Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 244 / Friday, December 19, 1997 / Proposed Rules 66583

that may result in expenditures of $100

million or more for State, local or tribal

governments in the aggregate, or for the

private sector, in any one year. It is

questionable whether a redesignation

would constitute a federal mandate in

any case. The obligation for the state to

revise its State Implementation Plan that

arises out of a redesignation is not

legally enforceable and at most is a

condition for continued receipt of

federal highway funds. Therefore, it

does not appear that such an action

creates any enforceable duty within the

meaning of section 421(5)(a)(i) of UMRA

(2 U.S.C. 658(5)(a)(i)), and if it does the

duty would appear to fall within the

exception for a condition of Federal

assistance under section 421(5)(a)(i)(I) of

UMRA (2 U.S.C. 658(5)(a)(i)(I)).

Even if a redesignation were

considered a Federal mandate, the

anticipated costs resulting from the

mandate would not exceed $100 million

to either the private sector or state, local

and tribal governments. Redesignation

of an area to nonattainment does not, in

itself, impose any mandates or costs on

the private sector, and thus, there is no

private sector mandate within the

meaning of section 421(7) of UMRA (2

U.S.C. 658(7)). The only cost resulting

from the redesignation itself is the cost

to the State of California of developing,

adopting and submitting any necessary

SIP revision. Because that cost will not

exceed $100 million, this proposal (if it

is a federal mandate at all) is not subject

to the requirements of sections 202 and

205 of UMRA (2 U.S.C. 1532 and 1535).

EPA has also determined that this

proposal would not result in regulatory

requirements that might significantly or

uniquely affect small governments

because only the State would take any

action as result of today’s rule, and thus

the requirements of section 203 (2

U.S.C. 1533) do not apply.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, Hydrocarbons,

Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen

oxides, Ozone, Volatile organic

compounds.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Dated: December 11, 1997.

Felicia Marcus,

Regional Administrator, Region IX.

[FR Doc. 97–33225 Filed 12–18–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018–AE36

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

and Plants; Notice of Public Hearing

and Reopening of Comment Period on

Proposed Endangered Status for Three

Aquatic Snails, and Proposed

Threatened Status for Three Aquatic

Snails in the Mobile River Basin of

Alabama

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public

hearing and reopening of comment

period.

SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service), pursuant to the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act),

provides notice of a public hearing on

the proposed endangered status for the

cylindrical lioplax (Lioplax

cyclostomaformis), flat pebblesnail

(Lepyrium showalteri), and plicate

rocksnail (Leptoxis plicata); and the

proposed threatened status for the

painted rocksnail (Leptoxis taeniata),

round rocksnail (Leptoxis ampla), and

lacy elimia (Elimia crenatella). The

Service also announces the reopening of

the comment period for these actions.

The public hearing and the reopening of

the comment period will allow

additional comments on this proposal to

be submitted from all interested parties.

DATES: The public hearing will be held

from 7 to 10 p.m. on Tuesday, January

13, 1998, in Birmingham, Alabama. The

comment period now closes on January

23, 1998. Any comments received by the

closing date will be considered in the

final decision on this proposal.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be

held at the Dwight Beeson Hall

Auditorium on the campus of Samford

University, 800 Lakeshore Drive,

Birmingham, Alabama 35229. Written

comments and materials concerning the

proposal may be submitted at the

hearing or sent directly to the Field

Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, 6578 Dogwood View Parkway,

Jackson, Mississippi 39213. Comments

and materials received will be available

for public inspection, by appointment,

during normal business hours at the

above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

Hartfield (see ADDRESSES section), 601/

965–4900, extension 25.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The six aquatic snail species are

endemic to portions of the Mobile River

Basin, Alabama. The cylindrical lioplax,

flat pebblesnail, and round rocksnail are

found in the Cahaba River drainage; the

lacy elimia and painted rocksnail are in

the Coosa River drainage; and the

plicate rocksnail is in the Black Warrior

River drainage. All six species have

disappeared from 90 percent or more of

their historic range. Known populations

are restricted to small portions of stream

drainages. The past decline of the snails

is attributed to impoundment, habitat

fragmentation, and water quality

degradation. Current threats include the

gradual and cumulative effects of

sedimentation and nutrification

originating from nonpoint sources on

the snails’ localized and isolated stream

refugia.

On October 17, 1997, the Service

published a rule proposing endangered

status for the cylindrical lioplax, flat

pebblesnail, and plicate rocksnail; and

threatened status for the painted

rocksnail, round rocksnail, and lacy

elimia in the Federal Register (62 FR

54020–54028. Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the

Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires that

a public hearing be held if it is

requested within 45 days of the

publication of the proposed rule. A

public hearing request by Gorham &

Waldrep, P.C., was received within the

allotted time period. The Service has

scheduled a public hearing in

Birmingham, Alabama on Tuesday,

January 13, 1998, at Samford

University’s Dwight Beeson Hall

Auditorium from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Oral and written comments will be

accepted and treated equally. Parties

wishing to make statements for the

record should bring a copy of their

statements to the hearing. Oral

statements may be limited in length, if

the number of parties present at the

hearing necessitates such a limitation.

There are no limits to the length of

written comments or materials

submitted at the hearing or mailed to

the Service. Legal notices announcing

the date, time, and location of the

hearing are being published in

newspapers concurrently with this

Federal Register notice. The comment

period on the proposal was initially

closed on December 16, 1997. To

accommodate the hearing, the public

comment period is reopened upon

publication of this notice. Written

comments may now be submitted until

January 23, 1998, to the Service office in

the ADDRESSES section.
66584 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 244 / Friday, December 19, 1997 / Proposed Rules

Author: The primary author of this

notice is Paul Hartfield (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 11, 1997.

