Notice of Availability of the Draft Visual Resource Management and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern Amendment to the Resource Management Plan for the Rawlins Field Office and Associated Environmental Assessment, WY, 53777-53778 [2013-21118]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 169 / Friday, August 30, 2013 / Notices
Jean Sonneman,
Information Collection Clearance Officer,
Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 2013–21281 Filed 8–29–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–84–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWY93000 L16100000.DU0000]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Visual
Resource Management and Areas of
Critical Environmental Concern
Amendment to the Resource
Management Plan for the Rawlins Field
Office and Associated Environmental
Assessment, WY
AGENCY:
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976, as
amended, the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft
Visual Resources Management and Area
of Critical Environmental Concern
(ACEC) Resource Management Plan
(RMP) Amendment and a Draft
Environmental Assessment (EA) for the
Draft Amendment for the Rawlins Field
Office, Wyoming, 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
Amendment and Draft EA within 60
days following the date the
Environmental Protection Agency
publishes its Notice of Availability in
the Federal Register. The BLM will
announce future meetings or hearings
and any other public involvement
activities at least 15 days in advance
through public notices, media releases,
and/or mailings, and the BLM Web site
at: https://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/
programs/Planning/rmps/rawlins.html.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
related to the Draft Visual Resource
Management and Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern Amendment to
the RMP for the Rawlins Field Office,
Wyoming, and associated Draft EA by
any of the following methods:
• Email: BLM_WY_RL_RMP_VRM@
blm.gov. Please reference Rawlins VRM
Review in the subject line.
• Fax: 307–328–4224.
• Mail: Bureau of Land Management,
Rawlins Field Office, 1300 North Third
Street, Rawlins, Wyoming 82301, or
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:00 Aug 29, 2013
Jkt 229001
P.O. Box 2407, Rawlins, Wyoming
82301–2407.
All comments must include a legible
full name and address on the envelope,
letter, fax, postcard, or email. Copies of
the Draft Visual Resource Management
and Areas of Critical Environmental
Concern Amendment to the RMP for the
Rawlins Field Office, Wyoming, and
associated Draft EA are available at the
Rawlins Field Office, at the above
address, and at the following locations:
• Bureau of Land Management, High
Desert District Office, 280 Highway 191
North, Rock Springs, WY 82901, and
• Bureau of Land Management,
Wyoming State Office, 5353
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, WY
82009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sheila Lehman, Rawlins Field Office
Planning and Environmental
Coordinator:
• Telephone: 307–328–4200
• Mail: Bureau of Land Management,
Rawlins Field Office, 1300 North Third
Street, Rawlins, WY 82301–2407
• Email: BLM_WY_RL_RMP_VRM@
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: This
document provides notice that the BLM
Field Office in Rawlins, Wyoming, has
prepared a Draft RMP amendment with
an associated EA, is announcing the
beginning of the 60-day comment
period, and seeks public comment on
Visual Resource Management issues and
proposed ACECs. The planning area is
located in Albany, Carbon, Laramie, and
eastern Sweetwater counties, Wyoming,
and encompasses approximately
2,791,721 acres. The planning area does
not include public land affected by the
Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Visual
RMP Amendment and Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS). The Notice of
Intent to prepare the amendment to the
RMP was published on April 11, 2012
(77 FR 21803), and a 30-day public
scoping period was held following
publication from April 11, 2012,
through May 10, 2012. The scoping
comments were used during the
preparation of the RMP Amendment
and associated EA to help identify
issues and concerns associated with the
amendment, and to form the following
alternatives:
PO 00000
Frm 00052
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
53777
• Alternative 1: No Action—
Continuation of existing management
direction for Visual Resources and
ACECs; new information and data
would not be incorporated;
• Alternative 2: Emphasis on the
Development of Resources;
incorporating new Visual Resource
Inventory information and reducing the
Blowout Penstemon ACEC;
• Alternative 3: Emphasis on the
Protection of Resources; incorporating
new Visual Resource Inventory
information and expanding the Blowout
Penstemon ACEC;
• Alternative 4: Emphasis on the
Conservation of Resources;
incorporating new Visual Resource
Inventory information and expanding
the Blowout Penstemon ACEC
(Preferred Alternative).
