Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement To Analyze the Potential Environmental Effects From Maintaining Secretary Jewell's Coal Leasing Moratorium, 26588-26590 [2023-08960]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 83 / Monday, May 1, 2023 / Notices
A. Overview of Information Collection
Title of Information Collection:
Electronic Line of Credit Control System
(eLOCCS) System Access Authorization
Form.
OMB Approval Number: 2535–0102.
Type of Request: Reinstatement with
change.
Form Number: HUD–27054e.
telecommunications-relay-service-trs.
Copies of available documents
submitted to OMB may be obtained
from Ms. Guido.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
notice informs the public that HUD is
seeking approval from OMB for the
information collection described in
Section A.
Information collection
Number of
respondents
Responses
per annum
Burden hour
per response
Annual
burden hours
Hourly cost
per response
Annual cost
HUD—27054e ..............
2,420.00
1.00
2,420.00
0.17
411.00
$24.29
$9,992.91
Total ......................
........................
........................
........................
........................
411.00
$24.29
$9,992.91
B. Solicitation of Public Comment
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
This notice is soliciting comments
from members of the public and affected
parties concerning the collection of
information described in Section A on
the following:
(1) Whether the proposed collection
of information is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of the agency’s
estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection of information;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) Ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on those
who are to respond; including through
the use of appropriate automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of responses.
HUD encourages interested parties to
submit comment in response to these
questions.
Bureau of Land Management
C. Authority
Section 3507 of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35.
George J. Tomchick,
Deputy Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023–09062 Filed 4–28–23; 8:45 am]
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Frequency of
response
Description of the need for the
information and proposed use: Establish
access to the eLOCCS payment system.
Respondents: State or Local
Government; Public Housing
Authorities (PHAs), Individuals or
Households.
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[BLM_HQ_FRN_MO4500170190]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement To
Analyze the Potential Environmental
Effects From Maintaining Secretary
Jewell’s Coal Leasing Moratorium
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and
consistent with direction from the U.S.
District Court of Montana, the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) intends to
prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) to analyze the potential
environmental effects from maintaining
or revoking former Secretary of the
Interior Sally Jewell’s coal leasing
moratorium. This notice begins the
process of defining the scope of the EIS
by providing background on the Federal
coal program and the direction received
from the United States District Court for
the District of Montana in Citizens for
Clean Energy, v. U.S. Dep’t of the
Interior. With this notice, the BLM also
solicits public comments for
consideration in establishing the scope
and content of the EIS.
DATES: The BLM invites interested
agencies, States, Tribes, local
governments, industry, organizations,
and members of the public to submit
comments or suggestions to assist in
identifying significant issues that
should be included in the scope of
BLM’s review of the potential
environmental impacts from
maintaining or revoking former
Secretary Jewell’s coal leasing
moratorium.
The BLM will consider all written
comments received or postmarked
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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during the public comment period,
which will close on June 15, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written
comments by the following methods:
• Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/
eplanning-ui/project/2024545/510. This
is the preferred method of commenting.
• Email: BLM_HQ_320_
CoalProgramReview@blm.gov.
• Mail, personal, or messenger
delivery: National Coal Program Review,
1849 C Street NW, Room 5622,
Washington, DC 20240.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Timothy Barnes, Acting Chief, Division
of Solid Minerals, telephone: 541–416–
6858, email: tbarnes@blm.gov.
Individuals in the United States who
are deaf, blind, hard of hearing, or have
a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY,
TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM
will prepare an EIS to analyze the
potential environmental effects from
maintaining or revoking former
Secretary Jewell’s coal leasing
moratorium, as ordered by the U.S.
District Court for the District of Montana
in Citizens for Clean Energy, v. U.S.
