Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 6 / Friday, January 9, 2009 / Notices 915 

If you wish to provide comments and/ 

or information, you may submit your 

comments and materials by any one of 

several methods (see ADDRESSES). 

Comments submitted electronically 

should be in the body of the e-mail 

message itself or attached as a text file 

(ASCII), and should not use special 

characters or encryption. Please also 

include ‘‘Attn: Draft Conservation 

Assessment,’’ your full name, and your 

return address in your e-mail message. 

If you do not receive a confirmation 

from the system that we have received 

your e-mail message, please contact us 

directly by calling our New Mexico 

Ecological Services Field Office (see 

ADDRESSES). 

References 

All literature referenced in the draft 

assessment is available for viewing, by 

appointment, at New Mexico Ecological 

Services Field Office during normal 

business hours (see ADDRESSES section). 

Authority 

The authority for this action is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Dated: December 30, 2008. 

Nancy J. Gloman, 

Acting Regional Director, Region 2. 

[FR Doc. E9–298 Filed 1–8–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R4–R–2008–N0314; 40136–1265– 

0000–S3] 

Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge, 

St. Martin and Iberville Parishes, LA 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a 

comprehensive conservation plan and 

environmental assessment; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), intend to 

prepare a comprehensive conservation 

plan (CCP) and associated National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

documents for Atchafalaya National 

Wildlife Refuge (NWR). We provide this 

notice in compliance with our CCP 

policy to advise other agencies, tribes, 

and the public of our intentions, and to 

obtain suggestions and information on 

the scope of issues to consider in the 

planning process. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, we 

must receive your written comments by 

February 23, 2009. A public meeting 

will be held during the scoping phase of 

the CCP development process. The date, 

time, and place for the meeting will be 

announced in the local media. 

ADDRESSES: Comments, questions, and 

requests for information should be sent 

to: Tina Chouinard, Natural Resource 

Planner, Hatchie National Wildlife 

Refuge, 6772 Highway 76 South, 

Stanton, Tennessee 38069. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tina 

Chouinard, Natural Resource Planner; 

Telephone: 731/780–8208; Fax: 731/ 

772–7839; E-mail: 

tina_chouinard@fws.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction 

With this notice, we initiate our 

process for developing a CCP for 

Atchafalaya NWR in St. Martin and 

Iberville Parishes, Louisiana. 

This notice complies with our CCP 

policy to (1) advise other Federal and 

State agencies, Tribes, and the public of 

our intention to conduct detailed 

planning on this refuge; and (2) obtain 

suggestions and information on the 

scope of issues to consider in the 

environmental document and during 

development of the CCP. 

Background 

The CCP Process 

The National Wildlife Refuge System 

Improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 

668dd–668ee) (Improvement Act), 

which amended the National Wildlife 

Refuge System Administration Act of 

1966, requires us to develop a CCP for 

each national wildlife refuge. The 

purpose in developing a CCP is to 

provide refuge managers with a 15-year 

strategy for achieving refuge purposes 

and contributing to the mission of the 

National Wildlife Refuge System, 

consistent with sound principles of fish 

and wildlife management, conservation, 

legal mandates, and our policies. In 

addition to outlining broad management 

direction on conserving wildlife and 

their habitats, CCPs identify wildlifedependent recreational opportunities 

available to the public, including 

opportunities for hunting, fishing, 

wildlife observation, wildlife 

photography, and environmental 

education and interpretation. We will 

review and update the CCP at least 

every 15 years in accordance with the 

Improvement Act. 

Each unit of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System is established for specific 

purposes. We use these purposes as the 

foundation for developing and 

prioritizing the management goals and 

objectives for each refuge within the 

National Wildlife Refuge System 

mission, and to determine how the 

public can use each refuge. The 

planning process is a way for us and the 

public to evaluate management goals 

and objectives for the best possible 

conservation approach to this important 

wildlife habitat, while providing for 

wildlife-dependent recreation 

opportunities that are compatible with 

the refuge’s establishing purposes and 

the mission of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System. 

