Notice of Availability of the Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Roan Plateau Planning Area, Colorado, 72732-72733 [2015-29716]
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 224 / Friday, November 20, 2015 / Notices
GSA Number: 9–I–NV–0465–AE
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Comments: 0.90 acres; contact GSA for more
information.
South Carolina
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Communications Link Receiver Fac.
Latitude N. 33.418194 & Longitude W.
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Property Number: 54201540011
Status: Surplus
GSA Number: 4–U–SC–0633–AA
Directions: Landholding Agency:
Transportation; Disposal Agency: GSA
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contact GSA for more information.
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Stuart Mesa Site
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Oceanside CA 92058
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Comments: Public access denied and no
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[FR Doc. 2015–29341 Filed 11–19–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCON04000 L16100000.DP0000]
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Resource Management Plan
Amendment and Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Roan Plateau Planning Area,
Colorado
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:39 Nov 19, 2015
Jkt 238001
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) has prepared
a Draft Resource Management Plan
(RMP) Amendment and Draft
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Roan Plateau
planning area and by this notice is
announcing the opening of a 90-day
comment period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be
considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft RMP
Amendment/Draft Supplemental EIS
within 90 days following the date the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) publishes its notice of the Draft
RMP Amendment/Draft Supplemental
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 Roan Plateau Draft RMP
Amendment/Draft Supplemental EIS by
any of the following methods:
• Web site: www.blm.gov/co/st/en/
BLM_Programs/land_use_planning/
rmp/roan_plateau.html.
• Email: roanplateau@blm.gov.
• Fax: 970–876–9090.
• Mail: BLM Colorado River Valley
Field Office, Attn: Roan Plateau SEIS,
2300 River Frontage Road, Silt, CO
81652.
Copies of the Roan Plateau Draft RMP
Amendment/Draft Supplemental EIS are
available in the Colorado River Valley
Field Office at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg
Larson, Project Manager, telephone
(970) 876–9048, see address above;
email glarson@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, seven 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 BLM
prepared the Roan Plateau Draft RMP
Amendment/Supplemental EIS to
evaluate a range of management
decisions for resources, resource uses
and special designations and to respond
to a June 22, 2012, ruling by the United
States District Court for the District of
Colorado remanding the 2007 and 2008
Roan Plateau Records of Decision. The
Court set aside the 2007 Roan Plateau
Plan amendment and remanded the
matter to the BLM for further action in
PO 00000
Frm 00053
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
accordance with the Court’s decision. In
particular, the Court found that the
Final EIS was deficient insofar as it
failed to sufficiently address: (i) The
‘‘Community Alternative’’ that various
local governments, environmental
organizations, and individual members
of the public recommended; (ii) The
cumulative air quality impacts of the
Plan amendment decision in
conjunction with anticipated oil and gas
development on private lands outside
the Roan Plateau Planning Area; and
(iii) The issue of potential ozone
impacts from proposed oil and gas
development. In view of the Court’s
ruling and new information available
since the BLM developed the Final EIS,
the BLM determined that a new
proposed Plan Amendment and a
supplemental analysis under NEPA
were warranted. Additionally, a
settlement agreement was reached
among the parties involved in the
litigation in November 2014. The
Supplemental EIS includes an
alternative that was part of the
November 2014 settlement.
The Planning Area, which is in westcentral Colorado, includes
approximately 73,602 acres of Federal
land (Federal surface, Federal mineral
estate, or both), and is located primarily
in Garfield County with a small portion
in southern Rio Blanco County. The
Roan Plateau RMP Amendment
proposes to amend the Glenwood
Springs and White River RMPs for the
resource management decisions within
the Planning Area. The BLM began
developing the Roan Plateau RMP
Amendment with scoping in 2000. The
Draft EIS was published in November
2004. The Final EIS was published in
August 2006. The BLM then issued two
Records of Decision, one in June 2007
and a second, pertaining to Areas of
Critical Environmental Concern, in
March 2008. Following the District
Court ruling in 2012, the Notice of
Intent to develop the Draft RMP
Amendment/Supplemental EIS was
published in January 2013, initiating a
second scoping period. The BLM held
two public scoping meetings in
February 2013 and received
approximately 25,000 comment
submissions during the scoping period.
