Department of the Interior 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs is seeking comments on the renewal of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the collection of information titled ``Tribal Energy Resource Agreements'' (TERAs) under the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development Office (IEED) authorized by OMB Control Number 1076-0167. This information collection expires June 30, 2013.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered or threatened species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), prohibits activities with endangered and threatened species unless a Federal permit allows such activity. The Act requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species, marine mammals, or both. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and [Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) prohibit activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register of May 29, 2013, announcing the proposed rule to revise a section of regulations governing decisions by the Secretary to approve or deny applications to acquire land in trust under 25 CFR part 151. This document makes corrections to the ADDRESSES section to provide the mail and hand delivery addresses.

The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC or Commission) is revising its rules concerning the issuance of certificates for tribal self-regulation of Class II gaming: To correct a section heading in the table of contents; to correct a conflict in the deadlines contained in one of the sections which, if left uncorrected, would at times require the Commission to issue certain preliminary findings on the same day that it receives a tribe's response to the Office of Self Regulation's recommendation and report; and to correct referencing errors in two of its rules.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to designate critical habitat for the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius luteus) under the Endangered Species Act (Act). If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would extend the Act's protections to this subspecies' critical habitat. The effect of these regulations will be to protect the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse's habitat under the Act.

Under the provisions of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a petition for reinstatement from Oxbow Properties, Inc., for competitive oil and gas lease WYW174039 for land in Natrona County, Wyoming. The petition was filed on time and was accompanied by all the rentals due since the date the lease terminated under the law.

Notice is hereby given that effective with this publication two NAD 83-based OCS Provisional OPDs that represent the Island of Oahu and surrounding Federal waters are now available. BOEM, in accordance with its authority and responsibility under Title 43, Code of Federal Regulations, has created provisional versions of the basic record used for the description of renewable energy, mineral, and oil and gas lease sales in the geographic areas they represent. These provisional OPDs represent the approximate locations of the Submerged Lands Act (3 nautical mile), Limit of ``8(g) Zone'' (6 nautical mile), and National Marine Sanctuary boundaries. The provisional OPDs are for informational purposes only and will be superseded by official versions.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of the technical agency draft recovery plan for the endangered golden sedge, a species endemic to the coastal plain in North Carolina. The draft recovery plan includes specific recovery objectives and criteria to be met in order to downlist this species to threatened or delist it under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We solicit review and comment on this draft recovery plan from local, State, and Federal agencies, and the public.

The Wayne State University Gordon L. Grosscup Museum of Anthropology (hereafter WSU Museum) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the WSU Museum. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

The University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and present-day Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the lineal descendants, Indian tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

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 November 30, 2013. 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.

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is inviting comments on a collection of information that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The information collection request (ICR) concerns the paperwork requirements in the regulations under 30 CFR part 550, subparts A and K, General and Production Requirements.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received an application from the City of Santa Cruz (applicant) for a 30-year incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The proposed permit would authorize take of the federally endangered Mount Hermon June beetle (Polyphylla barbata) and the federally endangered Zayante band winged grasshopper (Trimerotropis infantilis), and will address associated impacts and conservation measures for the federally endangered Ben Lomond spineflower (Chorizanthe pungens var. hartwegiana), incidental to otherwise lawful activities associated with the operation and maintenance of the existing Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant, construction of new facilities, which have the potential for minor temporary and long-term impacts to Mount Hermon June beetle habitat within Santa Cruz County, California, and restoration activities at the mitigation site. The Service's proposed action is the issuance of a permit to the City of Santa Cruz for a low-effect habitat conservation plan (HCP) for incidental take of Mount Hermon June beetle and Zayante band-winged grasshopper. Associated impacts and conservation measures for Ben Lomond spineflower would also be included in the HCP. We are requesting comments on the applicant's permit application and on our preliminary determination that the proposed HCP qualifies as a low-effect HCP, eligible for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. The basis for this determination is discussed in the Environmental Action Statement (EAS) and the associated low-effect screening form, which are available for public review, along with the draft HCP.

This order extends the withdrawal created by Public Land Order No. 6997, as corrected, for an additional 20-year period. The extension is necessary to continue the protection of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, which would otherwise expire on September 27, 2013.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), proposed in an earlier document to establish annual hunting regulations for certain migratory game birds for the 2013-14 hunting season. This supplement to the proposed rule provides the regulatory schedule, announces the Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee and Flyway Council meetings, and provides Flyway Council recommendations resulting from their March meetings.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, and the Alaska National Lands Interest Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Central Yukon Field Office, Fairbanks, Alaska, intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) with an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Central Yukon Planning Area. This notice announces the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues. The RMP will replace the existing Utility Corridor RMP, Central Yukon RMP, and part of the Southwest Management Framework Plan. Additionally, the RMP will cover lands in the Fairbanks North Star Borough that are currently not included in any management plan.

We are announcing receipt of North Dakota's response to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement's (OSM) March 13, 2013, issue letter pertaining to a previously proposed amendment to the North Dakota regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``North Dakota program'') under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (``SMCRA'' or ``the Act''). North Dakota intends to revise its program to be consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations, add a new subsection to an existing rule with general requirements on the format of electronic applications, and make a minor correction to a provision pertaining to a separate rule which was amended to no longer require renewal of a permit once lands in that permit are no longer being mined or used in the support of mining. This document gives the times and locations that the North Dakota program and proposed amendment to that program are available for your inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written comments on the amendment, and the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.

This notice advises the public that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has established the Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area as a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Service established the Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area on September 27, 2012, by acquiring, through donation from the Thaw Charitable Trust, the 4,224-acre Wind River Ranch in Mora County, New Mexico.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the United States Department of the Interior (USDOI), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Coeur d'Alene Indian Tribe (Tribe), and the State of Idaho (State) intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and by this notice are announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is reopening the comment period for the proposed rule to amend the BLM's commercial oil shale regulations that published in the Federal Register on March 27, 2013. The 60-day comment period for the proposed rule ended on May 28, 2013. This notice reopens the comment period for 30 days.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to revise the existing nonessential experimental population designation of the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) under section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. This action is being taken in coordination with our proposed rule in today's Federal Register to list the Mexican wolf as an endangered subspecies and delist the gray wolf (Canis lupus). The proposal to list the Mexican wolf as an endangered subspecies and delist the gray wolf species necessitates that we revise the nonessential experimental population designation of Mexican wolves in order to correctly associate this designation with the properly listed entity. In addition, we are proposing several revisions to the section 10(j) rule. We are seeking comment from the public on the proposed revisions and on additional possible modifications that we may analyze and incorporate into our final determination.

The Bureau of Reclamation and the Western Municipal Water District have completed a final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (SEIR/EIS) for the proposed Riverside-Corona Feeder Project.