Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project and Approved Land-use Plan Amendments, Oregon, 54409-54411 [2017-25013]

Download as PDF sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2017 / Notices ownership of Federal lands for private lands. ASARCO proposed the Ray Land Exchange with the BLM in order to acquire public lands adjacent to its Ray Complex (Ray Mine and associated processing facilities near Hayden) and in the Casa Grande vicinity. In exchange, ASARCO is offering to the BLM private lands that will consolidate checkerboard land ownership and improve access to existing Federal land for traditional uses such as hunting and other recreation. By acquiring the Selected Lands, ASARCO is seeking to consolidate its land holdings within and near areas of ongoing mineral development and to use the Selected Lands to support and expand current and future mining-related operations. Through the exchange, the BLM would have an opportunity to improve resource management efficiency by disposing of heavily encumbered, isolated and difficult to manage public lands; and acquire lands that will consolidate ownership patterns in order to improve public access. The Proposed Action and alternatives presented and analyzed in the Ray Land Exchange/Plan Amendment Draft Supplemental EIS are generally the same as those presented and analyzed in the 1999 Final EIS. The environmental analysis is based on the foreseeable uses of the Selected Lands. The Draft Supplemental EIS includes an analysis of cumulative impacts to all resources and land uses, including an evaluation of potential impacts to Native American traditional values. The Proposed Action (Agency Preferred Alternative) is to complete the Ray Land Exchange between the BLM and ASARCO. The Selected Lands total approximately 10,976 acres and consist of 31 parcels of public lands located in Pinal and Gila Counties in south-central Arizona. Twenty-eight of the parcels occur in the Middle Gila River Basin between Mineral Creek to the north, the White Canyon Wilderness to the northwest, and the Dripping Spring Mountains to the east, and the Gila River to the south. These 28 parcels are clustered in three areas (the Ray Complex, Copper Butte/Buckeye, and Chilito/Hayden) near ASARCO’s Ray Mine and the communities of Kearny, Hayden, and Winkelman, Arizona. The remaining three mineral estate only parcels are located about 50 miles west of the Ray Complex, near the community of Casa Grande in Pinal County. The Offered Lands total approximately 7,304 acres and consist of 18 parcels owned by ASARCO located in Pinal and Mohave Counties, also in Arizona. These parcels, which are presented throughout the Draft VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:32 Nov 16, 2017 Jkt 244001 Supplemental EIS as five units (two single parcels and three parcel groups), include parcels along the Gila and Big Sandy Rivers, the Black Mountains, and the Cerbat Mountains. The Offered Lands are private inholdings within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Tucson and Kingman Field Offices of the BLM. The Draft Supplemental EIS also includes a No-Action Alternative under which no land exchange would occur nor would the Phoenix or Safford District RMPs need to be amended under this option. Two additional action alternatives are also analyzed in which less than the full amounts of land would be exchanged: The Buckeye Land Exchange Action Alternative and the Copper Butte Land Exchange Action Alternative. The Buckeye Land Exchange Alternative involves reducing the total acreage included in the land exchange under this alternative. The amount of the Selected Lands is reduced from approximately 10,976 acres to approximately 10,176 acres by excluding about 800 surface and subsurface acres in the Copper Butte area and removing 640 acres of the McCracken Mountains Parcels from the Offered Lands. The Copper Butte Land Exchange Alternative also involves a reduced acreage exchange from the full exchange Proposed Action. The Copper Butte Land Exchange Alternative involves reducing the total acreage of the Selected Lands from approximately 10,976 acres to approximately 9,161 acres by excluding surface and subsurface acres in the Copper Butte area and removing 1,703 acres of the McCracken Mountains Parcels from the Offered Lands. A plan amendment to the Phoenix and Safford RMPs is required as the selected lands have not been designated for disposal through previous BLM planning processes. The amendment to the Phoenix and Safford District RMPs would change the land tenure designation from ‘‘retention’’ to ‘‘disposal’’ for a total of approximately 10,339 acres. Specifically: 1. Approximately 9,906 acres designated in the 1988 Phoenix RMP as part of the White Canyon Resource Conservation Area to be changed from retention to disposal; and 2. Approximately 433 acres designated in the 1993 Safford District RMP as part of the former Safford District Long-Term Management Area to be changed from retention to disposal. The BLM was not required to conduct scoping for the Draft Supplemental EIS. However, the agency has conducted public outreach activities to inform the public and answer questions regarding the proposed land exchange. The efforts PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 54409 included updating the mailing list for the project, contacting mailing list persons via postcard and newsletter, providing a detailed project Web site, and interviewing key stakeholders to present the land exchange details and answer questions. 