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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 83 / Tuesday, April 30, 2013 / Notices

laws and regulations; and our policies
and procedures for compliance with
those laws and regulations. As a
requirement of NEPA, we must identify
resource issues, develop alternatives for
the use of GMCs, and evaluate the
effects of each of our chosen alternatives
on the human environment.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we
must receive your written comments by
July 29, 2013.
ADDRESSES: A private consultant,
Environmental Management and
Planning Solutions, Inc. (EMPSi), will
support the Internet Web site associated
with the PEA and collect and organize
comments.
You may send comments, questions,
and requests for information by one of
the following methods:
Email: [email protected] (this
email address will transmit comments
directly to the Service as well as to
EMPSi’s database);
Online portal: https://
sites.google.com/site/
fwsregion4gmcpeis/home (this Internet
Web site, which will serve as the
primary source of information to the
public on the PEA, includes a portal for
sending comments directly to the
Service through EMPSi);
U.S. mail: Richard Warner, NEPA
Coordinator, GMCPEA, 1875 Century
Boulevard, Suite 420, Atlanta, GA
30345.
Mr.
Richard Warner, NEPA Coordinator, at
404–679–7110 (telephone).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Introduction
With this notice, we initiate the
process for developing a PEA on the
cultivation and use of genetically
modified crops (GMCs) on our Refuge
System lands. Our PEA will concentrate
on the refuges in our Region that have
used farming in the recent past and are
likely to do so in the foreseeable future.
The overall analysis in the PEA is
intended, however, to apply to the
entire Southeast Region.
The specific GMCs that will be
analyzed in our PEA are varieties of
corn and soybean that could be used to
provide a sufficient amount of food for
migratory waterfowl and satisfy the
conservation goals of our refuges. The
proposed use of any other GMCs will
require a separate NEPA analysis on a
case-by-case basis.
Background
As part of a settlement in Center for
Food Safety v. Salazar, Case No. 1:11 cv
01457 (D.D.C. 2011), which challenged
the cultivation and use of GMCs on our

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Refuge System lands, we agreed to cease
using GMCs after the 2012 planting
season and to refrain from doing so until
we completed the appropriate level of
NEPA analysis. Up through the end of
the 2012 planting season, certain of our
refuges cultivated and used GMCs as a
management tool to provide food for
millions of ducks, geese, doves, cranes,
and other migrating waterfowl and
shorebirds that inhabit our Refuge
System lands.
At this juncture, we have determined
that a PEA is appropriate to sufficiently
analyze the environmental impacts of
the cultivation and use of GMCs on our
Refuge System lands. If we determine
during preparation of the PEA that it is
not appropriate for our NEPA analysis
or if we are unable to make a finding of
no significant impact at the conclusion
of our analysis via the PEA, we will
prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) in accordance with
NEPA.
Refuge farming in the Southeast
Region primarily occurs through
cooperative farming agreements that are
entered into by a refuge manager and a
farmer. Via the agreement, the farmer is
authorized to grow crops on a
designated number of acres on the
refuge. In return, the farmer agrees to
harvest an agreed upon percentage share
of the crop and to leave the remaining
crop in the fields as a food source for
migrating birds.
The only GMCs that have been
cultivated and used on our Refuge
System lands are those that have been
evaluated and deregulated by the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, as described in 7 CFR
340.6. Each of these GMCs was
subjected to extensive scientific
evaluation and regulatory processes
before being granted non-regulated
status, as described at http://
www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/
index.shtml. Each proposal to grant nonregulated status to the GMCs underwent
a NEPA analysis via an environmental
assessment. These environmental
assessments are posted on the APHIS
Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/
biotechnology/not_reg.html. In addition,
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency evaluates all pesticides
associated with GMCs for general
environmental effects, while the Food
and Drug Administration evaluates the
potential impact of the GMC on food
safety.
The authority for approving GMCs on
refuge lands, nationwide, was delegated
by the Director of the Fish and Wildlife
Service to the Regional Chiefs of the
National Wildlife Refuge System in

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April 2007. This policy may be found at
http://www.fws.gov/policy/601fw3.html.
We will conduct six public scoping
meetings to solicit input on the issues,
concerns, and alternatives for the
cultivation and use of GMCs on refuges
in the Region. Meetings will be
conducted at the following locations:
Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
(North Carolina); Wheeler National
Wildlife Refuge (Alabama); Tennessee
National Wildlife Refuge (Tennessee);
Vicksburg, Mississippi; and Alexandria,
Louisiana. The addresses, dates, and
times of meetings will be announced
through local and regional media.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, suggestion or
correspondence, you should be aware
that your entire comment—including
your personal identifying information—
may be made publicly available at any
time. While you may request in your
comment that we withhold your
personal identifying information from
public review, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so.
Authority
This notice is published under the
authority of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Dated: March 27, 2013.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2013–09898 Filed 4–29–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
U.S. Geological Survey
[USGS–GX13LR000F60100]

