[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 61 (Friday, March 29, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19294-19295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07337]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[L1610000.PQ0000/LLCAC09000]


Notice of Availability of the Clear Creek Management Area 
Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact 
Statement, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP)/Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Clear Creek Management Area (CCMA) and by this 
notice is announcing its availability.

DATES: BLM planning regulations (43 CFR 1610) state that any person who 
meets the conditions as described in the regulations may protest the 
BLM's Proposed RMP and Final EIS. A person who meets the conditions and 
files a protest, must file the protest within 30 days of the date that 
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its notice in the 
Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the CCMA Proposed RMP and Final EIS have been sent 
to affected Federal, State, and local government agencies and to other 
stakeholders. Copies of the CCMA Proposed RMP and Final EIS are 
available for public inspection at the Hollister Field Office, 20 
Hamilton Court, Hollister, California 95023. Interested persons may 
also review the

[[Page 19295]]

CCMA Proposed RMP and Final EIS at the following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/hollister. All protests must be in writing and mailed to 
one of the following addresses:
    Regular Mail: BLM Director (210) , Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. 
Box 71383, Washington, DC 20024-1383.
    Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, 20 
M Street SE., Room 2134LM, Washington, DC 20003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sky Murphy, Planning and Environmental 
Coordinator, telephone (831) 630-5039; address Hollister Field Office, 
20 Hamilton Court, Hollister, California 95023; email [email protected]. 
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to 
contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is 
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question 
with the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal 
business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area covers about 75,000 acres, 
including about 63,000 surface acres and 64,000 acres of subsurface 
mineral estate in San Benito and Fresno counties, California. The CCMA 
RMP will provide a framework to guide management decisions for the use 
and protection of the resources managed by the Hollister Field Office. 
The CCMA is currently managed under the 1984 Hollister RMP and 
subsequent amendments. The purpose of the CCMA RMP is to establish 
goals, objectives, and management actions for BLM-administered lands in 
CCMA that address current issues, and conditions.
    The need to develop the CCMA RMP arose from changes in 
circumstances since the current land use plan decisions were adopted. 
For example, the EPA's CCMA Asbestos Exposure and Human Health Risk 
Assessment (2008) provides significant new information that must be 
incorporated into the RMP to evaluate the public health risk associated 
with BLM land use authorizations.
    A Notice of Availability of the CCMA Draft RMP/EIS was published in 
the Federal Register on December 4, 2009. The Draft RMP/EIS was 
available for public review for 135 days. Comments on the Draft RMP/EIS 
were considered, and incorporated as appropriate into the proposed 
plan. For example, the BLM made changes to the route and trail 
designations between the Draft and Final EIS. These changes did not 
significantly alter the proposed land use decisions for transportation 
and travel management in the CCMA.
    The Hollister Field Office, through a collaborative planning 
process, has worked extensively with interested and affected 
individuals, groups, and local, State, and Federal agencies in the 
development of the Proposed RMP and Final EIS. The primary issues 
include public health and safety, recreation, protection of sensitive 
natural and cultural resources, livestock grazing, guidance for energy 
and mineral development, and land tenure adjustments. The Proposed RMP 
maintains the designation of the 30,000-acre Serpentine Area of 
Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) to protect public health and 
safety while also protecting special status species and cultural, 
historic, and scenic resources values. Restrictions on use of public 
lands within the Serpentine ACEC include limitations on motorized and 
non-motorized activities to minimize human health risks from exposure 
to asbestos by reducing airborne emissions of asbestos.
    For example, the CCMA Proposed RMP designates the Serpentine ACEC 
as a ``limited'' vehicle use area based on the human health risks from 
exposure to asbestos; and use would be limited to highway-licensed 
vehicles by permit only. Under the Proposed RMP, the remaining lands in 
the CCMA management zones are also designated as ``limited'' vehicle 
use areas where motorized vehicle use would be limited to highway-
licensed vehicles and all-terrain vehicles. In addition to the proposed 
action, the BLM considered six additional alternatives, ranging from a 
no action alternative, which would continue historic recreational use 
in the area, to complete closure of the area prohibiting all public 
access. Other action alternatives analyzed variations of limited annual 
visitor use days, seasonal use restrictions, limited OHV recreation 
opportunities in the Serpentine ACEC based on vehicle types, minimum 
age requirements, vehicle access for non-motorized recreation 
opportunities inside the Serpentine ACEC, and enhancing new OHV 
recreation opportunities outside of the ACEC.
    Comments on the Draft RMP/EIS received from the public and through 
internal BLM review were considered and incorporated as appropriate 
into the Proposed RMP/Final EIS. Public comments resulted in the 
following changes to the preferred alternative in the Draft RMP/EIS: 
additional information added to the Hazardous Materials and Public 
Health and Safety section; increased miles of designated routes to 
provide greater vehicle access with an emphasis on supporting non-
motorized recreation opportunities in CCMA; retention of public lands 
surrounding Baker, Byles, and Cane Canyons; and pursuit of partnerships 
with local private landowners, non-profit organizations, and the 
California Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop public easements 
to BLM lands in the Tucker management zone. These changes do not 
significantly change proposed land use plan decisions set forth in the 
Draft RMP/EIS.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM 
regarding the CCMA Proposed RMP and Final EIS may be found in the 
``Dear Reader'' letter of the CCMA Proposed RMP and Final EIS and at 43 
CFR 1610.5-2. All protests must be in writing and mailed to the 
appropriate address, as set forth in the ADDRESSES section above. 
Emailed and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid protests 
unless the protesting party also provides the original letter by either 
regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the protest 
period. Under these conditions, the BLM will consider the emailed or 
faxed protest as an advance copy and it will receive full 
consideration. If you wish to provide the BLM with such advance 
notification, please direct emails to [email protected] and faxed 
protests to the attention of the BLM protest coordinator at 202-912-
7212.
    Before including your phone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware 
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your protest to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 and 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2 and 1610.5.

Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-07337 Filed 3-28-13; 8:45 am]
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