4466 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 19 /Thursday, January 29, 1998 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey

Advisory Committee on Water

Information; Meeting

BUREAU: Geological Survey (USGS),

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a meeting of the

Advisory Committee on Water

Information (ACWI).

SUMMARY: This is to inform the public

about the February 1998 meeting of the

ACWI. The meeting is open to the

public.

DATE: The meeting will begin on

February 17, 1998, at 9 a.m. EST, and

will adjourn on February 18 at 12:45

p.m.

LOCATION: Sheraton Reston Hotel, 11810

Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nancy Lopez, Executive Secretary of the

ACWI, at telephone number: (703) 648–

5014 or facsimile number: (703) 648–

5644. Her address is 417 National

Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston,

VA 20192. Anyone needing special

arrangements of services to participate

effectively in the meeting is requested to

inform Beth Cox at telephone number

(703) 648–6832. For special

arrangements please let Ms. Cox know

by noon EST, Friday 13, so that your

needs can be accommodated.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ACWI

is the major national mechanism for

implementing Office of Management

and Budget Memorandum No. 92–01,

Coordination of Water Resources

Information. With over 30 member

organizations, the ACWI represents a

wide range of water-resources interests

and functions. The members include all

levels of government and the private

sector. The ACWI advises the Federal

Government on activities and plans

related to Federal water-information

programs and the effectiveness of those

programs in meeting the Nation’s water

information needs. Also, member

organizations of the ACWI collaborate

with others to sponsor workshops,

symposia, and other forums to foster

better communication among Federal

and non-Federal sectors about waterinformation activities and needs.

At this meeting, the ACWI will

discuss a variety of topics including

water-resources aspects of the

President’s Fiscal Year 1999 Budget

Request, the Clean Water Action Plan,

water-resources decision support

systems, geospatial data priorities for

water-resources management,

streamgaging concerns, the need for a

subordinate group to address water

quantity information issues, and waterquality monitoring and assessment. For

more detailed information about the

program, please contact Ms. Lopez as

shown above.

The meeting will include an

opportunity for public comments. To

make public comments, please provide

a written request by noon EST, February

12, 1998, to Ms. Lopez. The request

should include the name of the person

that will be speaking and the general

topic. Verbal comments to the ACWI

should not exceed 5 minutes. At the

meeting please provide 40 written

copies of the comments to the

registration desk for distribution and

archiving as required by law. Anyone

wishing to provide written information

to the ACWI may do so at anytime by

providing 40 copies to Ms. Lopez.

Dated: January 23, 1998.

Lewis Wade,

Acting Assistant Chief Hydrologist, Office of

Information.

[FR Doc. 98–2164 Filed 1–28–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–31–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

National Tribal Consultation; Meeting

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Tribal Consultation

Meeting—Tribal Trust Account Holders

and Allottees.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the Office of the Secretary will conduct

four (4) consultation meetings with any

Indian tribe, band, nation, allottee

group, individual allottee, other

organized group or community,

including any Alaska Native village or

regional or village corporation as

defined in or established pursuant to the

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (85

Stat. 688), which is recognized as

eligible for the trust programs and

services provided by the United States

to Indians because of their status as

Indians.

The purpose of these consultation

meetings is to obtain oral comments

regarding the Recommendations of the

Secretary of the Interior for Settlement

of Disputed Tribal Trust Fund

Accounts, which were delivered to the

U.S. Congress on November 13, 1997.

The Recommendations of the

Department were based on comments

received in a prior consultation process

in January 1997, on legislative options

for settling tribal trust fund claims. The

Recommendations developed by the

Department of the Interior consist of a

report and legislative proposals aimed at

settling more than two decades of

disputed balances in Tribal Trust Fund

accounts.

The Administration is pursuing a

three-pronged strategy to address issues

related to the Department of the

Interior’s administration and

management of Indian trust funds. First,

it is proposing this legislative approach

that utilizes informal dispute resolution

mechanisms to address claims that

tribes may have with regard to the

Department’s past management of tribal

trust fund accounts. Second, in

conjunction with the special Trustee for

American Indians, the Department has

developed recommendations for

improving the underlying trust

management and accounting systems.

Third, the Department has proposed

legislation to end the increasing

fractionation of ownership of Indian

allotted lands.

The consultation meetings will be

held to receive tribal comments on the

first part of this strategy—the Secretary’s

Recommendations for settlement of

disputed tribal trust funds accounts.

Tribes may attend any of the

consultation sessions.

DATES (1998): Four consultation sessions

will be conducted:

February 9, 1998, Portland, OR, Airport

Sheraton Hotel, 8235 NE Airport Way,

Portland OR, 503–281–2500.

February 10, 1998, Albuquerque, NM,

Sheraton Uptown Albuquerque, 2600

Louisiana Blvd., NE., Albuquerque,

NM, 505–881–0000.

February 11, 1998, Oklahoma City, OK,

Radisson Inn Hotel, West Interstate 40

& Meridian Ave., Oklahoma City, OK,

405–947–7681.

February 12, 1998, Minneapolis, MN,

Minneapolis/St Paul Hilton, 3800 East

80th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 612–

854–2100 or 800–637–7453.

All sessions will begin at 9 AM and

continue until completed, except the

Albuquerque, NM meeting which will

begin at 8 AM. Public attendance may

be limited to the space available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Indian

Affairs, Department of the Interior, 1849

C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240,

202–208–5116, FAX 202–208–6334.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

purpose of these consultation meetings

is to provide Indian Tribal trust account

holders and Allottees an opportunity to

provide comments regarding the

‘‘Recommendations of the Secretary of

the Interior for Settlement of Disputed

Tribal Trust Fund Accounts.’’ The

objectives of the Recommendations are:
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 19 /Thursday, January 29, 1998 / Notices 4467

• Acknowledge and respect tribal

sovereignty.

