Department of the Interior April 30, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document informs the public that the Western Interior Alaska Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council will hold a public meeting by teleconference on May 14, 2010. The public is invited to participate and to provide oral testimony.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), intend to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to analyze the effects of potential rule revisions under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act) to improve protection of streams from the adverse impacts of surface coal mining operations. We are requesting comments for the purpose of determining the scope of the EIS.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received applications from William Menchine and Alicia Stanton and the San Lorenzo Valley Water District (applicants) for incidental take permits under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are considering issuing permits that would authorize the applicants' take of the Federally endangered Mount Hermon June beetle (Polyphylla barbata) incidental to otherwise lawful activities that would result in the permanent loss of 0.05 acre (2,182 square feet (sq ft)) of Mount Hermon June beetle habitat near Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California. We invite comments from the public on the applications, which include Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) that fully describe the proposed projects and measures the applicants would undertake to minimize and mitigate anticipated take of the species. We also invite comments on our preliminary determination that the HCPs qualify as ``low-effect'' plans, eligible for categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. We explain the basis for this determination in our draft Environmental Action Statements and associated Low-Effect Screening Forms, both of which are also available for review.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Genesis Project and by this notice is announcing the opening of the comment period.