12184 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 50 / Thursday, March 15, 2007 / Notices 

Marine Mammals 

Permit No. Applicant Receipt of application FEDERAL REGISTER

Notice Permit issuance date 

133772 ........................ Richard H. Gebhard ....................................... 71 FR 60561; October 13, 2006 ................... February 5, 2007. 

137715 ........................ Philip S. Majerus ............................................ 71 FR 66187; November 13, 2006 ................ February 5, 2007. 

125179 ........................ Warren L. Strickland ...................................... 71 FR 35692; June 21, 2006 ........................ January 4, 2007. 

130142 ........................ Jerry L. Brenner ............................................. 71 FR 76684; December 21, 2006 ................ February 21, 2007. 

137039 ........................ Kelly J. Powell ............................................... 71 FR 76682; December 21, 2006 ................ February 21, 2007. 

138216 ........................ Michael J. Lenarduzzi .................................... 71 FR 76682; December 21, 2006 ................ February 12, 2007. 

141939 ........................ Philip M. Ripepi .............................................. 72 FR 2539; January 19, 2007 ..................... February 21, 2007. 

Dated: February 23, 2007. 

Michael S. Moore, 

Senior Permit Biologist, Branch of Permits, 

Division of Management Authority. 

[FR Doc. E7–4761 Filed 3–14–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR 

U.S. Geological Survey 

List of Programs Eligible for Inclusion 

in Fiscal Year 2007 Funding 

Agreements To Be Negotiated with 

Self-Governance Tribes 

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice lists programs or 

portions of programs that are eligible for 

inclusion in fiscal year 2007 funding 

agreements with self-governance tribes 

and lists programmatic targets pursuant 

to section 405(c)(4) of the Tribal SelfGovernance Act. 

DATES: This notice expires on 

September 30, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Inquiries or comments 

regarding this notice may be directed to 

Sue Marcus, American Indian/Alaska 

Native Liaison, U.S. Geological Survey, 

104 National Center, Reston, VA 20192. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Title II of the Indian SelfDetermination Act amendments of 1994 

(Pub. L. 103–413, the ‘‘Tribal SelfGovernance Act’’ or the ‘‘Act’’) 

instituted a permanent self-governance 

program at the Department of the 

Interior (DOI). Under the selfgovernance program certain programs, 

services, functions, and activities, or 

portions thereof, in DOI bureaus other 

than the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 

are eligible to be planned, conducted, 

consolidated, and administered by a 

self-governance tribal government. 

Under section 405(c) of the Act, the 

Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) is 

required to publish annually: (1) A list 

of non-BIA programs, services, 

functions, and activities, or portions 

thereof, that are eligible for inclusion in 

agreements negotiated under the selfgovernance program; and (2) 

programmatic targets for these bureaus. 

Under the Act, two categories of nonBIA programs are eligible for selfgovernance funding agreements (AFAs): 

(1) Under section 403(b)(2) of the Act, 

any non-BIA program, service, function 

or activity that is administered by COI 

that is ‘‘otherwise available to Indian 

tribes or Indians,’’ can be administered 

by a tribal government through a selfgovernance funding agreement. The DOI 

interprets this provision to authorize the 

inclusion of programs eligible for selfdetermination contracts under Title I of 

the Indian Self-Determination and 

Education Assistance Act (Pub. L. 93–

638, as amended). Section 403(b)(2) also 

specifies ‘‘nothing in this subsection 

may be construed to provide any tribe 

with a preference with respect to the 

opportunity of the tribe to administer 

programs, services, functions and 

activities, or portions thereof, unless 

such preference is otherwise provided 

by law.’’

(2) Under section 403(c) of the Act, 

the Secretary may include other 

programs, services, functions, and 

activities or portions thereof that are of 

‘‘special geographic, historical, or 

cultural significance’’ to a selfgovernance tribe. 

Under section 403(k) of the Act, 

funding agreements cannot include 

programs, services, functions, or 

activities that are inherently Federal or 

where the statute establishing the 

existing program does not authorize the 

type of participation sought by the tribe. 

