[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 38 (Monday, February 27, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12304-12306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03916]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2022-0082; FF09E21000 FXES1111090FEDR 234]
RIN 1018-BG07


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species 
Status for the San Francisco Bay-Delta Distinct Population Segment of 
the Longfin Smelt

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period and announcement of 
public hearing.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are 
reopening the public comment period on our October 7, 2022, proposed 
rule to list the San Francisco Bay-Delta distinct

[[Page 12305]]

population segment (DPS) of longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) 
(Bay-Delta longfin smelt), a fish species of the Pacific Coast, as an 
endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(Act). We are taking this action to conduct a public hearing and allow 
all interested parties additional time to comment on the proposal to 
list the Bay-Delta longfin smelt as endangered. Comments previously 
submitted need not be resubmitted and will be fully considered in 
preparation of the final rule.

DATES: 
    Comment submission: The comment period on the proposed rule that 
published October 7, 2022, at 87 FR 60957, is reopened. We will accept 
comments received or postmarked on or before March 29, 2023. Please 
note that comments submitted electronically using the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, below) must be received by 11:59 
p.m. eastern time on the closing date to ensure consideration.
    Public hearing: On March 14, 2023, we will hold a public hearing on 
the Bay-Delta longfin smelt proposed listing from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., 
Pacific time, using the Zoom online platform (for more information, see 
Public Hearing, below).

ADDRESSES: 
    Availability of documents: You may obtain copies of the October 7, 
2022, proposed rule and associated documents on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2022-0082.
    Written comments: 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, enter FWS-R8-ES-
2022-0082, which is the docket number for this proposed rule. Then, 
click on the Search button. On the resulting page, in the panel on the 
left side of the screen, under the Document Type heading, check the 
Proposed Rule box to locate this 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-R8-ES-2022-0082, 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: Donald Ratcliff, Field Supervisor, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, San Francisco Bay-Delta Fish and 
Wildlife Office, 650 Capitol Mall Suite 8-300, Sacramento, CA 95814; 
telephone 916-930-5603. 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 7, 2022, we published a proposed rule (87 FR 60957) to 
list the Bay-Delta longfin smelt as endangered under the Act. The 
proposed rule established a 60-day public comment period, ending 
December 6, 2022. During the open comment period, we received a request 
for a public hearing. Therefore, we are reopening the comment period 
and announcing a public hearing to allow the public an additional 
opportunity to provide comments on the proposed rule.
    For a description of previous Federal actions concerning the Bay-
Delta longfin smelt and information on the types of comments that would 
be helpful to us in promulgating this rulemaking action, please refer 
to the October 7, 2022, proposed rule (87 FR 60957).

Public Hearing

    We are holding a public hearing to accept comments on the proposed 
rule to list the Bay-Delta longfin smelt on the date and at the time 
listed in DATES. We are holding the public hearing via the Zoom online 
video platform and via teleconference so that participants can attend 
remotely. For security purposes, registration is required. All 
participants must register in order to listen and view the hearing via 
Zoom, listen to the hearing by telephone, or provide oral public 
comments at the public hearing by Zoom or telephone. For information on 
how to register, or if you encounter problems joining Zoom the day of 
the meeting, visit https://www.fws.gov/office/san-francisco-bay-delta-fish-and-wildlife. Registrants will receive the Zoom link and the 
telephone number for the public hearing. If applicable, interested 
members of the public not familiar with the Zoom platform should view 
the Zoom video tutorials (https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206618765-Zoom-video-tutorials) prior to the public hearing.
    The public hearing will provide interested parties an opportunity 
to present verbal testimony (formal, oral comments) regarding the 
October 7, 2022, proposed rule to list the Bay-Delta longfin smelt (87 
FR 60957). The purpose of the public hearing is to provide a forum for 
accepting formal verbal testimony, which will then become part of the 
record for the proposed rule. In the event there is a large attendance, 
the time allotted for verbal testimony may be limited. Therefore, 
anyone wishing to provide verbal testimony at the public hearing is 
encouraged to provide a prepared written copy of their statement to us 
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, or U.S. mail (see ADDRESSES, 
above). There are no limits on the length of written comments submitted 
to us. Anyone wishing to provide verbal testimony at the public hearing 
must register before the hearing (https://www.fws.gov/office/san-francisco-bay-delta-fish-and-wildlife). The use of a virtual public 
hearing is consistent with our regulations at 50 CFR 424.16(c)(3).

Reasonable Accommodation

    The Service is committed to providing access to the public hearing 
for all participants. Closed captioning will be available during the 
public hearing. Further, a full audio and video recording and 
transcript of the public hearing will be posted online at https://www.fws.gov/office/san-francisco-bay-delta-fish-and-wildlife after the 
hearing. Participants will also have access to live audio during the 
public hearing via their telephone or computer speakers. Persons with 
disabilities requiring reasonable accommodations to participate in the 
hearing should contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT at least 5 business days prior to the date of the hearing to 
help ensure availability. An accessible version of the Service's public 
hearing presentation will also be posted online at https://www.fws.gov/office/san-francisco-bay-delta-fish-and-wildlife prior to the hearing 
(see DATES, above). See https://www.fws.gov/office/san-francisco-bay-delta-fish-and-wildlife for more information about reasonable 
accommodation.

Public Comments

    If you submit information via https://www.regulations.gov, your 
entire submission--including any personal identifying information--will 
be posted on the website. If your submission is made via hard copy that 
includes personal identifying information, you

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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.

Authors

    The primary author of this document is Ecological Services staff of 
the Pacific Southwest Regional Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Sacramento, California.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Wendi Weber,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-03916 Filed 2-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P