[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 64 (Monday, April 4, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19463-19464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07064]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2020-0100; FF09E21000 FXES1111090FEDR 223]
RIN 1018-BE92
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species
Status for Amur Sturgeon
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of public 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 August 25, 2021, proposed
rule to list the Amur sturgeon (Acipenser schrenckii), a fish species
from the Amur River basin in Russia and China, as an endangered species
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are
taking this action to conduct a public hearing on the petition to list
the Amur sturgeon. Comments previously submitted need not be
resubmitted and will be fully considered in preparation of the final
rule.
DATES:
Comment submission: The public comment period on the proposed rule
that published on August 25, 2021, at 86 FR 47457 is reopened. We will
accept comments received or postmarked on or before May 4, 2022.
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, and comments submitted by U.S. mail must be
postmarked by that date to ensure consideration.
Public hearing: On April 19, 2022, we will hold a public hearing on
the proposed rule to list the Amur sturgeon under the Act from 6:00 to
7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, using the Zoom platform (for more information,
see Public Hearing, below).
ADDRESSES: 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-HQ-ES-2020-0100,
which is the docket number for this rulemaking. Then, click on the
Search button. On the resulting page, in the Search 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-HQ-ES-2020-0100, 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).
Document availability: The proposed rule and supporting documents,
including the species status assessment report, are available at
https://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2020-0100.
Public hearing: Interested parties may present verbal testimony
(formal, oral comments) at a public hearing, which will be held
virtually using the Zoom platform. See Public Hearing, below, for more
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Maclin, Chief, Branch of
Delisting and Foreign Species, Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, MS: ES, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-
3803; telephone, 703-358-2171. 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
[[Page 19464]]
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 August 25, 2021, we published a proposed rule (86 FR 47457) to
list Amur sturgeon as an endangered species under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The proposed
rule opened a 60-day public comment period, ending October 25, 2021.
During the open comment period, we received a request for a public
hearing on the proposed rule. Therefore, we are announcing a public
hearing and a reopening of the comment period (see DATES, above) to
allow the public an additional opportunity to provide comments on the
proposed rule to list the Amur sturgeon.
For a description of previous Federal actions concerning the Amur
sturgeon and information on the types of comments that would be helpful
to us in promulgating this rulemaking action, please refer to the
August 25, 2021, proposed rule (86 FR 47457).
Public Hearing
We are holding a public hearing to accept comments on the proposed
rule to list the Amur sturgeon 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 hearing by Zoom or telephone. For information on how to
register, or if technical problems occur joining Zoom on the day of the
hearing, visit https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon.
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
August 25, 2021, proposed rule to list the Amur sturgeon as an
endangered species (86 FR 47457). The public hearing will not be an
opportunity for dialogue with the Service, but rather a forum for
accepting formal verbal testimony. In the event there is a large
attendance, the time allotted for oral statements may be limited.
Therefore, anyone wishing to make an oral statement at the public
hearing for the record 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 make an oral
statement at the public hearing must register before the hearing
(https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon). 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/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon 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 meeting and/or hearing should contact the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT at least 5 business days prior to the date
of the meeting and hearing to help ensure availability. An accessible
version of the Service's public informational meeting presentation will
also be posted online at https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon prior to the meeting and hearing (see
DATES, above). See https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon for more information about reasonable
accommodation.
Public Comments
If you submit information via https://www.regulations.gov, your
entire submission--including your personal identifying information--
will be posted on the website. If your submission is made via a
hardcopy 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. 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 authors of this document are the staff members of the
Branch of Delisting and Foreign Species, Ecological Services Program.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Martha Williams,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-07064 Filed 4-1-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P