However, a tribe (or tribes) need not be 

identified in the authorizing statutes in 

order for a program or element to be 

included in a self-governance funding 

agreement. While general legal and 

policy guidance regarding what 

constitutes an inherently Federal 

function exists, we will determine 

whether a specific function is inherently 

Federal on a case-by-case basis 

considering the totality of 

circumstances. 

Response to Comments 

The DOI Office of Self-Governance 

requested comments on the proposed 

list on June 14, 2006. A number of 

editorial and technical changes were 

provided by DOI bureaus and 

incorporated into this Notice. While the 

Notice of June 14, 2006 illustrated all 

eligible non-BIA programs for DOI, this 

Notice is specific to the U.S. Geological 

Survey. 

II. Eligible Non-BIA Programs of the 

U.S. Geological Survey 

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

will consider for inclusion in funding 

agreements activities which, upon 

request of a self-governance tribe, USGS 

determines to be eligible under either 

sections 403(b)(2) or 403(c) of the Act. 

Tribes with an interest in such potential 

agreements are encouraged to being 

such discussions. 

The mission of USGS is to collect, 

analyze, and provide information on 

biology, geology, hydrology, and 

geography that contributes to the wise 

management of the Nation’s natural 

resources and to the health, safety, and 

well-being of the American people. This 

information is usually publicly available 

and includes maps, data bases, and 

descriptions and analyses of the water, 

plants, animals, energy, and mineral 

resources, land surface, underlying 

geologic structure, and dynamic 

processes of the earth. The USGS does 

not manage lands or resources. Selfgovernance tribes may potentially assist 

USGS in the data acquisition and 

analysis components of its activities 

through a funding agreement. 

For questions regarding selfgovernance contact Sue Marcus, 

American Indian/Alaska Native Liaison, 

U.S. Geological Survey, 104 National 

Center, Reston, VA 20192, telephone 

703–648–4437, fax 703–648–4454, email smarcus@usgs.gov. 

III. Programmatic Targets 

During fiscal year 2007, upon request 

of a self-governance tribe, the U.S. 

Geological Survey will negotiate 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 50 / Thursday, March 15, 2007 / Notices 12185 

funding agreements for its eligible 

activities. 

Dated: March 2, 2007. 

Mark Limbaugh, 

Assistant Secretary—Water and Science. 

[FR Doc. 07–1211 Filed 3–14–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4311–AM–M 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[CA–660–1430–ER–CACA–17905] 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Report/ 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Southern California Edison DeversPalo Verde No. 2 Transmission Line 

Project, California 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), as amended (Pub. L. 91–

190, 42 U.S.C. 4321–4347), and Title 40 

CFR Parts 1500–1508, the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) hereby gives 

notice that the Final Environmental 

Impact Report/Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIR/EIS) for the Southern 

California Edison Company (SCE) 

Devers-Palo Verde No. 2 Transmission 

Line Project is available for public 

review and comment. 

The BLM is the lead Federal agency 

for the preparation of the EIS in 

compliance with the requirements of 

NEPA. The California Public Utilities 

Commission (CPUC) is the lead State of 

California agency for the preparation of 

the EIR in compliance with the 

requirements of the California 

Environmental Quality Act. If the 

project is approved, BLM and CPUC 

would issue right-of-way grants to SCE. 

DATES: The document will be available 

for public review and comment for 30 

days following publication of a Notice 

of Availability (NOA) of this document 

in the Federal Register by the 

Environmental Protection Agency. 