The Colorado River Valley Field Office
held eight Cooperating Agency meetings
for the Supplemental EIS. Cooperating
agencies included the EPA, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, the Colorado
Department of Natural Resources and
Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the City of
Rifle, the towns of Silt and Parachute,
and Rio Blanco, Garfield, and Mesa
Counties. No other Federal agencies
E:\FR\FM\20NON1.SGM
20NON1
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 224 / Friday, November 20, 2015 / Notices
manage surface within the planning
area. The closest non-BLM surface
management unit to the Roan Plateau
planning area is the White River
National Forest to the northwest.
Major issues considered in the Draft
RMP Amendment/Supplemental EIS
include fluid minerals management,
social and economic impacts, riparian
habitat management; and air, water, and
ecological resources. Due to the limited
size of the Planning Area and the
supplemental nature of this analysis,
regional mitigation and landscape level
analysis are not specifically considered
in this document; however, the BLM
Colorado River Valley and White River
field offices have considered them in
their broader planning areas. The RMP
also addresses decisions regarding Wild
and Scenic Rivers, Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern (ACECs), and
lands with wilderness characteristics.
Greater Sage-Grouse decisions proposed
in the Amendment are consistent with
the Northwest Colorado Greater SageGrouse Amendment Record of Decision.
The Draft RMP Amendment/
Supplemental EIS focuses on evaluating
new information and new issues raised
since the BLM developed the 2006 Roan
Plateau Final EIS. This includes an
evaluation of four alternatives including
the No Action Alternative (Alternative
I). Alternative II is based on the
Proposed Plan from the 2006 Roan RMP
Amendment/Final EIS and includes
updated decisions and analysis based
on new information, including refined
mapping, and issues raised during
scoping. Alternative III is based on the
‘‘Community Alternative’’ raised during
the original EIS process by Rock the
Earth, and augmented with input from
Supplemental EIS scoping comments.
This alternative allows oil and gas
leasing throughout the planning area,
but limits surface disturbance on BLM
lands above the rim (i.e, on top of the
plateau). Wilderness characteristics
would be managed for protection in this
alternative, and all eligible rivers in the
planning area would be determined to
be suitable for designation as Wild and
Scenic Rivers. Target shooting would be
prohibited within 1⁄4 mile (610 acres) of
a popular road that runs through an area
designated as open to cross country offhighway vehicle travel in Alternative III.
Alternative IV is the BLM’s Preferred
Alternative and is based on the terms of
the Settlement Agreement. This
alternative would allow for leasing at
the base of the plateau (11,170 acres)
and within several retained lease areas
on the top of the plateau (1,830 acres),
subject to development restrictions
described in the Settlement Agreement.
Specific management prescriptions
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:39 Nov 19, 2015
Jkt 238001
intended to protect lands with
wilderness characteristics and Wild and
Scenic Rivers are not proposed in this
alternative as they were not addressed
as part of the Settlement Agreement;
however, they are analyzed within the
range of alternatives for consideration.
Other resource management decisions
in this alternative would be similar to
Alternative II.
Pursuant to 43 CFR 1610.7–2(b), this
notice announces a concurrent public
comment period on the proposed
ACECs, as the previous ACEC decisions
are also being revisited consistent with
the Court’s remand. The BLM analyzed
potential ACECs meeting the relevance
and importance criteria within the range
of alternatives. All three action
alternatives analyze the designation of
four ACECs to protect key fisheries,
botanical/ecological resources, and
visual resources. The ACECs overlay
areas with management prescriptions
that include No Surface Occupancy
stipulations and other restrictions
specific to these resources. The
proposed ACECs include:
• East Fork Parachute Creek: 6,990
acres (Alternatives II, III), 7,110 acres
(Alternative IV)
• Trapper/Northwater Creek: 6,290
acres (Alternatives II, III, and IV)
• Magpie Gulch: 4,710 acres
(Alternatives II, III, and IV); and
• Anvil Points: 6,900 acres
(Alternatives II, III, and IV).
Please note that public comments and
all information submitted with such
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.
Ruth Welch,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2015–29716 Filed 11–19–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–JB–P
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Frm 00054
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72733
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCON04000 L16100000.DP000]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
Previously Issued Oil and Gas Leases
in the White River National Forest, CO
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) Colorado
River Valley Field Office (CRVFO), Silt,
Colorado, prepared a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
reconsidering previous decisions to
issue 65 leases on lands within the
White River National Forest (WRNF).
