Bureau of Land Management July 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Draft California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan Amendment for the Palen Solar Electric Generating System (PSEGS). This Draft Supplemental EIS supplements the Final EIS prepared for the Palen Solar Power Project (PSPP), Riverside County, California. This notice announces the opening of the comment period.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has officially filed the plats of survey of the lands described below in the BLM Idaho State Office, Boise, Idaho, effective 9:00 a.m., on the dates specified.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oklahoma Field Office, Tulsa, Oklahoma, intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) with an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas planning area. This notice announces the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues. The RMP will replace the existing Oklahoma RMP (1994), the Kansas RMP (1991), and the Texas RMP (1996), and the associated EIS for the RMP will also analyze Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) management decisions for lands and minerals managed by the BIA in the three states.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is preparing a Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment and Associated Environmental Assessment (EA) to consider leasing Federal coal in response to lease application ALES-55199 for Jefferson County, Alabama. Coal industry representatives, State and local governments, and the general public are encouraged to submit information to assist in determining coal development potential and possible environmental consequences, as well as development conflicts with other resources.

The plats of survey of the following described lands are scheduled to be officially filed in the Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State Office, Portland, Oregon, 30 days from the date of this publication.

Notice is hereby given that under the authority of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Winnemucca District, Black Rock Field Office, will implement and enforce a temporary closure and temporary restrictions to protect public safety and resources on public lands within and adjacent to the Burning Man event on the Black Rock Desert playa.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Las Cruces District Resource Advisory Council (RAC) will meet as indicated below.

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) Wyoming Resource Advisory Council (RAC) will meet as indicated below.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Southwest Colorado Resource Advisory Council (RAC) will meet in August 2013.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Sonoran Valley Parkway Project (Parkway) and by this notice is announcing the opening of the comment period.

Pursuant to applicable provisions of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (REA), the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Prineville District Office is proposing to begin collecting fees for day and overnight trips (floats) on the Service Creek (River Mile 157) to Tumwater Falls (River Mile 10) stretch of the John Day River, between Service Creek, Oregon, and the confluence of the John Day River and the Columbia River, Oregon. The John Day River system was designated as a National Wild and Scenic River on October 28, 1988, and as a Special Area in the John Day Basin Resource Management Plan (February 2001).

Pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended by the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976, and to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulations, all interested parties are hereby invited to participate with Bridger Coal Company, on a pro rata cost-sharing basis, in its program for the exploration of coal deposits owned by the United States of America in Sweetwater County, Wyoming.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Northwest Colorado Resource Advisory Council (RAC) will meet on August 22, 2013, in Grand Junction.

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an appealable decision will be issued by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to The Kuskokwim Corporation. The decision approves the surface estate in the lands described below for conveyance pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601, et seq.). The subsurface estate in these lands will be conveyed to Calista Corporation when the surface estate is conveyed to The Kuskokwim Corporation. The lands are in the vicinity of Napaimute, Alaska, and are located in:

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is announcing the availability of a Supplement to the Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Bighorn Basin Planning Area and announcing the opening of the comment period.

Notice is hereby given that the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), New Mexico State Office, in conjunction with the Farmington District Office, will offer certain coal resources in the tract described below in McKinley County, New Mexico, for competitive sale by sealed bid in accordance with the provisions of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended.

The purpose of this notice is to inform the public and interested State and local government officials of the filing of Plats of Survey in Nevada.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Needles Field Office, Needles, California, intends to prepare an amendment to the 1980 California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan with an associated Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the sale of the reversionary interest held by the United States (U.S.) in 50 acres of land previously conveyed out of Federal ownership and by this notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.