ADDRESSES: The EIR/EIS is available 

online at the BLM Web site: http:// 

www.blm.gov/ca/palmsprings. Copies of 

the document can also be viewed at the 

BLM Palm Springs-South Coast Field 

Office, 690 West Garnet Ave., North 

Palm Springs, Calif. 92258, and at 

public libraries in Buckeye and 

Quartzite, Arizona, and Redlands, 

Banning, Beaumont, Calimesa, 

Cathedral City, Loma Linda, Riverside, 

Coachella, Colton, Desert Hot Springs, 

Grand Terrace, Indio, Mentone, Palm 

Desert, Palo Verde, Rancho Mirage, San 

Bernardino, and Yucaipa, California. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg 

Hill at (760) 251–4840 or e-mail: 

gchill@ca.blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SCE is 

proposing to construct a new 230-mile 

long, 500-kilovolt (kV) electrical 

transmission line between its Devers 

Substation located near Palm Springs, 

California, and the Harquahala 

Generating Station switchyard, located 

near the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating 

Station west of Phoenix, Arizona. In 

addition, SCE is proposing to upgrade 

48.2 miles of existing 230-kV 

transmission lines between the Devers 

Substation west to the San Bernardino 

and Vista Substations, located in the 

San Bernardino, California, vicinity. 

Together, the proposed 500-kV line and 

the 230-kV transmission facility 

upgrades are known as DPV2. The 

proposed route crosses public and 

private lands in Arizona and California. 

Portions of the proposed route cross 

Federal lands managed by the BLM and 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Construction of DPV2 would add 

1,200 megawatts of transmission import 

capacity from the southwestern United 

States to California, which would 

reduce energy costs throughout 

California and enhance the reliability of 

California’s energy supply through 

increased transmission infrastructure. 

The BLM identified a list of issues that 

this analysis addresses including the 

impacts of the proposed project on 

visual resources, agricultural lands, air 

quality, plant and animal species 

including special status species, cultural 

resources, and watersheds. Other issues 

identified by the BLM are impacts to the 

public in the form of noise, traffic, 

accidental release of hazardous 

materials, and impacts to urban, 

residential, and recreational areas. 

Public participation hearings and 

workshops on the draft EIR/EIS were 

held in: Tonopah, Arizona, on June 6, 

2006; Beaumont, California, on June 7, 

2006; and Palm Desert, California, on 

June 8, 2006. 

The BLM will prepare a Record of 

Decision (ROD) for the proposed project 

after a 30-day period following 

publication of the NOA. 

Dated: December 11, 2006. 

Gail Acheson, 

Field Manager. 

[FR Doc. E7–4759 Filed 3–14–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–40– P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[OR–050–1020–MJ; HAG7–0083] 

Notice of Public Meetings—John Day/ 

Snake Resource Advisory Council 

(RAC) 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM), Prineville District, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of meetings. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act and the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act of 1972, the Department 

of the Interior, BLM John Day Snake 

RAC will meet as indicated below: 

The John Day/Snake RAC is 

scheduled to meet on April 3, 2007, at 

the Oxford Suites at 2400 S.W. Court 

Place, Pendleton, OR 97801. The 

meeting time will be from 

approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A public 

comment period will begin at 1 p.m., 

and end at 1:15 p.m. (Pacific Standard 

Time). The meeting may include such 

topics as off-highway vehicle and travel 

management, noxious weeds, planning, 

Sage grouse, and other matters as may 

reasonably come before the council. 

Meeting Procedures: The meeting is 

open to the public. The public may 

present written comments to the RAC. 

Depending on the number of persons 

wishing to provide oral comments and 

agenda topics to be covered, the time to 

do so may be limited. Individuals who 

plan to attend and need special 

assistance such as sign language 

interpretation, tour transportation or 

other reasonable accommodations, 

should contact the BLM representative 

indicated below. For a copy of the 

information to be distributed to the RAC 

members, please submit a written 

request to the BLM Prineville District 

Office 10 days prior to the meeting. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Additional information concerning the 

John Day/Snake RAC may be obtained 

from Virginia Gibbons, BLM Public 

Affairs Specialist, Prineville District 

Office, 3050 N.E. Third Street, 

Prineville, Oregon 97754, (541) 416–

6647 or e-mail Virginia 

Gibbons@or.blm.gov. 

Dated: March 7, 2007. 

Stephen R. Robertson, 

Acting District Manager. 

[FR Doc. E7–4673 Filed 3–14–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–33–P 


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