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, 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. A. Scott Feldhausen, Gila District Manager. [FR Doc. 2017–24823 Filed 11–16–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–32–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLORV0000. L51010000. ER0000. LVRWH09H0480. 17XL5017AP. OROR065375. ID036029.HAG 17–0063] Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project and Approved Land-use Plan Amendments, Oregon Bureau of Land Management, Interior ACTION: Notice of availability. AGENCY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project (B2H Project) and Approved Land-use Plan Amendments of the Baker and Southeastern Oregon Resource Management Plans (RMPs). The ROD constitutes the BLM’s final decision regarding: (1) Approval to grant a Rightof-Way (ROW) to Idaho Power Company to construct, operate and maintain an extra-high-voltage, alternating-current transmission system; and (2) Amending portions of the BLM Baker and Southeastern Oregon RMPs. SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\17NON1.SGM 17NON1 54410 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2017 / Notices This decision takes effect immediately. ADDRESSES: The complete text of the ROD, along with the B2H Project Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and supporting documents, is available on the BLM Web site at https:// www.boardmantohemingway.com/ Copies of the ROD will be placed in all involved BLM offices and, for public review, at the locations identified in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tamara Gertsch, National Project Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Vale District Office, P.O. Box 655, Vale, OR 97918; telephone: (307) 775–6115; email: comment@ boardmantohemingway.com. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877–8339 to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to assist you in leaving a message or question for the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours. For information related to the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) involvement in the B2H Project, contact: Arlene Blumton, USFS Project Lead, telephone: (541) 962–8522, email: ablumton@ fs.fed.us. The USFS will provide a mailing address in its Notice of Availability (NOA) of the B2H Project Final EIS and Proposed Land-use Plan Amendments, and a notice of the draft USFS Record of Decision will be published in the Baker City Herald shortly after the BLM ROD. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Idaho Power Company filed with the BLM an application for a ROW grant to use BLM-managed lands to construct, operate, and maintain the B2H Project, which is an approximately 294-milelong overhead, single-circuit, 500kilovolt (kV), alternating-current electric transmission line with additional ancillary facilities. The B2H Project will connect the northern terminus, the Longhorn Substation proposed by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which is approximately 4 miles northeast of the city of Boardman in Morrow County, Oregon, to the existing Hemingway Substation, which is near the city of Melba in Owyhee County, Idaho. When completed, the B2H Project will provide additional electrical load capacity between the Pacific Northwest Region and the Intermountain Region of Southwestern Idaho. The B2H Project also will alleviate existing transmission constraints and ensure that there is sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES DATES: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:32 Nov 16, 2017 Jkt 244001 sufficient electrical capacity to meet present and forecasted customer needs as described in Idaho Power Company’s 2015 Integrated Resource Plan (available online at https://www.idahopower.com/ AboutUs/PlanningForFuture/irp/2015). The ROW width is 250 feet for its entire length, except for an approximately 7-mile section that will replace an existing 69-kV transmission line and will require a 90-foot-wide ROW within and parallel to the eastern boundary of the Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility, Boardman, as well as a 0.9-mile-long section that will require a 125-foot-wide ROW to relocate an existing 230-kV transmission line. Construction of the B2H Project will take 2 to 3 years and will consist of the following permanent facilities: • A single-circuit 500-kV electric transmission line (including structures and conductors, as well as other associated facilities) between the proposed Longhorn Substation and the existing Hemingway Substation; • Access roads and access-control gates; • A communication regeneration site every 40 miles; • Removal of approximately 7 miles of the existing Boardman to Tap 69-kV transmission line; and • Rerouting 0.9 mile of the existing Quartz to Tap 230-kV transmission line. The BLM will issue a separate, shortterm ROW grant for temporary facilities, including temporary access roads (if any), and geotechnical investigation (also analyzed in the Final EIS) for