Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 234 / Thursday, December 7, 2023 / Proposed Rules 85177 

days following the end of a fiscal 

quarter. Reports are cumulative from 

October 1 of the reporting fiscal year, 

and monetary figures should be rounded 

to whole dollars in each section of the 

report. 

(c) ‘‘Negative report’’ means when the 

Bureau had no reportable activity 

during the quarter. Submit such a report 

using the MBDA–91 report form. 

■ 23. Revise section 1426.7103–2 to 

read as follows: 

1426.7103–2 Requirements. 

The contracting offices shall report 

designated projects funded with EPA 

monies, involving the actual award of 

contracts, subcontracts, financial 

assistance instruments, subagreements, 

etc. by DOI. Do not include 

Departmental projects covered by 

Superfund and funded solely with 

Departmental appropriations. The HCA 

must submit one of the following 

reports inclusive of all projects, as 

applicable, to the OSDBU by no later 

than November 8 of each year: 

(a) EPA Forms 6005–3 and 6005–3A 

for applicable Superfund contract 

awards, including partial awards to 

minority businesses. 

(b) EPA Form 6005–3A only, for 

applicable Superfund contract awards 

when no awards were made to minority 

firms, to report the efforts made to 

promote minority business participation 

in the designated projects. 

(c) ‘‘Negative Report’’ when the 

reporting Bureau did not award 

contracts using Superfund monies. 

PART 1431—CONTRACT COST 

PRINCIPLES AND PROCEDURES 

■ 24. The authority citation for part 

1431 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Sec. 205(c), 63 Stat. 390, 40 

U.S.C. 486(c); and 5 U.S.C. 301. 

■ 25. Revise section 1431.101 to read as 

follows: 

1431.101 Objectives. 

Individual deviations concerning cost 

principles and procedures shall require 

the approval of the cognizant Assistant 

Secretary, with further redelegation 

authorized. Redelegation is limited to 

the HCA. 

PART 1442—CONTRACT 

ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT 

SERVICES 

■ 26. The authority citation for part 

1442 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Sec. 205(c), 63 Stat. 390, 40 

U.S.C. 486(c); and 5 U.S.C. 301. 

■ 27. Revise section 1442.602 to read as 

follows: 

1442.602 Assignment and location. 

The HCA has the authority to approve 

the appointment of a Corporate 

Administrative Contracting Officer. 

PART 1443—CONTRACT 

MODIFICATIONS 

■ 28. The authority citation for part 

1443 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Sec. 205(c), 63 Stat. 390, 40 

U.S.C. 486(c); and 5 U.S.C. 301. 

■ 29. Revise section 1443.205 to read as 

follows: 

1443.205 Contract clauses. 

HCAs may establish procedures, 

when appropriate, for authorizing the 

CO to vary the 30-day period for 

submission of requests for adjustment 

prescribed by FAR 43.205 (48 CFR 

43.205). 

PART 1449—TERMINATION OF 

CONTRACTS 

■ 30. The authority citation for part 

1449 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Sec. 205(c), 63 Stat. 390, 40 

U.S.C. 486(c); and 5 U.S.C. 301. 

■ 31. Revise section 1449.106 to read as 

follows: 

1449.106 Fraud or other criminal conduct. 

When fraud or other criminal conduct 

is suspected, the CO will submit a 

report documenting the incident to the 

HCA for transmittal to the OIG. 

Informational copies will be forwarded 

to the Director, PAM. 

■ 32. Revise section 1449.111 to read as 

follows: 

1449.111 Review of proposed settlements. 

All proposed settlement agreements 

shall be reviewed by the SOL and 

approved at one level above the CO. 

Settlement agreements of $250,000 or 

more shall be approved by the HCA. 

Joan M. Mooney, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, 

Exercising the Delegated Authority of the 

Assistant Secretary—Policy, Management 

and Budget. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26443 Filed 12–6–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2023–0069; 

FF09E21000 FXES1111090FEDR 245] 

RIN 1018–BE77 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Endangered Species 

Status for the Toothless Blindcat and 

the Widemouth Blindcat; Extension of 

Comment Period 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), are reopening 

the comment period on our August 22, 

2023, proposed rule to list the toothless 

blindcat (Trogloglanis pattersoni) and 

widemouth blindcat (Satan 

eurystomus), two cavefish species from 

the Edwards Aquifer in Bexar County, 

Texas, as endangered species under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). We are reopening the 

proposed rule’s comment period to give 

all interested parties an additional 

opportunity to comment on the 

proposed rule. Comments previously 

submitted need not be resubmitted, as 

they are already incorporated into the 

public record and will be fully 

considered in our final determinations. 