H. Dale Hall,

Acting Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife

Service.

[FR Doc. 97–33140 Filed 12–18–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 226

[Docket No. 971124276–7276–01; I.D. No.

110797B]

RIN 0648–AH88

Designated Critical Habitat; Green and

Hawksbill Sea Turtles

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), NOAA, Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for

comments; and notice of public

hearings.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to designate

critical habitat pursuant to the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA)

for the threatened green turtle (Chelonia

mydas) to include waters extending

seaward 3 nautical miles (nm) [5.6

kilometers(km)] from the mean high

water line of Culebra Island, Puerto Rico

(see Figure 1), and for the endangered

hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys

imbricata) to include waters extending

seaward 3 nm (5.6 km) from the mean

high water line of Mona and Monito

Islands, Puerto Rico (see Figure 2). The

designation of critical habitat provides

explicit notice to Federal agencies and

to the public that these areas and

features are vital to the conservation of

the species.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before February 17, 1998.

The public hearings on this proposed

action are scheduled from 7 p.m. to 9

p.m. as follows:

1. Monday, January 26, 1998—Eugene

Francis Conference Room, Physics

Building, University of Puerto Rico at

Mayaguez, Palmeras Road, Mayaguez,

Puerto Rico.

2. Tuesday, January 27, 1998—Puerto

Rico Department of Natural and

Environmental Resources, Central Office

Auditorium, Munoz Rivera Avenue (Bus

Stop 31⁄2), Puerta Tierra, Puerto Rico.

3. Thursday, January 29, 1998—

Center for Multiple Use, Williamson

Street, Culebra, Puerto Rico.

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests for

a copy of the environmental assessment

(EA) for this proposed rule should be

addressed to Barbara Schroeder,

National Sea Turtle Coordinator, Office

of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315

East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD

20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michelle Rogers, 301–713–1401 or

Bridget Mansfield, 813–570–5312.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On February 14, 1997, NMFS

announced the receipt of a petition

presenting substantial information to

warrant a review (62 FR 6934) to

designate critical habitat for green

(Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill

(Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles to

include all coastal waters surrounding

the islands of the Culebra archipelago.

At that time, NMFS also requested

additional information concerning other

areas in the U.S. Caribbean where the

designation of critical habitat for listed

sea turtles may be warranted. Upon further review, NMFS has

determined that substantial information

exists to warrant the designation of

critical habitat for green and hawksbill

turtles in the Caribbean. Therefore,

NMFS proposes to designate critical

habitat for the threatened green turtle to

include coastal waters surrounding

Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, and for the

endangered hawksbill turtle to include

coastal waters surrounding Mona and

Monito Islands, Puerto Rico (see

Proposed Critical Habitat; Geographic

Extent section of this notice). This

designation of critical habitat for the

hawksbill turtle complements the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

action which designated critical habitat

for this species to include all areas of

beachfront on the west, south, and east

sides of Mona Island, as well as certain

nesting beaches on Culebra, Cayo Norte,

and Culebrita in the Culebra archipelago

(47 FR 27295, June 24, 1982).

In accordance with the July 18, 1977,

Memorandum of Understanding

between NMFS and the USFWS, NMFS

was given responsibility for sea turtles

while in the marine environment. Such

responsibility includes proposing and

designating critical habitat. The

designation of critical habitat for sea

turtles while on land is the jurisdiction

of the USFWS; therefore, this rule

includes only marine areas. Green and hawksbill turtles are

largely restricted to tropical and

subtropical waters. Once abundant

throughout the Caribbean, green and

hawksbill turtle populations have

diminished to the point where they may

likely be extirpated from this area. The

green turtle is listed as threatened under

the ESA, except for the Florida and

Pacific coast of Mexico breeding

populations, which are listed as

endangered. The hawksbill turtle is

listed as endangered throughout its

range.

Additionally, green and hawksbill

turtles, as well as other marine turtle

species, are protected internationally

under the Convention on International

Trade in Endangered Species of Wild

Fauna and Flora (CITES). Without these

protections, it is highly unlikely that

either species, traditionally highly

prized in the Caribbean for their flesh,

fat, eggs, and shell, would exist today.

The extensive seagrass beds of the

Culebra archipelago support a large

juvenile population of green turtles.

Researchers estimate that over 150

juvenile green turtles are resident on

Culebra seagrass beds at any given time.

Additionally, a small population of

adult green turtles have been

documented in these waters (Collazo et

al., 1992).

On November 10, 1993, the USFWS

designated Culebra seagrass beds as

Resource Category 1, recognizing these

seagrasses as critical foraging habitat for

juvenile green turtles (USFWS, 1993).

The USFWS mitigation policy classifies

habitats into different resource

categories according to their importance

on a national or ecoregional scale. This

classification provides guidance to the

USFWS, NMFS, action agencies, and

private developers that mitigation may

be necessary if impacts to these habitats

are anticipated. Resource Category 1

designation recognizes the habitat as

unique and irreplaceable on a national

or ecoregional level and states that loss

of the habitat is not acceptable.

Green turtles nest sporadically on

Puerto Rico’s beaches. Green turtle nests

have been observed on the main island

of Puerto Rico, as well as on Mona and

Vieques Islands, and have been reported

periodically on Culebra Island (Bacon et

al., 1984; Carr, 1978; Pritchard and

Stubbs, 1981). The natal beaches of

Culebra’s juvenile green turtles and the

location of their nesting beaches are

unknown.

The coastal waters of Culebra provide

habitat for hawksbill and leatherback

turtles as well. Hawksbill turtles forage

extensively on the nearby reefs, and

both hawksbills and leatherbacks use

Culebra’s coastal waters to access

nesting beaches. Culebra and St. Croix