Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 178 / Friday, September 17, 2021 / Proposed Rules 51857 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

The EPA believes that this action does 

not have disproportionately high and 

adverse human health or environmental 

effects on minority populations, lowincome populations and/or indigenous 

peoples, as specified in Executive Order 

12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629 

(February 16, 1994)) establishes federal 

executive policy on environmental 

justice. 

As stated in section VI of the 

preamble of this action, there are no 

anticipated adverse environmental 

impacts and no adverse economic 

impacts anticipated from compliance 

with this rule. As stated in section I of 

this action, section 183(e) of the CAA 

requires the control of VOC emissions 

from certain categories of consumer and 

commercial products for purposes of 

reducing VOC emissions contributing to 

ozone formation and nonattainment of 

the ozone NAAQS. The health and 

environmental risks associated with 

ozone were considered in the 

establishment of the ozone NAAQS. The 

level is designed to be protective of the 

public with an adequate margin of 

safety. Accordingly, these actions would 

help increase the level of environmental 

protection to populations in affected 

ozone nonattainment areas without 

having any disproportionately high and 

adverse human health or environmental 

effects on any populations, including 

any minority or low-income 

populations. 

Michael S. Regan, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19896 Filed 9–16–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 1 

[MD Docket Nos. 21–190 and 20–105; 

Report No. 3182; FR ID 46762] 

Petitions for Reconsideration of Action 

in Rulemaking Proceeding 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Petition for reconsideration. 

SUMMARY: Petitions for Reconsideration 

(Petitions) have been filed in the 

Commission’s rulemaking proceeding 

by Ms. Elisabeth Neasmith, on behalf of 

Telesat Canada, David Goldman, on 

behalf of Space Exploration Holdings, 

LLC, Nickolas G. Spina, on behalf of 

Kepler Communications Inc., and by 

Eric Graham, on behalf of WorldVu 

Satellites Limited (d/b/a OneWeb) 

(NGSO Satellite Coalition). 

DATES: Oppositions to the Petitions 

must be filed on or before October 4, 

2021. Replies to oppositions must be 

filed on or before October 12, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications 

Commission, 45 L Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20554. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Regina Brown, Attorney-Advisor, 

Financial Operations, Office of the 

Managing Director, (202) 418–0792 or 

via email at regina.brown@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s 

document, Report No. 3182, released 

September 1, 2021. The full text of the 

Petitions can be accessed online via the 

Commission’s Electronic Comment 

Filing System at: https://apps.fcc.gov/ 

ecfs/. The Commission will not send a 

Congressional Review Act (CRA) 

submission to Congress or the 

Government Accountability Office 

pursuant to the CRA, 5 U.S.C. 

801(a)(1)(A), because no rules are being 

adopted by the Commission. 

Subject: In the Matter of Assessment 

and Collection of Regulatory Fees for 

Fiscal Year 2021, MD Docket No. 21– 

190; Assessment and Collection of 

Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2020, 

MD Docket No. 20–105, Report and 

Order and Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking, 86 FR 26677, May 17, 

2021. This document is being published 

pursuant to 47 CFR 1.429(e). See also 47 

CFR 1.4(b)(1) and 1.429(f), (g). 

Number of Petitions Filed: 2. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary, Office of the Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–20143 Filed 9–16–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS–HQ–ES–2021–0106; 

FF09E21000 FXES11110900000212] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; 90-Day Finding for Two 

Petitions To List the Gray Wolf in the 

Western United States 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notification of petition findings 

and initiation of status reviews. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 

90-day finding on a petition to add the 

gray wolf (Canis lupus) in the Northern 

Rocky Mountains and a petition to add 

the gray wolf in western North America 

to the List of Endangered and 

Threatened Wildlife under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). Based on our review, we 

find that the petitions present 

substantial scientific or commercial 

information indicating that the 

petitioned actions may be warranted. 

Therefore, with the publication of this 

document, we announce that we plan to 

initiate a status review to determine 

whether the petitioned actions are 

warranted. To ensure that the status 

review is comprehensive, we are 

requesting scientific and commercial 

data and other information regarding the 

species and factors that may affect its 

status. Based on the status review, we 

will issue a 12-month petition finding, 

which will address whether or not the 

petitioned actions are warranted, in 

accordance with the Act. 

DATES: The findings announced in this 

document were made on September 17, 

2021. As we commence our status 

review, we seek any new information 

concerning the status of, or threats to, 

the gray wolf, or its habitats in the 

Northern Rocky Mountains and/or 

Western United States. Any information 

we receive during the course of our 

status review will be considered. 

