Department of the Interior January 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) is announcing its intent to establish an Indian Oil Valuation Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (Committee). The Committee will develop specific recommendations regarding proposed revisions to the existing regulations for oil production from Indian leases, especially the major portion valuation requirement. The Committee will include representatives of parties who would be affected by a final rule. The ONRR solicits comments on this initiative and requests interested parties to nominate representatives for membership on the Committee.

Pursuant to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulations, the BLM Lake Havasu Field Office announces the temporary closure of selected public lands under its administration in La Paz County, Arizona. This action is being taken to protect persons, property, and public lands and resources during the permitted running of the 2011 Parker 425 Desert Races. Areas subject to this closure include all public land, including county-maintained roads and highways located on public lands that are located within 2 miles of the designated course. The race course and closure areas are described in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice and maps of the designated race course are maintained in the Lake Havasu Field Office, 2610 Sweetwater Avenue, Lake Havasu City, Arizona 86406.

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will issue an appealable decision to The Aleut Corporation. The decision will approve the conveyance of the surface and subsurface estates in certain lands pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The lands are located east of Sand Point, Alaska, and aggregate 86.80 acres. Notice of the decision will also be published four times in the Anchorage Daily News.

In accordance with the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Act of 2000 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (Forest Service) Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Advisory Committee (MAC) will meet as indicated below.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Las Vegas Field Office, Las Vegas, Nevada, intends to prepare a Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP), Comprehensive Transportation and Travel Management (CTTM) Plan with an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Las Vegas Field Office and by this notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.

We, the 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 for Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). In the final CCP, we describe how we will manage this refuge for the next 15 years.

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 282, Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf for Minerals Other than Oil, Gas, and Sulphur. This notice also provides the public a second opportunity to comment on the paperwork burden of these regulatory requirements.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has examined and found suitable for classification and conveyance under Section 7 of the Taylor Grazing Act, 43 U.S.C. 315f, and the provisions of the Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) Act, as amended, 50.15 acres of public land in County of Inyo, California. The County of Inyo has filed an R&PP application to purchase the 50.15-acre parcel of public land that contains a closed solid waste landfill facility.

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

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 the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Complex (NWRC). In this final CCP, we describe how we will manage this refuge for the next 15 years.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has officially filed the plats of survey of the lands described below in the BLM Idaho State Office, Boise, Idaho, effective 9 a.m., on the dates specified.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published FR Doc. 2010- 26655 in the Federal Register on October 21, 2010, announcing availability of the draft revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and Environmental Assessment (EA) for Selawik National Wildlife Refuge. The document identified a review period ending on January 15, 2011. Due to the holiday rush and delayed postal delivery of some materials for public involvement, we are concerned that many people will not be able to meet our deadline; therefore we are reopening the comment period until March 15, 2011.

BOEMRE provides public notice of a proposed lease area for commercial wind development on the OCS off Delaware and requests submission of indications of competitive interest. The proposed lease area was identified through the issuance of a Request for Interest (RFI) published in the Federal Register on April 26, 2010 (75 FR 21653). In response to that notice, BOEMRE received two nominations of proposed lease areas: One from Bluewater Wind Delaware LLC (Bluewater) and another from Occidental Development & Equities, LLC (Occidental). Subsequently, BOEMRE determined that Bluewater is qualified to hold an OCS commercial wind lease in accordance with the regulatory requirements at 30 CFR 285.106 and .107, and that Occidental did not provide the necessary documentation demonstrating that it was qualified to hold an OCS commercial lease at the time. As a result, Occidental's lease nomination was nullified and Bluewater's nomination remained as the only eligible expression of interest upon which to base the proposed lease area. In accordance with 30 CFR 285.232, by letter dated November 8, 2010, BOEMRE informed Bluewater that there appeared to be no competitive interest in the proposed lease area and requested that Bluewater inform BOEMRE if it wished to proceed with acquiring a lease. By correspondence dated December 3 and December 9, 2010, Bluewater Wind stated its intention to acquire a lease for the proposed lease area and provided documentation that it had submitted the required acquisition fee. This RFCI is published pursuant to subsection 8(p)(3) of the OCS Lands Act, as amended by section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3)), and the implementing regulations at 30 CFR Part 285. Subsection 8(p)(3) of the OCS Lands Act requires that OCS renewable energy leases, easements, and rights-of-way be issued ``on a competitive basis unless the Secretary determines after public notice of a proposed lease, easement, or right-of-way that there is no competitive interest.'' This RFCI provides such public notice for the proposed lease area. Also, with this announcement BOEMRE invites all interested and affected parties to comment and provide information including information on existing uses and environmental issues and concernsthat will be useful in the environmental analysis of potential wind development activities in the proposed lease area. A detailed description of the proposed lease area is presented below.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Indian Education (Bureau) is seeking comments on renewal of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the collection of information for Homeliving Programs and School Closure and Consolidation. The information collection is currently authorized by OMB Control Number 1076-0164, which expires on March 31, 2011.

