[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 227 (Monday, November 28, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 72957-72958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25837]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Parts 13 and 22
[Docket No. FWS-HQ-MB-2020-0023; FF09M32000-234-FXMB12320900000]
RIN 1018-BE70
Permits for Incidental Take of Eagles and Eagle Nests
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of public comment period.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are
extending the public comment period on our September 30, 2022, proposed
rule to consider revisions to regulations authorizing the issuance of
permits for eagle incidental take and eagle nest take. We are extending
the comment period for 30 days to offer interested persons an
additional opportunity to comment on the proposed rule. 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 September 30, 2022, at 87 FR 59598 is extended.
We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before December
29, 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.
ADDRESSES:
Document availability: The proposed rule and supporting documents,
including the draft environmental review, are available at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-HQ-MB-2020-0023.
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-MB-2020-0023,
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-MB-2020-0023, 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: Jerome Ford, Assistant Director--
Migratory Birds Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, telephone:
(703) 358-2606. 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 September 30, 2022, we published a proposed rule (87 FR 59598)
to consider revisions to regulations authorizing the issuance of
permits for eagle incidental take and eagle nest take under the Bald
and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668d). The purpose of
these revisions is to
[[Page 72958]]
increase the efficiency and effectiveness of permitting, facilitate and
improve compliance, and increase the conservation benefit for eagles.
In addition to continuing to authorize specific permits, we propose the
creation of general permits for certain activities under prescribed
conditions. We propose a general permit option for qualifying wind-
energy generation projects, power line infrastructure, activities that
may disturb breeding bald eagles, and bald eagle nest take. We propose
to remove the current third-party monitoring requirement from eagle
incidental take permits. We also propose to update current permit fees
and clarify definitions.
With this document, we are announcing an extension of the comment
period for an additional 30 days (see DATES, above) to allow the public
further opportunity to provide comments on the proposed rule.
Public Comments
If you already submitted comments or information on the September
30, 2022 (87 FR 59598), proposed rule, please do not resubmit them. Any
such comments are incorporated as part of the public record of the
rulemaking proceeding, and we will fully consider them in the
preparation of any final rule.
You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods
listed in ADDRESSES. We request that you send comments only by the
methods described in ADDRESSES.
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.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Bald and Golden Eagle
Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668d).
Shannon A. Estenoz,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 2022-25837 Filed 11-25-22; 8:45 am]
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