Department of the Interior May 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) intends to gather the information necessary for preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the conveyance into trust of 170.1 acres of land currently held by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (Tribe) in the Town of Mashpee, Massachusetts, and 146.39 acres of land in the City of Taunton. The purpose of the proposed action is to help provide for the economic development of the Tribe and to create a tribal land base. The Tribe is currently federally recognized but does not currently have a federally protected reservation or have land that is held in trust for the Tribe by the United States. This notice also announces public scoping meetings to identify potential issues, alternatives, and content for inclusion in the EIS.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the reopening of the comment period on our November 30, 2011, proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the southern Selkirk Mountains population of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We also announce the availability of a draft economic analysis of the proposed designation and an amended required determinations section of the proposal. We are reopening the comment period to allow all interested parties an opportunity to comment simultaneously on the proposed rule, the associated draft economic analysis, and the amended required determinations section. We will also hold a public informational session and hearing (see DATES and ADDRESSES).

This document corrects an amendment contained in a final rule published in the Federal Register on March 29, 2012, and involves only that portion of the rule relating to the authority citation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces availability for public review of the draft recovery plan for the Iris lacustris (dwarf lake iris), a species that is federally listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. The species grows along the northern shorelines of Lakes Michigan and Huron, in the U.S. States of Wisconsin and Michigan and in Ontario, Canada. The purpose of the recovery plan is to recover this species in order that it can be removed from the list of Endangered and Threatened Plants. The Service solicits review and comment from the public on this draft plan.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announce that our Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan (Plan) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge Complex (refuge complex) is available. This final Plan describes how the Service intends to manage this refuge complex for the next 15 years.

In accordance 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) has prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan (Draft RMP) Amendment and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the SunZia Southwest Transmission Line Project and by this notice is announcing the opening of the comment period.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Northwest California Resource Advisory Council will meet as indicated below.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs is seeking comments on the survey instrument for the collection of information for the American Indian and Alaska Native Population and Labor Force Report. The survey instrument that is currently authorized by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 1076-0147 expires August 31, 2012.

This notice publishes the Tribal Liquor Ordinance No. 2008-01 of the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake. The Ordinance regulates and controls the possession, sale and consumption of liquor within the Indian Country of the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake. The land is trust land and this Ordinance allows for the possession and sale of alcoholic beverages within the jurisdiction of the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake. This Ordinance will increase the ability of the tribal government to control the distribution and possession of liquor within their jurisdiction, and at the same time will provide an important source of revenue, the strengthening of the tribal government and the delivery of tribal services.

The Office of the Secretary is announcing that the Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform (the Commission) will hold a public meeting on June 11 and 12, 2012. The Commission has gathered input and information from two public meetings and has requested feedback on five questions regarding the development of a comprehensive evaluation of how the Department of the Interior manages and administers its trust responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The five questions can be found at https://www.doi.gov/ cobell/commission/index.cfm under ``Tribal Outreach Letter.'' The Secretarial Commission's charter requires the Commission to provide well-reasoned and factually based recommendations for potential improvements to the existing management and administration of the trust administration system. The Commission is committed to early public engagement and welcomes your participation in these important meetings.

Notice is hereby given that certain coal resources in the North Porcupine Coal Tract described below in Campbell County, Wyoming, will be offered for competitive lease by sealed bid in accordance with the provisions of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended.

In accordance 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) Palm Springs/ South Coast Field Office, Palm Springs, California, has prepared a Draft California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan Amendment (PA) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for McCoy Solar, LLC's right-of-way (ROW) application for the McCoy Solar Energy Project (MSEP), and by this notice is announcing the opening of the comment period.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD)/Approved Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Taos Field Office located in northern New Mexico. The New Mexico State Director signed the ROD on May 24, 2012, which constitutes the final decision of the BLM and makes the Approved RMP effective immediately.

On March 15, 2011, BOEM (formerly the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement) published a notice in the Federal Register (76 FR 14040), entitled ``Call for Information and Nominations'' (the Call). Subsequently, on November 15, 2011, BOEM published a ``Call for Information and Nominations: Correction'' in the Federal Register (76 FR 70748) correcting the sale numbers that were identified in the Call. This document describes a revision to the description of the areas not available for leasing in the OCS. BOEM believes the previous descriptions of the areas excluded by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-432 December 20, 2006) could be confusing. Consequently, Section 4.A. items 1 and 2 of the original call are to be revised by deleting the following: 1. Blocks that were previously included within the Eastern GOM Planning Area and are within 100 miles of the Florida coast; and 2. Blocks east of the Military Mission line (86 degrees, 41 minutes west longitude) under an existing moratorium until 2022, as a result of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (December 20, 2006); and replacing them with: 1. Whole blocks and portions of blocks deferred by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. Section 4.A. items 3 and 4 are also renumbered to 2 and 3 respectively to reflect this change.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will file the plat of survey of the lands described below in the BLM Montana State Office, Billings, Montana, on June 25, 2012.

Pursuant to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulations, the BLM is segregating approximately 3,399.76 acres of public lands located in the State of Arizona from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, including the Mining Law of 1872, but not the mineral leasing or mineral materials sales laws, for a period of up to 2 years. This is for the purpose of processing one solar energy right-of-way (ROW) application submitted by Pacific Solar Investments, LLC, to construct and operate the Hyder Valley Solar Energy Project in Maricopa County, Arizona.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing that the information collection request for bonding and insurance requirements for surface coal mining and reclamation operations under regulatory programs has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The information collection request describes the nature of the information collection and the expected burden and cost.

