Department of the Interior May 24, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We (U.S. 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 October 31, 2011. 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.

The public is invited to comment on the following application for approval to conduct certain activities with birds that are protected in accordance with the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are approving an amendment to the Alabama regulatory program (Alabama program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Alabama revised its regulations regarding their license fees, annual license updates, and blaster certification fees. Alabama revised its program to improve operational efficiency.

This notice is being published as an initial step for the purpose of involving Federal agencies, states, tribes, local government, and the public in the leasing decision for an offshore technology testing facility located on the OCS, in accordance with the Department of the Interior and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). On November 6, 2007, the Minerals Management Service (MMS), now BOEMRE, announced an interim policy for authorizing the issuance of leases for the installation of offshore data collection and technology testing facilities on the OCS (72 FR 62673). A lease application has been submitted pursuant to the interim policy, initiating the need for an EA. On June 11, 2010 Florida Atlantic University's (FAU) Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center (SNMREC) submitted an application to lease three OCS blocks, approximately nine to 15 nautical miles offshore of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, under its original nomination submitted on November 8, 2007. These three blocks are located on the Atlantic OCS in the Official Protraction Diagram NG 17- 06 numbered 7003, 7053, and 7054. The proposed lease area ranges from a depth of 262 meters (m) in Block 7053 to 366 m in the southern half of Block 7054. This project application was amended on February 10, 2011, and describes data collection and technology testing activities to be conducted on the proposed lease. FAU SNMREC intends to deploy a single- anchor mooring, with a mooring and telemetry buoy (MTB) (similar to the Navy Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device (NOMAD) weather buoys) for the purpose of testing, for limited periods, equipment designed to use the Florida current to generate electricity on the proposed leasehold. The proposed MTB would act as both a sensor and measurement platform and mooring point for a platform or vessel which can deploy small-scale ocean current devices. The device(s) to be deployed would be limited to 100-kilowatt (kW) power extraction and seven-meter diameter rotor(s). Initially, it is proposed to deploy an experimental demonstration device with 20 kW maximum power and a three- meter rotor diameter from a vessel moored to the MTB. BOEMRE intends to prepare an EA for the purpose of considering the environmental consequences associated with issuing an interim policy lease to FAU SNMREC, which will include impacts that may result from the installation of an MTB, deployment of small-scale ocean current devices, and operations of a deployment vessel on the potential leasehold. The EA will consider multiple environmental issues, including impacts to benthic habitats, sea turtles, pelagic fishes, marine mammals, and existing human uses. At a minimum, the alternatives that will be considered are no action (i.e., no issuance of a lease), and the issuance of a lease and approval of certain technology testing activities within the lease area, such as deployment of technology demonstration devices, single anchor moorings, and an MTB. With this NOI, BOEMRE is requesting comments and input from Federal, state, and local government agencies, tribal governments, and other interested parties, which may assist BOEMRE in identifying the important environmental issues and any additional alternatives that should be considered in the EA. Input is also requested regarding measures (e.g., limitations on activities based on technology, siting, or timing) that would mitigate impacts to environmental resources and socioeconomic conditions that could result from leasing and the technology testing activities in the lease area. Consultation with other Federal agencies, tribal governments, and affected states will be carried out during the EA process and will be completed before a final decision is made on whether, or under what circumstances to issue a lease.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, Department of Commerce) and other Federal, State, and tribal partners, announce that we are seeking public comments and information necessary to prepare a draft National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy (Strategy). The Strategy will provide a unified approach reflecting shared principles and science-based practicesfor reducing the negative impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants, habitats, and our natural resource heritage. It will serve as a valuable tool for Federal and State agencies, wildlife managers, tribes, and private landowners as they continue to manage their lands and natural resources in a changing environment.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce a public meeting of the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council (Council).