[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 64 (Monday, April 4, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19463-19464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07064]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2020-0100; FF09E21000 FXES1111090FEDR 223]
RIN 1018-BE92


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species 
Status for Amur Sturgeon

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of public comment period and 
announcement of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are 
reopening the public comment period on our August 25, 2021, proposed 
rule to list the Amur sturgeon (Acipenser schrenckii), a fish species 
from the Amur River basin in Russia and China, as an endangered species 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are 
taking this action to conduct a public hearing on the petition to list 
the Amur sturgeon. 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 August 25, 2021, at 86 FR 47457 is reopened. We will 
accept comments received or postmarked on or before May 4, 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.
    Public hearing: On April 19, 2022, we will hold a public hearing on 
the proposed rule to list the Amur sturgeon under the Act from 6:00 to 
7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, using the Zoom platform (for more information, 
see Public Hearing, below).

ADDRESSES: 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-ES-2020-0100, 
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-ES-2020-0100, 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).
    Document availability: The proposed rule and supporting documents, 
including the species status assessment report, are available at 
https://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2020-0100.
    Public hearing: Interested parties may present verbal testimony 
(formal, oral comments) at a public hearing, which will be held 
virtually using the Zoom platform. See Public Hearing, below, for more 
information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Maclin, Chief, Branch of 
Delisting and Foreign Species, Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, MS: ES, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-
3803; telephone, 703-358-2171. 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

[[Page 19464]]

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 August 25, 2021, we published a proposed rule (86 FR 47457) to 
list Amur sturgeon as an endangered species under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The proposed 
rule opened a 60-day public comment period, ending October 25, 2021. 
During the open comment period, we received a request for a public 
hearing on the proposed rule. Therefore, we are announcing a public 
hearing and a reopening of the comment period (see DATES, above) to 
allow the public an additional opportunity to provide comments on the 
proposed rule to list the Amur sturgeon.
    For a description of previous Federal actions concerning the Amur 
sturgeon and information on the types of comments that would be helpful 
to us in promulgating this rulemaking action, please refer to the 
August 25, 2021, proposed rule (86 FR 47457).

Public Hearing

    We are holding a public hearing to accept comments on the proposed 
rule to list the Amur sturgeon on the date and at the time listed in 
DATES. We are holding the public hearing via the Zoom online video 
platform and via teleconference so that participants can attend 
remotely. For security purposes, registration is required. All 
participants must register in order to listen and view the hearing via 
Zoom, listen to the hearing by telephone, or provide oral public 
comments at the hearing by Zoom or telephone. For information on how to 
register, or if technical problems occur joining Zoom on the day of the 
hearing, visit https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon.
    Registrants will receive the Zoom link and the telephone number for 
the public hearing. If applicable, interested members of the public not 
familiar with the Zoom platform should view the Zoom video tutorials 
(https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206618765-Zoom-video-tutorials) prior to the public hearing.
    The public hearing will provide interested parties an opportunity 
to present verbal testimony (formal, oral comments) regarding the 
August 25, 2021, proposed rule to list the Amur sturgeon as an 
endangered species (86 FR 47457). The public hearing will not be an 
opportunity for dialogue with the Service, but rather a forum for 
accepting formal verbal testimony. In the event there is a large 
attendance, the time allotted for oral statements may be limited. 
Therefore, anyone wishing to make an oral statement at the public 
hearing for the record is encouraged to provide a prepared written copy 
of their statement to us through the Federal eRulemaking Portal or U.S. 
mail (see ADDRESSES, above). There are no limits on the length of 
written comments submitted to us. Anyone wishing to make an oral 
statement at the public hearing must register before the hearing 
(https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon). The use of a virtual public hearing is consistent with our 
regulations at 50 CFR 424.16(c)(3).

Reasonable Accommodation

    The Service is committed to providing access to the public hearing 
for all participants. Closed captioning will be available during the 
public hearing. Further, a full audio and video recording and 
transcript of the public hearing will be posted online at https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon after 
the hearing. Participants will also have access to live audio during 
the public hearing via their telephone or computer speakers. Persons 
with disabilities requiring reasonable accommodations to participate in 
the meeting and/or hearing should contact the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT at least 5 business days prior to the date 
of the meeting and hearing to help ensure availability. An accessible 
version of the Service's public informational meeting presentation will 
also be posted online at https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon prior to the meeting and hearing (see 
DATES, above). See https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon for more information about reasonable 
accommodation.

Public Comments

    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.

Authors

    The primary authors of this document are the staff members of the 
Branch of Delisting and Foreign Species, Ecological Services Program.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Martha Williams,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-07064 Filed 4-1-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P