Department of the Interior June 29, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This order partially revokes a withdrawal created by an Executive Order insofar as it affects 369.68 acres of public lands withdrawn from settlement, sale, location or entry under the public land laws for protection of springs and waterholes and designated as Public Water Reserve No. 107. This order also opens the lands to exchange.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of an amendment to the Draft Recovery Plan for the Columbia Basin Distinct Population Segment of the Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) for public review and comment. This amendment updates the recovery strategies and objectives that were developed in the 2007 Draft Recovery Plan, based on new information about genetics, disease risk, and habitat associations of the species.

An application has been filed with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) by Larin Roozenboom and Laura Roozenboom (hereafter ``the applicants''), for a recordable Disclaimer of Interest from the United States. This notice is intended to inform the public of the pending application.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for an enhancement of survival permit pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The permit application includes a proposed Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement (Agreement) between the ODFW and the Service. The requested permit would authorize the ODFW to extend incidental take coverage with assurances to eligible landowners who are willing to carry out habitat management measures that would benefit the threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi) by enrolling them under the Agreement as Cooperators through issuance of Certificates of Inclusion. The covered area or geographic scope of this Agreement includes the Quinn River, Coyote Lake, and Alvord basins located in Harney and Malheur Counties, Oregon. The Service is making the permit application, proposed Agreement, and related documents available for public review and comment.

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 January 31, 2012. 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.

We are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the West Virginia permanent regulatory program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). On May 2, 2011, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) submitted a program amendment to OSM that includes both statutory and regulatory revisions. West Virginia submitted proposed permit fee revisions to the Code of West Virginia as authorized by House Bill 2955 that passed during the State's regular 2011 legislative session. In addition, West Virginia is amending its Code of State Regulations (CSR) to provide for the establishment of a minimum incremental bonding rate as authorized by Senate Bill 121. The changes, due to the passage of House Bill 2995, will increase the filing fee for the State's surface mining permit to $3,500 and establish various fees for other permitting actions. Senate Bill 121 authorizes regulatory revisions which includes, among other things, the establishment of a minimum incremental bonding rate of $10,000 per increment at CSR 38-2-11.4.a.2. Because these revisions have an effective date of June 16, 2011, we are approving the permit fees and the minimum incremental bonding rate on an interim basis, with our approval taking effect upon publication of this interim rule. This rule also requests public comments and provides an opportunity for a public hearing on the proposed statutory and regulatory revisions described herein. The other State regulatory revisions submitted by WVDEP with this amendment will be announced in another Federal Register notice and follow our normal program amendment procedures.