Notice of Availability of the Draft Baker Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Oregon/Washington, 72718-72719 [2011-30212]

Download as PDF wreier-aviles on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 72718 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 227 / Friday, November 25, 2011 / Notices Environmental Quality Services, 2600 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85004–3008, telephone (602) 379–6750. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Proposed Project is to construct a 350 megawatt (MW) solar generation facility and associated infrastructure on the Reservation, including the development of a 12 kV transmission line and water line along with obtaining a grant of easement on BLM lands for an up to 500 kV transmission line and access roads. The primary need for the Proposed Project is to provide land lease income, sustainable renewable resources, new jobs and other benefits for the Tribe by using solar resources from Reservation lands where exposure to levels of high solar radiation exists. A secondary need for the Proposed Project is to assist utilities in meeting their renewable energy goals by providing electricity generated from solar resources from tribal lands that may be efficiently connected to existing transmission lines in a manner that minimizes adverse site impacts. The proposed Federal action is the BIA approval of a solar energy ground lease and agreements entered into by the Tribe with KRoad Moapa Solar LLC (KRoad), and approval of rights-of-way (ROW) and easements for KRoad to construct, operate and maintain an upto 350 MW solar photovoltaic electricity generating facility on the Reservation. The proposed Federal action also includes the BLM approval of the up-to 500 kV transmission line and access road ROW’s within an existing utility corridor, of which 5.0 miles are located on the Reservation and 0.5 miles are located on BLM land just south of the Reservation boundary. The BIA and BLM will use the EIS to make decisions on the land lease and ROW applications under their respective jurisdiction while the EPA and USACE may use the document to make decisions under their authorities. The Tribe may also use the EIS to make decisions under their Tribal Environmental Policy Ordinance and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may use the EIS to support its decision under the Endangered Species Act. Directions for Submitting Comments: Please include your name, return address and the caption ‘‘DEIS Comments, Proposed KRoad Moapa Solar Generation Facility’’ on the first page of your written comments. Locations where the DEIS is Available for Review: The DEIS may be found on the following Web site: https:// projects2.pirnie.com/MoapaSolar/. Hard copies of the document will be available at: BIA Western Regional Office, 2600 VerDate Mar<15>2010 14:31 Nov 23, 2011 Jkt 226001 North Central Avenue, 12th Floor, Suite 210, Phoenix, Arizona; BIA Southern Paiute Agency, 180 North 200 East, Suite 111, St. George, Utah; and BLM Southern Nevada District Office, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada. Public Comment Availability: Written comments, including names and addresses of respondents will be available for public review at the BIA mailing addresses shown in the ADDRESSES section during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Before including your address, telephone 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 that we will be able to do so. Authority: This notice is published pursuant to Sec. 1503.1 of the Council of Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508) and Sec. 46.305 of the Department of the Interior regulations (43 CFR part 46), implementing the procedural requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.), and is in the exercise of authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8. Dated: November 16, 2011. Larry Echo Hawk, Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. [FR Doc. 2011–30311 Filed 11–23–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–W7–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLORV05000 L16100000.DO0000 LX.SS.054H0000.HAG11–0127] Notice of Availability of the Draft Baker Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Oregon/Washington Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Baker SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Resource Area of the BLM Vale District and, by this notice, is announcing the opening of the comment period. DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive written comments on the Draft RMP/EIS within 90 days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes this notice of the Draft RMP/ EIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce future meetings or hearings and any other public participation activities at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases, and/or mailings. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Draft Baker RMP/EIS by any of the following methods: • Web site: https://www.blm.gov/or/ districts/vale/plans/bakerrmp/ contact.php. • Email: BakerRMP@blm.gov. • Fax: (541) 523–1965. • Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Baker Field Office, P.O. Box 947, Baker City, Oregon 97814. Copies of the Draft RMP/EIS are available in the Baker Field Office at the above address or may be viewed at: https://www.blm.gov/or/districts/vale/ plans/bakerrmp/index.php. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Kuehl, RMP Team Leader, at (541) 523–1931 or Ted Davis, BLM Baker Field Manager, at (541) 523–1431 at the above mailing address or via email at BakerRMP@blm.gov. 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: The Planning Area is located in Baker, Malheur, Union, Wallowa, Morrow, and Umatilla Counties in Oregon and in Asotin County, Washington. This planning activity encompasses approximately 428,425 acres of public lands. The RMP will fulfill the needs and obligations set forth by NEPA, FLPMA, and BLM management policies. This Baker RMP/EIS will revise the existing Baker RMP of 1989 and provide the Baker Field Office with an updated framework in which to administer public lands. This RMP/EIS addresses new issues, changes in resource conditions, and changes in resource management practices since the Baker RMP of 1989. The Draft RMP/EIS was developed through a collaborative planning E:\FR\FM\25NON1.SGM 25NON1 wreier-aviles on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 227 / Friday, November 25, 2011 / Notices process. Formal scoping for public comments began with the publication of the Notice of Intent, a legal document notifying the public and any affected agencies of the intent to revise the 1989 RMP and prepare an EIS. The notice includes draft planning criteria for review and was published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2008 (73 FR 2520). Public scoping meetings and