[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 156 (Monday, August 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42564-42565]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-20172]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR-035-1430-ES; GP01-0259; OR-55163]


Notice of Realty Action; Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) 
Act Classification; Oregon

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The public land, described below, in Morrow County, Oregon, 
has been examined and found suitable for classification for lease or 
conveyance to the City of Irrigon under the provisions of the 
Recreation and Public Purposes Act, as amended (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.). 
The City of Irrigon proposes to use the land for a wastewater treatment 
and disposal plant.

Willamette Meridian

T. 5 N., R. 27 E.,
    Sec. 20, that portion of NW\1/4\SW\1/4\ lying south of the 
southerly right-of-way line of Highway 730, excepting from said 
parcel approximately 5 acres in the northwest portion.

    The above described land contains 14.05 acres, more or less. The 
exact acreage will be determined by survey.
    The 5 acres of land referenced above were examined and found to be 
unsuitable for classification for lease or conveyance under the 
Recreation and Public Purposes Act. This land was included in the City 
of Irrigon's R&PP application, filed May 14, 1999. The unsuitability 
determination is based on the discovery of historic resources 
determined to meet eligibility criteria for the National Register of 
Historic Places.

ADDRESSES: Bureau of Land Management, Baker Field Office, 3165 10th 
Street, Baker City, Oregon 97814.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The land is not needed for Federal purposes. 
Lease or conveyance is consistent with current Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) land use planning and would be in the public interest. 
The lease/patent, when issued, will be subject to the following terms, 
conditions and reservations:
    1. Provisions of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act and to all 
applicable regulations of the Secretary of the Interior.
    2. A right-of-way for ditches and canals constructed by the 
authority of the United States.
    3. All minerals shall be reserved to the United States, together 
with the right to prospect for, mine, and remove the minerals.
    4. Those rights for telephone line purposes granted to Qwest 
Corporation by right-of-way ORE 01094.
    5. Those rights for electric power line purposes granted to 
Umatilla Electric Cooperative Association by right-of-way OR 44472.
    6. Those rights for county road purposes granted to Morrow County 
Public Works by right-of-way OR 54274.
    7. A covenant referencing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) entered 
into by the City of Irrigon, BLM, and the State Historic Preservation 
Office and potentially other affected interests. The purpose of the MOA 
would be to implement agreed upon mitigation measures for compliance 
with the National Historic Preservation Act and to protect historic 
resources on and adjacent to the property conveyed to the City of 
Irrigon.
    8. Any other valid rights-of-way that may exist at the time of 
lease or conveyance.
    The subject land had previously been segregated from appropriation 
under the public land laws and mineral laws as a part of the Northeast 
Oregon Assembled Land Exchange (NOALE)(OR 51858), pursuant to the 
Oregon Land Exchange Act of 2000, Pub. L. 106-257 and Sec. 206 of the 
Act of October 21, 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716), as amended. A decision, based 
on Environmental Assessment OR-035-99-05, has determined that lease or 
conveyance of the parcel to the City of Irrigon under provisions of the 
Recreation and Public Purposes Act better serves the public interest 
than disposing of it through a land exchange. The segregative effect on 
the subject land automatically terminated by operation of the law on 
May 23, 2001.
    Upon publication of this notice in the Federal Register, the land 
will be segregated from all other forms of appropriation under the 
public land laws, including the general mining laws, except for lease 
or conveyance under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, and leasing 
under the mineral leasing laws.
    For a period of 45 days from the date of publication of this notice 
in the Federal Register, interested persons may submit comments 
regarding the proposed lease/conveyance or classification of the land 
to the Field Manager, Baker Field Office, 3165 10th Street, Baker City, 
OR 97814.
    Classification Comments: Interested parties may submit comments 
involving the suitability of the land for a wastewater treatment and 
disposal plant. Comments on the classification are restricted to 
whether the land is physically suited for the proposal, whether the use 
will maximize the

[[Page 42565]]

future use or uses of the land, whether the use is consistent with 
local planning and zoning, or if the use is consistent with State and 
Federal programs.
    Application Comments: Interested parties may submit comments 
regarding the specific use proposed in the application and plan of 
development, whether the BLM followed proper administrative procedures 
in reaching the decision, or any other factor not directly related to 
the suitability of the land for a wastewater treatment and disposal 
plant.
    Any adverse comments will be reviewed by the State Director. In the 
absence of any adverse comments, the classification will become 
effective 60 days from the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register.

Sandra L. Guches,
Acting District Manager.
[FR Doc. 01-20172 Filed 8-10-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P