This notice announces the online publication of the Interim Special Law Enforcement Commission Policy, Rules and Procedures, the Interim Special Law Enforcement Commission Protocols and the Interim Domestic Violence Waiver that will be used by the Office of Justice Services following passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010. The documents are published on the Indian Affairs Web site.

BOEMRE is withdrawing the direct final rule to amend BOEMRE's renewable energy regulatory provisions that pertain to noncompetitive acquisition of leases, published on November 26, 2010 (75 FR 72679), under Docket ID: BOEM-2010-0045. In the direct final rule, BOEMRE stated that if it received significant adverse comments during the rule's 30-day comment period, it would publish a notice of withdrawal in the Federal Register. BOEMRE has determined that it has received significant adverse comments during the comment period and, therefore, is withdrawing the direct final rule. BOEMRE intends to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking within 30 days of the date of this notice in order to reinitiate rulemaking. The proposed rule will have a 30-day public comment period. All comments received in response to the original November 26, 2010, notice will be considered in relation to the proposed rule unless they are withdrawn by the commenters, so those who commented on the original November 26, 2010, direct final rule need not re-submit their comments. However, parties who responded to the November 26, 2010, notice may submit additional comments on the proposed rulemaking.

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) Farmington Field Office, Farmington, New Mexico, intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed San Juan Energy Connect Project, and by this notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Western Montana Resource Advisory Council (RAC) will meet as indicated below.

The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), after consultation with the General Services Administration, has renewed the Trinity River Adaptive Management Working Group (Working Group) for 2 years. The Working Group provides recommendations on all aspects of the implementation of the Trinity River Restoration Program and affords stakeholders the opportunity to give policy, management, and technical input concerning Trinity River restoration efforts.

In accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C. App. 2, and with the concurrence of the General Services Administration, the Department of the Interior is announcing the establishment of the Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee (Committee). The purpose of the Committee is to provide advice on matters and actions relating to offshore energy safety, including, but not limited to drilling and workplace safety, well intervention and containment, and oil spill response. The Committee will also facilitate collaborative research and development, training and execution in these and other areas relating to offshore energy safety. The Department of the Interior is seeking nominations for individuals to be considered as Committee members.

Pursuant to the authority vested in the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement 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, 2010, through April 30, 2011. The List of Restricted Joint Bidders published in the Federal Register on May 3, 2010, covered the period May 1, 2010, through October 31, 2010.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of our draft comprehensive conservation plan and draft environmental impact statement (Draft CCP/EIS) for the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge (refuge) for public review and comment. In the Draft CCP/EIS, we described our alternatives, including our preferred alternative, for managing the refuge for 15 years following approval of the final CCP.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has submitted an information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to continue the collection of information from individuals, State and local governments, and the private sector in applications to use, occupy, or develop public lands administered by the BLM. This information collection activity was previously approved by the OMB, and was assigned control number 1004-0009.

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, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Idaho Falls District Resource Advisory Council (RAC), will meet as indicated below.