This order extends the duration of the withdrawal created by Public Land Order No. 6986, which was issued effective July 1, 1993, for an additional 20-year period. The extension is necessary to continue protection of the scenic, recreational, and fish and wildlife habitat values in the scenic section of the Illinois Wild and Scenic River located in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest between the mouth of Deer Creek and the mouth of Briggs Creek, which would otherwise expire on June 30, 2013.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Tucson Field Office (TFO), proposes to sell a parcel of public land consisting of approximately 5.96 acres in Pima County, Arizona. The parcel is being proposed for noncompetitive direct sale to the Three Points Fire District under the provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), and the BLM sales and mineral conveyance regulations for the appraised fair market value (FMV) of $83,440.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Ruby Pipeline Project and by this notice is announcing the opening of the comment period.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Hollister Underground Mine Project and by this notice is announcing its availability.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Western Area Power Administration (Western) announce the availability of the TransWest Express Transmission Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and draft Land Use Plan Amendments. The DEIS analyzes the consequences of granting a right-of-way (ROW) to TransWest Express, LLC (TransWest) to construct and operate an extra-high voltage (EHV) direct current (DC) transmission system (proposed Project). The Project would provide the transmission infrastructure and capacity to deliver approximately 3,000 megawatts of electric power from existing and future renewable and other energy sources in south-central Wyoming to a substation hub in southern Nevada. The Project would consist of an approximately 725-mile-long 600-kilovolt (kV), DC transmission line and two terminals, each containing an alternating current (AC)/DC converter station. The northern AC/DC converter station would be located near Sinclair, Wyoming, and the southern AC/DC converter station would be located near a group of substations in the Eldorado Valley called Marketplace Hub, approximately 25 miles south of Las Vegas, Nevada. A ground electrode system (required for transmission line emergency shutdown) would be installed within 100 miles of each terminal. The Project would retain an option for future interconnection with the Intermountain Power Project (IPP) transmission system in Millard County, Utah. The BLM, through consultation with other Federal, State, and local cooperating agencies, has included an Agency Preferred Alternative (APA) transmission route in the DEIS. The rationale for selecting the location of this alternative is described in the Supplementary Information section of this Notice of Availability (NOA). The following discussions of Project segment lengths across various land ownerships and jurisdictions are specific to the 760-mile- long APA. The requested ROW width would generally be 250 feet. As a general planning goal, the APA has been located parallel to existing transmission lines and other utilities, within the West-wide energy corridors designated pursuant to Section 368 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and other federally designated utility corridors, unless precluded by resource or routing constraints or technical infeasibility. Approximately 230 miles (30 percent) of the APA is located within or adjacent to designated federal utility corridors. The APA is located in proximity and parallel to other utilities (transmission lines, pipelines, roads) over a distance of 447 miles (57 percent) of the total length. The lengths of the APA segments by Federal jurisdiction are: WyomingBLM Rawlins Field Office (78 miles). ColoradoBLM Little Snake, White River Field Offices (71 miles). UtahBLM Vernal, Price, Fillmore, Richfield, Cedar City Field Offices (212 miles); Bureau of Indian Affairs/Tribal (3 miles); and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Uinta, Manti-La-Sal, Fishlake, and Ashley National Forests (18 miles). NevadaBLM Caliente, Las Vegas Field Offices (129 miles) and Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) (6 miles). The APA transmission route would cross 58 miles of State land, and 127 miles of private land. In Wyoming, the APA crosses 78 miles of Federal, 1 mile of State and 30 miles of private land. In Colorado, the APA crosses 71 miles of Federal, 7 miles of State and 12 miles of private land. In Utah the APA crosses 230 miles of Federal, 50 miles of State, 3 miles of Tribal and 123 miles of private land. In Nevada, the APA crosses 135 miles of Federal, 14 miles of Tribal and 7 miles of private land. Transmission line alternatives were developed as part of this EIS analysis. Additional Federal land jurisdictions crossed by Project alternatives include: ColoradoBLM Grand Junction Field Office; Utah BLM Moab, Richfield, and St. George Field Offices and Fishlake, Ashley and Dixie National Forests; NevadaNational Park Service (NPS) and the Department of Energy (DOE). These alternatives cross State and private lands in addition to the Federal lands. The DEIS includes draft amendments of USFS Land and Resource Management Plans (Forest Plans) and BLM land use plans (Management Framework Plans and Resource Management Plans) that would be needed for the Project under each of the alternatives. The BLM and USFS draft amendments are described in the Supplementary Information section of this NOA. Additionally, based on information learned through the EIS process, the USFS may determine that more plan amendments are required to fulfill the intent of standards and guidelines in the areas affected. Depending on the alternative selected in the Record of Decision (ROD), the NPS may consider applications for segments of the Project within Lake Mead National Recreation Area and across the Deer Lodge Road that provides access to Dinosaur National Monument. By this notice, and the Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS, published January 4, 2011 (see below), the BLM is providing notice to the public of potential amendments to land use plans and Forest Plans, as required by 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1610.2(c) and 36 CFR 219.8. The impacts of these potential amendments are analyzed in the DEIS together with the impacts of the various Project alternatives. Your input is important and will be considered in the environmental analysis process. All comment submissions must include the commenter's name and street address. Comments including the names and addresses of the commenter will be available for public inspection at the locations listed below during normal business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

In accordance with Section 7 of the Taylor Grazing Act and Executive Order Number 6910, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has examined and found suitable for classification for lease and subsequent conveyance under the provisions of the Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) Act, as amended, approximately 12.5 acres of public land in the City of Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada. The City of Las Vegas proposes to use the land for a public park.

The purpose of this notice is to solicit public nominations for three positions on the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board (Board). The Board provides advice concerning the management, protection, and control of wild free-roaming horses and burros on the public lands administered by the Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Department of Agriculture, through the U.S. Forest Service.