Bureau of Land Management June 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This Notice announces that Federal coal lands located within the nine Oklahoma Counties of Atoka, Coal, Haskell, Latimer, LeFlore, McIntosh, Muskogee, Pittsburgh, and Sequoyah continue to qualify as a Category 5 royalty rate reduction area (Area) as set forth in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Royalty Rate Reduction Guidelines and BLM Manual 3485, Reports, Royalties, and Records. Analysis by the BLM New Mexico State Office indicates that there have been no significant changes in the coal market for the Area during the last five years. Therefore, the BLM State Director for the New Mexico State Office has decided to extend the qualification of the area for Category 5 royalty rate reductions until December 17, 2019.

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 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.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is scheduled to file plats of survey for the lands described in this notice 30 calendar days from the date of this publication in the BLM Idaho State Office, Boise, Idaho. The surveys, which were executed at the request of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the BLM, are necessary for the management of these lands.

The plats of survey of lands described in this notice are scheduled to be officially filed in the Bureau of Land Management, California State Office, Sacramento, California. The surveys, which were executed at the request of the BLM Mother Lode Field Office, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Western Regional Office, the United States Forest Service (USFS) Region 4 Intermountain Region, the USFS Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, and the USFS Modoc National Forest, are necessary for the management of these lands.

The plats of survey of the following described lands are scheduled to be officially filed in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Colorado State Office, Lakewood, Colorado, 30 calendar days from the date of this publication. The surveys, which were executed at the request of the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Park Service, and the BLM, are necessary for the management of these lands.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) provides 60-day notice, invites public comments on, and plans to request approval to continue, the collection of information from applicants for authorization to purchase mineral materials from public lands. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has assigned control number 1004-0103 to this information collection.

On November 18, 2016, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a final rule entitled, ``Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation'' (the ``Waste Prevention Rule'' or ``Rule''). Immediately after the Waste Prevention Rule was issued, petitions for judicial review of the Rule were filed by industry groups and States with significant BLM-managed Federal and Indian minerals. This litigation has been consolidated and is now pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming. In light of the existence and potential consequences of the pending litigation, the BLM has concluded that justice requires it to postpone the compliance dates for certain sections of the Rule pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, pending judicial review.

The State of Alaska (State) has filed an application with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest (RDI) from the United States in those lands underlying the George River from its mouth to Julian Creek. The State asserts that the George River, a major tributary of the Kuskokwim River in southwestern Alaska, was navigable and unreserved at the time of Alaska Statehood in 1959.