[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 38 (Monday, February 27, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12304-12306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03916]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2022-0082; FF09E21000 FXES1111090FEDR 234]
RIN 1018-BG07
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species
Status for the San Francisco Bay-Delta Distinct Population Segment of
the Longfin Smelt
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period and announcement of
public hearing.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are
reopening the public comment period on our October 7, 2022, proposed
rule to list the San Francisco Bay-Delta distinct
[[Page 12305]]
population segment (DPS) of longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys)
(Bay-Delta longfin smelt), a fish species of the Pacific Coast, as an
endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(Act). We are taking this action to conduct a public hearing and allow
all interested parties additional time to comment on the proposal to
list the Bay-Delta longfin smelt as endangered. Comments previously
submitted need not be resubmitted and will be fully considered in
preparation of the final rule.
DATES:
Comment submission: The comment period on the proposed rule that
published October 7, 2022, at 87 FR 60957, is reopened. We will accept
comments received or postmarked on or before March 29, 2023. Please
note that comments submitted electronically using the Federal
eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, below) must be received by 11:59
p.m. eastern time on the closing date to ensure consideration.
Public hearing: On March 14, 2023, we will hold a public hearing on
the Bay-Delta longfin smelt proposed listing from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.,
Pacific time, using the Zoom online platform (for more information, see
Public Hearing, below).
ADDRESSES:
Availability of documents: You may obtain copies of the October 7,
2022, proposed rule and associated documents on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2022-0082.
Written comments: You may submit comments by one of the following
methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R8-ES-
2022-0082, which is the docket number for this proposed rule. Then,
click on the Search button. On the resulting page, in the panel on the
left side of the screen, under the Document Type heading, check the
Proposed Rule box to locate this document. You may submit a comment by
clicking on ``Comment.''
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: FWS-R8-ES-2022-0082, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
We request that you send comments only by the methods described
above. We will post all comments on https://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide
us (see Public Comments, below, for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald Ratcliff, Field Supervisor,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, San Francisco Bay-Delta Fish and
Wildlife Office, 650 Capitol Mall Suite 8-300, Sacramento, CA 95814;
telephone 916-930-5603. Individuals in the United States who are deaf,
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711
(TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services
offered within their country to make international calls to the point-
of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 7, 2022, we published a proposed rule (87 FR 60957) to
list the Bay-Delta longfin smelt as endangered under the Act. The
proposed rule established a 60-day public comment period, ending
December 6, 2022. During the open comment period, we received a request
for a public hearing. Therefore, we are reopening the comment period
and announcing a public hearing to allow the public an additional
opportunity to provide comments on the proposed rule.
For a description of previous Federal actions concerning the Bay-
Delta longfin smelt and information on the types of comments that would
be helpful to us in promulgating this rulemaking action, please refer
to the October 7, 2022, proposed rule (87 FR 60957).
Public Hearing
We are holding a public hearing to accept comments on the proposed
rule to list the Bay-Delta longfin smelt on the date and at the time
listed in DATES. We are holding the public hearing via the Zoom online
video platform and via teleconference so that participants can attend
remotely. For security purposes, registration is required. All
participants must register in order to listen and view the hearing via
Zoom, listen to the hearing by telephone, or provide oral public
comments at the public hearing by Zoom or telephone. For information on
how to register, or if you encounter problems joining Zoom the day of
the meeting, visit https://www.fws.gov/office/san-francisco-bay-delta-fish-and-wildlife. Registrants will receive the Zoom link and the
telephone number for the public hearing. If applicable, interested
members of the public not familiar with the Zoom platform should view
the Zoom video tutorials (https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206618765-Zoom-video-tutorials) prior to the public hearing.
The public hearing will provide interested parties an opportunity
to present verbal testimony (formal, oral comments) regarding the
October 7, 2022, proposed rule to list the Bay-Delta longfin smelt (87
FR 60957). The purpose of the public hearing is to provide a forum for
accepting formal verbal testimony, which will then become part of the
record for the proposed rule. In the event there is a large attendance,
the time allotted for verbal testimony may be limited. Therefore,
anyone wishing to provide verbal testimony at the public hearing is
encouraged to provide a prepared written copy of their statement to us
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, or U.S. mail (see ADDRESSES,
above). There are no limits on the length of written comments submitted
to us. Anyone wishing to provide verbal testimony at the public hearing
must register before the hearing (https://www.fws.gov/office/san-francisco-bay-delta-fish-and-wildlife). The use of a virtual public
hearing is consistent with our regulations at 50 CFR 424.16(c)(3).
Reasonable Accommodation
The Service is committed to providing access to the public hearing
for all participants. Closed captioning will be available during the
public hearing. Further, a full audio and video recording and
transcript of the public hearing will be posted online at https://www.fws.gov/office/san-francisco-bay-delta-fish-and-wildlife after the
hearing. Participants will also have access to live audio during the
public hearing via their telephone or computer speakers. Persons with
disabilities requiring reasonable accommodations to participate in the
hearing should contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT at least 5 business days prior to the date of the hearing to
help ensure availability. An accessible version of the Service's public
hearing presentation will also be posted online at https://www.fws.gov/office/san-francisco-bay-delta-fish-and-wildlife prior to the hearing
(see DATES, above). See https://www.fws.gov/office/san-francisco-bay-delta-fish-and-wildlife for more information about reasonable
accommodation.
Public Comments
If you submit information via https://www.regulations.gov, your
entire submission--including any personal identifying information--will
be posted on the website. If your submission is made via hard copy that
includes personal identifying information, you
[[Page 12306]]
may request at the top of your document that we withhold this
information from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we
will be able to do so. We will post all hardcopy submissions on https://www.regulations.gov.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will be available
for public inspection on https://www.regulations.gov.
Authors
The primary author of this document is Ecological Services staff of
the Pacific Southwest Regional Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Sacramento, California.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Wendi Weber,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-03916 Filed 2-24-23; 8:45 am]
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