DATES: The comment period on the 

proposed rule that published August 22, 

2023, at 88 FR 57046, is reopened. We 

will accept comments received or 

postmarked on or before January 8, 

2024. Comments submitted using the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal (see 

ADDRESSES, below) must be received by 

11:59 p.m. eastern time on the closing 

date. 

ADDRESSES: 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–R2–ES–2023–0069, which is 

the docket number for the August 22, 

2023, proposed rule and this document. 

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, click on the 

Proposed Rule box to locate the correct 

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–R2–ES–2023–0069, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
85178 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 234 / Thursday, December 7, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

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: 

Karen Myers, Field Supervisor, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Austin 

Ecological Services Field Office, 1505 

Ferguson Lane, Austin, TX 78754; 

telephone 512–937–7371. 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-ofcontact in the United States. Please see 

Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2023–0069 on 

https://www.regulations.gov for a 

document that summarizes the August 

22, 2023, proposed rule. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On August 22, 2023, we published a 

proposed rule (88 FR 57046) to list the 

toothless blindcat and widemouth 

blindcat as endangered species under 

the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The 

proposed rule opened a 60-day 

comment period, ending October 23, 

2023. On October 12, 2023, we received 

a request to extend the public comment 

period. With this document, we reopen 

the public comment period for an 

additional 30 days, as specified above in 

DATES. 

For a description of previous Federal 

actions concerning the toothless 

blindcat and widemouth blindcat and 

information on the types of comments 

that would be helpful to us in making 

final determinations on our proposal, 

please refer to the August 22, 2023, 

proposed rule (88 FR 57046 at 57046– 

57047). 

Public Comments 

We will accept written comments and 

information during the reopened 

comment period on our August 22, 

2023, proposed rule to list the toothless 

blindcat and widemouth blindcat. We 

will consider information and 

recommendations from all interested 

parties. We intend that any final action 

resulting from the proposal will be 

based on the best scientific and 

commercial data available and will be as 

accurate and as effective as possible. 

Our final determinations will take into 

consideration all comments and any 

additional information we receive 

during both comment periods on the 

proposed rule. 

Because we will consider all 

comments and information we receive 

during both open comment periods, our 

final determinations may differ from our 

August 22, 2023, proposed rule (88 FR 

57046). Based on the new information 

we receive (and, if relevant, any 

comments on that new information), we 

may conclude that one or both of the 

species is threatened instead of 

endangered, or we may conclude that 

one or both of the species does not 

warrant listing as either an endangered 

species or a threatened species. In our 

final rule, we will clearly explain our 

rationale and the basis for our final 

decisions, including why we made 

changes, if any, that differ from the 

August 22, 2023, proposal. 

If you already submitted comments or 

information on the August 22, 2023, 

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 our final determinations. 

Comments should be as specific as 

possible. Please include sufficient 

information with your submission (such 

as scientific journal articles or other 

publications) to allow us to verify any 

scientific or commercial information 

you assert. Please note that submissions 

merely stating support for, or opposition 

to, the action under consideration 

without providing supporting 

information, although noted, will not be 

considered in making a determination, 

as section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act directs 

that determinations as to whether any 

species is an endangered species or a 

threatened species must be made 

‘‘solely on the basis of the best scientific 

and commercial data available.’’ 

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. 

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 at FWS– 

R2–ES–2023–0069. 

Authors 

The primary authors of this document 

are the staff members of the Fish and 

Wildlife Service’s Species Assessment 

Team and the Austin Ecological 

Services Field Office. 

Authority 

The Endangered Species Act of 1973, 

as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), is 

the authority for this action. 

Martha Williams, 

Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26853 Filed 12–6–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Parts 223 and 224 

[Docket No. 231201–0285; RTID 0648– 

XR129] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; 

90-Day Finding on a Petition To List 

Chinook Salmon on the Washington 

Coast as Threatened or Endangered 

Under the Endangered Species Act 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: 90-Day petition finding, request 

for information, and initiation of status 

review. 

SUMMARY: We, NMFS, announce a 90- 

day finding on a petition to list springrun Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 

tshawytscha) on the Washington Coast 

(WC) as threatened or endangered under 

the Endangered Species Act (ESA) or, 

alternatively, list the existing WC 

Chinook salmon Evolutionarily 

Significant Unit (ESU) as currently 

defined (inclusive of all run types) as 

threatened or endangered under the 

ESA. The petition also requests that we 

designate critical habitat concurrently 

with the listing. We find that the 

petition presents substantial scientific 

or commercial information indicating 

the petitioned action to list may be 

warranted. We will conduct an ESU 

analysis and status review to determine 

whether the petitioned action is 

warranted. To ensure that the status 

review is comprehensive, we are 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1