[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 221 (Thursday, November 16, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57561-57562]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-28294]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management

43 CFR Part 2810

[WO-420-6310-00]


Tramroads and Logging Roads--Subpart 2812--Over O. and C. and 
Coos Bay Revested Lands

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to revise 
regulations governing logging roads over revested Oregon and California 
Railroad grant lands and reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands 
(collectively known as the O&C lands). The changes will bring the 
existing cost-sharing road program under the regulatory framework of 
Section 502 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(FLPMA) and incorporate environmental protection and other requirements 
for rights-of-way over public lands found in Title V of FLPMA. Another 
change will allow compensation for the use of roads and rights-of-way 
where the landowner has granted BLM rights of access for recreational 
purposes. In addition, the entire subpart will be revised, using a 
``plain English'' approach, to remove obsolete terms and improve its 
clarity, organization, and readability. The purpose of this notice is 
to solicit comments to help guide preparation of the proposed rule. 
This notice presents only a general description of the actions being 
considered and includes no regulatory text.

DATES: Comments on this advance notice of proposed rulemaking must be 
received by December 18, 1995. Comments postmarked after this date may 
not be considered in the preparation of the proposed rule.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Regulatory Management Team (420), 
Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C Street NW, Room 401LS, Washington, DC 
20240.
    Comments may be sent via Internet to: WO[email protected]. Please 
include ``ATTN: O&C'' and your name and return address in your Internet 
message.
    Comments may be hand-delivered to the Bureau of Land Management 
Administrative Record, Room 401, 1620 L Street NW, Washington, DC.
    Comments will be available for public review at the L Street 
address during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.), Monday 
through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Styduhar, Oregon State Office, 
Bureau of Land Management, (503) 952-6454.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM is responsible for the conservation 
and management of about two million acres of public forestlands in 
western Oregon, commonly referred to as the O&C lands. The O&C lands 
are generally intermingled with private lands in a checkerboard pattern 
which creates particular problems with respect to land management as 
each party must cross the lands of the other for access.
    The Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management 
Act of August 28, 1937 (43 U.S.C. 1181a and 1181b) granted to the 
Secretary of the Interior the general authority to provide for the use, 
occupancy, and development of the O&C lands through permits and rights-
of-way. The BLM has had a cost-share logging road right-of-way program 
in western Oregon under this authority since the early 1950's. The 
regulations for this program are contained in 43 CFR Subpart 2812. With 
the enactment of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(FLPMA), all right-of-way authorizations must be issued under the 
authority and requirements of Title V of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1761-1771). 
The Secretary was given specific authority to enter into cost-share 
agreements under Section 502 of the Act.
    The BLM has continued the use of regulations in 43 CFR Subpart 2812 
on an interim basis pending the preparation and publication of new 
cost-share regulations. Since the regulations contained in this subpart 
clearly represent a cost-share road agreement concept, it is proposed 
by the Secretary that these regulations be revised as necessary and 
adopted pursuant to the authority contained in Section 310 of FLPMA (43 
U.S.C. 1740) for the purpose of implementing Section 502. Continuing 
the use of pre-existing regulations with only minor modifications and 
changes would provide for the orderly and continuous administration of 
all outstanding permits and agreements issued prior to the effective 
date of this rulemaking.
    BLM has identified the following changes that it intends to include 
in the proposed rule and invites the public to submit information and 
comments:
    1. Include as an authority Title V of FLPMA, thus bringing the 
authority section up to date.
    2. Modify the definition of ``management'' to include the 
conservation of environmental resources. This will ensure that 
protection of the environment is 

[[Page 57562]]
considered equally with all other management objectives.
    3. Provide for reimbursement of reasonable costs incurred by the 
United States in considering right-of-way requests. The BLM currently 
charges no fees for processing right-of-way applications under this 
subpart.
    4. Remove the restriction on granting permits to noncitizens since 
this restriction is no longer required under FLPMA.
    5. Permit the collection of additional information that the 
Secretary deems necessary to determine whether a right-of-way should be 
granted, issued, or renewed, and what terms and conditions should be 
included in the right-of-way.
    6. Remove the provision allowing construction in advance of the 
issuance of a permit, because there is no authority for it in Title V 
of FLPMA.
    7. Allow either party to record legal instruments. As a practical 
matter, BLM rather than the applicant often records these instruments, 
and the regulation should be amended to authorize this practice.
    8. Provide regulatory authority for the BLM to object to the 
location of a road right-of-way across public lands because of 
potential effects on species listed as threatened or endangered under 
the Endangered Species Act.
    9. Add terms and conditions including environmental protection 
provisions and measures to protect cultural sites and objects. Include 
a reservation of the right of the government to permit compatible use 
of the right-of-way by others.
    10. Add an abandonment provision providing that failure to use the 
right-of-way for a continuous 5-year period will be treated as 
abandonment. This presumption of abandonment would be rebuttable by the 
holder.
    11. Establish terms and conditions whereby the government can 
exercise the rights received from a permittee for use by properly 
licensed hunters and fishermen and by other recreationalists to reach 
United States lands.
    The public is invited to raise any additional issues or concerns 
related to the proposed rulemaking, including any other factors that 
should be considered in its development. BLM is particularly interested 
in ideas about how to reorganize, simplify, and clarify the existing 
regulations.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, BLM is 
required to provide notice in the Federal Register concerning a 
proposed collection of information. The purpose of the notice is to 
solicit comments on whether the collection of information is necessary, 
the accuracy of BLM's estimate of the burden imposed by the collection, 
ways to enhance the quality and usefulness of the information, and ways 
to minimize the burden. Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 
Register, BLM is publishing a notice concerning the form used by 
applicants for right-of-way permits.
    The principal author of this advance notice of proposed rulemaking 
is John Styduhar, Oregon State Office, assisted by Pat Boyd, Regulatory 
Management Team, Washington Office.

    Dated: November 13, 1995.
Annetta Cheek,
Regulatory Management Team.
[FR Doc. 95-28294 Filed 11-15-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-P