Agency Information Collection
Activities: Comment Request for the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
(1 Form)
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of an extension of a
currently approved information
collection (1028–0059).
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: We (the USGS) will ask the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) to approve the information
collection request (ICR) described
below. This collection consists of 1
form. As required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, and as
part of our continuing efforts to reduce
paperwork and respondent burden, we

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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 83 / Tuesday, April 30, 2013 / Notices
invite the general public and other
Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on this ICR.
This collection is scheduled to expire
on September 30, 2013.
DATES: To ensure that your comments
on this IC are considered, we must
receive them on or before July 1, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Please submit a copy of
your comments to the Information
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S.
Geological Survey, 807 National Center,
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA
20192 (mail); 703–648–7195 (fax); or
[email protected] (email). Reference
Information Collection 1028–0059 in the
subject line.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lori
E. Apodaca at 703–648–7724
(telephone); [email protected] (email);
or by mail at U.S. Geological Survey,
989 National Center, 12201 Sunrise
Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20192.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract

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The collection of this information is
required by the Comprehensive Test
Ban Treaty (CTBT), and will, upon
request, provide the CTBT Technical
Secretariat with geographic locations of
sites where chemical explosions greater
than 300 tons TNT-equivalent have
occurred.

necessary for the agency to perform its
duties, including whether the
information is useful; (b) the accuracy of
the agency’s estimate of the burden time
to the proposed collection of
information; (c) how to enhance the
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) how
to minimize the burden on the
respondents, including the use of
automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Please note that the comments
submitted in response to this notice are
a matter of public record. Before
including your address, phone number,
email address, or other personal
identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment, including your
personal identifying information, may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee we will be able to do
so.
Dated: April 18, 2013.
John H. DeYoung, Jr.,
Director, National Minerals Information
Center, U.S. Geological Survey.
[FR Doc. 2013–10118 Filed 4–29–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4311–AM–P

II. Data

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

OMB Control Number: 1028–0059.
Form Number: 9–4040–A.
Title: Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Type of Request: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Business or OtherFor-Profit Institutions: U.S. nonfuel
minerals producers.
Respondent Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: Annually.
Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 2,500.
Annual Burden Hours: 625 hours. We
expect to receive 2,500 annual
responses. We estimate an average of 15
minutes per response.
Estimated Reporting and
Recordkeeping ‘‘Non-Hour Cost’’
Burden: We have not identified any
‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens associated
with this collection of information.
Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA
(44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) provides that an
agency may not conduct or sponsor a
collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number and current expiration date.

Bureau of Land Management

III. Request for Comments
Comments: We are soliciting
comments as to: (a) Whether the
proposed collection of information is

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Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource
Management Plan for the San Pedro
Riparian National Conservation Area
and Associated Environmental Impact
Statement, Arizona
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: In compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended, the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of
1976 (FLPMA), as amended, and the
Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act of 1988
(creating the San Pedro National
Conservation Area), the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) Tucson Field
Office, Tucson, Arizona, intends to
prepare a Resource Management Plan
(RMP) with an associated
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for the San Pedro Riparian National
Conservation Area (SPRNCA) and by
this notice is announcing the beginning
of the scoping process to solicit public
comments and identify issues. The RMP

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25299

will replace the existing Safford RMP
decisions for the BLM land within the
planning area.
DATES: This notice initiates the public
scoping process for the RMP with
associated EIS. Scoping will begin when
the notice is published and extend for
at least 90 days. The date(s) and
location(s) of any scoping meetings have
not yet been determined. All public
meetings will be announced at least 15
days in advance through local media,
newspapers, and the BLM Web site at:
http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/fo/
tucson_field_office.html. The BLM will
accept scoping comments throughout
the planning effort. However, in order to
be included in the Scoping Report,
comments must be received prior to the
close of the 90-day scoping period.
Documentation of public meetings and
all scoping comments received will be
available in the public room of the BLM
Tucson Field Office for public
inspection and for any participant who
wishes to clarify the views they have
expressed. Additional opportunities for
public participation will be provided
throughout the process.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on issues and planning criteria related
to the SPRNCA RMP/EIS by any of the
following methods:
• Email:
[email protected].
• Fax: 520–258–7238.
• Mail: Bureau of Land Management
Tucson Field Office, 3201 East
Universal Way, Tucson, AZ 85756.
Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined at the Tucson Field
Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Amy Markstein, Assistant Planner,
telephone 520–258–7231; address 3201
East Universal Way, Tucson, AZ 85756;
email [email protected]. Persons
who use a telecommunications device
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8339 to contact the above
individual during normal business
hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, to leave a message
or question with the above individual.
You will receive a reply during normal
business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
document provides notice that the BLM
Tucson Field Office, Tucson, Arizona,
intends to prepare an RMP with an
associated EIS for the SPRNCA,
announces the beginning of the scoping
process, and seeks public input on
issues and planning criteria. The
planning effort is focused on the
SPRNCA, which encompasses 56,431
acres of public land located within

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