Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment To Consider Opening Lands Subject to ANCSA 17(d)(1) Withdrawals to Selection Under the Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment Program of 2019, 39053-39055 [2021-15726]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 139 / Friday, July 23, 2021 / Notices
Dated: July 16, 2021.
Carlos Castillo,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021–15663 Filed 7–22–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162–20–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Geological Survey
[GR21ZD01BNEEC00; OMB Control Number
1028–NEW]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Angler Participation Study
Geological Survey, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are
proposing a new information collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before
September 21, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on
this information collection request (ICR)
by mail to U.S. Geological Survey,
Information Collections Officer, 12201
Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 159, Reston,
VA 20192; or by email to gs-info_
collections@usgs.gov. Please reference
OMB Control Number 1028–NEW in the
subject line of your comments.
Individuals who are hearing or speech
impaired may call the Federal Relay
Service at 1–800–877–8339 for TTY
assistance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Lucas Bair by email at
lbair@usgs.gov, or by telephone at 928–
556–7362.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the
general public and other Federal
agencies with an opportunity to
comment on new, proposed, revised,
and continuing collections of
information. This helps us assess the
impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public’s
reporting burden. It also helps the
public understand our information
collection requirements and provide the
requested data in the desired format.
We are soliciting comments on the
proposed ICR that is described below.
We are especially interested in public
comment addressing the following
issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to
the proper functions of the USGS; (2)
will this information be processed and
used in a timely manner; (3) is the
estimate of burden accurate; (4) how
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might the USGS enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (5) how might the
USGS minimize the burden of this
collection on the respondents, including
through the use of information
technology.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or
summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. 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.
Abstract: In 2019 the National Park
Service (NPS) completed a plan for nonnative fish management from Glen
Canyon Dam to Lees Ferry and on
through Grand Canyon National Park.
The NPS identified specific tools for
managing non-native brown trout with
public and partner input, including an
incentivized harvest program that offers
a reward to anglers for catching and
harvesting brown trout. The Glen
Canyon Dam Adaptive Management
Program along with its science provider,
the US Geological Survey’s Grand
Canyon Monitoring and Research
Center, is interested in understanding
the participation of anglers in the brown
trout incentivized harvest program. A
mail-back survey will be used to collect
information concerning (1) trip
characteristics, (2) incentive structure
and (3) opinions on river management.
This collection proposes to provide data
that will be used to inform the ongoing
incentivized harvest program.
Title of Collection: Angler
Participation Study.
OMB Control Number: 1028–NEW.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: New.
Respondents/Affected Public: General
public and individual households.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Respondents: 800.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 400.
Estimated Completion Time per
Response: We estimate the public
reporting burden to be 20 minutes per
completed survey response.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 200.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: One-time.
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Total Estimated Annual Nonhour
Burden Cost: We have not identified any
nonhour burden costs associated with
this collection of information.
An agency may not conduct, or
sponsor and a person is not required to
respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
The authority for this action is the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Theodore Melis,
Deputy Center Director, Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2021–15713 Filed 7–22–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4338–11–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLAK941000.L14100000.ET0000.212]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment To
Consider Opening Lands Subject to
ANCSA 17(d)(1) Withdrawals to
Selection Under the Alaska Native
Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment
Program of 2019
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended; the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of
1976 (FLPMA), as amended; the Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation
Act of 1980 (ANILCA), as amended; the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(ANCSA), as amended; and the John D.
Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management,
and Recreation Act of 2019 (Dingell
Act), the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) intends to prepare an
Environmental Assessment (EA) to
consider the effects of opening lands
withdrawn pursuant to Section 17(d)(1)
of ANCSA to selection by eligible
individuals under the Dingell Act.
DATES: This notice initiates the public
scoping process for the EA. Comments
on relevant issues may be submitted in
writing by September 21, 2021. The
deadline to submit public comment is
September 21, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on issues related to the proposed project
by any of the following methods:
• ePlanning Website: https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/2014748/510.
• Mail: 222 W. 7th Avenue, Stop #13,
Anchorage, Alaska 99513.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\23JYN1.SGM
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39054
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 139 / Friday, July 23, 2021 / Notices
• More details and instructions for
submitting public comment can be
found on the BLM ePlanning website at
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/2014748/510.
Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined at the ePlanning
website.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Serena Sweet at (907) 271–4534, or by
email at ssweet@blm.gov on questions
specific to NEPA, and Paul Krabacher at
(907) 271–5681, or by email at
pkrabach@blm.gov, on questions
specific to the Native Vietnam-Era
Veterans Land Allotment Program of
2019. People who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Relay
Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to
contact the above individual during
normal business hours. The FRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
to leave a message or question. You will
receive a reply during normal business
hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public
Land Order (PLO) 7899, addressing
lands in the Kobuk-Seward Peninsula
planning area, was signed on January
11, 2021, and published in the Federal
Register on January 19, 2021 (86 FR
5236). PLOs 7900, 7901, 7902, and
7903—addressing lands in the Ring of
Fire, Bay, Bering Sea-Western Interior,
and East Alaska planning areas
respectively—were signed on January 15
and 16, 2021, but were never published
in the Federal Register and therefore do
not have an opening date. The
Department extended the opening order
for PLO 7899 by 60 days on February
18, 2021, to provide an opportunity to
review the decisions and ensure the
orderly management of the public lands
(86 FR 10131). Subsequently, certain
procedural and legal defects were
identified in the decision-making
process for these PLOs, including
insufficient analysis under NEPA,
failure to follow section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA), and possible failure to
adequately evaluate impacts under
section 7 of the Endangered Species Act
(ESA). Due to these deficiencies, on
April 16, 2021, the Department—relying
on inherent authority to revisit
decisions based on identified legal
errors—delayed the opening of lands
under PLO 7899 and the publication of
PLOs 7900, 7901, 7902, and 7903 for up
to two years.
In the meantime, the BLM has
committed to undertaking a process to
update the NEPA analysis for these
decisions, comply with the consent
requirements of Section 204(i) of
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FLPMA, and complete appropriate
consultation under Section 106 of the
NHPA, Section 7 of the ESA, and
Section 810 of ANILCA in order to
ensure that any decision to open some
or all of the lands under reconsideration
for selection under the Alaska Native
Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment
Program is adequately supported under
the law and, once conveyed, there are
no questions about ownership of Alaska
Native Veterans’ allotments.
The Alaska Native Vietnam-Era
Veterans Land Allotment Program was
established by Section 1119 of the
Dingell Act. Through this program, the
BLM can provide eligible individuals
the opportunity to select an allotment of
up to 160 acres from vacant,
unappropriated, and unreserved Federal
lands in Alaska, or lands selected by the
State of Alaska or Alaska Native
corporations if that entity agrees to
relinquish that portion of their
selection. By law, lands will be
available for selection only for a period
of five years, which began when the
regulations became effective on
December 28, 2020, and continues
through December 29, 2025. For more
information on the Alaska Native
Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment
Program, please visit https://
www.blm.gov/programs/lands-andrealty/regional-information/alaska/
land-transfer/ak-native-allotment-act/
alaska-native-vietnam-veterans-landallotment.
Currently, approximately 1.6 million
acres of BLM-administered land in
Alaska is available for selection by
Alaska Native Veterans, including lands
selected by the State of Alaska and
Alaska Native Corporations. The areas
subject to this review would—if opened
for selection under the Alaska Native
Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment
Program—make available up to 28
million additional acres of lands within
the Kobuk-Seward Peninsula, Ring of
Fire, Bay, Bering Sea-Western Interior,
and East Alaska planning areas.
Because the Dingell Act allows
eligible individuals to select lands for
only a limited period, and consistent
with the Congressional intent that the
Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans
Land Allotment Program quickly convey
allotments to eligible individuals, the
BLM will hold any applications for
lands covered by PLOs 7900, 7901,
7902, and 7903 within the KobukSeward Peninsula, Bay, Ring of Fire,
Bering Sea-Western Interior, and East
Alaska planning areas while the agency
completes the EA to consider opening
the lands for selection. All complete
applications for lands within those
planning areas will be considered as
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simultaneously filed at the time that any
lands covered by those applications are
opened to selection. If the BLM receives
applications for an allotment within
these lands, the agency will send a letter
acknowledging receipt and notifying the
applicant that all valid applications
received at or prior to 8 a.m. Alaska
Time on April 16, 2023, or the time that
the lands covered by the applications
are opened to selection, would be
considered as simultaneously filed at
that time. If the lands selected are not
made available at the end of this
process, the BLM will provide the
applicant notice and they will have 60
days to make a substitute selection.
The input of Alaska Native Tribes is
of critical importance to this EA.