Dep’t of the Interior, 4:17–cv–00042–
BMM (D. Mont. 2022).1 The court’s
decision is related to the environmental
analysis that the BLM previously
prepared to assess lifting a Federal coal
leasing moratorium established on
January 15, 2016, by then Secretary of
the Interior Sally Jewell. Secretary
Jewell established the moratorium
through Secretary’s Order No. 3338
1 The Intervenor-Appellants, the National Mining
Association, State of Wyoming and State of
Montana, appealed this decision on October 7,
2022, and October 11, 2022, respectively. Citizens
for Clean Energy v. Dep’t of the Interior, Civ. No.
22–35789 (9th Cir.).
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 83 / Monday, May 1, 2023 / Notices
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(Jewell Order), which directed the BLM
to conduct a programmatic review of the
Federal coal program through
preparation of an EIS under NEPA. On
March 29, 2017, then former Secretary
of the Interior Ryan Zinke issued
Secretary’s Order No. 3348 (Zinke
Order), which revoked the Jewell Order,
halted preparation of the EIS, and lifted
the moratorium on Federal coal leasing.
Background
Under the Mineral Leasing Act of
1920 (MLA), as amended, 30 U.S.C. 181
et seq., and the Mineral Leasing Act for
Acquired Lands of 1947 (MLAAL), as
amended, 30 U.S.C. 351 et seq., the BLM
is responsible for leasing Federal coal
and regulation of the development of
that coal on approximately 570 million
acres of the 700 million acres of mineral
estate that is owned by the Federal
Government. This responsibility
encompasses Federal mineral rights on
Federal lands and Federal mineral rights
located under surface lands with nonFederal ownership. Under the authority
of the MLA and MLAAL, the BLM
administers leasing and monitors coal
production. Other Departmental
bureaus, in particular the Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement (OSMRE) and the Office of
Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR),
also take actions related to coal mining
on Federal lands. The OSMRE, and
those States that have regulatory
primacy under the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977,
permit coal mining and reclamation
activities, and monitor reclamation and
reclamation bonding actions. The ONRR
collects and audits all payments
required under the lease, including
bonus bids, royalties, and rental
payments, and distributes those funds
between the Federal Treasury and the
States where coal resources are located.
The Jewell Order imposed a
moratorium on the issuance of new
Federal coal leases for thermal coal,
with limited exceptions, until
completion of the EIS.
On March 29, 2017, the Zinke Order
implemented Executive Order (E.O.)
13783, which was entitled, ‘‘Promoting
Energy Independence and Economic
Security,’’ by rescinding the Jewell
Order. Immediately thereafter, Citizens
for Clean Energy, Ecocheyenne,
Montana Environmental Information
Center, Center for Biological Diversity,
Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club,
WildEarth Guardians, and the Northern
Cheyenne Tribe filed a lawsuit in the
U.S. District Court for the District of
Montana asserting that the issuance of
the Zinke Order required an
environmental analysis in compliance
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17:10 Apr 28, 2023
Jkt 259001
with NEPA. Additionally, the States of
California, New York, New Mexico, and
Washington also filed suit and the Court
consolidated the cases. The National
Mining Association and the States of
Wyoming and Montana intervened.
On April 19, 2019, the Court held that
the Zinke Order was a final agency
action that triggered the need to comply
with NEPA, requiring the Department to
conduct an appropriate environmental
review of that action. To comply with
the Court’s Order, the BLM released an
environmental assessment (EA) for
public comment on May 22, 2019, and
published the final EA and a Finding of
No Significant Impact (FONSI) on its
website on February 26, 2020. Shortly
thereafter, the Plaintiffs amended their
complaints to challenge the scope and
content of the EA.
On January 20, 2021, President Biden
issued E.O. 13990, entitled, ‘‘Executive
Order on Protecting Public Health and
the Environment and Restoring Science
to Tackle the Climate Crisis,’’ revoking
E.O. 13783. On April 16, 2021, Secretary
Haaland rescinded the Zinke Order
through Secretary’s Order 3398, but did
not reinstate the Federal coal leasing
moratorium.