a period of 5 years. The BLM prepared an EIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts associated with the proposed action and the alternatives. The BLM also identified and considered mitigation measures in the EIS to address the environmental impacts of the B2H Project and proposed plan amendments. The ROD approved the Agency Preferred Alternative identified in the Final EIS. The BLM issued the ROD based on compliance with relevant laws, regulations, policies, and plans, including those guiding agency decisions that may have an impact on resources and their values, services, and functions. The ROD approving the ROW grant requires, among other things, that the applicant satisfy specific mitigation measures. In particular, the sequence of mitigation actions will be the mitigation hierarchy (avoid, minimize, or compensate) as identified by the White House Council on Environmental PO 00000 Frm 00095 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Quality’s (CEQ) NEPA implementing regulations (40 CFR 1508.20). Siting and design of the B2H Project required the application of design features of the B2H Project for environmental protection. Additionally, selective mitigation measures and implementation plans have been developed to consider the full mitigation hierarchy to avoid, minimize, or compensate for residual impacts on important, scarce, or sensitive resources. The priority is to mitigate impacts at sites of B2H Project activity in conformance with the land-use plan goals and objectives through impact avoidance or minimization of the impact, including those measures described in laws, regulations, policies, and land-use plans. If these types of mitigation measures are not sufficient to ameliorate anticipated direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts, and if substantial or significant residual impacts remain on important, scarce, or sensitive resources, the BLM is requiring compensatory mitigation to reduce these residual impacts or meet applicable land-use plan goals and objectives, consistent with the requirements of NEPA, as well as the BLM’s statutory obligations under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). Compensatory mitigation may be required for Greater sage-grouse, riparian conservation areas, cultural resources, and national historic trails. Based on the analysis in the Final EIS, the ROD also amends two BLM RMPs as follows: • Baker RMP—modifies 23 acres of visual resource management (VRM) Class II to Class IV in Burnt River Canyon; • Southeastern Oregon RMP— modifies 51 acres of VRM Class III to Class IV in the vicinity of the Oregon Trail—Birch Creek Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC); and • Southeastern Oregon RMP— modifies 20 acres of VRM Class II to Class IV outside of and north of the Owyhee River below the Dam ACEC. The approved Land-use Plan Amendments specifically revise the RMPs to allow for the development of the B2H Project and ancillary facilities on land managed by the BLM. Consistent with NEPA, the BLM has integrated its land-use planning process with its evaluation of the B2H Project, including the scoping and public availability periods for the EIS. With approval of these Land-use Plan Amendments, the B2H Project will conform to the approved RMPs (43 CFR 1610.5–3). The evaluation of B2H Project compliance with Land and Resource E:\FR\FM\17NON1.SGM 17NON1 sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2017 / Notices Management Plans will be described by the USFS in its NOA for the B2H Project Final EIS and Approved Land-use Plan Amendments and its draft USFS ROD to be issued for comment following the BLM ROD. Copies of the Final EIS and ROD are available for public review during normal business hours at the following locations in Oregon: • Baker County Planning Department, 1995 Third St., Baker City • Baker County Library, 2400 Resort St., Baker City • BLM Baker Field Office, 3285 11th St., Baker City • Boardman City Library, 200 S. Main St., Boardman • Harney County Public Library, 80 W. D St., Burns • Grant County Planning Department, 201 S. Humboldt St., Canyon City • BLM Burns District Office, 28910 Hwy 20 W., Hines • Hermiston Public Library, 235 E. Gladys Avenue, Hermiston • Morrow County Planning Department, 205 NE. Third St., Irrigon • Grant County Library, 507 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day • La Grande Public Library, 2006 Fourth St., La Grande • Union County Planning Department, 1001 4th St., Suite C, La Grande • USFS Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Office, La Grande Ranger District, 3502 Highway 30, La Grande • USFS Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Headquarters, 1550 Dewey Ave., Baker City • Pendleton Public Library, 502 SW. Dorion Ave., Pendleton • Umatilla County Planning Department, 216 SE. Fourth St., Pendleton • BLM Prineville District Office, 3050 NE. 3rd St., Prineville • Ontario Library, 388 SW. Second Ave., Ontario • BLM Vale District Office, 100 Oregon St., Vale • Malheur County Planning Department, 251 B St. W., Vale • Oregon Department of Energy, 625 Marion St. NE., Salem • North Powder City Library, 290 E. St., North Powder Copies of the Final EIS and ROD are available for public review during normal business hours at the