Department of the Interior June 5, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the National Park Service (NPS) is hereby giving notice that the National Park System Advisory Board (Board) will meet as noted below.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposes to establish a new permit for State and federally recognized Tribal (hereafter ``Tribe'' or ``Tribal'') wildlife agencies for the management of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus; hereafter ``cormorants''). The new permit would authorize specific take activities that are normally prohibited and are intended to relieve or prevent impacts from cormorants on lands within State or Tribal jurisdictions to address conflicts related to the following issues: wild and publicly stocked fish stocked by State agencies or Tribes; Tribal- and State-owned or operated aquaculture facilities (including hatcheries); human health and safety; State- or Tribal-owned property and assets; and threatened and endangered species (listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, or identified in State- or Tribal-specific legislation as threatened or endangered). The Service would retain ultimate authority for regulating the take of cormorants. States and Tribes would have the discretion to determine whether, when, where, and for which of the above purposes they would conduct lethal take within limits and allocations set by the Service.

On April 5, 2016, BOEM published a proposed rule that would amend the regulations related to air quality measurement, evaluation, and control for oil, gas, and sulfur operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The rule proposed significant revisions to existing regulations. This final rule amends the air quality management regulations applicable to activities that BOEM authorizes on the OCS of the United States in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico (GOM) west of 87.5 degrees longitude and adjacent to the North Slope Borough of the State of Alaska. The air quality regulatory program (AQRP) is a component of the review and approval of plans for the exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and sulfur on the OCS to comport with the Secretary of the Interior's separate and distinct statutory authority governing air quality. This final rule implements the Secretary of the Interior's statutory responsibility to ensure that conventional energy activities authorized under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) do not preclude compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to the extent those activities significantly affect the air quality of any State.