• Achieve a settlement that is fair to

both the Indian community and the

general public.

• Achieve the most resource-efficient

settlement of claims (in terms of

conserving federal government and

tribal time, money, and staff).

• Encourage settlement by providing

incentives to settle and disincentives to

litigate.

• Use the most informal settlement

processes available rather than litigation

to encourage tribal participation.

• Obtain funding for the settlement

without reducing appropriations for the

BIA and Special Trustee budgets and

tribal programs.

• Achieve agreement on account

balances through September 30, 1992, or

the date of settlement, as an agreedupon starting point for the future.

The Department’s Recommendations

build on the legislative options for

settlement that the Department

submitted to Congress on December 11,

1996, and that we sent to you at the

same time. After submitting the options

to Congress, the Department consulted

with and provided an opportunity for

written comments from tribal

representatives throughout the country

about the approaches we were

considering. A copy of the Report on the

Recommendations of the Department

was distributed to all Tribal Leaders on

November 13, 1997.

All oral comments presented by tribes

and individuals at these consultation

meetings will be recorded and

transcribed.

Summaries of the meetings will be

available for public inspection and

copying ten days following the meeting.

Dated: January 23, 1998.

Kevin Gover,

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs.

[FR Doc. 98–2094 Filed 1–28–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–02–U

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

Order of Temporary Closure to NonAuthorized Use of Certain Public

Lands in Ward Valley, San Bernardino

County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Needles Field Office.

ACTION: Order of temporary closure to

non-authorized uses of public lands.

SUMMARY: This order closes

approximately 2,000 acres within Ward

Valley, California to all uses, including

but not limited to camping, motorized

vehicle use, recreation, and casual use,

unless those uses are otherwise

specifically authorized by the Bureau of

Land Management. This closure does

not affect uses authorized by any rightof-way, permit, or other valid

authorization approved by the BLM

authorized officer for the public lands

described in this order, except that the

existing protest encampment

maintained by the Fort Mojave Tribe

under BLM permit CA–37890 shall be

relocated to site E, as described in

permit CA–37890, consistent with the

terms provided in permit CA–37890. No

activities authorized by the

encampment permit shall be undertaken

outside the cleared area of site E on any

lands closed pursuant to this notice.

The closure covers the following public

lands:

T. 9. N., R. 19 E., SBM

Sec 22, S1⁄2;

Sec 23, W1⁄2 of SW1⁄4;

Sec 26, W1⁄2 of W1⁄2;

Sec 27, all;

Sec 34, all;

Sec 35, W1⁄2W1⁄2.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The closure will

become effective February 13, 1998 and

will remain effective for a period of six

months from the effective date, unless

terminated earlier through an order

reopening the lands upon completion of

the drilling activities referenced below.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

purpose of this temporary closure is to

ensure that drilling and related

activities to be undertaken by the

Department of the Interior and the

California Department of Health

Services pursuant to a decision record

issued January 16, 1998, at the Ward

Valley site are carried out under

conditions which will ensure public

safety, promote site security, and

provide for integrity of the sampling

activities. Authority for this closure may

be found in Title 43 Code of Federal

Regulations 8364.1. The closure effected

by this order is the minimum necessary

for effective law enforcement because it

is the minimum which will allow for

control of access from Interstate 40.

This closure was analyzed in

environmental assessment CA–069-

EA7–42. The closure is within the scope

of the Finding of No Significant Impacts

prepared on EA CA–069–EA7–42. The

impacts identified were temporary and

minor.

This order constitutes the final

decision of the Department.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Molly Brady, Field Manager, U.S. D.I.,

Bureau of Land Management, Needles

Field Office, 101 West Spikes Road,

Needles, California 92363, tel: (760)

326–7000.

Approved: January 26, 1998.

Bob Armstrong,

Assistant Secretary, Lands and Minerals

Management.

[FR Doc. 98–2312 Filed 1–27–98; 9:02 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–40–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY–985–0777–66]

Intent to Prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement for Coalbed Methane

Development Projects South of

Gillette, Wyoming

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement for

Coalbed Methane Development Projects

South of Gillette, Wyoming, in

Campbell County.

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) under the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) must

analyze the impacts of actions we

permit on Federal lands and minerals.

As part of this analysis, the cumulative

affects of the proposed action and other

activities occurring in the area must be

considered. Three Environmental

Assessments (EA) (Pistol Point,

Marquiss, and Lighthouse) and one

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

(Gillette South) to address proposed

coalbed methane (CBM) development

have been completed for the area south

of Gillette. When we completed the EIS

in October of 1997, the apparent success

of the coalbed methane play was

drawing additional operators into the

basin.

Feedback we received from industry

indicated we could see an additional

2,600 to 3,000 CBM wells south of

Gillette by the year 2007 if development

success continues as it has been. With

this information, BLM decided another

EIS would be necessary to address this

additional interest.

DATES: Comments to be considered in

the draft EIS should be submitted by

March 2, 1998. The draft EIS should be

available for public review by October

of 1998.

ADDRESSES: Questions or concerns

should be addressed to Richard Zander

in the BLM Buffalo Resource Area

Office, 1425 Fort Street, Buffalo, WY

82834.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard Zander, phone 307–684–1100.