following locations in Idaho: • BLM Boise District Office, 3948 Development Ave., Boise • Boise Public Library, 715 S. Capitol Blvd., Boise • BLM Owyhee Field Office, 20 First Ave. W., Marsing • Owyhee County Planning Department, 17069 Basey St., Murphy VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:32 Nov 16, 2017 Jkt 244001 • Nampa Public Library, 215 12th Avenue South Nampa, ID 83651 • Lizard Butte Library, 111 S 3rd Ave. W., Marsing On November 28, 2016, the NOA for the B2H Project Final EIS and Proposed Land-use Plan Amendments (81 FR 85632) was published in the Federal Register. The publication of the NOA initiated a 30-day protest period for the proposed land-use planning decision, as well as a simultaneous 60-day review by the Governor of Oregon to identify any inconsistencies with State or local plans, policies, or programs. At the close of the 30-day protest period, 53 protests were received. These protests were resolved by the BLM Director; individual protest response letters were sent to all protesting parties. Protest resolution is contained in the Director’s Protest Summary Report, which is available online at https://www.blm.gov/ pgdata/content/wo/en/prog/planning/ planningoverview/protest_ resolution.html. The proposed Land-use Plan Amendments were not modified as a result of the protest resolution, and the Oregon Governor’s review did not identify any inconsistencies. Approval of this decision by the Acting Assistant Secretary—Land and Minerals Management is not subject to administrative appeal (43 CFR 4.410(a)(3)). Additionally, any challenge to this decision must be brought in Federal District Court and is subject to 42 U.S.C. 4370m-6. Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6. Jamie E. Connell, State Director, Oregon/Washington. [FR Doc. 2017–25013 Filed 11–16–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–33–P INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION Notice of Receipt of Complaint; Solicitation of Comments Relating to the Public Interest U.S. International Trade Commission. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has received a complaint entitled Certain Microperforated Packaging Containing Fresh Produce, DN 3273; the Commission is soliciting comments on any public interest issues raised by the complaint or complainant’s filing pursuant to the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00096 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 54411 Lisa R. Barton, Secretary to the Commission, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20436, telephone (202) 205–2000. The public version of the complaint can be accessed on the Commission’s Electronic Document Information System (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov, and will be available for inspection during official business hours (8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.) in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20436, telephone (202) 205–2000. General information concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its Internet server at United States International Trade Commission (USITC) at https://www.usitc.gov. The public record for this investigation may be viewed on the Commission’s Electronic Document Information System (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov. Hearing-impaired persons are advised that information on this matter can be obtained by contacting the Commission’s TDD terminal on (202) 205–1810. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission has received a complaint and a submission pursuant to § 210.8(b) of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure filed on behalf of Windham Packaging, LLC on November 13, 2017. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1337) in the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, and the sale within the United States after importation of certain microperforated packaging containing fresh produce. The complaint names as respondents Alpine Fresh, Inc. of Miami, FL; Apio, Inc. of Guadalupe, CA; B & G Foods North America, Inc. of Parsippany, NJ; Glory Foods, Inc. of Columbus, OH; Mann Packing Co., Inc. of Salinas, CA; and Taylor Farms California, Inc. of Salinas, CA. The complainant requests that the Commission issue a limited exclusion order, cease and desist orders and impose a bond upon respondents’ alleged infringing articles during the 60day Presidential review period pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1337(j). Proposed respondents, other interested parties, and members of the public are invited to file comments, not to exceed five (5) pages in length, inclusive of attachments, on any public interest issues raised by the complaint or § 210.8(b) filing. Comments should address whether issuance of the relief specifically requested by the complainant in this investigation would FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: E:\FR\FM\17NON1.SGM 17NON1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 221 (Friday, November 17, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54409-54411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25013]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLORV0000. L51010000. ER0000. LVRWH09H0480. 17XL5017AP. OROR065375. 
ID036029.HAG 17-0063]


Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Boardman 
to Hemingway Transmission Line Project and Approved Land-use Plan 
Amendments, Oregon

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability 
of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Boardman to Hemingway 
Transmission Line Project (B2H Project) and Approved Land-use Plan 
Amendments of the Baker and Southeastern Oregon Resource Management 
Plans (RMPs). The ROD constitutes the BLM's final decision regarding: 
(1) Approval to grant a Right-of-Way (ROW) to Idaho Power Company to 
construct, operate and maintain an extra-high-voltage, alternating-
current transmission system; and (2) Amending portions of the BLM Baker 
and Southeastern Oregon RMPs.

[[Page 54410]]


DATES: This decision takes effect immediately.

ADDRESSES: The complete text of the ROD, along with the B2H Project 
Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and supporting documents, is 
available on the BLM Web site at https://www.boardmantohemingway.com/ 
Copies of the ROD will be placed in all involved BLM offices and, for 
public review, at the locations identified in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tamara Gertsch, National Project 
Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Vale District Office, P.O. Box 655, 
Vale, OR 97918; telephone: (307) 775-6115; email: 
comment@boardmantohemingway.com. Persons who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf may call the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-
8339 to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The 
service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to assist you in 
leaving a message or question for the above individual. You will 
receive a reply during normal business hours.
    For information related to the U.S. Forest Service's (USFS) 
involvement in the B2H Project, contact: Arlene Blumton, USFS Project 
Lead, telephone: (541) 962-8522, email: ablumton@fs.fed.us. The USFS 
will provide a mailing address in its Notice of Availability (NOA) of 
the B2H Project Final EIS and Proposed Land-use Plan Amendments, and a 
notice of the draft USFS Record of Decision will be published in the 
Baker City Herald shortly after the BLM ROD.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  Idaho Power Company filed with the BLM an 
application for a ROW grant to use BLM-managed lands to construct, 
operate, and maintain the B2H Project, which is an approximately 294-
mile-long overhead, single-circuit, 500-kilovolt (kV), alternating-
current electric transmission line with additional ancillary 
facilities. The B2H Project will connect the northern terminus, the 
Longhorn Substation proposed by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), 
which is approximately 4 miles northeast of the city of Boardman in 
Morrow County, Oregon, to the existing Hemingway Substation, which is 
near the city of Melba in Owyhee County, Idaho. When completed, the B2H 
Project will provide additional electrical load capacity between the 
Pacific Northwest Region and the Intermountain Region of Southwestern 
Idaho. The B2H Project also will alleviate existing transmission 
constraints and ensure that there is sufficient electrical capacity to 
meet present and forecasted customer needs as described in Idaho Power 
Company's 2015 Integrated Resource Plan (available online at https://www.idahopower.com/AboutUs/PlanningForFuture/irp/2015).
    The ROW width is 250 feet for its entire length, except for an 
approximately 7-mile section that will replace an existing 69-kV 
transmission line and will require a 90-foot-wide ROW within and 
parallel to the eastern boundary of the Naval Weapons Systems Training 
Facility, Boardman, as well as a 0.9-mile-long section that will 
require a 125-foot-wide ROW to relocate an existing 230-kV transmission 
line.
    Construction of the B2H Project will take 2 to 3 years and will 
consist of the following permanent facilities:
     A single-circuit 500-kV electric transmission line 