Our CCP process provides 

participation opportunities for State, 

Tribal, and local governments; agencies; 

organizations; and the public. At this 

time we encourage input in the form of 

issues, concerns, ideas, and suggestions 

for the future management of 

Atchafalaya NWR. Special mailings, 

newspaper articles, and other media 

outlets will be used to announce 

opportunities for input throughout the 

planning process. 

We will conduct the environmental 

assessment in accordance with the 

requirements of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 

amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.); NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 

1500–1508); other appropriate Federal 

laws and regulations; and our policies 

and procedures for compliance with 

those laws and regulations. 

Atchafalaya NWR is located in the 

lower Atchafalaya Floodway in St. 

Martin and Iberville Parishes, Louisiana. 

The name originated from its location 

within the Atchafalaya River Basin. 

Atchafalaya NWR is bounded on the 

north by U.S. Highway 190, on the 

south by Interstate 10, on the west by 

the Atchafalaya River, and on the east 

by the East Atchafalaya Protection 

Levee. Atchafalaya NWR is part of the 

Southeast Louisiana NWR Complex. 

The Atchafalaya River Basin, located 

in south-central Louisiana, is a natural 

alluvial flood plain of the Atchafalaya 

River. The Atchafalaya River 

headwaters begin at Old River near 

Simmesport and flow to the Gulf of 

Mexico 140 miles to the south. 

In order to provide for safe passage of 

major floods in the lower Mississippi 

River system below Old River, the Army 

Corps of Engineers (Corps) modified a 

portion of the natural Atchafalaya River 

Basin to convey flood water in excess of 

the capacity of the levied Mississippi 

River. The Atchafalaya River Basin 

Floodway was formed by constructing 

protection levees to the east, west, and 

parallel to the Atchafalaya River 

channel. In addition to the Atchafalaya 

River, two artificial intakes, the 

Morganza Floodway and the West 

Atchafalaya Floodway, have been 

provided to divert excess flood waters of 

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916 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 6 / Friday, January 9, 2009 / Notices 

the levied river channels into the 

Atchafalaya River Basin. The 

Atchafalaya River Basin Floodway is 65 

miles long, 15 miles wide, and lies on 

either side of the Atchafalaya River from 

Krotz Springs, Louisiana, to Morgan 

City, Louisiana. This floodway is a 

southern extension of the Morganza and 

West Atchafalaya Floodways at the 

lower end of the Atchafalaya River 

Basin. Flow is discharged into the 

Atchafalaya Bay and Gulf of Mexico 

through the lower Atchafalaya River at 

Morgan City and through an artificial 

channel (known as the Wax Lake Outlet) 

about 10 miles west of Morgan City. 

The Atchafalaya River Basin has been 

described as the greatest river swamp in 

the United States. It encompasses more 

than one-half million acres of wetlands 

that may produce as much wildlife as 

any area in the country. The basin 

provides habitat for a diversity of 

wildlife species. Its waters also support 

a tremendous sport and commercial 

fisheries’ resource. 

For years there was dispute over the 

conservation of the basin. Flood control, 

agriculture, energy development, 

recreation, and other interests in the 

basin were difficult to reconcile. All 

parties involved developed an 

agreement to resolve the major disputes. 

The agreement, which is incorporated in 

a feasibility study developed by the 

Corps for the basin, calls for specific 

flood control measures, water flow rates, 

and the purchase of flowage and 

conservation easements designed to 

keep the basin in a natural state, while 

providing navigation and flood 

protection for surrounding 

communities. 

The agreement also calls for the 

acquisition and management of 90,000 

acres within the basin for public access. 

The Dow Chemical Company donated 

40,000 acres. The acquisition of the 

remaining 50,000 acres is to be split 

between the State of Louisiana and the 

Federal Government. 

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife 

and Fisheries (LDWF) purchased 11,780 

acres on September 13, 1983, and 

created the Sherburne Wildlife 

Management Area. In the 1984 

Supplemental Appropriations Act (Pub. 