This plan amendment addresses
protests received following the
publication of the 2008 Rawlins
Proposed RMP/Final EIS, which
identified issues with the Rawlins Field
Office’s analysis of both Visual
Resources and the designation of
ACECs. The Visual Resource
Management decisions in the Proposed
RMP/Final EIS were remanded and not
approved in the Record of Decision
until a complete Visual Resources
Inventory was completed and a Visual
Resource Management RMP amendment
could be developed. In addition,
comments received during initial
scoping of the 2008 Rawlins RMP
included nominations of five additional
ACECs within the Rawlins Field Office
boundary. Because the BLM did not
review or consider relevance and
importance criteria for the nominated
ACECs in the 2008 Rawlins RMP
planning process, these nominated areas
are analyzed for ACEC designation in
this planning process. The following
ACEC nominations were evaluated to
determine if the relevance and
importance criteria were met, but were
not included in any alternative because
they did not meet relevance or
importance criteria:
• McCarty Canyon; for scenic quality
and wildlife habitat;
• Seminoe and Pathfinder Reservoirs;
for sensitive plant species, scenic
quality, and wildlife habitat;
• Flattop Mountain; for sensitive
plant species, scenic quality, and
wildlife habitat; and
• Ferris Mountain; for sensitive plant
species and scenic quality.
The Ferris Dunes area was nominated
as an ACEC in the 2008 Rawlins RMP
for several sensitive plant species, a
unique sand dune community and
habitat, the desert kangaroo rat, and for
scenic quality. The nominated Ferris
E:\FR\FM\30AUN1.SGM
30AUN1
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
53778
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 169 / Friday, August 30, 2013 / Notices
Dunes ACEC area includes the current
Blowout Penstemon ACEC and
additional area surrounding the existing
ACEC. The nominated area was found to
meet the relevance and importance
criteria. The area is considered in this
EA with additional use restrictions
which would occur if the area is
formally designated including limiting
off-road travel and locatable/leasable
mineral entry, intensive management of
surface disturbing activities, and control
of pesticide use. The RMP plan
amendment will comply with the
National Environmental Policy Act, the
Federal Land Policy Management Act,
and other applicable laws, executive
orders, regulations, and be consistent
with applicable policies. The planning
effort will recognize valid existing
rights. Decisions in the amendment will
apply only to the BLM-administered
public lands and Federal mineral estate
in the planning area.
A collaborative and multijurisdictional approach will be used to
jointly determine the desired future
condition and management direction for
Visual Resources and ACECs in the
Rawlins Field Office Planning Area. To
the extent possible and consistent with
applicable laws, regulations and
policies, the BLM management and
planning decisions will complement the
planning and management decisions of
other agencies, State and local
governments, and Native American
tribes, with jurisdictions intermingled
with, and adjacent to, the planning area.
A total of 9,369 comments were
received during scoping, of which 214
were considered to be unique. A
majority of the comments were received
by individuals and non-governmental
organizations, and identified the
following key issues:
1. Impacts to historic trails and roads;
2. Potential changes to existing land
use planning and consistency with
current management;
3. Continuation of public
involvement;
4. Socioeconomic impacts; and
5. Impacts of additional ACEC
designations.
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. You may submit comments in
writing to the BLM at any public
meeting, or you may submit them to the
BLM using one of the methods listed in
the ‘‘ADDRESSES’’ section above. For
your comments to be most effective and
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:00 Aug 29, 2013
Jkt 229001
fully considered, you should submit
comments by the close of the 60-day
comment period.
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.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR 1610.2
Donald A. Simpson,
State Director, Wyoming.
[FR Doc. 2013–21118 Filed 8–29–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CACA 048811, LLCAD01500,
L51010000.LVRWB13B5340.FX0000]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Blythe Solar Power Project,
Riverside County, CA
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Palm Springs/South Coast Field Office,
Palm Springs, California, intends to
prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) considering proposed
amendments to the Blythe Solar Power
Project (BSPP) right-of-way (ROW) grant
(CACA–048811). The amendments
include a change in technology, reduced
project footprint, and operation by a
different project owner. By this notice,
the BLM is announcing the beginning of
the scoping process to solicit public
comments and identify issues for the
EIS.