comment solicitation began on June 25, 2008, and ended on August 31, 2008. Scoping events included open houses in nine communities, attendance at local government meetings in six communities, a mailing of 1,188 letters soliciting written comments, a Web site, plus meetings and conversations with various Federal and State government agencies. All Tribes with lands or with interest in lands within the BLM Baker Field Office Planning Area were invited to participate in the planning process. Three Tribes responded to the BLM’s offer, and scoping presentations were made to those Tribes. Consultation with these Tribal governments will be ongoing. The information obtained from the scoping process was used to define the relevant issues that are addressed in a range of alternative management actions, the environmental impacts of which are analyzed in the Draft EIS. Based on the scoping comments received and their subsequent analysis and evaluation, four major planning issues were identified as being within the scope of the BLM Baker Field Office Draft RMP/EIS. • Issue 1: Landscape Health/Land Use—How should the diverse landscapes and resources within the Planning Area be managed? • Issue 2: Renewable Energy Development—How should the BLM Baker Field Office manage renewable energy development? • Issue 3: Transportation and Access—How should the BLM Baker Field Office manage transportation and access? • Issue 4: Livestock Grazing—How will livestock grazing on public lands be addressed? All four issues center on the larger question of just how much resource use and human activity is acceptable, while still providing the mandated level of resource protection. In addition to the existing no-action alternative, five action alternatives and one sub-alternative were developed to respond to these key issues. The alternatives also address the following: Vegetation and soils, fire management, water quality/aquatic resources/ fisheries, wildlife, recreation, visual VerDate Mar<15>2010 14:31 Nov 23, 2011 Jkt 226001 resources, minerals, lands and realty, special management areas, climate change, lands with wilderness characteristics, and Tribal-government and community interests. Special management areas considered in the Draft RMP/EIS include wild and scenic rivers, wilderness study areas, areas of critical environmental concern (ACEC), research natural areas (RNA), national historic trails, backcountry byways, and lands with wilderness characteristics. The BLM Baker Field Office intends to apply appropriate management to these areas to protect the values and resources for which they were designated. The BLM Baker Field Office considered carrying forward or dropping current administrative designations (i.e., ACECs and RNAs), depending on whether or not they still meet the criteria for which they were originally designated. Additional areas were nominated for designation as ACECs and those that met relevance and importance criteria and merit special management are proposed for designation in the Draft RMP/EIS. The BLM Baker Field Office conducted an inventory of rivers and streams to determine eligibility and suitability for inclusion into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System for designation by Congress and drafted interim management prescriptions for the waterway segment determined ‘‘suitable’’ in the planning process. Wilderness-character inventory maintenance was completed for the Decision Area. This inventory identified lands with wilderness characteristics on 3,380 acres contiguous with BLM Wilderness Study Areas and 9,843 acres adjacent to U.S. Forest Service potential Wilderness Areas. The Draft EIS considers a range of management alternatives for these lands with wilderness characteristics. Following the close of the public review and comment period, public comments will be used to revise the BLM Baker Field Office Draft RMP/EIS in preparation for its release to the public as the BLM Baker Field Office Proposed RMP and Final EIS. The BLM will respond to each substantive comment by making appropriate revisions to the document or by explaining why a comment did not warrant a change. Notice of the availability of the Proposed RMP and Final EIS will be posted in the Federal Register. Please note that public comments and information submitted including names, street addresses, and email addresses of persons who submit comments will be available for public review and disclosure at the above address during PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 72719 regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays. 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 that we will be able to do so. Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2. Edward W. Shepard, State Director, Oregon/Washington. [FR Doc. 2011–30212 Filed 11–23–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–33–P INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 731–TA–1186–1187 (Final)] Certain Stilbenic Optical Brightening Agents From China and Taiwan; Scheduling of the Final Phase of Antidumping Investigations United States International Trade Commission. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Commission hereby gives notice of the scheduling of the final phase of antidumping investigation Nos. 731–TA–1186–1187 (Final) under section 735(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1673d(b)) (the Act) to determine whether an industry in the United States is materially injured or threatened with material injury, or the establishment of an industry in the United States is materially retarded, by reason of less-than-fair-value imports from China and Taiwan of certain stilbenic optical brightening agents (‘‘CSOBAs’’), provided for in subheading 3204.20.80 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, but they may also enter under subheadings 2933.69.6050, 2921.59.40, and 2921.59.8090.1 SUMMARY: 1 For purposes of these investigations, the Department of Commerce has defined the subject merchandise as ‘‘all forms (whether free acid or salt) of compounds known as triazinylaminostilbenes (i.e., all derivatives of 4,4′bis[1,3,5-triazin-2-yl]amino-2,2′-stilbenedisulfonic acid), except for compounds listed in the following paragraph. The certain stilbenic OBAs covered by these investigations include final stilbenic OBA products, as well as intermediate products that are themselves triazinylaminostilbenes produced E:\FR\FM\25NON1.SGM Continued 25NON1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 227 (Friday, November 25, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72718-72719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30212]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLORV05000 L16100000.DO0000 LX.SS.054H0000.HAG11-0127]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Baker Resource Management 
Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Oregon/Washington

