Department of the Interior 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), 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 BIA. 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 Department of the Interior (Department) gives notice that the group known as the Schaghticoke Indian Tribe has 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 petition.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list the sand dune phacelia (Phacelia argentea), a plant species from coastal southern Oregon and northern California, as a threatened species and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This determination also serves as our 12- month finding on a petition to list the sand dune phacelia. After a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the species is warranted. Accordingly, we propose to list the sand dune phacelia as a threatened species with a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act (``4(d) rule''). If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would add this species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants and extend the Act's protections to the species. We also propose to designate critical habitat for the sand dune phacelia under the Act. In total, approximately 252 acres (102 hectares) in Coos and Curry Counties in Oregon, and Del Norte County in California, fall within the boundaries of the proposed critical habitat designation. We also announce the availability of a draft economic analysis of the proposed designation of critical habitat for sand dune phacelia.

Pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Act), which further amended the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (1990 Act), and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance, this rule adjusts for inflation the level of civil monetary penalties assessed under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA).

This final rule implements the 2022 inflation adjustments to the maximum daily civil monetary penalties contained in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regulations for violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (FCPIAA Improvements Act) and relevant Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance. The 2022 adjustment multiplier of 1.06222 accounts for 1 year of inflation from October 2020 through October 2021.

The National Park Service is soliciting electronic comments on the significance of properties nominated before March 5, 2022, for listing or related actions in the National Register of Historic Places.

Diablo Valley College, a campus of Contra Costa Community College 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 Diablo Valley College. 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 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is publishing this notice to announce that, consistent with direction from the U.S. District Court of Montana, it will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Navajo Transitional Energy Company's (NTEC) Federal mining plan modification for Federal Coal Lease MTM-94378 (the Project). With this notice, OSMRE also announces that it will hold a public scoping meeting, including a 30-day public scoping period to receive comments on the environmental issues that OSMRE should analyze in this EIS. The Spring Creek Mine (SCM) is located in Big Horn County, Montana, approximately 32 miles from Sheridan, Wyoming. The SCM started operation in 1974 and is expected to continue to operate until at least 2025 under the current approved mining plan. The proposed Project would allow 184.1 acres of additional surface disturbance and recovery of an additional 51.5 million tons (Mt) of Federal coal. Under the proposed Project, SCM would continue to mine approximately 13-18 million tons per year (Mtpy) and the production would extend for an additional 3-4 years, depending on production rates. OSMRE plans to analyze the environmental effects of an annual production rate of 18 Mtpy for 4 additional years of production, which is the maximum estimated future annual production rate. This rate is below the maximum permitted production rate of 30 Mtpy established by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ)-Air Quality Division (AQD) Air Quality Permit MAQP #1120-12.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Rhonda H. Barber (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed Alabama beach mouse incidental to construction in the City of Orange Beach, Baldwin County, Alabama. We request public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and the Service's preliminary determination that this HCP qualifies as low- effect, categorically excluded, under the National Environmental Policy Act. To make this determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, both of which are also available for public review.

The U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Tuzigoot National Monument (Tuzigoot National Monument) has corrected a Notice of Intent to Repatriate published in the Federal Register on June 25, 2021. This notice corrects the number 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 Tuzigoot National Monument. 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. Department of the Interior (DOI) published a document in the Federal Register on February 23, 2022, concerning conducting Tribal Consultation sessions to obtain oral and written comments on candidate replacement names for geographic feature names recently declared derogatory by DOI Secretary's Order 3404 (S.O. 3404). These sessions will be held virtually. The document contained an error when accessing the Zoom links.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, the Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs (AS-IA) are proposing to revise an information collection.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat for the Big Sandy crayfish (Cambarus callainus) and Guyandotte River crayfish (C. veteranus) under the Endangered Species Act (Act). In total, approximately 717 stream kilometers (446 stream miles) in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia fall within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation. The effect of this final rule is to designate critical habitat for the Big Sandy crayfish, which is a threatened species under the Act, and Guyandotte River crayfish, which is an endangered species under the Act.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), are proposing changes to the migratory bird subsistence harvest regulations in Alaska. These regulations allow for the continuation of customary and traditional subsistence uses of migratory birds in Alaska and prescribe regional information on when and where the harvesting of birds may occur. These regulations were developed under a co-management process involving the Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Alaska Native representatives. The proposed changes would update the regulations to incorporate revisions requested by these partners.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, the Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs (AS-IA) are proposing to renew an information collection.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce findings that three species are not warranted for listing as endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). After a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that it is not warranted at this time to list Blanco blind salamander (Eurycea robusta), Georgia bully (Sideroxylon thornei), and Rio Grande cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi). However, we ask the public to submit to us at any time any new information relevant to the status of any of the species mentioned above or their habitats.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) is issuing this final rule, in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance, to adjust for inflation the statutory civil monetary penalties that may be assessed for violations of Service-administered statutes and their implementing regulations. We are required to adjust civil monetary penalties annually for inflation according to a formula specified in the Inflation Adjustment Act. This rule replaces the previously issued amounts with the updated amounts after using the 2022 inflation adjustment multiplier provided in the OMB guidance.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is extending the public comment periods for three notices, due to temporary website outages that affected the public's access to the documents that the notices are making available for comment. The notices pertained to a combined candidate conservation agreement (CCA)\ candidate conservation agreements with assurances (CCAA) amendment, an oil and gas habitat conservation plan (HCP), and a new CCAA. The affected species include the lesser prairie- chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), the dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus), and the Texas kangaroo rat (Dipodomys elator).

The Nevada State Museum, Carson City has completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and any present-day Indian Tribes. Representatives of any Indian Tribe not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a written request to the Nevada State Museum, Carson City. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the Indian Tribes stated in this notice may proceed.

The University of Southern Mississippi has completed an inventory of human remains, 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 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 should submit a written request to the University of Southern Mississippi. 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.

The Museum of Us (formerly the San Diego Museum of Man) 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 Museum of Us. 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.

Pursuant to applicable provisions of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Central Yukon Field Office, intends to establish expanded (overnight/specialized use) amenity fees at the Five Mile, Arctic Circle, and Galbraith Lake campgrounds along the Dalton Highway, Alaska.

The U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) proposes to appoint members to the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group (AMWG). The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), acting as administrative lead, is soliciting nominations for qualified persons to serve as members of the AMWG.

The plats of survey for the lands described in this notice were filed on June 28, 2021, in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Montana State Office, Billings, Montana. This publication provides notice and an opportunity for the public to protest the determinations made on the June 28, 2021, plats of survey.

On behalf of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary of the Interior proposes to withdraw 2,365.89 acres of public lands in Maricopa County, Arizona, from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, including location and entry under the United States mining laws, and from leasing under the mineral and geothermal leasing laws for up to 5 years while a land management evaluation (LME) is completed. Publication of this notice temporarily segregates the lands for up to 2 years and announces to the public an opportunity to comment and request a public meeting on the proposed withdrawal.