DATES: This notice initiates the public
scoping process for the EIS. Comments
on issues related to the EIS may be
submitted in writing until September
30, 2013. The date(s) and location(s) of
any scoping meetings will be
announced at least 15 days in advance
through local media, newspapers, and
on the BLM Web site at: https://
www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/cdd.html. In
order to be fully addressed in the Draft
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00053
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
EIS, all comments must be received
prior to the close of the 30 day scoping
period or 15 days after the last public
meeting, whichever is later. We will
provide additional opportunities for
public participation upon publication of
the Draft EIS.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on issues and alternatives related to the
BSPP EIS by any of the following
methods:
• Web site: https://www.blm.gov/ca/st/
en/fo/cdd.html.
• Email: fmcmenimen@blm.gov.
• Fax: 760–833–7199, Attn: Frank
McMenimen.
• Mail: ATTN: Frank McMenimen,
Project Manager, BLM Palm Springs
Field Office, 1201 Bird Center Drive,
Palm Springs, CA 92262–8001.
Documents pertinent to this EIS may
be examined at the BLM California Palm
Springs Field Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Frank McMenimen; telephone 760–833–
7199; address Frank McMenimen,
Project Manager, BLM Palm Springs
Field Office, 1201 Bird Center Drive,
Palm Springs, CA 92262–8001; email
fmcmenimen@blm.gov. Contact Mr.
McMenimen to have your name added
to our mailing list. 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 BSPP
was originally permitted and approved
on October 22, 2010, as a 1,000
megawatt (MW) solar thermal generating
plant located on 6,831 acres of BLMadministered public land in the Palm
Springs Field Office (CACA–048811).
The Project area is located 8 miles west
of Blythe, California, and 3 miles north
of Interstate 10 (I–10).
The ROW grant was originally issued
to Palo Verde Solar I, LLC, a whollyowned subsidiary of Solar Millennium,
which filed for Bankruptcy in April
2012. In mid-October 2012, NextEra
Blythe Solar Energy Center, LLC
(NBSEC), purchased the un-built BSPP
as part of the bankruptcy process. The
BLM approved the assignment of the
ROW grant from the Palo Verde Solar I,
LLC, to NBSEC on August 22, 2012.
NBSEC now proposes to modify the
solar technology and reduce the size of
the project within the previously
approved BSPP footprint. The NBSEC is
proposing to construct, operate,
maintain, and decommission the BSPP
E:\FR\FM\30AUN1.SGM
30AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 169 (Friday, August 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53777-53778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-21118]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWY93000 L16100000.DU0000]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Visual Resource Management
and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern Amendment to the Resource
Management Plan for the Rawlins Field Office and Associated
Environmental Assessment, WY
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a
Draft Visual Resources Management and Area of Critical Environmental
Concern (ACEC) Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment and a Draft
Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Draft Amendment for the Rawlins
Field Office, Wyoming, 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 Amendment and Draft EA within 60 days
following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its
Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce
future meetings or hearings and any other public involvement activities
at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases,
and/or mailings, and the BLM Web site at: https://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/rmps/rawlins.html.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Draft Visual Resource
Management and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern Amendment to the
RMP for the Rawlins Field Office, Wyoming, and associated Draft EA by
any of the following methods:
Email: BLM_WY_RL_RMP_VRM@blm.gov. Please reference
Rawlins VRM Review in the subject line.
Fax: 307-328-4224.
Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Rawlins Field Office,
1300 North Third Street, Rawlins, Wyoming 82301, or P.O. Box 2407,
Rawlins, Wyoming 82301-2407.
All comments must include a legible full name and address on the
envelope, letter, fax, postcard, or email. Copies of the Draft Visual
Resource Management and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern
Amendment to the RMP for the Rawlins Field Office, Wyoming, and
associated Draft EA are available at the Rawlins Field Office, at the
above address, and at the following locations:
Bureau of Land Management, High Desert District Office,
280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, WY 82901, and
Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, 5353
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, WY 82009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheila Lehman, Rawlins Field Office
Planning and Environmental Coordinator:
Telephone: 307-328-4200
Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Rawlins Field Office,
1300 North Third Street, Rawlins, WY 82301-2407
Email: BLM_WY_RL_RMP_VRM@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: This document provides notice that the BLM
Field Office in Rawlins, Wyoming, has prepared a Draft RMP amendment
with an associated EA, is announcing the beginning of the 60-day
comment period, and seeks public comment on Visual Resource Management
issues and proposed ACECs. The planning area is located in Albany,
Carbon, Laramie, and eastern Sweetwater counties, Wyoming, and
encompasses approximately 2,791,721 acres. The planning area does not
include public land affected by the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Visual
RMP Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Notice of
Intent to prepare the amendment to the RMP was published on April 11,
2012 (77 FR 21803), and a 30-day public scoping period was held
following publication from April 11, 2012, through May 10, 2012. The
scoping comments were used during the preparation of the RMP Amendment
and associated EA to help identify issues and concerns associated with
the amendment, and to form the following alternatives:
Alternative 1: No Action--Continuation of existing
management direction for Visual Resources and ACECs; new information
and data would not be incorporated;
Alternative 2: Emphasis on the Development of Resources;
incorporating new Visual Resource Inventory information and reducing
the Blowout Penstemon ACEC;
Alternative 3: Emphasis on the Protection of Resources;
incorporating new Visual Resource Inventory information and expanding
the Blowout Penstemon ACEC;
Alternative 4: Emphasis on the Conservation of Resources;
incorporating new Visual Resource Inventory information and expanding
the Blowout Penstemon ACEC (Preferred Alternative).