On August 12, 2022, the Court
vacated and remanded the EA and
associated FONSI and reinstated ‘‘[t]he
coal leasing program moratorium
established by the Jewell Order . . .
until the completion of sufficient NEPA
review analyzing revocation of the
moratorium.’’ Order at 19. The Court
determined that the EA’s analysis failed
‘‘to consider all direct, indirect, and
cumulative impacts of re-starting the
Federal coal-leasing program.’’ Order at
13. Further, the Court held that the BLM
should have considered ‘‘a potential
alternative that provided a baseline of
an indefinite moratorium’’ rather than
limiting the EA’s analysis to those leases
granted during the estimated
Programmatic EIS timeline providing
that the ‘‘BLM’s analysis should have
considered the effect of restarting coal
leasing from a forward-looking
perspective, including connected
actions.’’ Id. The Court directed the
‘‘BLM [to] perform NEPA analysis that
considers the full scope of the Zinke
Order’s effect on all then-pending lease
applications, and other connected,
cumulative, or similar actions.’’ Order at
17. In October 2022, IntervenorDefendants appealed the decision to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit.
Public Scoping Process
All public scoping comments must be
submitted by email or by mail to the
addresses listed under ADDRESSES.
PO 00000
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26589
Before including you 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 public at any time. While you
may request in your comment to have
your personal identifying information
withheld from public review, the BLM
cannot guarantee that this will occur.
The BLM will review and consider all
public scoping comments received and
will prepare a Scoping Summary
Report. The Scoping Summary Report
will be used by the BLM to identify
issues to be included in the
environmental analysis in the EIS,
resources and issues that can be
dismissed from detailed analysis
because they are not present or not
affected, and potential alternatives to be
analyzed.
Request for Identification of Potential
Alternatives, Information, and
Analyses Relevant to the Scope of the
Analysis of the Potential Environmental
Effects From Maintaining Secretary
Jewell’s Coal Leasing Moratorium on
Pending Federal Coal Lease
Applications
In addition to comments concerning
the scope of the environmental analysis,
commenters are encouraged to identify
relevant information, studies, and
analyses that would assist the BLM in
taking further action on the moratorium
instituted by the Jewell Order and
identifying potential alternatives.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
The BLM is the lead agency for this
EIS. Other Federal agencies, State,
Tribal, and local governments with
special expertise that are interested in
participating in the preparation of this
EIS should contact the previously
mentioned Acting Chief of the Division
of Solid Minerals.
Decision Maker
Director, Bureau of Land
Management.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
Informed by the environmental
analysis, the BLM will consider whether
and to what extent to continue the coal
leasing moratorium imposed by the
Jewell Order on January 15, 2016, lifted
by the Zinke Order on March 29, 2017,
and reinstated by the U.S. District Court
of Montana on August 12, 2022.
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26590
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 83 / Monday, May 1, 2023 / Notices
(Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., 30 U.S.C.
118 et seq., 30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.)
Benjamin E. Gruber,
Acting Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals
and Realty Management, Bureau of Land
Management, Department of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2023–08960 Filed 4–28–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331–29–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS–SER–VIIS–35617; PS.SSELA386.00.1]
Land Exchange at Virgin Islands
National Park; Correction
National Park Service, Interior.
Notice of land exchange;
correction.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The National Park Service
published a document in the Federal
Register of April 25, 2023, concerning
request for comments on a Notice of
Land Exchange at the Virgin Islands
National Park. The document contained
a typographical error in the DATES
section.
SUMMARY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Russell Webb, Supervisory Realty
Specialist, russell_webb@nps.gov, Land
Resources Program Office—National
Park Service, 2975 Horseshoe Dr. S,
Suite 800, Naples, Florida 34104,
telephone (239) 261–0865.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Correction
In the Federal Register of April 25,
2023, in FR Doc. 2023–08623, on page
25014, in the third column, correct the
DATES caption to read:
The effective date of this Notice
of land exchange is April 25, 2023.
