Bureau of Land Management November 16, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et. seq., as amended, and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et. seq., as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Shoshone Field Office, announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Bald Mountain Ski Resort Master Development Plan EIS. The FEIS analyzes and discloses the effects of the updated Bald Mountain Ski Area Master Development Plan and 40-year term ski permit application for the Bald Mountain Ski Area near Ketchum, Idaho.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Arizona Resource Advisory Council (RAC), will meet on December 6, 2007, in Phoenix, Arizona, at the BLM Arizona State Office, One North Central Avenue, 8th floor. It will begin at 8 a.m. and conclude at 4:30 p.m. Morning agenda items include: Review of the September 6, 2007, meeting minutes for RAC and Recreation Resource Advisory Council (RRAC) business; BLM State Director's update on statewide issues; presentations on: BLM Energy Corridors in Arizona, BLM Recreation Webpage Redesign, BLM Route Evaluation and Designation Process; and Recreational Shooting on Public Lands; review and discussion of the 2008 RAC Annual Work Plan; and, reports by RAC working groups. A public comment period will be provided at 11:30 a.m. on December 6, 2007, for any interested publics who wish to address the Council on BLM programs and business. Under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, the RAC has been designated the RRAC, and has the authority to review all BLM and Forest Service (FS) recreation fee proposals in Arizona. The afternoon meeting agenda on December 6, will include discussion and review of the Recreation Enhancement Act (REA) Working Group Report, the Fiscal Year 2008 quarterly schedule for BLM and FS recreation fee proposals, and proposed modifications to the RRAC protocol, business cycle, and fee proposal guidelines. After completing their RRAC business, the BLM RAC will discuss future meetings and locations.

DOE and BLM of the DOI as co-lead agencies, and the U.S. Forest Service (FS) of the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) of the DOI as cooperating Federal Agencies (the Agencies) announce the availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Designation of Energy Corridors in the 11 Western States (Draft PEIS) (DOE/EIS0386) and the dates and locations for the public hearings to receive comments on the Draft PEIS. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe, the California Energy Commission (CEC), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the State of Wyoming, and the Lincoln, Sweetwater, and Uinta counties and conservation districts in Wyoming are also cooperating agencies. The Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) are consulting agencies. The Agencies prepared the Draft PEIS pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations, 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508, the DOE NEPA regulations, 10 CFR part 1021, and 10 CFR part 1022, Compliance with Floodplain and Wetland Environmental Review Requirements, the BLM planning regulations, 43 CFR part 1600, and applicable FS planning regulations. Section 368 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), Public Law 109-58, directs the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with FERC, States, tribal or local units of governments, as appropriate, affected utility industries, and other interested persons, to designate, under their respective authorities, corridors for oil, gas, and hydrogen pipelines and electricity transmission and distribution facilities on Federal land in the 11 contiguous Western States (as defined in section 103(o) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(o)), perform any environmental reviews that may be required to complete the designation of such corridors, and incorporate the designated corridors into relevant agency land use and resource management plans or equivalent plans. The 11 Western States are Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.