This plan amendment addresses protests received following the
publication of the 2008 Rawlins Proposed RMP/Final EIS, which
identified issues with the Rawlins Field Office's analysis of both
Visual Resources and the designation of ACECs. The Visual Resource
Management decisions in the Proposed RMP/Final EIS were remanded and
not approved in the Record of Decision until a complete Visual
Resources Inventory was completed and a Visual Resource Management RMP
amendment could be developed. In addition, comments received during
initial scoping of the 2008 Rawlins RMP included nominations of five
additional ACECs within the Rawlins Field Office boundary. Because the
BLM did not review or consider relevance and importance criteria for
the nominated ACECs in the 2008 Rawlins RMP planning process, these
nominated areas are analyzed for ACEC designation in this planning
process. The following ACEC nominations were evaluated to determine if
the relevance and importance criteria were met, but were not included
in any alternative because they did not meet relevance or importance
criteria:
McCarty Canyon; for scenic quality and wildlife habitat;
Seminoe and Pathfinder Reservoirs; for sensitive plant
species, scenic quality, and wildlife habitat;
Flattop Mountain; for sensitive plant species, scenic
quality, and wildlife habitat; and
Ferris Mountain; for sensitive plant species and scenic
quality.
The Ferris Dunes area was nominated as an ACEC in the 2008 Rawlins
RMP for several sensitive plant species, a unique sand dune community
and habitat, the desert kangaroo rat, and for scenic quality. The
nominated Ferris
[[Page 53778]]
Dunes ACEC area includes the current Blowout Penstemon ACEC and
additional area surrounding the existing ACEC. The nominated area was
found to meet the relevance and importance criteria. The area is
considered in this EA with additional use restrictions which would
occur if the area is formally designated including limiting off-road
travel and locatable/leasable mineral entry, intensive management of
surface disturbing activities, and control of pesticide use. The RMP
plan amendment will comply with the National Environmental Policy Act,
the Federal Land Policy Management Act, and other applicable laws,
executive orders, regulations, and be consistent with applicable
policies. The planning effort will recognize valid existing rights.
Decisions in the amendment will apply only to the BLM-administered
public lands and Federal mineral estate in the planning area.
A collaborative and multi-jurisdictional approach will be used to
jointly determine the desired future condition and management direction
for Visual Resources and ACECs in the Rawlins Field Office Planning
Area. To the extent possible and consistent with applicable laws,
regulations and policies, the BLM management and planning decisions
will complement the planning and management decisions of other
agencies, State and local governments, and Native American tribes, with
jurisdictions intermingled with, and adjacent to, the planning area.
A total of 9,369 comments were received during scoping, of which
214 were considered to be unique. A majority of the comments were
received by individuals and non-governmental organizations, and
identified the following key issues:
1. Impacts to historic trails and roads;
2. Potential changes to existing land use planning and consistency
with current management;
3. Continuation of public involvement;
4. Socioeconomic impacts; and
5. Impacts of additional ACEC designations.
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. You may submit comments in
writing to the BLM at any public meeting, or you may submit them to the
BLM using one of the methods listed in the ``ADDRESSES'' section above.
For your comments to be most effective and fully considered, you should
submit comments by the close of the 60-day comment period.
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.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR 1610.2
Donald A. Simpson,
State Director, Wyoming.
[FR Doc. 2013-21118 Filed 8-29-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P
