[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 123 (Thursday, June 26, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36284-36285]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14774]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 402 and 424
[Docket Nos. FWS-HQ-ES-2012-0096; FWS-R9-ES-2011-0072; 120106026-4518-
02; 120106025-4514-02; 4500030114]
RIN 1018-AX86; 1018-AX88; 0648-BB80; 0648-BB79
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Changes to the
Definitions and Regulations for Designating Critical Habitat
AGENCIES: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior; National Marine
Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rules; extension of comment periods.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively referred to as the
``Services'' or ``we''), announce the extension of the public comment
periods on our May 12, 2014, proposals to revise definitions and
regulations regarding critical habitat. Comments previously submitted
need not be resubmitted, as they will be fully considered in
preparation of each final rule.
DATES: We will consider comments received or postmarked on or before
October 9, 2014. 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.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In
the Search box, enter the appropriate docket number; for the proposed
revised definition of destruction or adverse modification of critical
habitat, use FWS-R9-ES-2011-0072, and for the proposed rule to amend
the regulations for designating critical habitat, use FWS-HQ-ES-2012-
0096. You may submit a comment by clicking on ``Comment Now!'' Please
ensure that you have found the correct rulemaking before submitting
your comment.
U.S. mail:
[cir] Submit comments on the proposed revised definition of
destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat to: Public
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R9-ES-2011-0072; Division of
Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401
N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
[cir] Submit comments on the proposed rule to amend the regulations
for designating critical habitat to: Public Comments Processing, Attn:
Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2012-0096; Division of Policy and Directives
Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS
2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally
means that we will post any personal information you provide us (see
the Public Comments section, below, for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
For proposed revised definition of destruction or adverse
modification of critical habitat: Patrice Ashfield, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Division of Environmental Review, 4401 N. Fairfax
Drive, Suite 420, Arlington, VA 22203; telephone 703/358-2171;
facsimile 703/358-1735; or Cathryn E. Tortorici, National Marine
Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, Interagency
Cooperation Division, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910;
telephone 301/427-8405;
[[Page 36285]]
facsimile 301/713-0376. If you use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD), call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800/
877-8339.
For the proposed rule to amend the regulations for designating
critical habitat: Douglas Krofta, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Division of Conservation and Classification, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive,
Suite 420, Arlington, VA 22203; telephone 703/358-2527; facsimile 703/
358-1735; or Marta Nammack, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office
of Protected Resources, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD
20910; telephone 301/427-8469; facsimile 301/713-0376. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800/877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Comments
We will accept written comments and information during this
extended comment period on our proposed rule to revise the definition
of destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat and our
proposed rule to amend the regulations for designating critical habitat
that were published in the Federal Register on May 12, 2014 (79 FR
27060 and 79 FR 27066, respectively). We will consider information we
receive from all interested parties on or before the close of the
comment period (see DATES).
If you submitted comments or information on either proposed rule
during the public comment period that began May 12, 2014, please do not
resubmit them. We have incorporated them into the public record, and we
will fully consider them in the preparation of our final rules.
You may submit your comments and materials regarding either
proposed rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We request
that you send comments only by the methods described in ADDRESSES.
If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire
comment--including any personal identifying information--will be posted
on the Web site. We will post all hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov as well. If you submit a hardcopy comment that
includes personal identifying information, you 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.
Background
On May 12, 2014, we published three related documents concerning
designation and implementation of critical habitat under the Act: Two
proposed regulation amendments and one draft policy. This notice
extends the comment period for the two proposed regulation amendments,
and a separate notice published elsewhere in today's issue of the
Federal Register extends the comment period for the draft policy. The
two proposed rules for which we are extending the comment period in
this document propose to revise definitions and regulations regarding
critical habitat.
Specifically, the proposed rule to revise the definition of
destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat proposes to
amend title 50, part 402, of the Code of Federal Regulations, which
implements the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Part 402 establishes the procedural regulations
governing interagency cooperation under section 7 of the Act. The Act
requires Federal agencies, in consultation with and with the assistance
of the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce, to insure that their
actions are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of
endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or
adverse modification of critical habitat of such species. In 1986, the
Services established a definition for ``destruction or adverse
modification'' (Sec. 402.02) that was found to be invalid by the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Fifth (2001) and Ninth (2004) Circuits. We
propose to amend part 402 to replace the invalidated definition with
one that is consistent with the Act and the circuit court opinions.
The proposed rule to revise the regulations for designating
critical habitat proposes to amend portions of title 50, part 424, of
the Code of Federal Regulations, which also implements the Act. Part
424 clarifies, interprets, and implements portions of the Act
concerning the procedures and criteria used for adding species to the
Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants and designating
and revising critical habitat. Specifically, we propose to amend
portions of part 424 that clarify procedures for designating and
revising critical habitat. The proposed amendments would make minor
edits to the scope and purpose, add and remove some definitions, and
clarify the criteria for designating critical habitat.
Authors
The primary authors of this notice are the staff members of the
Endangered Species Program, Headquarters Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: June 17, 2014.
Michael J. Bean,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and
Parks.
Dated: June 17, 2014.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-14774 Filed 6-25-14; 8:45 am]
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