ADDRESSES: 

Supporting documents: A summary of 

the basis for the petition findings 

contained in this document is available 

on http://www.regulations.gov in Docket 

No. FWS–HQ–ES–2021–0106. In 

addition, this supporting information is 

available by contacting the person 

specified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

Status reviews: If you have new 

scientific or commercial data or other 

information concerning the status of, or 

threats to, the gray wolf or its habitats 

in the Northern Rocky Mountains and/ 

or Western United States, please 

provide those data or information by 

one of the following methods: 

(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, 

enter the docket number presented 

above in the document headings. For 

best results, do not copy this number 

from this document but instead type it 

into the Search box using hyphens. 

Then, click on the ‘‘Search’’ button. 

After finding the correct document, you 

may submit information by clicking on 

‘‘Comment.’’ If your information will fit 

51858 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 178 / Friday, September 17, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

in the provided comment box, please 

use this feature of http://

www.regulations.gov, as it is most 

compatible with our information review 

procedures. If you attach your 

information as a separate document, our 

preferred file format is Microsoft Word. 

If you attach multiple comments (such 

as form letters), our preferred format is 

a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel. 

(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail 

to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: 

FWS–HQ–ES–2021–0106, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 

Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041– 

3803. 

We request that you send information 

only by the methods described above. 

We will post all information we receive 

on http://www.regulations.gov. This 

generally means that we will post any 

personal information you provide us. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Marjorie Nelson, Division Manager, 

Ecological Services Mountain-Prairie 

Region, 720–582–3524, marjorie_

nelson@fws.gov. If you use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf, 

please call the Federal Relay Service at 

800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533) 

and its implementing regulations in title 

50 of the Code of Federal Regulations 

(50 CFR part 424) set forth the 

procedures for adding species to, 

removing species from, or reclassifying 

species on the Federal Lists of 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants (Lists) in 50 CFR part 17. 

Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act requires 

that we make a finding on whether a 

petition to add a species to the Lists 

(i.e., ‘‘list’’ a species), remove a species 

from the Lists (i.e., ‘‘delist’’ a species), 

or change a listed species’ status from 

endangered to threatened or from 

threatened to endangered (i.e., 

‘‘reclassify’’ a species) presents 

substantial scientific or commercial 

information indicating that the 

petitioned action may be warranted. To 

the maximum extent practicable, we are 

to make this finding within 90 days of 

our receipt of the petition and publish 

the finding promptly in the Federal 

Register. 

Our regulations establish that 

substantial scientific or commercial 

information with regard to a 90-day 

petition finding refers to credible 

scientific or commercial information in 

support of the petition’s claims such 

that a reasonable person conducting an 

impartial scientific review would 

conclude that the action proposed in the 

petition may be warranted (50 CFR 

424.14(h)(1)(i)). 

A species may be determined to be an 

endangered species or a threatened 

species because of one or more of the 

five factors described in section 4(a)(1) 

of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)(1)). The 

five factors are: 

(a) The present or threatened 

destruction, modification, or 

curtailment of its habitat or range 

(Factor A); 

(b) Overutilization for commercial, 

recreational, scientific, or educational 

purposes (Factor B); 

(c) Disease or predation (Factor C); 

(d) The inadequacy of existing 

regulatory mechanisms (Factor D); and 

(e) Other natural or manmade factors 

affecting its continued existence (Factor 

E). 

These factors represent broad 

categories of natural or human-caused 

actions or conditions that could have an 

effect on a species’ continued existence. 

In evaluating these actions and 

conditions, we look for those that may 

have a negative effect on individuals of 

the species, as well as other actions or 

conditions that may ameliorate any 

negative effects or may have positive 

effects. 

We use the term ‘‘threat’’ to refer in 

general to actions or conditions that are 

known to, or are reasonably likely to, 

affect individuals of a species 

negatively. The term ‘‘threat’’ includes 

actions or conditions that have a direct 

impact on individuals (direct impacts), 

as well as those that affect individuals 

through alteration of their habitat or 

required resources (stressors). The term 

‘‘threat’’ may encompass—either 

together or separately—the source of the 

action or condition, or the action or 

condition itself. However, the mere 

identification of any threat(s) may not 

be sufficient to compel a finding that the 

information in the petition is substantial 

information indicating that the 

petitioned action may be warranted. The 

information presented in the petition 

must include evidence sufficient to 

suggest that these threats may be 

affecting the species to the point that the 

species may meet the definition of an 

endangered species or threatened 

species under the Act. 

If we find that a petition presents 

such information, our subsequent status 

review will evaluate all identified 

threats by considering the individual-, 

population-, and species-level effects 

and the expected response by the 

species. We will evaluate individual 

threats and their expected effects on the 

species, then analyze the cumulative 

effect of the threats on the species as a 

whole. We also consider the cumulative 

effect of the threats in light of those 

actions and conditions that are expected 

to have positive effects on the species— 

such as any existing regulatory 

mechanisms or conservation efforts that 

may ameliorate threats. It is only after 

conducting this cumulative analysis of 

threats and the actions that may 

ameliorate them, and the expected effect 

on the species now and in the 

foreseeable future, that we can 

determine whether the species meets 

the definition of an endangered species 

or threatened species under the Act. If 

we find that a petition presents 

substantial scientific or commercial 

information indicating that the 

petitioned action may be warranted, the 

Act requires that we promptly 

commence a review of the status of the 

species, and we will subsequently 

complete a status review in accordance 

with our prioritization methodology for 

12-month findings (81 FR 49248; July 

27, 2016). 

