Department of the Interior January 23, 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), have prepared a record of decision (ROD) on the final environmental impact statement (Final EIS) for Eagle Take Permits for the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Phase I Wind Energy Project (CCSM Phase I Project). The ROD and Final EIS were prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, in response to an application from Power Company of Wyoming LLC (PCW) for eagle take permits (ETPs) pursuant to the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) and its implementing regulations. PCW has applied for both a standard and a programmatic ETP for the CCSM Phase I Project in Carbon County, Wyoming. The ROD is a concise statement of the purpose and need for the action, description of the project, the action alternatives considered, decisions made, and acceptable mitigation measures identified and committed to for avoiding or minimizing environmental impacts. The ROD also summarizes potential effects of the selected alternative, the public involvement process, and comments on the Final EIS.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), recently published a final rule that revises the regulations for eagle nonpurposeful take permits and eagle nest take permits. In that final rule, we stated that the Office of Management (OMB) had not yet approved the information collection requirements associated with the rule. This document announces that OMB has now approved the information collection requirements.

In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Consent Decree, and the Final Programmatic Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, the Federal and State natural resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (Trustees) have approved the ``Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan #1: Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; Habitat Projects on Federally Managed Lands; and Birds'' (Restoration Plan #1). The Trustees have selected to fund engineering and design activities for six projects intended to continue the process of restoring natural resources and services injured or lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which occurred on or about April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico.