[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 146 (Friday, July 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45849-45850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-17255]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV-050-5853-EU]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Las Vegas Valley Disposal Area as expanded by the 
Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 
2002, Public Law 107-282, November 6, 2002

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

COOPERATING AGENCIES: U.S. Air Force, Nellis Air Force Base; U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex; Clark 
County Regional Flood Control District; Clark County Comprehensive 
Planning; City of Henderson; City of Las Vegas; City of North Las 
Vegas.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, 
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft EIS with the 
specific purpose to authorize transfer of title or uses of public land 
in the Las Vegas Valley. The project area consists of all remaining 
lands identified for disposal within the boundary established by the 
Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA) (Public Law 105-
263), as amended by the Clark County Conservation of Public Land and 
Natural Resources Act of 2002 (Clark County Act) (Public Law 107-282). 
This EIS will ensure the intent of Congress, as portrayed in the SNPLMA 
and the Clark County Act, is met by providing land for organized local 
community development. This does not preclude other authorized uses of 
public lands such as applications for Rights-of-Way, Leases and 
Recreation and Public Purpose Leases located in Clark County, Nevada, 
Hydrographic Basin 212. The EIS fulfills the needs and obligations set 
forth by NEPA, FLPMA, and BLM management policies as defined in the 
Resource Management Plan (RMP) of 1998.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft EIS will be accepted for 60 days 
following the date of publication of the

[[Page 45850]]

Notice of Availability by the Environmental Protection Agency in the 
Federal Register. Future meetings or hearings and any other public 
involvement activities will be announced at least 15 days in advance 
through public notices, media news releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.nv.blm.gov/lvdiseis.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: (702) 515-5155.
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Las Vegas Field Office, 
4701 North Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130-2301.
    Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to 
withhold your name or street address from public review or from 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests 
will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from 
organizations and businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety. 
Copies of the Draft EIS are available in the BLM Las Vegas Field Office 
at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to our mailing list, contact Jeff Steinmetz, BLM Las 
Vegas Field Office, Telephone (702) 515-5097; e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Shortly after approval of SNPLMA, the BLM 
received an increase in requests for public land disposal. The Clark 
County Act significantly increased the amount of land available for 
disposal by adding approximately 22,000 acres to the Las Vegas Valley 
Disposal Area by amending the boundary defined and approved in SNPLMA. 
(The rapid disposal rate and additional lands created the need to 
augment the impact analysis conducted for the Las Vegas RMP, signed 
October 5, 1998). The current Draft EIS considers and analyzes three 
alternatives that meet the requirements of SNPLMA and the Clark County 
Act. The alternatives include complete disposal, a disposal 
implementation option (conservation transfer) that addresses sensitive 
environmental resources, and a no action alternative as required by 
NEPA. The no action alternative to land disposal is a continuation of 
realty management as specified in the RMP, including disposal of BLM-
managed lands until the cumulative development (including private 
lands) throughout the Las Vegas Valley reaches the projected total of 
80,000 acres. Land disposal authorized by SNPLMA and the Clark County 
Act that would result in subsequent development of more acreage than 
the amount evaluated in the RMP are not included in the no action 
alternative. Under the complete disposal alternative all BLM land 
within the disposal boundary would be available for disposal, unless 
the action would violate another law, such as the Endangered Species 
Act. Analysis of this alternative includes evaluation of indirect and 
cumulative impacts of post-disposal development. Under the disposal 
implementation option or conservation transfer alternative, the BLM 
would consider transfer options that restrict subsequent use of 
individual properties to protect sensitive environmental resources. 
These options could include mitigation and/or protection of the 
resource before or after the property is transferred. Major resource 
issues addressed in the Draft EIS include air quality, surface water 
hydrology and water quality, water supply and demand, protected and 
sensitive plant and wildlife species, archaeological and historic 
sites, paleontological resources, socioeconomics, recreation 
opportunities, and visual characteristics. A predictive model for air 
quality impacts prepared by Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) was 
used as the basis for the reasonably foreseeable land development 
scenario and as the best available data for analyzing cumulative 
impacts of past, present, and projected development. In addition, BLM 
is currently working with Argonne and Clark County Department of Air 
Quality Management to run another model that includes potential 
mitigation for Ozone precursors. This model run will be ready before 
the Final EIS is completed.

Mark T. Morse,
Field Manager, Las Vegas.
[FR Doc. 04-17255 Filed 7-29-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P