Therefore, the BLM has already held a
series of government-to-government
consultations with Tribes and a
consultation meeting with Alaska
Native corporations. During the
planning process, the BLM will
continue to consult with potentially
affected Federally recognized Tribes on
a government-to-government basis, and
with affected Alaska Native
corporations in accordance with
Executive Order 13175 and other
policies. Native concerns, including
impacts on Indian trust assets and
potential impacts to cultural resources,
will be given appropriate consideration.
We respectfully request participation in
consultation by these Alaska Native
entities to receive their views and
recommendations on lands to be opened
for selection by eligible individuals. The
BLM anticipates holding additional
informational meetings and will also
hold individual consultation meetings if
requested.
The BLM will utilize and coordinate
the NEPA process to help fulfill the
public involvement process under the
NHPA, including as provided in 36 CFR
800.2(d)(3). The information about
historic and cultural resources within
the area potentially affected by the
proposed action will assist the BLM in
identifying and evaluating impacts to
such resources. Federal, State, and local
agencies, along with Tribes and other
stakeholders that may be interested in or
affected by the proposed opening of
lands withdrawn by Section 17(d)(1) of
ANCSA to selection of allotments for
the Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans
Land Allotment Program, are invited to
participate in the scoping process and,
if eligible, may request or be asked by
the BLM to participate in the
development of the EA as cooperating
agencies. Potentially affected Tribes will
receive a letter initiating consultation
under Section 106 of the NHPA in the
coming weeks and the BLM will work
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 139 / Friday, July 23, 2021 / Notices
AGENCY:
All comments must be received by
September 7, 2021. The draft PEIS is
tentatively scheduled for publication in
February 2022, followed by a 45-day
public comment period. The final PEIS
is tentatively scheduled for publication
in June 2022, followed by a
programmatic record of decision (ROD)
no sooner than 30 days after publication
of the final PEIS.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be
submitted in writing or through
www.regulations.gov. If in written form,
comments may be delivered by hand or
by mail, enclosed in an envelope
labeled, ‘‘Pacific Decommissioning’’ and
addressed to Richard Yarde, Regional
Supervisor, Office of Environment,
BOEM Pacific Region, 760 Paseo
Camarillo, Suite 102, Camarillo, CA,
93010. Comments may also be
submitted online through the
regulations.gov web portal: Navigate to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket No. BOEM–2021–0043. Click
on the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ button to the
right of the document link. Enter your
information and comment, then click
‘‘Submit.’’
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
information on the PEIS, contact
Richard Yarde, Regional Supervisor,
Office of Environment, at
richard.yarde@boem.gov or 805–384–
6379.
Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 800–877–8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern
Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Consistent with the
regulations implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BSEE
intends to prepare a PEIS to inform
future decisions on applications for the
decommissioning of oil and gas
pipelines, platforms, and other facilities
offshore of Southern California on the
Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
The Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM) is assisting BSEE
in the preparation of this environmental
analysis.
DATES: BSEE requests comments
concerning the scope of the analysis,
identifying potential alternatives,
significant issues for analysis (or those
to be eliminated as insignificant), and
potentially relevant information,
studies, and analyses to be considered.
Purpose and Need for the Proposed
Action
Oil and gas lessees, owners of
operating rights, and holders of rightsof-way must decommission all OCS
wells, platforms, other facilities, and
pipelines, and clear the seafloor of all
obstructions, in compliance with
regulatory requirements principally
located at 30 CFR part 250 Subpart Q.
There are currently 23 oil and gas
platforms and associated wells,
facilities, and pipelines on the OCS
offshore Southern California that were
installed between the late 1960s and
early 1990s and that will eventually
need to be decommissioned. Lessees
and owners of operating rights and
holders of rights-of-way must first apply
for and obtain approval from the
appropriate BSEE District Manager or
Regional Supervisor before
decommissioning platforms, pipelines,
and facilities. 30 CFR 250.1703–
250.1704. Well abandonment activities
with consulting parties to schedule
consultation meetings.
The BLM is seeking public comments
on issues, planning criteria, concerns,
potential impacts, alternatives, and
mitigation measures that should be
considered in the analysis. Substantive
comments will be used to prepare an
EA. Additional opportunities, for public
participation will be available upon
publication of the draft EA.
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.
Chad Padgett,
State Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 2021–15726 Filed 7–22–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–JA–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement
[EEJJ000000 212E1700D2
ET1EE0000.EIS000]
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement for Oil and Gas
Decommissioning Activities on the
Pacific Outer Continental Shelf
Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement (BSEE),
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare
a Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (PEIS).
