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

On October 7, 2016, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) approved the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of the Chemehuevi Reservation, California leasing regulations under the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act of 2012 (HEARTH Act). With this approval, the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe is authorized to enter into business site leases without further BIA approval.

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) Rocky Mountain Resource Advisory Council (RAC), will meet as indicated below.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has submitted an information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to continue the collection of information that enables the BLM to evaluate and process applications for commercial, competitive, and organized group recreational uses of the public lands, and individual use of special areas. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has assigned control number 1004-0119 to this collection.

The boundary of Big Thicket National Preserve is modified to include ten tracts totaling 822.48 acres of land. These lands are located in Hardin County, Liberty County, Orange County and Tyler County, Texas, immediately adjacent to the boundary of the preserve. Subsequent to the publication of this notice, the United States will acquire fee title to those tracts of land by donation from several nonprofit conservation organizations and an individual donor.

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Nevada State Office, has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects recovered from Spirit Cave, NV, 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 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 the human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the BLM. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects from Spirit Cave may proceed.

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) Boise District Resource Advisory Council (RAC), will hold a meeting as indicated below.

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. 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.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Secretary's Indian Water Rights Office, Department of the Interior announces the proposed creation of a new public information collection and seeks public comments on the provisions thereof.

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (State) has filed a petition for classification and application to obtain public lands and mineral estate in lieu of lands to which the State was entitled, but did not receive under its Statehood Act. The State did not receive title because the lands had previously been appropriated. Under Section 7 of the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposes to classify sufficient acreage of public lands/minerals in Montana for title transfer to the State to satisfy this obligation to the State. Of the area proposed for State Indemnity Selection, 10,560 acres are designated as greater sage-grouse General Habitat Management area.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine threatened species status under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended, for the Columbia River distinct population segment (DPS) of Columbian white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus leucurus). This subspecies of white-tailed deer is found in limited areas of Clatsop, Multnomah, and Columbia Counties in Oregon, and Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Pacific, Skamania, and Clark Counties in Washington. The effect of this rule is to change the listing status of the Columbia River DPS of Columbian white-tailed deer from an endangered species to a threatened species on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. We call this ``reclassifying'' or ``downlisting'' the DPS. We are also adopting a rule under the authority of section 4(d) of the Act (a ``4(d) rule'') that is necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of the Columbia River DPS of the Columbian white-tailed deer.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended; the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended; and the National Forest Management Act of 1976, as amended (NFMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have participated as cooperating agencies with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the preparation of the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project (MVP) and Equitrans Expansion Project (Equitrans) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Draft EIS addresses the impacts of these projects, the associated draft Jefferson National Forest Revised Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) amendments of the USFS, and the application to the BLM for a right-of-way grant sought by Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (Mountain Valley) for the MVP project. With this agency-specific Notice of Availability, the BLM and the USFS are announcing the opening of the FERC comment period. Comments need to be timely and specific, showing a direct relationship to the proposal and include supporting reasons.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Colorado is proposing supplementary rules for 2,160 acres of public lands addressed in the Cache Creek Placer Area Management Plan, approved on February 23, 2016. These proposed supplementary rules would apply to public lands administered by the BLM Royal Gorge Field Office in Chaffee County, Colorado. The proposed rules would implement decisions found in the Cache Creek Placer Area Management Plan relating to the collection of mineral materials within the Cache Creek parcel.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is announcing its intention to request renewed approval for the collection of information for State Processes for Designating Areas Unsuitable for Surface Coal Mining Operations. This collection request has been forwarded 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.

A Notice of Amended Proposed Withdrawal was published in the Federal Register (FR) on September 30, 2016 for approximately 5,216.18 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managed public domain and revested Oregon California Railroad lands and 95,805.53 acres of National Forest System lands (80 FR 37015). The amended application increased the proposed withdrawal term from 5 years to 20 years, and added the purpose of protecting the Southwestern Oregon watershed from possible adverse effects of mineral development. The amended application does not affect the current segregation, which expires June 28, 2017, unless the application is denied or canceled or the withdrawal is approved prior to that date. This notice announces the date, time, and location of a public meeting to be held for the amended application.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Region, Anchorage, AK (Alaska Region USFWS), has completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, including Alaska Native Tribes, and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and present- day Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, including Alaska Native Tribes, not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a written request to the Alaska Region USFWS. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the lineal descendants, Indian tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

In accordance with the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 2, we announce that the Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science will hold a meeting.

The National Park Service is publishing this notice as part of its administrative responsibilities pursuant to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA or the Act). The recommendations, findings, and actions in this notice are advisory only and are not binding on any person and may be admissible in any action brought under section 15 of the Act. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee (Review Committee) finds that certain items meet the definition of ``sacred objects'' but do not meet the definition of ``objects of cultural patrimony'' under the Act and its implementing regulations.

The Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) requires the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to review the maps of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) at least once every 5 years and make any minor and technical modifications to the boundaries of the CBRS as are necessary to reflect changes that have occurred in the size or location of any CBRS unit as a result of natural forces. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has conducted this review and has prepared draft revised maps for 14 CBRS units in Louisiana, all units in Puerto Rico, and all units in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The draft maps were produced by the Service as part of a CBRS ``digital conversion'' project that is done in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This notice announces the findings of the Service's review and request for comments on the draft revised maps from Federal, State, and local officials.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose threatened species status under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended, for Sideroxylon reclinatum ssp. austrofloridense (Everglades bully), Digitaria pauciflora (Florida pineland crabgrass) and Chamaesyce deltoidea ssp. pinetorum (pineland sandmat), and endangered species status for Dalea carthagenensis var. floridana (Florida prairie-clover). All four plants are from south Florida. If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would extend the Act's protections to these plants. The effect of this regulation will be to add these species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants.

The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) is publishing this notice in accordance with section 509(f) of the Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, Public Law 111-291 (Settlement Act). Congress enacted the Settlement Act as Title V of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010. The publication of this notice causes the Settlement Agreement entered in accordance with Section 509 of the Settlement Act to become enforceable and causes certain waivers and releases of claims executed pursuant to sections 510 and 511(a) of the Settlement Act to become effective.

The Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation and National Park Service, has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) for the operation of Glen Canyon Dam and related non-flow actions. The LTEMP would provide a framework for adaptively managing Glen Canyon Dam operations over the next 20 years consistent with the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992 and other provisions of applicable Federal law.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce a public meeting of the Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Task Force. The ANS Task Force's purpose is to develop and implement a program for U.S. waters to prevent introduction and dispersal of aquatic invasive species (AIS); to monitor, control, and study such species; and to disseminate related information.

The National Park Service is soliciting comments on the significance of properties nominated before September 10, 2016, for listing or related actions in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory Committee (SESAC) will hold its next meeting in the Mesa Room of the Golden Hotel at 800 11th Street, Golden, Colorado. The Committee is comprised of members from academia, industry, and State government. The Committee shall advise the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on matters relating to the USGS's participation in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. The Committee will receive reports on the status of activities of the Program and progress toward Program goals and objectives. The Committee will assess this information and provide guidance on the future undertakings and direction of the Earthquake Hazards Program. Focus topics for this meeting include a program review and strategic planning for 2016-2018.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for renewal of the collection of information for Grazing Permits authorized by OMB Control Number 1076- 0157. This information collection expires October 31, 2016.