Department of the Interior April 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Enefit American Oil Utility Corridor Project. Through this Notice, the BLM is announcing a 60-day public comment period on the draft.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the BLM is making available for public review and comment the Final National Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on vegetation treatments involving the use of aminopyralid, fluroxypyr, and rimsulfuron herbicides on public lands administered by 11 BLM state offices in 17 western states, including Alaska. The BLM is the lead Federal agency for the preparation of this final Programmatic EIS in compliance with the requirements of NEPA. If a Record of Decision is approved, the BLM would be permitted to use three new herbicide formulations on public lands.

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

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Glennallen Field Office is considering a request by SEND North (SEND) to purchase the Federal Government's reversionary interest at current Fair Market Value of $210,000 for up to 210 acres of partially developed lands established under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act (R&PP) in Glennallen, Alaska. The BLM is also considering the renunciation of reversionary interest for an associated 2.5-acre patented parcel of land, authorized under the R&PP Act in Glennallen, Alaska, which was used as a medical sewage lagoon by SEND.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), notify the public that, based on new information, we are making changes to our proposed rule of July 6, 2012, to list as endangered the northern subspecies of scarlet macaw (Ara macao cyanoptera) and the northern distinct vertebrate population segment (DPS) of the southern subspecies (A. m. macao). We are also reopening the comment period. Comments previously submitted will be considered and do not need to be resubmitted. However, we invite comments on the new information presented in this document relevant to our consideration of the changes described below. We encourage those who may have commented previously to submit additional comments, if appropriate, in light of this new information.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado State Office is publishing this notice to inform the public of the intent to officially file the survey plats listed below and afford a proper period of time to protest this action prior to the plat filing. During this time, the plats will be available for review in the BLM Colorado State Office.

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) Southwest Resource Advisory Council (RAC) is scheduled to meet as indicated below.

The National Park Service is soliciting comments on the significance of properties nominated before March 12, 2016, for listing or related actions in the National Register of Historic Places.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are amending the regulations that implement the Endangered Species Act (Act) by removing inter-subspecific crossed or generic tiger (Panthera tigris) (i.e., specimens not identified or identifiable as members of Bengal, Sumatran, Siberian, or Indochinese subspecies (Panthera tigris tigris, P. t. sumatrae, P. t. altaica, and P. t. corbetti, respectively)) from the list of species that are exempt from registration under the Captive-bred Wildlife (CBW) regulations. The exemption currently allows those individuals or breeding operations who want to conduct otherwise prohibited activities, such as take, interstate commerce, and export under the Act with U.S. captive-bred, live inter-subspecific crossed or generic tigers, to do so without becoming registered. We make this change to the regulations to strengthen control over commercial movement and sale of tigers in the United States and to ensure that activities involving inter-subspecific crossed or generic tigers are consistent with the purposes of the Act. Inter-subspecific crossed or generic tigers are listed as endangered under the Act, and a person will need to obtain authorization under the current statutory and regulatory requirements to conduct any otherwise prohibited activities with them.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce 12- month findings on petitions to list the island marble butterfly, the San Bernardino flying squirrel, the American Samoa population of the spotless crake, and the Sprague's pipit as endangered species or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). After review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the island marble butterfly as an endangered or threatened species is warranted. Currently, however, listing the island marble butterfly is precluded by higher priority actions to amend the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. Upon publication of this 12-month petition finding, we will add the island marble butterfly to our candidate species list. We will develop a proposed rule to list the island marble butterfly as our priorities allow. After review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the San Bernardino flying squirrel, the American Samoa population of the spotless crake, and the Sprague's pipit is not warranted at this time. However, we ask the public to submit to us any new information that becomes available concerning the stressors to the San Bernardino flying squirrel, the American Samoa population of the spotless crake, the Sprague's pipit, or their habitats at any time.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an application from Mr. Chris Perri of Apple Homes Development for a 5- year incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The application addresses the potential for ``take'' of the federally endangered Mount Hermon June beetle likely to occur incidental to the construction of 20 new townhomes, garages, and associated landscaping and infrastructure at two existing legal parcels in Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz County, California. We invite comments from the public on the application package, which includes the Low- Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for The Terrace of Scotts Valley.

The Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures at Mississippi State University has completed an inventory of human remains, 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 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 should submit a written request to the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures at Mississippi State University. 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 U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Natchez Trace Parkway has corrected an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, published in a Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal Register on October 16, 2015. This notice corrects the description of funerary objects. 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 Natchez Trace Parkway. 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.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District (Omaha District), in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, has determined that the cultural items listed in this notice meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these cultural items should submit a written request to the Omaha District. If no additional claimants come forward, transfer of control of the cultural items to the lineal descendants, Indian tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District (Omaha District), 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 Omaha District. 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.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District (Omaha District), 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 Omaha District. 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.

The Catalina Island Museum has completed an inventory of human remains, 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 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 should submit a written request to the Catalina Island Museum. 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 Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation and the National Park Service, is extending the public comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Adoption of a Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) for the Operation of Glen Canyon Dam to Monday, May 9, 2016. The Notice of Availability and Notice of Public Meetings for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement was published in the Federal Register on January 8, 2016 (81 FR 963). The public comment period for the Draft EIS was originally scheduled to end on Thursday, April 7, 2016.

This proposed rule would amend existing BOEM regulations related to air quality measurement, evaluation, and control with respect to oil, gas, and sulphur operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the United States (U.S.), in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and the area offshore the North Slope Borough of the State of Alaska, as part of the BOEM approval process for offshore oil and gas exploration and development plans, right-of-use and easement (RUE), pipeline rights-of-way (ROW), and lease term pipeline applications. The proposed rule would: (1) Fulfill BOEM's statutory responsibility under section 5(a)(8) of Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) by addressing all relevant criteria and major precursor air pollutants and by cross-referencing BOEM standards and benchmarks for those pollutants to those of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA); (2) change the manner in which lessees would evaluate and model vessel emissions attributed to OCS facilities; (3) change the methods for measuring and evaluating air emissions including measuring their impacts over State submerged lands; (4) provide a process by which exemption thresholds are established and updated; (5) change the circumstances when emission reduction measure(s) (ERM), including Best Available Control Technology (BACT), are required, and establish new criteria for the application of ERM; (6) formalize requirements for the consolidation of emissions from multiple facilities; (7) consistent with BOEM's existing regulatory authority, articulate a schedule and requirements for ensuring that all plans, including those previously approved, will remain compliant on an ongoing basis with these updated regulations; and (8) include an air quality component in the submission of RUE, ROW, and lease term pipeline applications. Key policy changes include the following: (1) Aligning the list of pollutants that are subject to an air quality review with the current National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and cross-referencing the ambient air quality standards and benchmarks (AAQSB) for those pollutants to those of the USEPA; (2) formalizing the concept and application of the term ``attributed emissions;'' (3) changing the locations where air emissions will be measured and evaluated; and (4) modifying the process by which exemption thresholds are established and updated. This rulemaking would be the first major re-write of the OCS air quality regulations in 35 years.

On February 8, 2016, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would reduce waste of natural gas from venting, flaring, and leaks during oil and natural gas production activities on onshore Federal and Indian leases. The proposed rule would also clarify when produced gas lost through venting, flaring, or leaks is subject to royalties, and when oil and gas production used on site would be royalty-free. The proposed rule would replace existing provisions related to venting, flaring, and royalty-free use of gas contained in the 1980 Notice to Lessees and Operators of Onshore Federal and Indian Oil and Gas Leases, Royalty or Compensation for Oil and Gas Lost (NTL-4A), which is over 3 decades old. Today's Federal Register Notice extends the public comment period for 14 days beyond the initial comment period deadline.

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

The Pueblo of San Felipe and State of New Mexico entered into a Tribal-State compact governing Class III gaming; this notice announces that the compact is taking effect.

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 for grants under the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development Office's Energy and Mineral Development Program authorized by OMB Control Number 1076-0174. This information collection expires June 30, 2016.

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 a Federal permit is issued that allows such activities. The ESA requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

We (National Park 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. 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.