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39055
are reviewed and completed prior to
removal of platforms, pipelines, and
other facilities, and are therefore not
included within the scope of this PEIS.
BSEE reviews decommissioning
applications to ensure compliance with
applicable regulatory standards and for
safety and protection of other OCS uses
and the environment. The purpose and
need for this PEIS is to support future
Federal review of and action on
decommissioning applications for
platforms, pipelines, and other facilities
offshore Southern California on the
Pacific OCS. Currently, eight oil and gas
platforms on the OCS offshore Southern
California, near Point Conception and in
the Santa Barbara Channel, no longer
produce oil and gas and are located on
terminated leases that no longer allow
resumption of production. BSEE expects
to receive decommissioning
applications for these platforms and
associated pipelines and other facilities
in the near term. It is currently
unknown when decommissioning may
be initiated for the remaining 15
platforms, though by regulation an
initial platform removal application
must be submitted for Pacific OCS
facilities at least two years before
production is projected to cease.
Preliminary Proposed Action and
Alternatives
BSEE expects to analyze three
alternatives in the PEIS: Complete
Removal of platforms and associated
facilities and pipelines (Preliminary
Proposed Action); Partial Removal of
platforms and any associated facilities
and pipelines; and No Action. Each
alternative is briefly described below.
The action alternatives contain a
number of overlapping elements. For
example, a particular type of cutting
tool might be used in either complete
removal or partial removal, with no
difference in the activity or the expected
impacts. In these instances analysis of
the options may be included as part of
the Proposed Action only.
Alternative 1—Complete Removal
(the Preliminary Proposed Action). The
Preliminary Proposed Action is to
authorize applications for complete
removal of platforms and other
facilities, decommissioning of all
pipelines by removal, and clearing the
seafloor of all obstructions created by
the lease or right-of-way operations, as
described in 30 CFR part 250 Subpart Q.
These activities must be completed in a
manner that is safe, does not
unreasonably interfere with other uses
of the OCS, and does not cause undue
or serious harm to the environment.
Both the Proposed Action and Partial
Removal alternative would consider
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 139 (Friday, July 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39053-39055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15726]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLAK941000.L14100000.ET0000.212]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment To
Consider Opening Lands Subject to ANCSA 17(d)(1) Withdrawals to
Selection Under the Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment
Program of 2019
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended; the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976 (FLPMA), as amended; the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA), as amended; the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (ANCSA), as amended; and the John D. Dingell, Jr.
Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 (Dingell Act), the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intends to prepare an Environmental
Assessment (EA) to consider the effects of opening lands withdrawn
pursuant to Section 17(d)(1) of ANCSA to selection by eligible
individuals under the Dingell Act.
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the EA.
Comments on relevant issues may be submitted in writing by September
21, 2021. The deadline to submit public comment is September 21, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues related to the proposed
project by any of the following methods:
ePlanning Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2014748/510.
Mail: 222 W. 7th Avenue, Stop #13, Anchorage, Alaska
99513.
[[Page 39054]]
More details and instructions for submitting public
comment can be found on the BLM ePlanning website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2014748/510.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the
ePlanning website.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Serena Sweet at (907) 271-4534, or by
email at [email protected] on questions specific to NEPA, and Paul
Krabacher at (907) 271-5681, or by email at [email protected], on
questions specific to the Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment
Program of 2019. People who use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339
to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FRS
is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or
question. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Land Order (PLO) 7899, addressing
lands in the Kobuk-Seward Peninsula planning area, was signed on
January 11, 2021, and published in the Federal Register on January 19,
2021 (86 FR 5236). PLOs 7900, 7901, 7902, and 7903--addressing lands in
the Ring of Fire, Bay, Bering Sea-Western Interior, and East Alaska
planning areas respectively--were signed on January 15 and 16, 2021,
but were never published in the Federal Register and therefore do not
have an opening date. The Department extended the opening order for PLO
7899 by 60 days on February 18, 2021, to provide an opportunity to
review the decisions and ensure the orderly management of the public
lands (86 FR 10131). Subsequently, certain procedural and legal defects
were identified in the decision-making process for these PLOs,
including insufficient analysis under NEPA, failure to follow section
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and possible
failure to adequately evaluate impacts under section 7 of the
Endangered Species Act (ESA). Due to these deficiencies, on April 16,
2021, the Department--relying on inherent authority to revisit
decisions based on identified legal errors--delayed the opening of
lands under PLO 7899 and the publication of PLOs 7900, 7901, 7902, and
7903 for up to two years.
