60-day public notice published

Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 201 / Thursday, October 17, 2019 / Notices
Science Center, by email at dbeard@
usgs.gov, or by telephone at 703–648–
5212.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration
Current List of HHS-Certified
Laboratories and Instrumented Initial
Testing Facilities Which Meet Minimum
Standards To Engage in Urine Drug
Testing for Federal Agencies
Correction
In notice document 2019–21176,
beginning on page 52117 in the issue of
Tuesday, October 1, 2019, make the
following corrections:
1. On page 52117, in the third
column, on the second line, ‘‘Quiver
Road, Leone, KS’’ should read ‘‘Quivira
Road, Lenexa, KS’’.
2. On the same page, in the same
column, on the eighth line, ‘‘Desert Ox’’
should read ‘‘Desert Tox’’.
3. On the same page, in the same
column, on the eleventh line,
‘‘Drug,Scan’’ should read ‘‘DrugScan’’.
[FR Doc. C1–2019–21176 Filed 10–16–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1505–01–D

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Geological Survey
[GX19 EN05ESB0500; OMB Control Number
1028–0096/Renewal]

Agency Information Collection
Activities: Request for Comments;
Department of the Interior Regional
Climate Adaptation Science Centers
U.S. Geological Survey,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Information
Collection; request for comment.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are
proposing to renew an information
collection.

SUMMARY:

Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before
December 16, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on
this information collection request (ICR)
by mail to U.S. Geological Survey,
Information Collections Officer, 12201
Sunrise Valley Drive MS 159, Reston,
VA 20192; or by email to gs-info_
[email protected]. Please reference
OMB Control Number 1028–0096 in the
subject line of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Doug Beard, Chief of
the USGS National Climate Adaptation
DATES:

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In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the
general public and other Federal
agencies with an opportunity to
comment on new, proposed, revised,
and continuing collections of
information. This helps us assess the
impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public’s
reporting burden. It also helps the
public understand our information
collection requirements and provide the
requested data in the desired format.
We are soliciting comments on the
proposed ICR that is described below.
We are especially interested in public
comment addressing the following
issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to
the proper functions of the USGS; (2)
will this information be processed and
used in a timely manner; (3) is the
estimate of burden accurate; (4) how
might the USGS enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (5) how might the
USGS minimize the burden of this
collection on the respondents, including
through the use of information
technology.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or
summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. 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 may ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Abstract: The U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) manages eight Department of
the Interior (DOI) Regional Climate
Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs).
Each CASC involves a cooperative
agreement with a host institution. The
host institution agreements are
periodically re-competed, requiring
collection of information from potential
host institutions. In addition, this
information collection addresses
quarterly and annual reporting required
of host institutions.
Title of Collection: Department of the
Interior Regional Climate Adaptation
Science Centers.
OMB Control Number: 1028–0096.
Form Number: N/A.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public:
Institutions that are expected to propose
to serve as CASC host or partner
institutions include state, local
government, and tribal entities,
including academic institutions.
Existing host institutions are state
academic institutions.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Respondents: The USGS expects to
request proposals for a maximum of
three CASCs in any year, and to receive
an average of 5 proposals per CASCrequest, for a total of 15 proposals in
any single year. The USGS expects to
enter into hosting agreements with a
minimum of eight CASC host
institutions.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: The USGS would request
quarterly financial statements and
annual progress reports covering host
agreements from eight institutions. In
addition, the USGS expects to have in
place approximately 40 cooperative
agreements per year addressing specific
research projects funded under these
hosting agreements. Each of these 40
agreements requires quarterly financial
statements and one annual progress
report.
Estimated Completion Time per
Response: Each proposal for CASC
hosting is expected to take 200 hours to
complete. The time required to
complete quarterly and annual reports
for any specific host cooperative
agreement or research project agreement
is expected to total 2.5 hours per report.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: A maximum of 3120
hours in years when proposals are
requested, and 120 hours in those years
with only quarterly and annual
reporting.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
Obtain or Retain a Benefit.
Frequency of Collection: Information
will be collected one time every five
years (approximately) for each CASC, to
enable re-competition of CASC hosting
agreements. In addition, host
institutions are required to fill four
quarterly financial statements and one
annual progress report.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour
Burden Cost: There are no ‘‘non-hour
cost’’ burdens associated with this
collection of information.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor and a person is not required to
respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number.

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55582

Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 201 / Thursday, October 17, 2019 / Notices

The authority for this action is the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq).
Thomas Beard,
Chief, National Climate Adaptation Science
Center.
[FR Doc. 2019–22610 Filed 10–16–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4338–11–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
[190A2100DD/AAKC001030/
A0A501010.999900]

HEARTH Act Approval of Menominee
Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Regulations
Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

On July 25, 2019, the Bureau
of Indian Affairs (BIA) approved the
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
(Tribe) Leasing Regulations under the
Helping Expedite and Advance
Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act
of 2012 (HEARTH Act). With this
approval, the Tribe is authorized to
enter into agricultural, residential,
business, and other authorized purposes
leases without further BIA approval.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Sharlene Round Face, Bureau of Indian
Affairs, Division of Real Estate Services,
1849 C Street NW, MS 4624–MIB,
Washington, DC at (505) 563–3132.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