Comments on the land exchange must
be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 9,
2023.
DATES:
Mark A. Foust,
Regional Director, Interior Region 2.
[FR Doc. 2023–09158 Filed 4–26–23; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4312–52–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
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Bureau of Reclamation
[RR04093000, XXXR4081G3, RX.05940913.
FY19400]
Public Meeting of the Glen Canyon
Dam Adaptive Management Work
Group
AGENCY:
Bureau of Reclamation,
Interior.
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ACTION:
Notice of public meeting.
In accordance with the
Federal Advisory Committee Act of
1972, the Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation) is publishing this notice
to announce that a Federal Advisory
Committee meeting of the Glen Canyon
Dam Adaptive Management Work
Group (AMWG) will take place.
DATES: The meeting will be held
virtually on Wednesday, May 17, 2023,
beginning at 9 a.m. (MDT) and
concluding four (4) hours later in the
respective time zones.
ADDRESSES: The virtual meeting held on
Wednesday, May 17, 2023, may be
accessed at: https://rec.webex.com/rec/
j.php?MTID=m069d7dac9f042ce419b
775a5d2b462ff;
Meeting Number: 2763 284 1693,
Password: May17;
Phone Number: (877) 932–7704;
Passcode: 8410783.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
William Stewart, Bureau of
Reclamation, telephone (385) 622–2179,
email at wstewart@usbr.gov. Individuals
in the United States who are deaf,
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY,
TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Glen
Canyon Dam Adaptive Management
Program (GCDAMP) was implemented
as a result of the Record of Decision on
the Operation of Glen Canyon Dam
Final Environmental Impact Statement
to comply with consultation
requirements of the Grand Canyon
Protection Act (Pub. L. 102–575) of
1992. The AMWG makes
recommendations to the Secretary of the
Interior concerning Glen Canyon Dam
operations and other management
actions to protect resources downstream
of Glen Canyon Dam, consistent with
the Grand Canyon Protection Act. The
AMWG meets two to three times a year.
Agenda: The AMWG will meet to
receive updates on: (1) current basin
hydrology and water year 2023
operations; (2) experiments considered
for implementation in 2023; and (3)
long-term funding considerations. The
AMWG will also discuss other
administrative and resource issues
pertaining to the GCDAMP. To view a
final copy of the agenda and documents
related to the May meeting, please visit
Reclamation’s website at https://
SUMMARY:
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www.usbr.gov/uc/progact/amp/
amwg.html.
Meeting Accessibility/Special
Accommodations: The meeting is open
to the public. Please make requests in
advance for sign language interpreter
services, assistive listening devices, or
other reasonable accommodations. We
ask that you contact Mr. William
Stewart (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT) section of this notice at least
seven (7) business days prior to the
meeting to give the Department of the
Interior sufficient time to process your
request. All reasonable accommodation
requests are managed on a case-by-case
basis.
Public Disclosure of Comments: Time
will be allowed for any individual or
organization wishing to make
extemporaneous and/or formal oral
comments. To allow for full
consideration of information by the
AMWG members, written notice should
be provided to Mr. William Stewart (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT)
prior to the meeting. Depending on the
number of persons wishing to speak,
and the time available, the time for
individual comments may be limited.
Any written comments received will be
provided to the AMWG members.
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: 5 U.S.C. appendix 10.
William Stewart,
Adaptive Management Group Chief,
Resources Management Division, Upper
Colorado Basin—Interior Region 7.
[FR Doc. 2023–09157 Filed 4–28–23; 8:45 am]
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE
COMMISSION
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Solicitation of Comments Relating to
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International Trade
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ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
Notice is hereby given that
the U.S. International Trade
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entitled Certain Blood Flow Restriction
Devices with Rotatable Windlasses and
SUMMARY:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 83 (Monday, May 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26588-26590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08960]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_HQ_FRN_MO4500170190]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement To
Analyze the Potential Environmental Effects From Maintaining Secretary
Jewell's Coal Leasing Moratorium
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and consistent with direction from the U.S.
