Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 103 / Friday, May 29, 1998 / Proposed Rules 29367

disabled individual who has need for a

special accommodation to attend a

public hearing should contact the

individual listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. If no one requests

an opportunity to speak at the public

hearing, the hearing will not be held.

Filing of a written statement at the

time of the hearing is requested as it

will greatly assist the transcriber.

Submission of written statements in

advance of the hearing will allow OSM

officials to prepare adequate responses

and appropriate questions.

The public hearing will continue on

the specified date until all persons

scheduled to speak have been heard.

Persons in the audience who have not

been scheduled to speak, and who wish

to do so, will be heard following those

who have been scheduled. The hearing

will end after all persons scheduled to

speak and persons present in the

audience who wish to speak have been

heard.

Public Meeting

If only one person requests an

opportunity to speak at a hearing, a

public meeting, rather than a public

hearing, may be held. Persons wishing

to meet with OSM representatives to

discuss the proposed amendment may

request a meeting by contacting the

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. All such meetings

will be open to the public and, if

possible, notices of meetings will be

posted at the location listed under

ADDRESSES. A written summary of each

meeting will be made a part of the

Administrative Record.

IV. Procedural Determinations

Executive Order 12866

This rule is exempted from review by

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) under Executive Order 12866

(Regulatory Planning and Review).

Executive Order 12988

The Department of the Interior has

conducted the reviews required by

section 3 of Executive Order 12988

(Civil Justice Reform) and has

determined that, to the extent allowed

by law, this rule meets the applicable

standards of subsections (a) and (b) of

that section. However, these standards

are not applicable to the actual language

of State regulatory programs and

program amendments since each such

program is drafted and promulgated by

a specific State, not by OSM. Under

sections 503 and 505 of SMCRA (30

U.S.C. 1253 and 1255) and 30 CFR

730.11, 732.15, and 732.17(h)(10),

decisions on proposed State regulatory

programs and program amendments

submitted by the States must be based

solely on a determination of whether the

submittal is consistent with SMCRA and

its implementing Federal regulations

and whether the other requirements of

30 CFR Parts 730, 731, and 732 have

been met.

National Environmental Policy Act

No environmental impact statement is

required for this rule since section

702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1292(d))

provides that agency decisions on

proposed State regulatory program

provisions do not constitute major

Federal actions within the meaning of

section 102(2)(C) of the National

Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C.

4332(2)(C)).

Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule does not contain

information collection requirements that

require approval by OMB under the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

3507 et seq.).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Department of the Interior has

determined that this rule will not have

a significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5

U.S.C. 601 et seq.). The State submittal

which is the subject of this rule is based

upon counterpart Federal regulations for

which an economic analysis was

prepared and certification made that

such regulations would not have a

significant economic effect upon a

substantial number of small entities.

Accordingly, this rule will ensure that

existing requirements previously

promulgated by OSM will be

implemented by the State. In making the

determination as to whether this rule

would have a significant economic

impact, the Department relied upon the

data and assumptions for the

counterpart Federal regulations.

Unfunded Mandates

OSM has determined and certifies

pursuant to the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 1502 et seq.) that

this rule will not impose a cost of $100

million or more in any given year on

local, state, or tribal governments or

private entities.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 914

Intergovernmental relations, Surface

mining, Underground mining.

Dated: May 22, 1998.

Brent Wahlquist,

Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional

Coordinating Center.

[FR Doc. 98–14272 Filed 5–28–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–05–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

RIN 1018–AE83

50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

and Plants; Notice of Public Hearings

and Reopening of Comment Period on

Proposed Reclassification From

Endangered to Threatened Status for

the Mariana Fruit Bat From Guam, and

Proposed Threatened Status for the

Mariana Fruit Bat From the

Commonwealth of the Northern

Mariana Islands

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 two public hearings

on the proposed reclassification from

endangered to threatened status for the

Mariana fruit bat from Guam, and on

proposed threatened status for the

Mariana fruit bat from the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands. In addition, the Service has

reopened the comment period. All

parties are invited to submit comments

on this proposal.

DATES: The comment period now closes

on July 10, 1998. There will be two

public hearings, one each on the islands

of Saipan and Rota. The public hearing

on Saipan will be held from 7:30 p.m.

to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24,

1998. The public hearing on Rota will

be held from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on

Thursday, June 25, 1998. Prior to each

of the public hearings, the Service will

be available from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. to

provide information and to answer

questions.

ADDRESSES: On Saipan, the public

hearing will be held at the Pacific

Gardenia Hotel, Chalan Kanoa Beach

Road. On Rota, the public hearing will

be held at the Rota Resort and Country

Club. Written comments and materials

concerning this proposal may be

submitted at the hearings or sent

directly to Mr. Brooks Harper, Field
29368 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 103 / Friday, May 29, 1998 / Proposed Rules

Supervisor, Ecological Services, Pacific

Islands Ecoregion, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, 300 Ala Moana Blvd.,

Room 3–122 Box 50088, Honolulu, HI

96850. Comments and materials will be

available for public inspection, by

appointment, during normal business

hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Worthington or Christa Russell at

808/541–3441 (see ADDRESSES section).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Mariana fruit bat is a mediumsized fruit bat that is restricted to the

Mariana archipelago, comprised of the

Territory of Guam and the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands (CNMI), where it is known from

all islands.

The movement of bats among the

Mariana Islands is an aspect of their

biology that is critical to conservation.

The 1984 Federal listing (49 FR 33881)

of fruit bats resident on Guam was based

on the assumption that these bats

formed a separate population segment

distinct from the bats found in the

CNMI. Recently, biologists in the

Mariana Islands have gathered evidence

indicating that movement of bats among

the Mariana Islands links these colonies

as a single population. Thus, the Service

believes that the Mariana fruit bats in

the CNMI and Guam represent one

population, but recognizes that the bats

on Guam are not recovering and that

survival of bats on Guam continues to

be threatened by a variety of factors.

However, when viewed in the context of

representing a portion of the entire

Mariana fruit bat population in the

Mariana Islands, rather than as a

distinct population as previously

thought, reclassification from

endangered to threatened is appropriate

and biologically justified. Therefore,

proposing to list the entire population of

Pteropus mariannus mariannus as

threatened throughout its range,

including bats in both the CNMI and

Guam, retains an appropriate level of

protection for this bat on Guam while

increasing overall protection to the

Mariana fruit bat throughout the

Mariana Islands.

The fruit bats of Guam and the CNMI

are threatened by degradation or loss of

habitat through the development of

forested areas, illegal hunting, the

possible introduction of alien species

such as the brown tree snake (Boiga

irregularis) to the CNMI, and the

potential impacts of typhoons that can

disrupt small populations. Most of the

known Mariana fruit bat roost sites in

the Mariana Islands are on public land.

On August 27, 1984, the Service listed

the Guam population of Mariana fruit

bats as endangered (49 FR 33881). Fruit

bats found on Aguijan, Tinian, and

Saipan are currently identified as

candidates for listing (62 FR 49401). On

March 26, 1998, the Service published

a rule proposing reclassification from

endangered to threatened status for the

Mariana fruit bat from Guam, and

proposing threatened status for the

Mariana fruit bat from the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands (63 FR 14641–14650).

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. Public hearing requests

by the CNMI Governor, the CNMI

Department of Lands and Natural

Resources, the CNMI Division of Fish

and Wildlife, and CNMI Representatives

Heinz S. Hofschneider and Diego T.

Benavente, were received within the

allotted time period. The Service has

scheduled public hearings for Saipan

and Rota. The public hearing on Saipan

is on Wednesday, June 24, 1998, at the

Pacific Gardenia Hotel from 7:30 p.m. to

9:00 p.m. On Rota, the hearing will be

on Thursday, June 25, 1998, at the Rota

Resort and Country Club from 7:30 p.m.

to 9:00 p.m. Public hearings are an

opportunity for the public to provide

oral comments for the official record,

which does not allow for questions and

responses to questions; therefore, prior

to each public hearing, the Service will

be available to provide information and

answer questions from 5:00 p.m. until

6:30 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 hearings. Oral

statements may be limited in length, if

the number of parties present at the

hearings necessitates such a limitation.

There are no limits to the length of

written comments or materials

presented at the hearings or mailed to

the Service. Written comments carry the

same weight as oral comments. Legal

notices announcing the date, time, and

location of the hearings are being

published in newspapers concurrently

with this Federal Register notice.

The comment period on the proposal

was initially closed on May 26, 1998. To

accommodate the hearings, the public

comment period is reopened upon

publication of this notice. Written

comments may now be submitted until

July 10, 1998, to the Service office in the

ADDRESSES section.

Author

The primary author of this notice is

David Worthington (see ADDRESSES

section).

Authority

The authority for this action is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

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

William F. Shake,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1, Portland,

Oregon.

[FR Doc. 98–14233 Filed 5–28–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P