Forest. This order also opens the land to sale under the authority of Public Law No. 109-54.

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 Doyon, Limited. The lands are in the vicinity of Wiseman, Alaska, and are located in:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), intend to gather information necessary to prepare comprehensive conservation plans (CCP) and associated environmental documents for the Big Stone, Neal Smith, Crane Meadows, Gravel Island, Green Bay, Harbor Island, Huron, and Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs). We furnish this notice in compliance with our CCP policy to advise other agencies and the public of our intentions, and to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to be considered in the planning process. In addition, we invite comments on archeological, historic, and traditional cultural sites in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act. Special mailings, newspaper articles, Internet postings, and other media announcements will inform people of the opportunities for written comments.

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