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has 
prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Baker Resource Area of the BLM Vale 
District and, by this notice, is announcing the opening of the comment 
period.

DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Draft RMP/EIS within 90 days following the date 
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes this notice of the Draft 
RMP/EIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce future meetings 
or hearings and any other public participation activities at least 15 
days in advance through public notices, media releases, and/or 
mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Draft Baker RMP/EIS 
by any of the following methods:
     Web site: https://www.blm.gov/or/districts/vale/plans/bakerrmp/contact.php.
     Email: BakerRMP@blm.gov.
     Fax: (541) 523-1965.
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Baker Field Office, P.O. 
Box 947, Baker City, Oregon 97814.
    Copies of the Draft RMP/EIS are available in the Baker Field Office 
at the above address or may be viewed at: https://www.blm.gov/or/districts/vale/plans/bakerrmp/index.php.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Kuehl, RMP Team Leader, at 
(541) 523-1931 or Ted Davis, BLM Baker Field Manager, at (541) 523-1431 
at the above mailing address or via email at BakerRMP@blm.gov. 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: The Planning Area is located in Baker, 
Malheur, Union, Wallowa, Morrow, and Umatilla Counties in Oregon and in 
Asotin County, Washington. This planning activity encompasses 
approximately 428,425 acres of public lands. The RMP will fulfill the 
needs and obligations set forth by NEPA, FLPMA, and BLM management 
policies. This Baker RMP/EIS will revise the existing Baker RMP of 1989 
and provide the Baker Field Office with an updated framework in which 
to administer public lands. This RMP/EIS addresses new issues, changes 
in resource conditions, and changes in resource management practices 
since the Baker RMP of 1989.
    The Draft RMP/EIS was developed through a collaborative planning