Summary of Petition Findings 

Evaluation of Two Petitions To List the 

Gray Wolf in the Western United States 

Both petitions request listing of a 

distinct population segment (DPS) for 

the gray wolf. The gray wolf (Canis 

lupus) is a recognized species by the 

Integrated Taxonomic Information 

System. 

Species and Range: Gray wolf in the 

western United States. 

Historical range: Western United 

States, except Southwest. 

Current range: CA, CO, ID, MT, OR, 

WA, WY. 

The petitions include two alternative 

DPSs for listing the gray wolf in a 

portion of its range that encompasses 

the Northern Rocky Mountains and 

excludes the range of the listed Mexican 

gray wolf (C. l. baileyi): (1) The Northern 

Rocky Mountains DPS, or (2) a Western 

DPS. 

Petition History 

On June 1, 2021, we received a 

petition (dated May 26, 2021) from 

Center for Biological Diversity, the 

Humane Society of the United States, 

Humane Society Legislative Fund, and 

the Sierra Club requesting that the gray 

wolf in the Northern Rocky Mountains 

be emergency listed as a threatened 

species or an endangered species under 

the Act (first petition). The Act does not 

provide for a process to petition 

emergency listing; therefore, we are 

evaluating this petition under the 

normal process of determining if it 

presents substantial scientific or 

commercial information indicating that 

the petitioned action may be warranted. 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 178 / Friday, September 17, 2021 / Proposed Rules 51859 

On July 29, 2021, we received a new 

petition (dated July 29, 2021) from 

Western Watersheds Project and 70 

other organizations requesting that the 

gray wolf in western North America be 

listed as an endangered species under 

the Act (second petition). On August 10, 

2021, we received an addendum (dated 

August 9, 2021) to the second petition. 

Both petitions clearly identified 

themselves as such and included the 

requisite identification information for 

the petitioner, required at 50 CFR 

424.14(c). This finding addresses both 

petitions. 

Evaluation of Information Summary and 

Finding 

We reviewed the petitions, sources 

cited in the petitions, and other readily 

available information. We considered 

the factors under section 4(a)(1) and 

assessed the effect that the threats 

identified within the factors—as may be 

ameliorated or exacerbated by any 

existing regulatory mechanisms or 

conservation efforts—may have on the 

species now and in the foreseeable 

future. Based on our review of the 

petitions and readily available 

information regarding human-caused 

mortality, we find that the petitioners 

present credible and substantial 

information that human-caused 

mortality (Factor B) may be a potential 

threat to the species in Idaho and 

Montana. These two States include 

approximately 75 percent of gray wolves 

in a potential Northern Rocky 

Mountains or Western DPS. The 

petitioners also provide credible and 

substantial information that new 

regulations in these two States may be 

inadequate to address this potential 

threat (Factor D). Therefore, we find that 

the petitions present substantial 

information indicating that the 

petitioned action may be warranted in a 

Northern Rocky Mountains or Western 

DPS. The petitioners also presented 

information suggesting that habitat 

modification due to a reduced prey base 

(Factor A), disease (Factor C), and loss 

of genetic diversity caused by isolation 

and small population size (Factor E) 

may be threats to the gray wolf. We will 

fully evaluate these and all other 

potential threats, as well as the validity 

of each DPS, in detail based on the best 

scientific and commercial data available 

when we conduct the status assessment 

and make the 12-month finding. 

The basis for our finding on these 

petitions, and other information 

regarding our review of the petitions, 

can be found as an appendix at http:// 

www.regulations.gov under Docket No. 

FWS–HQ–ES–2021–0106 under the 

Supporting Documents section. 

Conclusion 

On the basis of our evaluation of the 

information presented in the petitions 

under sections 4(b)(3)(A) and 

4(b)(3)(D)(i) of the Act, we have 

determined that the petitions 

summarized above for the gray wolf 

present substantial scientific or 

commercial information indicating that 

the petitioned actions may be 

warranted. We are, therefore, initiating 

a status review of the species to 

determine whether the actions are 

warranted under the Act. At the 

conclusion of the status review, we will 

issue a finding, in accordance with 

section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act, as to 

whether the petitioned actions are not 

warranted, warranted, or warranted but 

precluded by pending proposals to 

determine whether any species is an 

endangered species or a threatened 

species. 

Authors 

The primary authors of this document 

are staff members of the Ecological 

Services Program, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service. 

Authority 

The authority for these actions is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Gary Frazer, 

Assistant Director, Ecological Services, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–20088 Filed 9–16–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P