Federal Register Summary for week of 11 April

Commerce

• Notice of Proposed Revision to Guidelines for Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program

  AGENCY: National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce (Commerce).

  ACTION: Request for comments for proposed revision to program guidelines.

  SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NOAA is planning to update and revise its Guidelines for the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) after five years implementing the program under these guidelines. This notice invites interested parties to provide comments or suggestions to NOAA for consideration in updating the CELCP guidelines.

  DATES: Comments on the CELCP guidelines are requested by June 9, 2008, 2008 for consideration.

  ADDRESSES: Please address comments to Roxanne Thomas, by mail at: Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, NOAA, 1305 East-West Hwy., N/ORM7, Silver Spring, MD 20910; or by e-mail to Roxanne.Thornas@noaa.gov, Subject: CELCP Guidelines.

  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roxanne Thomas or Elaine Vaudreuil, NOAA’s Ocean Service, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management at Roxanne.Thomas@noaa.gov, 301-713-3155 ext. 119 or Elaine.Vaudreui1@noaa.gov, 301-713-3155 ext. 103.

  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-7399.htm

• Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Sea Turtle Conservation

  AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

  ACTION: Final rule.

  SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to clarify the existing sea turtle conservation requirements for sea scallop dredge vessels entering waters south of 41[deg]9.0’ N. latitude from May 1 through November 30 each year and to add a transiting provision to the requirements. Any vessel with a sea scallop dredge and required to have a Federal Atlantic sea scallop fishery permit, regardless of dredge size or vessel permit category, that enters waters south of 41[deg]9.0’ N. latitude, from the shoreline to the outer boundary of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) must have a chain mat on each dredge, unless the terms of the transiting provision are met. The chain-mat modified dredge is necessary to help reduce mortality and injury to endangered and threatened sea turtles in scallop dredge gear and to conserve sea turtles listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This current action addresses a procedural error in the original rulemaking to require chain mats on scallop dredge gear, clarifies the existing requirements, and adds a transiting provision to the regulations. Any incidental take of threatened sea turtles in sea scallop dredge gear in compliance with this gear modification requirement and all other applicable requirements will be exempted from the ESA’s take prohibition.

  DATES: Effective May 8, 2008.

  ADDRESSES: Copies of the Environmental Assessment (EA) and Regulatory Impact Review/Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (RIR/FRFA) prepared for this final rule may be obtained by writing to Ellen Keane, NMFS, Northeast Region, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.

  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Keane (ph. 978-281-9300 x6526, fax 978-281-9394, e-mail ellen.keane@noaa.gov) or Barbara Schroeder (ph. 301-713-2322, fax 301-427-2522, e-mail barbara.schroeder@noaa.gov).

  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/08-1107.htm

• Endangered and Threatened Species; Designation of Critical Habitat for North Pacific Right Whale

  AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

  ACTION: Final rule.

  SUMMARY: We, NMFS, designate critical habitat for the North Pacific right whale in this rulemaking. The North Pacific right whale was recently listed as a separate, endangered species, and because this was a newly listed entity, we were required to designate critical habitat for it.

  DATES: This rule is effective on May 8, 2008.

  ADDRESSES: Comments and materials received, as well as supporting documentation used in the preparation of this final rule, are available for public inspection by appointment during normal business hours at the NMFS Alaska Region, 709 W. 9th Street, Juneau, AK 21688.

  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Smith, NMFS Alaska Region (907) 271-5006; Kaja Brix, NMFS, Alaska Region, (907) 586-7235; or Marta Nammack, (301) 713-1401, ext. 180. The final rule, references, and other materials relating to this determination can be found on our website at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/.

  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-7233.htm

Environmental Protection Agency

• Compensatory Mitigation for Losses of Aquatic Resources

  AGENCIES: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD; and Environmental Protection Agency.

  ACTION: Final rule.

  SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are issuing regulations governing compensatory mitigation for activities authorized by permits issued by the Department of the Army. The regulations establish performance standards and criteria for the use of permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation, mitigation banks, and in-lieu programs to improve the quality and success of compensatory mitigation projects for activities authorized by Department of the Army permits. This rule improves the planning, implementation and management of compensatory mitigation projects by emphasizing a watershed approach in selecting compensatory mitigation project locations, requiring measurable, enforceable ecological performance standards and regular monitoring for all types of compensation and specifying the components of a complete compensatory mitigation plan, including assurances of long-term protection of compensation sites, financial assurances, and identification of the parties responsible for specific project tasks. This rule applies equivalent standards to permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation, mitigation banks and in-lieu fee mitigation to the maximum extent practicable. Since a mitigation bank must have an approved mitigation plan and other assurances in place before any of its credits can be used to offset permitted impacts, this rule establishes a preference for the use of mitigation bank credits, which reduces some of the risks and uncertainties associated with compensatory mitigation. This rule also significantly revises the requirements for in-lieu fee programs to address concerns regarding their past performance and equivalency with the standards for mitigation banks and permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation.

  DATES: The effective date is June 9, 2008.

  ADDRESSES: Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, 441 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20314-1000. Headquarters, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Wetlands Division, Mail code 4502T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20460.

  The Corps and EPA have established a docket for this action under
  

  Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0020. All documents in the docket are listed on the http://www.regulations.gov web site. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically through http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Water Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Water Docket is (202) 566-2426.

  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Olson at 202-761-4922 or by e-mail at david.b.olson@usace.army.mil, or Mr. Palmer Hough at 202-566- 1374 or by e-mail at hough.palmer@epa.gov. Additional information can also be found at the Corps Headquarters Regulatory Program webpage at: http://www.usace.army.mil/cw/cecwo/reg/index.html or the EPA compensatory mitigation webpage at: http://www.epa.gov/wetlandsmitigation.

  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-6918.htm

Interior

• Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee; Announcement of Public Meeting

  AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

  ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

  SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), will host
  the second meeting of the Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee
  (Committee), on April 23-24, 2008. The meeting is open to the public.
  The agenda will include the review and approval of Committee
  ground rules; reports from the Subcommittees on: Existing Guidelines,
  Guiding Principles, Legal, Landscape Habitat (Mapping), and Other
  Models/Uncertainty; and briefings from Service regional offices on
  wind/wildlife issues.

  DATES: The meeting will take place on April 23-24, 2008. On April 23,
  the meeting will be held from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On April 24, the
  meeting will be held from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Following the adjourning
  of the Committee on April 24th, an administrative training will be held
  for Committee members only.

  ADDRESSES: Holiday Inn Arlington, 4610 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA
  22203. For more information, see "Meeting Location Information'' under
  SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-7170.htm]

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