District Court of Montana, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intends
to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to analyze the
potential environmental effects from maintaining or revoking former
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell's coal leasing moratorium. This
notice begins the process of defining the scope of the EIS by providing
background on the Federal coal program and the direction received from
the United States District Court for the District of Montana in
Citizens for Clean Energy, v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior. With this
notice, the BLM also solicits public comments for consideration in
establishing the scope and content of the EIS.
DATES: The BLM invites interested agencies, States, Tribes, local
governments, industry, organizations, and members of the public to
submit comments or suggestions to assist in identifying significant
issues that should be included in the scope of BLM's review of the
potential environmental impacts from maintaining or revoking former
Secretary Jewell's coal leasing moratorium.
The BLM will consider all written comments received or postmarked
during the public comment period, which will close on June 15, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following methods:
Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2024545/510. This is the preferred method of commenting.
Email: [email protected].
Mail, personal, or messenger delivery: National Coal
Program Review, 1849 C Street NW, Room 5622, Washington, DC 20240.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy Barnes, Acting Chief, Division
of Solid Minerals, telephone: 541-416-6858, email: [email protected].
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, blind, hard of
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in
the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM will prepare an EIS to analyze the
potential environmental effects from maintaining or revoking former
Secretary Jewell's coal leasing moratorium, as ordered by the U.S.
District Court for the District of Montana in Citizens for Clean
Energy, v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior, 4:17-cv-00042-BMM (D. Mont.
2022).\1\ The court's decision is related to the environmental analysis
that the BLM previously prepared to assess lifting a Federal coal
leasing moratorium established on January 15, 2016, by then Secretary
of the Interior Sally Jewell. Secretary Jewell established the
moratorium through Secretary's Order No. 3338
[[Page 26589]]
(Jewell Order), which directed the BLM to conduct a programmatic review
of the Federal coal program through preparation of an EIS under NEPA.
On March 29, 2017, then former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke
issued Secretary's Order No. 3348 (Zinke Order), which revoked the
Jewell Order, halted preparation of the EIS, and lifted the moratorium
on Federal coal leasing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Intervenor-Appellants, the National Mining Association,
State of Wyoming and State of Montana, appealed this decision on
October 7, 2022, and October 11, 2022, respectively. Citizens for
Clean Energy v. Dep't of the Interior, Civ. No. 22-35789 (9th Cir.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Background
Under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (MLA), as amended, 30 U.S.C.
181 et seq., and the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands of 1947
(MLAAL), as amended, 30 U.S.C. 351 et seq., the BLM is responsible for
leasing Federal coal and regulation of the development of that coal on
approximately 570 million acres of the 700 million acres of mineral
estate that is owned by the Federal Government. This responsibility
encompasses Federal mineral rights on Federal lands and Federal mineral
rights located under surface lands with non-Federal ownership. Under
the authority of the MLA and MLAAL, the BLM administers leasing and
monitors coal production. Other Departmental bureaus, in particular the
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) and the
Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), also take actions related
to coal mining on Federal lands. The OSMRE, and those States that have
regulatory primacy under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
of 1977, permit coal mining and reclamation activities, and monitor
reclamation and reclamation bonding actions. The ONRR collects and
audits all payments required under the lease, including bonus bids,
royalties, and rental payments, and distributes those funds between the
Federal Treasury and the States where coal resources are located.
The Jewell Order imposed a moratorium on the issuance of new
Federal coal leases for thermal coal, with limited exceptions, until
completion of the EIS.