DATES: To ensure comments will be
considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Previously
Issued Oil and Gas Leases in the WRNF
Draft EIS within 49 days following the
date the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of
Availability in the Federal Register. The
BLM will host four public meetings on
the Draft EIS from 4 to 7 p.m., at the
following locations:
• December 14, Glenwood Springs
Community Center, 100 Wulfson Rd.,
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601.
• December 15, DeBeque Elementary
School, 730 Minter Ave., De Beque, CO
81630.
• December 16, Roaring Fork High
School, 2270 Hwy. 133, Carbondale, CO
81623.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
related to the Previously Issued Oil and
Gas Leases in the WRNF Draft EIS by
any of the following methods:
• Web site: https://www.blm.gov/co/st/
en/fo/crvfo.html.
• Email: WRNFleases@blm.gov.
• Fax: 970–876–9090.
• Mail: BLM Colorado River Valley
Field Office, Attn: WRNF Leases, 2300
River Frontage Road, Silt, CO 81652.
Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined at the CRVFO at the
above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg
Larson, Project Manager, at the address
above, by telephone at 970–876–9000,
or by email at glarson@blm.gov. You
may contact Mr. Larson to request 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
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\20NON1.SGM
20NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 224 (Friday, November 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72732-72733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29716]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCON04000 L16100000.DP0000]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Resource Management Plan
Amendment and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Roan
Plateau Planning Area, Colorado
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a
Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment and Draft Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Roan Plateau planning area
and by this notice is announcing the opening of a 90-day comment
period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft RMP Amendment/Draft Supplemental EIS
within 90 days following the date the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) publishes its notice of the Draft RMP Amendment/Draft
Supplemental 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 Roan Plateau Draft
RMP Amendment/Draft Supplemental EIS by any of the following methods:
Web site: www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Programs/land_use_planning/rmp/roan_plateau.html.
Email: roanplateau@blm.gov.
Fax: 970-876-9090.
Mail: BLM Colorado River Valley Field Office, Attn: Roan
Plateau SEIS, 2300 River Frontage Road, Silt, CO 81652.
Copies of the Roan Plateau Draft RMP Amendment/Draft Supplemental EIS
are available in the Colorado River Valley Field Office at the above
address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Larson, Project Manager,
telephone (970) 876-9048, see address above; email glarson@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, seven 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 BLM prepared the Roan Plateau Draft RMP
Amendment/Supplemental EIS to evaluate a range of management decisions
for resources, resource uses and special designations and to respond to
a June 22, 2012, ruling by the United States District Court for the
District of Colorado remanding the 2007 and 2008 Roan Plateau Records
of Decision. The Court set aside the 2007 Roan Plateau Plan amendment
and remanded the matter to the BLM for further action in accordance
with the Court's decision. In particular, the Court found that the
Final EIS was deficient insofar as it failed to sufficiently address:
(i) The ``Community Alternative'' that various local governments,
environmental organizations, and individual members of the public
recommended; (ii) The cumulative air quality impacts of the Plan
amendment decision in conjunction with anticipated oil and gas
development on private lands outside the Roan Plateau Planning Area;
and (iii) The issue of potential ozone impacts from proposed oil and
gas development. In view of the Court's ruling and new information
available since the BLM developed the Final EIS, the BLM determined
that a new proposed Plan Amendment and a supplemental analysis under
NEPA were warranted. Additionally, a settlement agreement was reached
among the parties involved in the litigation in November 2014. The
Supplemental EIS includes an alternative that was part of the November
2014 settlement.
The Planning Area, which is in west-central Colorado, includes
approximately 73,602 acres of Federal land (Federal surface, Federal
mineral estate, or both), and is located primarily in Garfield County
with a small portion in southern Rio Blanco County. The Roan Plateau
RMP Amendment proposes to amend the Glenwood Springs and White River
RMPs for the resource management decisions within the Planning Area.
