Department of the Interior January 12, 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is issuing a public notice of its intent to rescind four Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Privacy Act systems of records notices (SORNs): INTERIOR/BLM-10, Vehicle Use Authorization; INTERIOR/BLM-18, Criminal Case Investigation; INTERIOR/BLM-19, Civil Trespass Case Investigations; and INTERIOR/BLM-30, Uniform Accountability System, from its existing inventory. During an annual review it was determined they are duplicative and covered by other DOI published SORNs. This rescindment will promote the overall streamlining and management of DOI's Privacy Act systems of records.

This notice publishes the approval by operation of law of an amendment to the Tribal-State Gaming Compact between the Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians and the State of California governing Class III gaming for the Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians in the State of California.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), are approving, with one deferral, an amendment to the West Virginia statutory program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). The amendment revises the West Virginia Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act (WVSCMRA) as contained in Senate Bill 687 of 2017. These revisions modify the WVSCMRA requirements related to the release of bonds and provisions related to the use of money from the Special Reclamation Water Trust Fund. We are deferring our decision on the removal of provisions pertaining to the long-range planning process for the selection and prioritization of sites to be reclaimed.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is issuing a public notice of its intent to rescind three United States Geological Survey (USGS) Privacy Act systems of records from its existing inventory: INTERIOR/USGS-13, Manuscript Processing, INTERIOR/USGS-15, Earth Science Information Customer Records, and INTERIOR/USGS-20, Photo File System, as the associated records are no longer subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is issuing a final rule to amend its regulations to exempt certain records in the INTERIOR/OIG- 02, Investigative Records, system of records from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 because of criminal, civil, and administrative law enforcement requirements.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announces the availability of the draft programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) to analyze the potential impacts of wind energy development in six lease areas of the New York (NY) Bight. The PEIS also identifies possible changes in those impacts that could result from adopting certain avoidance, minimization, mitigation, and monitoring (AMMM) measures (the Proposed Action). This notice of availability (NOA) announces the start of the public review and comment period and the dates and times for public meetings on the draft PEIS. After the public comment period and meetings, BOEM will address the issues raised and will publish a final PEIS. The final PEIS will inform BOEM's decision whether to adopt certain AMMM measures at this stage that would potentially be required as conditions of approval for activities proposed by NY Bight lessees in their construction and operations plans (COPs) or defer the decision to adopt such measures to each project- specific environmental review.

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office (BLM Alaska) has amended a Notice of Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on May 4, 2010. This notice amends the minimum number of individuals and number of associated funerary objects in a collection removed from Umnak Island, Aleutians West Borough, AK.

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Rhode Island, South Kingstown, RI (URI) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Bristol County, RI; Barnstable County, MA; Nantucket County, MA; and Plymouth County, MA.

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Amistad National Recreation Area (AMIS) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and any Indian Tribe. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Val Verde County, TX.