(including structures and conductors, as well as other associated 
facilities) between the proposed Longhorn Substation and the existing 
Hemingway Substation;
     Access roads and access-control gates;
     A communication regeneration site every 40 miles;
     Removal of approximately 7 miles of the existing Boardman 
to Tap 69-kV transmission line; and
     Rerouting 0.9 mile of the existing Quartz to Tap 230-kV 
transmission line.
    The BLM will issue a separate, short-term ROW grant for temporary 
facilities, including temporary access roads (if any), and geotechnical 
investigation (also analyzed in the Final EIS) for a period of 5 years.
    The BLM prepared an EIS in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to analyze the direct, indirect, and 
cumulative environmental impacts associated with the proposed action 
and the alternatives. The BLM also identified and considered mitigation 
measures in the EIS to address the environmental impacts of the B2H 
Project and proposed plan amendments.
    The ROD approved the Agency Preferred Alternative identified in the 
Final EIS. The BLM issued the ROD based on compliance with relevant 
laws, regulations, policies, and plans, including those guiding agency 
decisions that may have an impact on resources and their values, 
services, and functions.
    The ROD approving the ROW grant requires, among other things, that 
the applicant satisfy specific mitigation measures. In particular, the 
sequence of mitigation actions will be the mitigation hierarchy (avoid, 
minimize, or compensate) as identified by the White House Council on 
Environmental Quality's (CEQ) NEPA implementing regulations (40 CFR 
1508.20). Siting and design of the B2H Project required the application 
of design features of the B2H Project for environmental protection. 
Additionally, selective mitigation measures and implementation plans 
have been developed to consider the full mitigation hierarchy to avoid, 
minimize, or compensate for residual impacts on important, scarce, or 
sensitive resources. The priority is to mitigate impacts at sites of 
B2H Project activity in conformance with the land-use plan goals and 
objectives through impact avoidance or minimization of the impact, 
including those measures described in laws, regulations, policies, and 
land-use plans. If these types of mitigation measures are not 
sufficient to ameliorate anticipated direct, indirect, and cumulative 
impacts, and if substantial or significant residual impacts remain on 
important, scarce, or sensitive resources, the BLM is requiring 
compensatory mitigation to reduce these residual impacts or meet 
applicable land-use plan goals and objectives, consistent with the 
requirements of NEPA, as well as the BLM's statutory obligations under 
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). Compensatory 
mitigation may be required for Greater sage-grouse, riparian 
conservation areas, cultural resources, and national historic trails. 
Based on the analysis in the Final EIS, the ROD also amends two BLM 
RMPs as follows:
     Baker RMP--modifies 23 acres of visual resource management 
(VRM) Class II to Class IV in Burnt River Canyon;
     Southeastern Oregon RMP--modifies 51 acres of VRM Class 
III to Class IV in the vicinity of the Oregon Trail--Birch Creek Area 
of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC); and
     Southeastern Oregon RMP--modifies 20 acres of VRM Class II 
to Class IV outside of and north of the Owyhee River below the Dam 
ACEC.
    The approved Land-use Plan Amendments specifically revise the RMPs 
to allow for the development of the B2H Project and ancillary 
facilities on land managed by the BLM. Consistent with NEPA, the BLM 
has integrated its land-use planning process with its evaluation of the 
B2H Project, including the scoping and public availability periods for 
the EIS. With approval of these Land-use Plan Amendments, the B2H 
Project will conform to the approved RMPs (43 CFR 1610.5-3).
    The evaluation of B2H Project compliance with Land and Resource

