Land Management Bureau February 23, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposes to extend the duration of Public Land Order (PLO) No. 6650 for an additional 20-year term. PLO No. 6650 withdrew 20 acres of public lands from settlement, sale, location, and entry under the general land laws, including the mining laws, to protect the Sugarloaf Petroglyphs and Pine Spring Archeological Sites in Sweetwater County. This notice also gives an opportunity to comment on the proposed action and to request a public meeting.

This advance notice of proposed rulemaking is related to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) surface management regulations for mining operations authorized by the Mining Law. In a previous Federal district court proceeding, environmental groups challenged the BLM's regulations on surface management under the Mining Law in 43 CFR subpart 3809, issued by the Department in 2001, in part, because the regulations did not require fair market value payment for the use of Federal lands for mining operations when the lands are ``invalidly claimed'' or unclaimed under the Mining Law. For the most part, the court upheld the 3809 regulations, but remanded them in part to the Department ``for evaluation, in light of Congress's expressed policy goal for the United States to `receive fair market value of the use of the public lands and their resources.' '' This advance notice of proposed rulemaking is intended to assist the BLM in the evaluation ordered by the Court.