Department of the Interior November 23, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the authority vested in the Director of the Minerals Management Service by the joint bidding provisions of 30 CFR 256.41, each entity within one of the following groups shall be restricted from bidding with any entity in any other of the following groups at Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease sales to be held during the bidding period November 1, 2009 through April 30, 2010. The List of Restricted Joint Bidders published in the Federal Register on April 20, 2009, covered the period May 1, 2009 through October 31, 2009.

Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended) and the regulations promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1505.2), the Department of the Interior, National Park Service has prepared and approved a Record of Decision (and Wetlands Statement of Findings) for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for Transportation Infrastructure and Management Plan for Marin Headlands and Fort Baker areas of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The requisite no-action ``wait period'' was initiated March 20, 2009, with the Environmental Protection Agency's Federal Register notification of the filing of the Final EIS.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service announces the availability of the Benefits-Sharing Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) covering all units of the National Park System. The NPS requested and considered comments from sources including the public and other agencies in completing the FEIS. Three alternatives were evaluated in the FEIS, each of which would clarify the rights and responsibilities of researchers and National Park Service (NPS) management in connection with the use of valuable discoveries, inventions, and other developments that result from research involving specimens lawfully collected from units of the National Park System. The No Action Alternative allows scientists to conduct research that may lead to commercial products but without any obligation to share the benefits with NPS. Another alternative prohibits scientific research in national parks that is in any way associated with the development of commercial products. A third alternative, the Environmentally Preferred Alternative, requires researchers who study material obtained under a Scientific Research and Collecting Permit to enter into benefits-sharing agreements with the NPS before using their research results for any commercial purpose. This Environmentally Preferred Alternative has three potential variations regarding the disclosure of royalty rate or related information: Always disclose, never disclose, or comply with confidentiality laws regarding disclosure. The Preferred Alternative implements the benefits-sharing agreement requirement, while complying with confidentiality laws regarding disclosure of royalty rate or related information.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Palm Springs- South Coast Field Office, together with the California Energy Commission (CEC), intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Staff Assessment (SA), which may also include an amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan (1980, as amended), and by this notice are announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Palm Springs South Coast Field Office, Palm Springs, California, together with the California Energy Commission (CEC), intend to prepare two Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)/Staff Assessments (SAs), which may include an amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan (1980, as amended) and by this notice are announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.