Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 8, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 23181

2. In § 1.46, add new paragraph (ttt) to

read as follows:

§ 1.46 Delegations to Commandant of the

Coast Guard.

* * * * *

(ttt) Carry out the functions and

exercise the authority vested in the

Secretary by Title XIV—Certain Alaskan

Cruise Ship Operations, Public Law

106–554 to regulate the discharge of

sewage and graywater by cruise vessels

into the waters of the Alexander

Archipelago, as defined in that law, and

the navigable waters of the United

States within the State of Alaska and

within Kachemak Bay National

Estuarine Research Reserve.

Issued on: April 27, 2001.

Norman Y. Mineta,

Secretary of Transportation.

[FR Doc. 01–11424 Filed 5–4–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–U

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018–AH73

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

and Plants; Re-opening of Comment

Period on the Sacramento Splittail

Final Rule

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Final rule; re-opening of

comment period.

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (Service), announce the

re-opening of the comment period for

the final rule on the Sacramento splittail

(Pogonichthys macrolepidotus).

Comments previously submitted need

not be resubmitted as they will be

incorporated into the public record as

part of this re-opened comment period,

and will be fully considered in the final

rule.

DATES: We will accept public comments

until June 7, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and

information should be submitted to the

Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and

Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W–

2605, Sacramento, California 95825. For

electronic mail address and further

instructions on commenting, refer to

Public Comments Solicited section of

this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

general information, Stephanie Brady or

Jason Douglas, at the above address

(telephone 916/414–6600; facsimile

916/414–6713).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Sacramento splittail (hereafter

splittail) represents the only extant

species in its genus in North America.

For a detailed description of the species,

see the Recovery Plan for the

Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta Native

Fishes (Service 1996) and references

within that plan.

Splittail are endemic to certain

waterways in California’s Central

Valley, where they were once widely

distributed (Moyle 1976). Sacramento

splittail occur in Suisun Bay, Suisun

Marsh, the San Francisco BaySacramento-San Joaquin River Estuary

(Estuary), the Estuary’s tributaries

(primarily the Sacramento and San

Joaquin rivers), the Napa River and

Marsh, and the Petaluma River and

Marsh. The Sacramento splittail no

longer occurs throughout a significant

portion of its former range.

Pursuant to the Endangered Species

Act of 1973, as amended (Act), the

splittail was listed as a threatened

species on February 8, 1999 (64 FR

5963). In this previous listing

determination, the Service found that

changes in water flows and water

quality resulting from export of water

from the Sacramento and San Joaquin

rivers, periodic prolonged drought, loss

of shallow water habitat, and the effect

of agricultural and industrial pollutants

were significant factors in the species

decline.

Subsequent to the publication of the

final rule, plaintiffs in the cases San

Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority

v. Anne Badgley, et al. and State Water

Contractors, et al. v. Michael Spear, et

al. commenced action in Federal

Eastern District Court of California,

challenging the listing of the splittail as

threatened, alleging various violations

of the Act and of the Administrative

Procedure Act (5 U.S.C 551 et seq.). The

Service, as directed by the court, and

pursuant to the Act, provided notice of

the opening of a comment period

regarding the threatened status for the

splittail, from January 12, 2001 to

February 12, 2001 (66 FR 2828). The

Service is now re-opening the comment

period to acquire additional information

on the status, abundance and

distribution of splittail in the Central

Valley of California. Upon the close of

this comment period, the Service will

make its determination whether the

splittail warrants the continued

protection of the Act.

Public Comments Solicited

If you wish to comment, you may

submit your comments and materials

concerning this proposal by any one of

several methods:

1. You may submit written comments

and information by mail to the Field

Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and

Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W–

2605, Sacramento, California 95825.

2. You may send comments by

electronic mail (e-mail) to:

fw1splittail@fws.gov. If you submit

comments by e-mail, please submit

them as an ASCII file and avoid the use

of special characters and any form of

encryption. Please also include ‘‘Attn:

RIN 1018–AH73’’ and your name and

return address in your e-mail message.

If you do not receive a confirmation

from the system that we have received

your e-mail message, contact us directly

by calling our Sacramento Fish and

Wildlife Office at telephone number

919/414–6600, during normal business

hours.

3. You may hand-deliver comments to

our Sacramento Fish and Wildlife

Office, during normal business hours, at

the address given above.

Comments and materials received will

be available for inspection, by

appointment, during normal business

hours at the address under (1) above.

Author(s)

The primary author of this notice is

Stephanie Brady (see ADDRESSES

section), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

Regional Office, 911 N.E. 11th Avenue,

Portland, Oregon 97232.

Authority

The authority for this action is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as

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

Michael J. Spear,

Manager, California/Nevada Operations

Office, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service.

[FR Doc. 01–11459 Filed 5–7–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P