Department of the Interior March 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), MMS is inviting comments on a collection of information that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The information collection request (ICR) concerns the paperwork requirements in the regulations under 30 CFR part 251, Geological and Geophysical (G&G) Explorations of the Outer Continental Shelf.

This notice provides a listing of civil penalties paid from January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2008, for violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. The goal of the MMS Outer Continental Shelf Civil Penalties Program is to assure safe and clean oil, gas, sulphur, or other minerals operations on the Outer Continental Shelf. Through the pursuit, assessment, and collection of civil penalties and referrals for the consideration of criminal penalties, the program is designed to encourage compliance with applicable statutes and regulations. The purpose of publishing the penalties summary is to provide information to the public on violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and to provide an additional incentive for safe and environmentally sound operations.

The National Park Service (NPS) is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a proposed Brooks River bridge and boardwalk, and associated access changes, to the Brooks Camp Area within Katmai National Park and Preserve. The purpose of the EIS is to evaluate a reasonable range of alternatives for a bridge and boardwalk that would span the lower Brooks River. The existing floating bridge would be removed. A new bridge would provide for the existing floatplane access to the Brooks Camp Area to continue, with planes beaching on the shore of Naknek Lake on the north side of Brooks River. This proposal would tier off the 1996 Brooks River Area Development Concept Plan (DCP) and EIS. If the decision is to construct a new bridge, it would result in an amendment to the access decision, which called for construction of a new floatplane dock, breakwater, one-mile access road on the south side of Brooks River, and required a shuttle system.

This final rule establishes regulations for seasons, harvest limits, methods, and means related to taking of fish for subsistence uses during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 regulatory years. The Federal Subsistence Board completes the biennial process of revising subsistence fishing and shellfishing regulations in odd- numbered years and subsistence hunting and trapping regulations in even-numbered years; public proposal and review processes take place

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is correcting its previous Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupe[ntilde]o Indians' renewed application for a Proposed Fee-to-Trust Acquisition and Casino- Hotel Project in San Bernardino County, California. The corrections include adding cooperating agencies, reducing the acreage proposed for acquisition, and changing certain project details to reflect a smaller proposed development.

This notice publishes Fort Sill Apache Tribe Alcohol Control Ordinance. The Ordinance regulates and controls the possession, sale, and consumption of liquor within the tribal lands. The tribal lands are located in Indian country and this Ordinance allows for possession and sale of alcoholic beverages within their boundaries. This Ordinance will increase the ability of the tribal government to control the community's liquor distribution and possession, and at the same time will provide an important source of revenue for the continued operation and strengthening of the tribal government and the delivery of tribal services.

Between October 1, 2007, and September 30, 2008, the Pacific Region of the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued 10 permits for enhancement of survival or incidental take of threatened and endangered species. These permits were issued pursuant to sections 10(a)(1)(A) and 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Copies of the permits and associated decision documents are available upon request.

The Bureau of Land Management has received a Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) Act request for lease and subsequent conveyance of approximately 10 acres of public land in Clark County for use as a public park. The parcel of land is located in the northwestern part of the Las Vegas Valley, northeast of the intersection of Alpine Ridge Way and Iron Mountain Road.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Anchorage Field Office, Anchorage, Alaska, intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment with an associated Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Haines planning block of the Ring of Fire RMP and by this notice is announcing the beginning of the public scoping process.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intends to amend the San Juan/San Miguel Resource Management Plan (RMP) to limit Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) use to designated roads and motorized trails on lands within the Beaver Meadows-Sauls Creek Travel Management Landscape. The Landscape project analysis area encompasses approximately 797 acres of BLM lands and approximately 54,397 acres of Forest Service lands on the Columbine Field Office/Ranger District in the vicinity of Bayfield, Colorado. Both agencies will conduct a joint Environmental Assessment (EA) which will also determine designated motorized routes within the landscape in addition to the San Juan/San Miguel RMP amendment.

This notice publishes approval of amendments to 13 Class III Tribal-State Gaming Compacts (Amendments). The 13 Class III Gaming Compacts are between the State of Arizona and each of the following Indian tribes, respectively: Ak-Chin Indian Community, Colorado River Indian Tribes, Cocopah Indian Tribe, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, Havasupai Indian Tribe, Hualapai Indian Tribe, Kaibab-Paiute Indian Tribe, Navajo Nation, Tohono O'odham Nation, White Mountain Apache Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Tribe, and Zuni Tribe.

This action informs the public of the receipt of an application from the surface estate owner for the acquisition of the Federally-owned mineral estate.

The Energy and Mineral Development Program (EMDP) provides funding to tribes with the mission goal of assessing, evaluating, and promoting energy and mineral resources on Indian trust lands for the economic benefit of Indian mineral owners. To achieve these goals, the Department of the Interior's Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED), through its Division of Energy and Mineral Development (DEMD) office, is soliciting proposals from tribes. The Department will use a competitive evaluation process to select several proposed projects to receive an award.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list the yellow-billed loon (Gavia adamsii) as threatened or endangered, with critical habitat, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The petitioners provided two listing options for consideration by the Service: (1) Listing the yellow-billed loon throughout its range, or (2) listing the United States population of the yellow-billed loon as a Distinct Population Segment (DPS). After a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we have determined that listing the yellow-billed loon rangewide under the Act is warranted but precluded by other higher priority listing actions.

Pursuant to Sec. 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347, January 1, 1970, as amended), and the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Marin Headlands and Fort Baker Transportation Infrastructure and Management Plan. The proposed project would provide greater access to and within the Marin Headlands and Fort Baker areas of Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) for a variety of users in a way that minimizes impacts to the rich natural diversity and cultural resources within all the areas of potential effect. Roadway infrastructure would be rehabilitated or reconstructed with non-character altering roadway widening, and parking facilities would be improved. Additional transit options would be provided to and within the Marin Headlands and Fort Baker to improve access to visitor sites. Pedestrian and bicycle facilities would be improved through closure and rerouting of existing trails and construction of new trails.

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 Anvik, Alaska, and are located in:

On July 5, 2002, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), published a withdrawal of the proposed rule to list the Southwestern Washington/Columbia River distinct population segment (DPS) of the coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki clarki) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). As a result of litigation, we are now reconsidering our withdrawal of the proposed rule with specific regard to the question of whether the marine and estuarine areas may constitute a significant portion of the range of the Southwestern Washington/Columbia River DPS of coastal cutthroat trout, and if so, whether that portion is threatened or endangered. We hereby notify the public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific community, industry, and any other interested party of our request for information, data, or comments on the marine and estuarine areas of the Southwestern Washington/Columbia River DPS of coastal cutthroat trout, with particular regard to whether these areas constitute a significant portion of the range of the DPS under the Act, and if so, whether the subspecies is threatened or endangered in those areas.

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 COC62063 from Red Willow Production, LLC for lands in Jackson 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.

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 as indicated below: