[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 217 (Monday, November 10, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60467-60468]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29612]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

43 CFR Part 4700

[NV 960-1060-00-24-1A]
RIN 1004-AD28


Wild Horse and Burro Adoptions; Power of Attorney

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposes to amend its 
regulations to disallow the use of a power of attorney for the adoption 
of wild horses and burros. BLM is amending the regulations because it 
is possible that some adopters have misused the power of attorney to 
obtain large numbers of horses and burros, selling them for profit 
after receiving the appropriate titles.

DATES:

Comments:

    Send your comments to BLM at the address below on or before January 
9, 1998. BLM will not necessarily consider any comments received after 
the above date during its decision on the proposed rule.

ADDRESSES:

Comments:

    If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any one of 
several methods. You may mail comments to Bureau of Land Management, 
Administrative Record, Room 401 LS, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 
20240. You may also comment via the Internet to WOC[email protected]. 
Please submit comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption. Please also include ``attn: 
AD28'' and your name and return address in your Internet message. If 
you do not receive a confirmation from the system that we have received 
your Internet message, contact us directly at (202) 452-5030.
    Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to BLM at 1620 L Street, 
N.W., Room 401, Washington, D.C.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bud Cribley, Telephone (202) 452-5073; 
or Lili Thomas, Telephone (702) 785-6457 (Commercial or FTS).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Comment Procedures
II. Background
III. Discussion of Proposed Rule
IV. Procedural Matters

I. Public Comment Procedures

Written Comments

    Written comments on the proposed rule should be specific, should be 
confined to issues pertinent to the proposed rule, and should explain 
the reason for any recommended change. Where possible, comments should 
reference the specific section or paragraph of the proposal which the 
commenter is addressing. BLM may not necessarily consider or include in 
the Administrative Record for the final rule comments which BLM 
receives after the close of the comment period (see DATES) or comments 
delivered to an address other than those listed above (see ADDRESSES).
    Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will 
be available for public review at this address during regular business 
hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays. 
Individual respondents may request confidentiality, which BLM will 
consider on a case-by-case basis. If you wish to request that BLM 
consider withholding your name or street address from public review or 
from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state 
this prominently at the beginning of your comment. All submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

II. Background

    BLM's current regulations allow for adoptions of wild horses and 
burros by the use of a power of attorney. A power of attorney is a 
written document that authorizes an agent to do something on behalf of 
another. One agent could get powers of attorney from several people, 
and adopt more horses and burros than any one single person is allowed.
    Several investigations have focused on the misuse of powers of 
attorney to adopt wild horses. It was alleged that certain people 
abused BLM's Adopt-A-Horse and Burro program by obtaining large numbers 
of horses in order to sell them for profit after receiving the 
appropriate titles. Because of these investigations, several Assistant 
U.S. Attorneys have suggested that BLM eliminate this practice. The 
elimination of power of attorney adoptions would also decrease the time 
and money BLM spends on inspections to ensure that the adopters are in 
compliance with the regulations.
    It is rare that someone who wants to adopt a wild horse or burro is 
unable to select the animal and sign the Private Maintenance and Care 
Agreement (BLM estimates that this practice occurred only 12 times in 
1997). For this reason, BLM feels that the benefits of preventing 
abuses of the program outweigh any inconvenience to persons that may 
want to adopt an animal with a power of attorney.

III. Discussion of Proposed Rule

    In order to remove the provisions for power of attorney adoptions, 
BLM proposes to replace current sections 4750.3-3(b) and (c) with a 
short statement that reads:
    ``The Bureau of Land Management will not allow the use of a power 
of attorney for the adoption of wild horses and burros.''

IV. Procedural Matters

National Environmental Policy Act

    BLM has determined that this proposed rule would make a procedural 
change related to the regulations on adopting wild horse and burros. 
This rule, which would disallow adoptions by power of attorney, would 
make only a minor change in existing practices. The rule would not 
affect decisions that BLM makes about numbers of horses on the range or 
range conditions. It is unlikely that environmental impacts will occur 
as a result of the elimination of the use of the power of attorney. 
Therefore, this action is categorically excluded from environmental 
review under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 
Act, pursuant to 516 Departmental Manual (DM), Chapter 2, Appendix 1, 
Item 1.10. In addition, the proposed rule does not meet any of the 10 
criteria for exceptions to categorical exclusions listed in 516 DM, 
Chapter 2, Appendix 2. Pursuant to Council on Environmental Quality 
regulations (40

[[Page 60468]]

CFR 1508.4) and the environmental policies and procedures of the 
Department of the Interior, the term ``categorical exclusions'' means a 
category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a 
significant effect on the human environment and that have been found to 
have no such effect in procedures adopted by a Federal agency and for 
which neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact 
statement is required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule contains no collections of information that require 
approval by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Congress enacted The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 
601 et seq., (RFA) to ensure that Government regulations do not 
unnecessarily or disproportionately burden small entities. The RFA 
requires a regulatory flexibility analysis if a rule would have a 
significant economic impact, either detrimental or beneficial, on a 
substantial number of small entities. As discussed in the preamble 
above, BLM is making a technical change to the wild horse and burro 
adoption regulations to disallow adoptions by powers of attorney. The 
rule may prevent some unmeasurable number of people from adopting 
horses or burros, if they are unable to select the animals themselves 
and sign the Private Maintenance and Care Agreement. The power of 
attorney adoption was only used 12 times in 1997. Therefore, BLM 
certifies under the RFA that this proposed rule would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Revision of 43 CFR part 4700 will not result in any unfunded 
mandate to State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate, or to 
the private sector, of $100 million or more in any one year.

Executive Order 12612

    The proposed rule will not have a substantial direct effect on the 
States, on the relationship between the national government and the 
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the 
various levels of government. Therefore, in accordance with Executive 
Order 12612, BLM has determined that this proposed rule does not have 
sufficient federalism implications to warrant preparation of a 
Federalism Assessment.

Executive Order 12630

    The proposed rule does not represent a government action capable of 
interfering with constitutionally protected property rights. Therefore, 
the Department of the Interior has determined that the rule would not 
cause a taking of private property or require further discussion of 
takings implications under this Executive Order.

Executive Order 12866

    According to the criteria listed in section 3(f) of Executive Order 
12866, BLM has determined that the proposed rule is not a significant 
regulatory action. As such, the proposed rule is not subject to Office 
of Management and Budget review under section 6(a)(3) of the order.

Executive Order 12988

    The Department of the Interior has determined that this rule meets 
the applicable standards provided in sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of 
Executive Order 12988.

Author

    The authors of this rule are Lili Thomas, National Wild Horse and 
Burro Program, Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 12000, Reno, Nevada 
89520, Telephone: 702-785-6459; and Erica Petacchi, Regulatory 
Management Group, Bureau of Land Management, Room 401LS, 1849 C Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20240; Telephone: 202-452-5084 (Commercial or FTS).

List of Subjects in 43 CFR Part 4700

    Animal welfare, Horses, Penalties, Public lands, Range management, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Wildlife.

    Accordingly, BLM proposes to amend part 4700, in group 4100, in 
subchapter D, in chapter II, subtitle B of title 43 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations as follows:
    1. The authority citation for part 4700 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1331-1340; 18 U.S.C. 47; 43 U.S.C 315 and 
1740.

    2. Section 4750.3-3 is amended by removing paragraph (c) and by 
revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:


Sec. 4750.3-3  Supporting information and certification for private 
maintenance of more than 4 wild horses or burros.

* * * * *
    (b) The Bureau of Land Management will not allow the use of a power 
of attorney for the adoption of wild horses and burros.

    Dated: November 4, 1997.
Sylvia V. Baca,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. 97-29612 Filed 11-7-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-P