I. Summary of the HEARTH Act
The HEARTH Act makes a voluntary,
alternative land leasing process
available to Tribes, by amending the
Indian Long-Term Leasing Act of 1955,
25 U.S.C. 415. The HEARTH Act
authorizes Tribes to negotiate and enter
into agricultural and business leases of
Tribal trust lands with a primary term
of 25 years, and up to two renewal terms
of 25 years each, without the approval
of the Secretary of the Interior
(Secretary). The HEARTH Act also
authorizes Tribes to enter into leases for
residential, recreational, religious or
educational purposes for a primary term
of up to 75 years without the approval
of the Secretary. Participating Tribes
develop Tribal leasing regulations,
including an environmental review
process, and then must obtain the
Secretary’s approval of those regulations
prior to entering into leases. The
HEARTH Act requires the Secretary to
approve Tribal regulations if the Tribal
regulations are consistent with the
Department of the Interior’s

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(Department) leasing regulations at 25
CFR part 162 and provide for an
environmental review process that
meets requirements set forth in the
HEARTH Act. This notice announces
that the Secretary, through the Assistant
Secretary—Indian Affairs, has approved
the Tribal regulations for the
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.
II. Federal Preemption of State and
Local Taxes
The Department’s regulations
governing the surface leasing of trust
and restricted Indian lands specify that,
subject to applicable Federal law,
permanent improvements on leased
land, leasehold or possessory interests,
and activities under the lease are not
subject to State and local taxation and
may be subject to taxation by the Indian
Tribe with jurisdiction. See 25 CFR
162.017. As explained further in the
preamble to the final regulations, the
Federal government has a strong interest
in promoting economic development,
self-determination, and Tribal
sovereignty. 77 FR 72440, 72447–48
(December 5, 2012). The principles
supporting the Federal preemption of
State law in the field of Indian leasing
and the taxation of lease-related
interests and activities applies with
equal force to leases entered into under
Tribal leasing regulations approved by
the Federal government pursuant to the
HEARTH Act.
Section 5 of the Indian Reorganization
Act, 25 U.S.C. 5108, preempts State and
local taxation of permanent
improvements on trust land.
Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis
Reservation v. Thurston County, 724
F.3d 1153, 1157 (9th Cir. 2013) (citing
Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones, 411
U.S. 145 (1973)). Similarly, section 5108
preempts State taxation of rent
payments by a lessee for leased trust
lands, because ‘‘tax on the payment of
rent is indistinguishable from an
impermissible tax on the land.’’ See
Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Stranburg,
No. 14–14524, *13–*17, n.8 (11th Cir.
2015). In addition, as explained in the
preamble to the revised leasing
regulations at 25 CFR part 162, Federal
courts have applied a balancing test to
determine whether State and local
taxation of non-Indians on the
reservation is preempted. White
Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448
U.S. 136, 143 (1980). The Bracker
balancing test, which is conducted
against a backdrop of ‘‘traditional
notions of Indian self- government,’’
requires a particularized examination of
the relevant State, Federal, and Tribal
interests. We hereby adopt the Bracker
analysis from the preamble to the

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surface leasing regulations, 77 FR at
72447–48, as supplemented by the
analysis below.
The strong Federal and Tribal
interests against State and local taxation
of improvements, leaseholds, and
activities on land leased under the
Department’s leasing regulations apply
equally to improvements, leaseholds,
and activities on land leased pursuant to
Tribal leasing regulations approved
under the HEARTH Act. Congress’s
overarching intent was to ‘‘allow Tribes
to exercise greater control over their
own land, support self-determination,
and eliminate bureaucratic delays that
stand in the way of homeownership and
economic development in Tribal
communities.’’ 158 Cong. Rec. H. 2682
(May 15, 2012). The HEARTH Act was
intended to afford Tribes ‘‘flexibility to
adapt lease terms to suit [their] business
and cultural needs’’ and to ‘‘enable
[Tribes] to approve leases quickly and
efficiently.’’ Id. at 5–6.
Assessment of State and local taxes
would obstruct these express Federal
policies supporting Tribal economic
development and self-determination,
and also threaten substantial Tribal
interests in effective Tribal government,
economic self-sufficiency, and territorial
autonomy. See Michigan v. Bay Mills
Indian Community, 134 S. Ct. 2024,
2043 (2014) (Sotomayor, J., concurring)
(determining that ‘‘[a] key goal of the
Federal Government is to render Tribes
more self-sufficient, and better
positioned to fund their own sovereign
functions, rather than relying on Federal
funding’’). The additional costs of State
and local taxation have a chilling effect
on potential lessees, as well as on a tribe
that, as a result, might refrain from
exercising its own sovereign right to
impose a Tribal tax to support its
infrastructure needs. See id. at 2043–44
(finding that State and local taxes
greatly discourage Tribes from raising
tax revenue from the same sources
because the imposition of double
taxation would impede Tribal economic
growth).
Similar to BIA’s surface leasing
regulations, Tribal regulations under the
HEARTH Act pervasively cover all
aspects of leasing. See 25 U.S.C.
415(h)(3)(B)(i) (requiring Tribal
regulations be consistent with BIA
surface leasing regulations).
Furthermore, the Federal government
remains involved in the Tribal land
leasing process by approving the Tribal
leasing regulations in the first instance
and providing technical assistance,
upon request by a tribe, for the
development of an environmental
review process. The Secretary also
retains authority to take any necessary

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