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

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Silver State Solar Project, Primm, Nevada, and by this Notice is announcing the opening of the comment period.

Under the provisions of 30 U.S.C. 188(d) and (e), and 43 CFR 3108.2-3(a) and (b)(2), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a petition for reinstatement from Golden Energy Partners LLC for competitive oil and gas lease WYW175745 for land in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. 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 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) provides this notice that the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for Drought Management Planning at the Kerr Hydroelectric Project, Flathead Lake, Montana, is now available for public review and comment.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibit activities with listed species unless a Federal permit is issued that allows such activities. The ESA laws require that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list the Wyoming pocket gopher (Thomomys clusius) as endangered or threatened and to designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. After review of all available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the Wyoming pocket gopher as either endangered or threatened is not warranted at this time. We ask the public to continue to submit to us any new information that becomes available concerning the status of, or threats to, the Wyoming pocket gopher or its habitat.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is taking interim final action on administrative changes to the Department of the Interior Acquisition Regulation (DIAR). This action revises the DIAR, 48 CFR Chapter 14, but does not impose any new requirements on DOI contractors. The revisions in this interim final rule will make minor corrections to and streamline DOI acquisition processes to be consistent with and non-duplicative of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Some DIAR coverage is being revised and obsolete material is being removed. FAR clauses are now available that provide coverage for the DIAR clauses that are removed by this rule.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has closed approximately 210 acres of public land described as the Airport Mesa/Carrizo Creek shooting area located in eastern San Diego County, California. The closure order prohibits recreational shooting and target practice. The use of firearms will continue to be allowed for hunting consistent with California Department of Fish and Game regulations and seasons. This closure order is necessary in order to protect U.S. Border Patrol agents as they perform their duties along the top of Airport Mesa.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3507) and 5 CFR part 1320, Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements, the National Park Service invites public comments on an extension of a currently approved collection of information Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 1024-0033. An agency 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.

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 September 30, 2010. 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.

This notice contains final supplementary rules for the GGNCA and adjacent public lands included in the 2004 GGNCA Resource Management Plan (RMP) and managed by the GGNCA and Uncompahgre Field Offices in Montrose and Delta Counties, Colorado. The rules implement RMP decisions that relate to the use of the lands, conduct, health and safety of public land users, and protection of natural resources. The

Notice is hereby given that the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Pocatello Field Office and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (FS), Caribou-Targhee National Forest, will jointly prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to determine and analyze the effects of a proposed phosphate mine and reclamation plan on people and the environment. The BLM will serve as the lead agency. Plans have been developed and submitted for agency review of proposed open pit mining operations at the Dairy Syncline Phosphate Lease Area in Caribou County, Idaho by the J.R. Simplot Company (Simplot). The Dairy Syncline Phosphate Lease Area is located about 12 miles east of Soda Springs, Idaho.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) establishes migratory bird subsistence harvest regulations in Alaska for the 2010 season. These regulations enable the continuation of customary and traditional subsistence uses of migratory birds in Alaska and prescribe regional information on when and where the harvesting of birds may occur. These regulations were developed under a co-management process involving the Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Alaska Native representatives. This rulemaking is necessary because the regulations governing the subsistence harvest of migratory birds in Alaska are subject to annual review. This rulemaking establishes region-specific regulations that go into effect April 13, 2010 and expire August 31, 2010.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD)/Approved Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Carrizo Plain National Monument (CPNM), located in San Luis Obispo and Kern counties in Central California. The California State Director signed the ROD on April 10, 2010, which constitutes the final decision of the BLM and makes the Approved RMP effective immediately.

This notice announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Authorization for Incidental Take and Implementation of Stanford University Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan), and the Implementing Agreement (IA) for public review and comment. In response to receipt of an application from The Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford; Applicant), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service (Services), are considering the proposed action of issuing a 50-year permit for four federally listed species and one currently unlisted species. The proposed permit would authorize the incidental take of individual species listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The permit is needed because take of species could occur during the operation and maintenance of the University, academic activities, athletic and recreational activities, leasehold activities, urban development, and resource conservation activities associated with the Plan at Stanford, which is located on 8,180-acres in San Mateo County and Santa Clara County, California.

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we are inviting comments on a collection of information that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The title of this information collection request (ICR) is ``30 CFR Parts 202, 206, 210, 212, 217, and 218, Solid Minerals and Geothermal Collections.''

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are approving an amendment to the Oklahoma regulatory program (Oklahoma program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). The Oklahoma Department of Mines (ODM, Oklahoma, or department) made revisions to its rules regarding circumstances under which a notice of violation may have an abatement period greater than 90 days. Oklahoma revised its program at its own initiative to improve operational efficiency.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will file the plats of survey of the lands described below in the BLM-Eastern States office in Springfield, Virginia, 30 calendar days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are initiating 5-year status reviews of 10 species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We conduct these reviews to ensure that the classification of species as threatened or endangered on the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants is accurate. A 5-year review is an assessment of the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review.

This notice announces the availability of the Paiute Cutthroat Trout Restoration Project Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/ Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for public review. We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), along with the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (Cooperating Agency) and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG, California Environmental Quality Act lead agency) (collectively, agencies), are proposing to restore Paiute cutthroat trout to the species historical range within the Silver King Creek watershed, Alpine County, California. To accomplish this, the agencies must first eradicate the non-native and hybrid trout which currently occupy the habitat. We are publishing this notice to inform the public of the proposed action and to make available for review the Final EIS/ EIR, which includes responses to public comments received on the March 2009, Draft EIS/EIR.

The Bureau of Land Management published a document in the Federal Register of September 23, 2009, which inadvertently omitted words twice in the order.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is considering a competitive sale of a parcel of public land totaling 130.56 acres, more or less, in Sandoval County, New Mexico, under the provisions of Section 203 of the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). This Notice of Realty Action (NORA) is provided for the segregation of lands being considered for sale for a period of up to 2 years.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, (NEPA) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, (FLPMA) the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Vale District (Jordan Resource Area and Malheur Resource Area) and Lakeview District (Lakeview Resource Area) in southeastern Oregon intend to prepare Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) to amend the Southeastern Oregon RMP (September 2002), Vale, Oregon, and the Lakeview RMP (January 2003), Lakeview, Oregon, and by this notice are announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.

The plat of survey described below is scheduled to be officially filed in the New Mexico State Office, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Santa Fe, upon the date of this publication.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are initiating 5-year reviews for 69 species in Idaho, Washington, Hawaii, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We request any new information on these species that may have a bearing on their classification as endangered or threatened. Based on the results of our 5-year reviews we will determine whether these species are properly classified under the Act.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 12-month finding on a petition to reclassify the delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. After review of all available scientific and commercial information, we find that reclassifying the delta smelt from a threatened to an endangered species is warranted, but precluded by other higher priority listing actions. We will develop a proposed rule to reclassify this species as our priorities allow.