On March 29, 2017, the Zinke Order implemented Executive Order
(E.O.) 13783, which was entitled, ``Promoting Energy Independence and
Economic Security,'' by rescinding the Jewell Order. Immediately
thereafter, Citizens for Clean Energy, Ecocheyenne, Montana
Environmental Information Center, Center for Biological Diversity,
Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, WildEarth Guardians, and the
Northern Cheyenne Tribe filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for
the District of Montana asserting that the issuance of the Zinke Order
required an environmental analysis in compliance with NEPA.
Additionally, the States of California, New York, New Mexico, and
Washington also filed suit and the Court consolidated the cases. The
National Mining Association and the States of Wyoming and Montana
intervened.
On April 19, 2019, the Court held that the Zinke Order was a final
agency action that triggered the need to comply with NEPA, requiring
the Department to conduct an appropriate environmental review of that
action. To comply with the Court's Order, the BLM released an
environmental assessment (EA) for public comment on May 22, 2019, and
published the final EA and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)
on its website on February 26, 2020. Shortly thereafter, the Plaintiffs
amended their complaints to challenge the scope and content of the EA.
On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued E.O. 13990, entitled,
``Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and
Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,'' revoking E.O. 13783.
On April 16, 2021, Secretary Haaland rescinded the Zinke Order through
Secretary's Order 3398, but did not reinstate the Federal coal leasing
moratorium.
On August 12, 2022, the Court vacated and remanded the EA and
associated FONSI and reinstated ``[t]he coal leasing program moratorium
established by the Jewell Order . . . until the completion of
sufficient NEPA review analyzing revocation of the moratorium.'' Order
at 19. The Court determined that the EA's analysis failed ``to consider
all direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of re-starting the Federal
coal-leasing program.'' Order at 13. Further, the Court held that the
BLM should have considered ``a potential alternative that provided a
baseline of an indefinite moratorium'' rather than limiting the EA's
analysis to those leases granted during the estimated Programmatic EIS
timeline providing that the ``BLM's analysis should have considered the
effect of restarting coal leasing from a forward-looking perspective,
including connected actions.'' Id. The Court directed the ``BLM [to]
perform NEPA analysis that considers the full scope of the Zinke
Order's effect on all then-pending lease applications, and other
connected, cumulative, or similar actions.'' Order at 17. In October
2022, Intervenor-Defendants appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Public Scoping Process
All public scoping comments must be submitted by email or by mail
to the addresses listed under ADDRESSES. Before including you 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 public at
any time. While you may request in your comment to have your personal
identifying information withheld from public review, the BLM cannot
guarantee that this will occur. The BLM will review and consider all
public scoping comments received and will prepare a Scoping Summary
Report. The Scoping Summary Report will be used by the BLM to identify
issues to be included in the environmental analysis in the EIS,
resources and issues that can be dismissed from detailed analysis
because they are not present or not affected, and potential
alternatives to be analyzed.
Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, and
Analyses Relevant to the Scope of the Analysis of the Potential
Environmental Effects From Maintaining Secretary Jewell's Coal Leasing
Moratorium on Pending Federal Coal Lease Applications
In addition to comments concerning the scope of the environmental
analysis, commenters are encouraged to identify relevant information,
studies, and analyses that would assist the BLM in taking further
action on the moratorium instituted by the Jewell Order and identifying
potential alternatives.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
The BLM is the lead agency for this EIS. Other Federal agencies,
State, Tribal, and local governments with special expertise that are
interested in participating in the preparation of this EIS should
contact the previously mentioned Acting Chief of the Division of Solid
Minerals.
Decision Maker
Director, Bureau of Land Management.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
Informed by the environmental analysis, the BLM will consider
whether and to what extent to continue the coal leasing moratorium
imposed by the Jewell Order on January 15, 2016, lifted by the Zinke
Order on March 29, 2017, and reinstated by the U.S. District Court of
Montana on August 12, 2022.
[[Page 26590]]
(Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., 30 U.S.C. 118 et seq., 30 U.S.C.
351 et seq.)
Benjamin E. Gruber,
Acting Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals and Realty Management,
Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2023-08960 Filed 4-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-29-P