[[Page 54411]]

Management Plans will be described by the USFS in its NOA for the B2H 
Project Final EIS and Approved Land-use Plan Amendments and its draft 
USFS ROD to be issued for comment following the BLM ROD.
    Copies of the Final EIS and ROD are available for public review 
during normal business hours at the following locations in Oregon:

 Baker County Planning Department, 1995 Third St., Baker City
 Baker County Library, 2400 Resort St., Baker City
 BLM Baker Field Office, 3285 11th St., Baker City
 Boardman City Library, 200 S. Main St., Boardman
 Harney County Public Library, 80 W. D St., Burns
 Grant County Planning Department, 201 S. Humboldt St., Canyon 
City
 BLM Burns District Office, 28910 Hwy 20 W., Hines
 Hermiston Public Library, 235 E. Gladys Avenue, Hermiston
 Morrow County Planning Department, 205 NE. Third St., Irrigon
 Grant County Library, 507 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day
 La Grande Public Library, 2006 Fourth St., La Grande
 Union County Planning Department, 1001 4th St., Suite C, La 
Grande
 USFS Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Office, La Grande Ranger 
District, 3502 Highway 30, La Grande
 USFS Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Headquarters, 1550 Dewey 
Ave., Baker City
 Pendleton Public Library, 502 SW. Dorion Ave., Pendleton
 Umatilla County Planning Department, 216 SE. Fourth St., 
Pendleton
 BLM Prineville District Office, 3050 NE. 3rd St., Prineville
 Ontario Library, 388 SW. Second Ave., Ontario
 BLM Vale District Office, 100 Oregon St., Vale
 Malheur County Planning Department, 251 B St. W., Vale
 Oregon Department of Energy, 625 Marion St. NE., Salem
 North Powder City Library, 290 E. St., North Powder

    Copies of the Final EIS and ROD are available for public review 
during normal business hours at the following locations in Idaho:

 BLM Boise District Office, 3948 Development Ave., Boise
 Boise Public Library, 715 S. Capitol Blvd., Boise
 BLM Owyhee Field Office, 20 First Ave. W., Marsing
 Owyhee County Planning Department, 17069 Basey St., Murphy
 Nampa Public Library, 215 12th Avenue South Nampa, ID 83651
 Lizard Butte Library, 111 S 3rd Ave. W., Marsing

    On November 28, 2016, the NOA for the B2H Project Final EIS and 
Proposed Land-use Plan Amendments (81 FR 85632) was published in the 
Federal Register. The publication of the NOA initiated a 30-day protest 
period for the proposed land-use planning decision, as well as a 
simultaneous 60-day review by the Governor of Oregon to identify any 
inconsistencies with State or local plans, policies, or programs. At 
the close of the 30-day protest period, 53 protests were received. 
These protests were resolved by the BLM Director; individual protest 
response letters were sent to all protesting parties. Protest 
resolution is contained in the Director's Protest Summary Report, which 
is available online at https://www.blm.gov/pgdata/content/wo/en/prog/planning/planningoverview/protest_resolution.html. The proposed Land-
use Plan Amendments were not modified as a result of the protest 
resolution, and the Oregon Governor's review did not identify any 
inconsistencies.
    Approval of this decision by the Acting Assistant Secretary--Land 
and Minerals Management is not subject to administrative appeal (43 CFR 
4.410(a)(3)). Additionally, any challenge to this decision must be 
brought in Federal District Court and is subject to 42 U.S.C. 4370m-6.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6.

Jamie E. Connell,
State Director, Oregon/Washington.
[FR Doc. 2017-25013 Filed 11-16-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-33-P
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