Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened Species Status for Coal Darter With Section 4(d) Rule
| Published date | 08 April 2024 |
| Record Number | 2024-07331 |
| Citation | 89 FR 24415 |
| Court | Fish And Wildlife Service |
| Section | Proposed rules |
Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 68 (Monday, April 8, 2024)
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 68 (Monday, April 8, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24415-24416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07331]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0220; FXES1111090FEDR-245-FF09E21000]
RIN 1018-BG92
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened Species
Status for Coal Darter With Section 4(d) Rule
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are
reopening the comment period on our December 21, 2023, proposed rule to
list the coal darter (Percina brevicauda), a benthic freshwater fish
native to the Mobile River Basin in Alabama, as a threatened species
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are
reopening the proposed rule's comment period for 30 days to give all
interested parties an additional opportunity to comment on the proposed
rule. Comments previously submitted will be fully considered in our
final determination and do not need to be resubmitted.
DATES: The comment period on the proposed rule published on December
21, 2023, at 88 FR 88338, is reopened. We will accept comments received
or postmarked on or before May 8, 2024. Comments submitted using the
Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, below) must be received by
11:59 p.m. eastern time on the closing date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box,
[[Page 24416]]
enter FWS-R4-ES-2023-0220, which is the docket number for the December
21, 2023, proposed rule and this document. Then click on the Search
button. On the resulting page, in the Search panel on the left side of
the screen, under the Document Type heading, click on the Proposed Rule
box to locate the correct document. You may submit a comment by
clicking on ``Comment.''
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: FWS-R4-ES-2023-0220, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
We request that you send comments only by the methods described
above. We will post all comments on https://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide
us (see Public Comments, below, for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Pearson, Field Supervisor,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alabama Ecological Services Field
Office, 1208 Main Street, Daphne, AL 36526; telephone 251-441-5181.
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in
the United States. Please see Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0220 on https://www.regulations.gov for a document that summarizes the December 21,
2023, proposed rule.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 21, 2023, we published a proposed rule (88 FR 88338) to
list the coal darter as a threatened species under the Act (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.). The proposed rule opened a 60-day comment period, ending
February 20, 2024. Between February 2, and February 16, 2024, we
received several requests to extend the public comment period that
could not be accommodated before the comment period ended. With this
document, we reopen the public comment period for an additional 30
days, as specified above in DATES. For a description of previous
Federal actions concerning the coal darter and information on the types
of comments that would be helpful to us in making a final determination
on our proposal, please refer to the December 21, 2023, proposed rule
(88 FR 88338).
Public Comments
We will accept written comments and information during the reopened
comment period on our December 21, 2023, proposed rule to list the coal
darter. We will consider information and recommendations from all
interested parties. We intend that any final action resulting from the
proposed rule will be based on the best scientific and commercial data
available and will be as accurate and as effective as possible. Our
final determination will take into consideration all comments and any
additional information we receive during both comment periods on the
proposed rule.
Because we will consider all comments and information we receive
during both open comment periods, our final determination may differ
from our December 21, 2023, proposed rule (88 FR 88338). Based on the
new information we receive (and, if relevant, any comments on that new
information), we may conclude that the coal darter is endangered
instead of threatened, or we may conclude that the species does not
warrant listing as either an endangered species or a threatened
species. In addition, we may change the parameters of the prohibitions
or the exceptions to those prohibitions in the proposed rule issued
under section 4(d) of the Act if we conclude it is appropriate in light
of comments and new information received. For example, we may expand
the prohibitions to include prohibiting take resulting from additional
activities if we conclude that those additional activities are not
compatible with the conservation of the species. Conversely, we may
establish additional exceptions to the prohibitions in the final rule
if we conclude that the activities would facilitate or are compatible
with the conservation and recovery of the species. In our final rule,
we will clearly explain our rationale and the basis for our final
decision, including why we made changes, if any, that differ from the
December 21, 2023, proposed rule.
If you already submitted comments or information on the December
21, 2023, proposed rule, please do not resubmit them. Any such comments
are incorporated as part of the public record of the rulemaking
proceeding, and we will fully consider them in the preparation of our
final determination.
Comments should be as specific as possible. Please include
sufficient information with your submission (such as scientific journal
articles or other publications) to allow us to verify any scientific or
commercial information you assert. Please note that submissions merely
stating support for, or opposition to, the action under consideration
without providing supporting information, although noted, will not be
considered in making a determination, as section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act
directs that determinations as to whether any species is an endangered
species or a threatened species must be made ``solely on the basis of
the best scientific and commercial data available.''
We request that you send comments only by the methods described in
ADDRESSES. If you submit information via https://www.regulations.gov,
your entire submission--including your personal identifying
information--will be posted on the website. If your submission is made
via a hardcopy that includes personal identifying information, you may
request at the top of your document that we withhold this information
from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able
to do so. We will post all hardcopy submissions on https://www.regulations.gov. Comments and materials we receive, as well as
supporting documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will
be available for public inspection on https://www.regulations.gov at
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0220.
Authors
The primary authors of this document are the staff members of the
Fish and Wildlife Service's Species Assessment Team and the Alabama
Ecological Services Field Office.
Authority
The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.), is the authority for this action.
Martha Williams,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-07331 Filed 4-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
