Department of the Interior March 4, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

BOEM has prepared a Draft EIS on oil and gas lease sales tentatively scheduled in 2014 and 2016 in the EPA offshore the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Under the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program: 2012-2017 (Five-Year Program), two annual lease sales are scheduled for the EPA. The proposed EPA lease sales are Lease Sales 225 and 226.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, propose to revise our regulations regarding the approval of nontoxic shot types to make the regulations easier to understand. The language governing determination of Expected Environmental Concentrations (EECs) in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is altered to make clear the shot size and number of shot to be used in calculating the EECs. We propose to specify the pH levels to be used in calculating the EEC in water. We also propose to move the requirement for in vitro testing to Tier 1, which will allow us to better assess applications and minimize the need for Tier 2 applications. We propose to add language for withdrawal of alloys that have been demonstrated to have detrimental environmental or biological effects, or for which no suitable field-testing device is available. We expect these changes to reduce the time required for nontoxic shot approvals. Finally, we propose to charge fees to cover our costs in evaluating these applications.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), make available the final Agricultural Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) for the lesser prairie chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) (LEPC) in Oklahoma, as well as the final environmental assessment (EA) and the draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) applied for an enhancement of survival permit pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The permit application included a draft CCAA between the Service and ODWC for the Lesser Prairie Chicken (LEPC) in 14 Oklahoma counties. Our decision is to authorize the issuance of an enhancement of survival permit to the ODWC for implementation of the CCAA (Preferred Alternative described below).

This interim final rule adds two Indian tribes to the list of tribes with Courts of Indian Offenses (also known as CFR Courts), and deletes five tribes from those under the jurisdiction of CFR Courts. The two tribes to be added are Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe. The tribes to be removed from the list are the Seminole Nation, the Miami Tribe, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the Wyandotte Tribe, and the Quapaw Tribe.

Pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended by the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976, and to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulations, all interested parties are hereby invited to participate with Black Butte Coal Company on a pro rata cost-sharing basis, in its program for the exploration of coal deposits owned by the United States of America in Sweetwater County, Wyoming.

Pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended by the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976, and to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulations, all interested parties are hereby invited to participate with Black Butte Coal Company on a pro rata cost-sharing basis, in its program for the exploration of coal deposits owned by the United States of America in Sweetwater County, Wyoming.