The purpose of this public notice is to: (1) Describe the Deepwater Wind Block Island LLC (Deepwater Wind) Transmission System (BITS) proposal submitted to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM); (2) solicit submissions of indications of competitive interest for a right-of-way (ROW) grant for renewable energy purposes for the area identified in this notice; and (3) solicit public input regarding the proposal, its potential environmental consequences, and other uses of the area in which the proposal would be located. On November 30, 2011, BOEM received an application from Deepwater Wind for a ROW grant on the OCS offshore Rhode Island. Deepwater Wind's proposed project, the BITS, would entail the construction and installation of a bi-directional submerged transmission cable between Block Island and the Rhode Island mainland. Deepwater Wind has requested a ROW grant for the portion of the BITS cable that is proposed on the OCS. Deepwater Wind proposes that the BITS would serve two purposes: (1) Transmit electrical power from Deepwater Wind's proposed 30 megawatt (MW) offshore wind energy project located in Rhode Island State waters off Block Island to the Rhode Island mainland; and (2) transmit electrical power from the existing transmission grid on the Rhode Island mainland to Block Island. 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 585. 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 lease, easement, or right-of-way that there is no competitive interest.'' This RFCI provides such public notice for the proposed ROW grant area requested by Deepwater Wind and invites the submission of indications of competitive interest. BOEM will consider the responses to this public notice to determine whether competitive interest exists for the area requested by Deepwater Wind, as required by 43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3). Parties wishing to obtain a grant for the area requested by Deepwater Wind should submit detailed and specific information as described in the section entitled, ``Required Indication of Interest Information.'' This announcement also requests that interested and affected parties comment and provide information about site conditions and existing and future uses of the area identified in this notice that would be relevant to the proposed project or its impacts. The information that BOEM is requesting is described in the section entitled, ``Requested Information from Interested or Affected Parties.''

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.

Under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are removing the Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) throughout its range from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife due to recovery. This action is based on a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial data, which indicate that the species' status has improved to the point that the Morelet's crocodile is not likely to become threatened within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. After the effective date of this final rule, the Morelet's crocodile will remain protected under the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

The Gates of the Arctic National Park SRC will meet to develop and continue work on NPS subsistence program recommendations and other related subsistence management issues. The NPS SRC program is authorized under Title VIII, Section 808 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Public Law 96-487, to operate in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register. Public Availability of Comments: This teleconference meeting is open to the public and will have time allocated for public testimony. The public is welcome to present written or oral comments to the SRC. This meeting will be recorded and meeting minutes will be available upon request from the park superintendent for public inspection approximately six weeks after the meeting. Before including your address, telephone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire commentincluding your personal identifying informationmay be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Gates of the Arctic National Park SRC Meeting Date and Location: The Gates of the Arctic National Park SRC teleconference meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 19, 2012, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. or until business is completed at the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve office, 4175 Geist Road, Fairbanks, AK 99709, telephone (907) 457-5752. Should a quorum not be available on June 19, 2012, alternate teleconference meeting dates have been scheduled for Thursday, June 21, 2012, and Tuesday, June 26, 2012, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. If the meeting dates and location are changed, a notice will be published in local newspapers and announced on local radio stations prior to the meeting date. SRC meeting locations and dates may need to be changed based on inclement weather or exceptional circumstances. Teleconference Meeting Registration: Space for the teleconference meeting is limited, and you are encouraged to register early if you plan to participate via telephone. Teleconference meeting participants should contact Marcy Okada, Subsistence Manager, via email (Marcy_ Okada@nps.gov) or by telephone at (907) 455-0639 between June 11-18, 2012, to receive a toll-free call-in telephone number and code.

The National Park Service (NPS) invites public comments on a proposed alternative formula for the value of leasehold surrender interest (LSI) to be included in its proposed 20-year concession contract for Yellowstone National Park (YELL077-13). The contract will cover operation of the lodging, food and beverage, retail sales, transportation and other services at the park.

Pursuant to Sec. 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended) and the regulations promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR part 1505.2), the Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS) has prepared and approved a Record of Decision for the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the new General Management Plan (GMP) for Ross Lake National Recreation Area, part of the North Cascades National Park Service Complex (Complex). The requisite no- action ``wait period'' was initiated December 16, 2011, with the Environmental Protection Agency's Federal Register notification of the filing of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS). Decision: As soon as practical the NPS will begin to implement the stewardship strategies, park operations, and visitor service projects identified and analyzed as the Preferred Alternative (Alternative B) described in the Final EIS. The NPS will recommend legislation to change the name of this unit to North Cascades National Recreation Area (NRA). Other plan elements include: (1) Management focus on the NRA as a gateway to millions of acres of wilderness, (2) provision for continued seaplane access with noise abatement procedures, (3) limited expansion of overnight facilities and concessions, and (4) conversion of 3,559 acres of Thunder Creek Potential Wilderness Area to designated wilderness, pursuant to the Washington Park Wilderness Act of 1988. The full range of foreseeable environmental consequences from implementing the proposed actions were assessed, and appropriate mitigation measures identified. In addition, a No Action alternative and two other alternatives were identified and analyzed. Alternative B was determined to be the ``environmentally preferred'' course of action. Copies: Interested parties desiring to review the Record of Decision may obtain a copy by contacting the Superintendent, North Cascades National Park Service Complex, 810 State Route 20, Sedro- Woolley, WA 98284; or via telephone request at (360) 854-7200.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado State Office is publishing this notice to inform the public of the filing of the land survey plats listed below.