In the meantime, the BLM has committed to undertaking a process to
update the NEPA analysis for these decisions, comply with the consent
requirements of Section 204(i) of FLPMA, and complete appropriate
consultation under Section 106 of the NHPA, Section 7 of the ESA, and
Section 810 of ANILCA in order to ensure that any decision to open some
or all of the lands under reconsideration for selection under the
Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment Program is adequately
supported under the law and, once conveyed, there are no questions
about ownership of Alaska Native Veterans' allotments.
The Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment Program was
established by Section 1119 of the Dingell Act. Through this program,
the BLM can provide eligible individuals the opportunity to select an
allotment of up to 160 acres from vacant, unappropriated, and
unreserved Federal lands in Alaska, or lands selected by the State of
Alaska or Alaska Native corporations if that entity agrees to
relinquish that portion of their selection. By law, lands will be
available for selection only for a period of five years, which began
when the regulations became effective on December 28, 2020, and
continues through December 29, 2025. For more information on the Alaska
Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment Program, please visit
https://www.blm.gov/programs/lands-and-realty/regional-information/alaska/land-transfer/ak-native-allotment-act/alaska-native-vietnam-veterans-land-allotment.
Currently, approximately 1.6 million acres of BLM-administered land
in Alaska is available for selection by Alaska Native Veterans,
including lands selected by the State of Alaska and Alaska Native
Corporations. The areas subject to this review would--if opened for
selection under the Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment
Program--make available up to 28 million additional acres of lands
within the Kobuk-Seward Peninsula, Ring of Fire, Bay, Bering Sea-
Western Interior, and East Alaska planning areas.
Because the Dingell Act allows eligible individuals to select lands
for only a limited period, and consistent with the Congressional intent
that the Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment Program
quickly convey allotments to eligible individuals, the BLM will hold
any applications for lands covered by PLOs 7900, 7901, 7902, and 7903
within the Kobuk-Seward Peninsula, Bay, Ring of Fire, Bering Sea-
Western Interior, and East Alaska planning areas while the agency
completes the EA to consider opening the lands for selection. All
complete applications for lands within those planning areas will be
considered as simultaneously filed at the time that any lands covered
by those applications are opened to selection. If the BLM receives
applications for an allotment within these lands, the agency will send
a letter acknowledging receipt and notifying the applicant that all
valid applications received at or prior to 8 a.m. Alaska Time on April
16, 2023, or the time that the lands covered by the applications are
opened to selection, would be considered as simultaneously filed at
that time. If the lands selected are not made available at the end of
this process, the BLM will provide the applicant notice and they will
have 60 days to make a substitute selection.
The input of Alaska Native Tribes is of critical importance to this
EA. Therefore, the BLM has already held a series of government-to-
government consultations with Tribes and a consultation meeting with
Alaska Native corporations. During the planning process, the BLM will
continue to consult with potentially affected Federally recognized
Tribes on a government-to-government basis, and with affected Alaska
Native corporations in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other
policies. Native concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given appropriate
consideration. We respectfully request participation in consultation by
these Alaska Native entities to receive their views and recommendations
on lands to be opened for selection by eligible individuals. The BLM
anticipates holding additional informational meetings and will also
hold individual consultation meetings if requested.
The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA process to help
fulfill the public involvement process under the NHPA, including as
provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about historic and
cultural resources within the area potentially affected by the proposed
action will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating impacts to
such resources. Federal, State, and local agencies, along with Tribes
and other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the
proposed opening of lands withdrawn by Section 17(d)(1) of ANCSA to
selection of allotments for the Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land
Allotment Program, are invited to participate in the scoping process
and, if eligible, may request or be asked by the BLM to participate in
the development of the EA as cooperating agencies. Potentially affected
Tribes will receive a letter initiating consultation under Section 106
of the NHPA in the coming weeks and the BLM will work
[[Page 39055]]
with consulting parties to schedule consultation meetings.
The BLM is seeking public comments on issues, planning criteria,
concerns, potential impacts, alternatives, and mitigation measures that
should be considered in the analysis. Substantive comments will be used
to prepare an EA. Additional opportunities, for public participation
will be available upon publication of the draft EA.
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.
Chad Padgett,
State Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 2021-15726 Filed 7-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P