The BLM began developing the Roan Plateau RMP Amendment with scoping in
2000. The Draft EIS was published in November 2004. The Final EIS was
published in August 2006. The BLM then issued two Records of Decision,
one in June 2007 and a second, pertaining to Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern, in March 2008. Following the District Court
ruling in 2012, the Notice of Intent to develop the Draft RMP
Amendment/Supplemental EIS was published in January 2013, initiating a
second scoping period. The BLM held two public scoping meetings in
February 2013 and received approximately 25,000 comment submissions
during the scoping period. The Colorado River Valley Field Office held
eight Cooperating Agency meetings for the Supplemental EIS. Cooperating
agencies included the EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the
Colorado Department of Natural Resources and Colorado Parks and
Wildlife, the City of Rifle, the towns of Silt and Parachute, and Rio
Blanco, Garfield, and Mesa Counties. No other Federal agencies
[[Page 72733]]
manage surface within the planning area. The closest non-BLM surface
management unit to the Roan Plateau planning area is the White River
National Forest to the northwest.
Major issues considered in the Draft RMP Amendment/Supplemental EIS
include fluid minerals management, social and economic impacts,
riparian habitat management; and air, water, and ecological resources.
Due to the limited size of the Planning Area and the supplemental
nature of this analysis, regional mitigation and landscape level
analysis are not specifically considered in this document; however, the
BLM Colorado River Valley and White River field offices have considered
them in their broader planning areas. The RMP also addresses decisions
regarding Wild and Scenic Rivers, Areas of Critical Environmental
Concern (ACECs), and lands with wilderness characteristics. Greater
Sage-Grouse decisions proposed in the Amendment are consistent with the
Northwest Colorado Greater Sage-Grouse Amendment Record of Decision.
The Draft RMP Amendment/Supplemental EIS focuses on evaluating new
information and new issues raised since the BLM developed the 2006 Roan
Plateau Final EIS. This includes an evaluation of four alternatives
including the No Action Alternative (Alternative I). Alternative II is
based on the Proposed Plan from the 2006 Roan RMP Amendment/Final EIS
and includes updated decisions and analysis based on new information,
including refined mapping, and issues raised during scoping.
Alternative III is based on the ``Community Alternative'' raised during
the original EIS process by Rock the Earth, and augmented with input
from Supplemental EIS scoping comments. This alternative allows oil and
gas leasing throughout the planning area, but limits surface
disturbance on BLM lands above the rim (i.e, on top of the plateau).
Wilderness characteristics would be managed for protection in this
alternative, and all eligible rivers in the planning area would be
determined to be suitable for designation as Wild and Scenic Rivers.
Target shooting would be prohibited within \1/4\ mile (610 acres) of a
popular road that runs through an area designated as open to cross
country off-highway vehicle travel in Alternative III. Alternative IV
is the BLM's Preferred Alternative and is based on the terms of the
Settlement Agreement. This alternative would allow for leasing at the
base of the plateau (11,170 acres) and within several retained lease
areas on the top of the plateau (1,830 acres), subject to development
restrictions described in the Settlement Agreement. Specific management
prescriptions intended to protect lands with wilderness characteristics
and Wild and Scenic Rivers are not proposed in this alternative as they
were not addressed as part of the Settlement Agreement; however, they
are analyzed within the range of alternatives for consideration. Other
resource management decisions in this alternative would be similar to
Alternative II.
Pursuant to 43 CFR 1610.7-2(b), this notice announces a concurrent
public comment period on the proposed ACECs, as the previous ACEC
decisions are also being revisited consistent with the Court's remand.
The BLM analyzed potential ACECs meeting the relevance and importance
criteria within the range of alternatives. All three action
alternatives analyze the designation of four ACECs to protect key
fisheries, botanical/ecological resources, and visual resources. The
ACECs overlay areas with management prescriptions that include No
Surface Occupancy stipulations and other restrictions specific to these
resources. The proposed ACECs include:
East Fork Parachute Creek: 6,990 acres (Alternatives II,
III), 7,110 acres (Alternative IV)
Trapper/Northwater Creek: 6,290 acres (Alternatives II,
III, and IV)
Magpie Gulch: 4,710 acres (Alternatives II, III, and IV);
and
Anvil Points: 6,900 acres (Alternatives II, III, and IV).
Please note that public comments and all information submitted with
such 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.
Ruth Welch,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-29716 Filed 11-19-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JB-P