[[Page 72719]]

process. Formal scoping for public comments began with the publication 
of the Notice of Intent, a legal document notifying the public and any 
affected agencies of the intent to revise the 1989 RMP and prepare an 
EIS. The notice includes draft planning criteria for review and was 
published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2008 (73 FR 2520). 
Public scoping meetings and comment solicitation began on June 25, 
2008, and ended on August 31, 2008.
    Scoping events included open houses in nine communities, attendance 
at local government meetings in six communities, a mailing of 1,188 
letters soliciting written comments, a Web site, plus meetings and 
conversations with various Federal and State government agencies. All 
Tribes with lands or with interest in lands within the BLM Baker Field 
Office Planning Area were invited to participate in the planning 
process. Three Tribes responded to the BLM's offer, and scoping 
presentations were made to those Tribes. Consultation with these Tribal 
governments will be ongoing.
    The information obtained from the scoping process was used to 
define the relevant issues that are addressed in a range of alternative 
management actions, the environmental impacts of which are analyzed in 
the Draft EIS. Based on the scoping comments received and their 
subsequent analysis and evaluation, four major planning issues were 
identified as being within the scope of the BLM Baker Field Office 
Draft RMP/EIS.
     Issue 1: Landscape Health/Land Use--How should the diverse 
landscapes and resources within the Planning Area be managed?
     Issue 2: Renewable Energy Development--How should the BLM 
Baker Field Office manage renewable energy development?
     Issue 3: Transportation and Access--How should the BLM 
Baker Field Office manage transportation and access?
     Issue 4: Livestock Grazing--How will livestock grazing on 
public lands be addressed?
    All four issues center on the larger question of just how much 
resource use and human activity is acceptable, while still providing 
the mandated level of resource protection.
    In addition to the existing no-action alternative, five action 
alternatives and one sub-alternative were developed to respond to these 
key issues. The alternatives also address the following: Vegetation and 
soils, fire management, water quality/aquatic resources/fisheries, 
wildlife, recreation, visual resources, minerals, lands and realty, 
special management areas, climate change, lands with wilderness 
characteristics, and Tribal-government and community interests.
    Special management areas considered in the Draft RMP/EIS include 
wild and scenic rivers, wilderness study areas, areas of critical 
environmental concern (ACEC), research natural areas (RNA), national 
historic trails, backcountry byways, and lands with wilderness 
characteristics. The BLM Baker Field Office intends to apply 
appropriate management to these areas to protect the values and 
resources for which they were designated. The BLM Baker Field Office 
considered carrying forward or dropping current administrative 
designations (i.e., ACECs and RNAs), depending on whether or not they 
still meet the criteria for which they were originally designated. 
Additional areas were nominated for designation as ACECs and those that 
met relevance and importance criteria and merit special management are 
proposed for designation in the Draft RMP/EIS. The BLM Baker Field 
Office conducted an inventory of rivers and streams to determine 
eligibility and suitability for inclusion into the National Wild and 
Scenic Rivers System for designation by Congress and drafted interim 
management prescriptions for the waterway segment determined 
``suitable'' in the planning process. Wilderness-character inventory 
maintenance was completed for the Decision Area. This inventory 
identified lands with wilderness characteristics on 3,380 acres 
contiguous with BLM Wilderness Study Areas and 9,843 acres adjacent to 
U.S. Forest Service potential Wilderness Areas. The Draft EIS considers 
a range of management alternatives for these lands with wilderness 
characteristics.
    Following the close of the public review and comment period, public 
comments will be used to revise the BLM Baker Field Office Draft RMP/
EIS in preparation for its release to the public as the BLM Baker Field 
Office Proposed RMP and Final EIS. The BLM will respond to each 
substantive comment by making appropriate revisions to the document or 
by explaining why a comment did not warrant a change. Notice of the 
availability of the Proposed RMP and Final EIS will be posted in the 
Federal Register.
    Please note that public comments and information submitted 
including names, street addresses, and email addresses of persons who 
submit comments will be available for public review and disclosure at 
the above address during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), 
Monday through Friday, except holidays.
    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 that we will be 
able to do so.

     Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2.

Edward W. Shepard,
State Director, Oregon/Washington.
[FR Doc. 2011-30212 Filed 11-23-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.