L. 98–396) passed by Congress and 

signed into law by President Reagan, a 

total of $10 million from the Land and 

Water Conservation Fund was 

appropriated to the Service to acquire 

lands and waters in the Atchafalaya 

River Basin in accordance with statutory 

authority applicable to the Fish and 

Wildlife Act of 1956. The land was 

purchased from the Iberville Land 

Company. 

Atchafalaya NWR was established in 

1986, when 15,220 acres in the basin, as 

directed by Public Law 98–548, were 

purchased. Since 1989, the Corps has 

purchased 37,000 acres of fee title land 

adjacent to and within the Atchafalaya 

NWR, which brought the current 

acreage among all three agencies to 

64,000. The Corps is in the process of 

purchasing more land to add to the 

system. 

Under the Cooperative Agreement 

(Contract No. 14–16–0004–86–946), all 

of the public access lands are managed 

by the LDWF. Since the Federal and 

State lands share common boundaries, 

LDWF technical and field personnel 

manage the wildlife on both the wildlife 

management area and the refuge. 

Service personnel are responsible for all 

forest management and issuance of 

special use permits. 

Approximately 12 percent of the 

refuge is inundated open water, with 

isolated cypress trees and willow 

stands. Bottomland hardwood forest is 

the primary habitat. Self-guided tours 

can be accessed by auto, boat, or foot. 

Traditional use of the area is hunting, 

which follows the State’s annual season 

dates and specific regulations. Camping 

is allowed nearby on the State’s 

Sherburne Wildlife Management Area. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment, including your 

personal identifying information, may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Authority: This notice is published under 

the authority of the National Wildlife Refuge 

System Improvement Act of 1997, Public 

Law 105–57. 

Dated: December 5, 2008. 

Cynthia K. Dohner, 

Acting Regional Director. 

[FR Doc. E9–186 Filed 1–8–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Geological Survey 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Submitted for Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

Review; Comment Request 

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of a proposed new 

information collection and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: To comply with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), we are notifying the public that 

we have submitted to OMB a new 

information collection request (ICR) for 

approval of the paperwork requirements 

for the Study on Arsenic and Uranium 

in Bedrock Wells of East Central 

Massachusetts (MASSWELL). 

DATES: You must submit comments on 

or before February 9, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit comments on 

this information collection directly to 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk 

Officer for the Department of Interior via 

e-mail [OIRA_DOCKET@omb.eop.gov]; 

or fax (202)395–6566; and identify your 

submission as 1028–NEW. Please also 

submit a copy of your comments to 

Phadrea Ponds, USGS Information 

Collection Clearance Officer, 2150–C 

Center Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80525 

(mail); (970)226–9230 (fax); or 

pponds@usgs.gov (e-mail). Please 

reference Information Collection 1028– 

NEW, MASSWELL in the subject line. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE

CONTACT: John A. Colman, U.S. 

Geological Survey, 10 Bearfoot Road, 

Northborough, Massachusetts 01532 

(mail); at 508–490–5027 (telephone); or 

jacolman@usgs.gov (e-mail). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: 

Study on Arsenic and Uranium in 

Bedrock Wells of East Central 

Massachusetts. 

OMB Control Number: 1028–NEW. 

Abstract: The U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS) and the Massachusetts 

Department of Environmental Protection 

(MDEP) are conducting the study with 

assistance of staff from the 

Massachusetts Department of Public 

Health, Bureau of Environmental Health 

(MDPH/BEH) to assess: (1) The number 

of private wells containing raw-water 

concentrations of arsenic or uranium 

that are greater than the current 

drinking water standards and (2) the 

degree to which bedrock units can be 

associated with concentrations of 

uranium and arsenic. This information 

will help guide future water-supply 

development and well-water testing. It 

will tell local health officials where the 

areas of concern are in their 

communities, and provide background 

concentrations by rock type for use in 

identifying contamination from human 

sources. 

We will protect information from 

respondents considered proprietary 

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