Department of the Interior November 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for approval for the collection of information for Leases and Permits. The information collection is currently authorized by OMB Control Number 1076-0155, which expires November 30, 2015.

On September 25, 2015, BOEM published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Liberty Development and Production Plan (DPP) in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area (80 FR 57873). The September 25 notice provided for a 60-day comment period, which is scheduled to end on November 24, 2015. During BOEM's scoping, the pubic recommended extending the comment period. To further the intent of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to collect information to define the scope of issues to be addressed in depth in the analyses that will be included in the EIS, and to provide additional opportunity for interested and affected parties to comment, BOEM is extending the scoping comment period for an additional 60 days to January 26, 2016.

The Department of the Interior has decided to cancel Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 237, which was scheduled to occur in 2016 under the 2012-2017 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program. Sale 237 is being canceled due to lack of industry interest; current market conditions (e.g., low oil prices); and the unavailability of many of the most attractive tracts, which are already under lease at this time.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), advise the public that we are extending the public review and comment period for the draft low effect habitat conservation plan (draft HCP) for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's operations, maintenance, and management activities on its land in Inyo and Mono Counties, California, and draft Environmental Action Statement/Low Effect Screening Form.

The National Park Service is soliciting comments on the significance of properties nominated before November 7, 2015, for listing or related actions in the National Register of Historic Places.

Under Part 83 of Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations (25 CFR part 83), the Department of the Interior (Department) gives notice of three groups that have each filed a documented petition for Federal acknowledgment as an American Indian tribe with the Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs. The Department seeks comment and evidence from the public on the petitions listed below.

This notice cancels the public meeting scheduled for December 14, 2015 at the Harney County Chamber of Commerce building located at 484 North Broadway, Burns, Oregon, as published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2015, (80 FR 70252). Parties interested in participating in the public process are encouraged to attend the meetings scheduled at the Bureau of Land Management District Office in Lakeview, Oregon on December 14th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., or the Best Western Vista Inn & Conference Center, at 2645 Airport Way, Boise, Idaho on December 15th from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Yosemite National Park is initiating the conservation planning and environmental impact analysis process needed to inform consideration of alternative strategies for the future management of Yosemite Wilderness. The Yosemite Wilderness encompasses 704,638 acres that were designated by the California Wilderness Act of 1984 (an additional 927 acres were designated as potential wilderness additions). Through the preparation of the Wilderness Stewardship Plan/ Environmental Impact Statement (WSP/EIS), Yosemite National Park (YOSE) proposes to update the park's current 1989 Wilderness Management Plan to achieve enhanced wilderness stewardship objectives, which include preserving wilderness character, providing appropriate types and levels of access for visitors and authorized users, protecting natural and cultural resources, and adhering to legally-mandated management and preservation requirements. YOSE intends to coordinate the steps of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act with reviews under the NEPA process.

This notice publishes two comprehensive amendments to the Gila River Indian Community's Title 14 Alcoholic Beverages Ordinance. This Ordinance amends and supersedes the existing Gila River Indian Community Control Ordinance, Ordinance No. GR-03-05, enacted by the Gila River Indian Community Council in 2005.

The purpose of this notice is to request public nominations for six members to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Advisory Committee (MAC). The MAC provides advice and recommendations to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on science issues and the achievement of Monument Management Plan objectives. The Monument will receive public nominations for 30 days from the date this notice is posted.

The purpose of this notice is to reopen the request for public nominations for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Coeur d'Alene Resource Advisory Committee (RAC), which has member terms expiring this year. The RAC provides advice and recommendations to the BLM on land use planning and management of the National System of Public Lands within the respective geographic area. The BLM will accept public nominations for 30 days after the publication of this notice.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking nominations for the Central California District Resource Advisory Council (RAC). The RAC advises BLM officials from the Hollister, Mother Lode, Bakersfield, Ukiah and Bishop field offices. The Central California District will receive public nominations for 30 days from the date this notice is published.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of an incidental take permit (ITP) and a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). Verano Land Investment, LLC (applicant) requests ITP TE67461B-0 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The applicant anticipates taking about 4 acres of feeding, breeding, and sheltering habitat used by the sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) and blue-tailed mole skink (Eumeces egregius lividus) (skinks) incidental to land preparation and construction in Polk County, Florida. The applicant's HCP describes proposed minimization measures and mitigation measures to address the effects of development on the covered species.

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 (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) California Desert District, Moreno Valley, California, intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) amendment with an associated Environmental Assessment (EA) for both the plan amendment and the Eagle Crest Pumped Storage Project in the California Desert Conservation Area. By this notice the BLM is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues for both proposals.

BOEM invites the submission of nominations for commercial wind leases that would allow a lessee to propose the construction of a wind energy project on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore South Carolina, and to develop the project if approved after further environmental review. Although this announcement is not itself a leasing announcement, the Call Areas described herein, or portions thereof, may be available for future leasing. BOEM will use responses to this Call for Information and Nominations (Call) to gauge specific interest in acquiring commercial wind leases in some or all of the Call Areas, as required by 43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3). Parties wishing to submit a nomination in response to this Call should submit detailed and specific information in response to the requirements described in the section entitled, ``Required Nomination Information.'' This announcement also requests comments and information from interested and affected parties about site conditions, resources, and multiple uses in close proximity to, or within, the Call Areas that would be relevant to BOEM's review of any nominations submitted and/or to BOEM's subsequent decision to offer all or part of the Call Areas for commercial wind leasing. The information that BOEM is requesting is described in the section of this Call entitled, ``Requested Information from Interested or Affected Parties.'' This Call is published pursuant to subsection 8(p)(3) of the OCS Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3), which was added by section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), as well as the implementing regulations at 30 CFR part 585. The Call Areas described in this notice are located on the OCS offshore South Carolina and are delineated as Grand Strand, Cape Romain, Winyah, and Charleston. The four Call Areas include 110 whole OCS blocks and 84 partial blocks in total and comprise approximately 1,007.56 square nautical miles (nmi) (345,584 hectares). These Call Areas were established in consultation with the BOEM South Carolina Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force (Task Force). A detailed description of the areas and how they were developed is described in the section of this Call entitled, ``Description of the Area.''

This notice announces the extension of the Class III gaming compact between the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the State of South Dakota.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities.

This notice announces a quarterly meeting of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Advisory Council (Council). The agenda includes planning for the annual meeting, reactivation of the nominating committee, report by park managers on the past season and their plans for next season, and an update on plans for celebrating the 10th anniversary of the opening of Spectacle Island, the 20th anniversary of the park, and the NPS Centennial and the Boston Light Tricentennial in 2016.

We (the U.S. Geological Survey) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 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 collection is scheduled to expire on 03/31/2016.

The Bureau of Reclamation has made available the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the impacts of implementing the 2008 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion and the 2009 National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinion, including the Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives, for the Coordinated Long-Term Operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project. The preferred alternative identified in the Final EIS will be to continue the operation of the Central Valley Project in coordination with the State Water Project, and implement the 2008 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and 2009 National Marine Fisheries Service biological opinions and reasonable and prudent alternatives stated in the No Action Alternative. The Final EIS is in response to the November 16, 2009 and March 5, 2010 rulings by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California that the Bureau of Reclamation failed to conduct a National Environmental Policy Act review prior to accepting and implementing the Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives from the 2008 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and 2009 National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinions.

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, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment and Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Roan Plateau planning area and by this notice is announcing the opening of a 90-day comment period.

This final rule comprehensively updates and streamlines the process for obtaining Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) grants of rights- of-way on Indian land, while supporting tribal self-determination and self-governance. This final rule further implements the policy decisions and approaches established in the leasing regulations, which BIA finalized in December 2012, by applying them to the rights-of-way context where applicable. The rule also applies to BIA land.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce a public meeting of the Trinity River Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG). The TAMWG is a Federal advisory committee that affords stakeholders the opportunity to give policy, management, and technical input concerning Trinity River (California) restoration efforts to the Trinity Management Council (TMC). The TMC interprets and recommends policy, coordinates and reviews management actions, and provides organizational budget oversight.

The Shiloh Museum of Ozark 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 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 Shiloh Museum of Ozark History. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

The Neville Public Museum of Brown County 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 Neville Public Museum of Brown County. 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.