[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 90 (Friday, May 9, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26772-26773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10498]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWYD01000.L16100000.DU0000]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment To Amend 
the Resource Management Plan for the Pinedale Field Office, Pinedale, 
Wyoming.

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
Pinedale Field Office (PFO) intends to prepare a resource management 
plan (RMP) amendment with an associated environmental assessment (EA) 
to close approximately 5,120 acres to oil and gas leasing and by this 
notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping process.

DATES: Comments may be submitted in writing until June 9, 2014. Any 
scoping meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through 
local news media and the BLM Web site at www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/rmps/pinedale.html. In order to be included in the analysis, 
all comments must be received prior to the close of the 30-day scoping 
period or 15 days after the last public meeting, whichever is later. 
The BLM will provide additional opportunities for public participation 
as appropriate.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on issues and planning criteria may be 
submitted by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]
     Fax: (307) 367-5329
     Mail or Delivery: BLM Pinedale Field Office, 1625 West 
Pine Street, P.O. Box 768, Pinedale, WY 82941
    All comments must include a legible full name and address on the 
envelope, letter, fax, postcard or email. Documents pertinent to this 
proposal may be examined at the PFO, 1625 West Pine Street, Pinedale, 
Wyoming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lauren McKeever, RMP Amendment Project 
Manager, at:
     Telephone: (307) 367-5352
     Email: [email protected]
     Address: P.O. Box 768, 1625 West Pine Street, Pinedale WY 
82941
    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 BLM completed the Pinedale RMP in 2008. 
The purpose of the RMP amendment is to analyze the closure of 
approximately 5,120 acres to oil and gas leasing in Sublette County, 
Wyoming. The State of Wyoming has requested that this land be made 
unavailable for future mineral leasing and development due to its 
location immediately adjacent to United States Forest Service lands 
withdrawn from leasing by the Wyoming Range Legacy Act of 2009 and 
private split-estate lands that the 2008 Pinedale RMP determined not to 
be available for leasing. In accordance with 43 CFR 1610.5-5, an RMP 
may be changed through an amendment. An amendment may be initiated by 
the need to consider monitoring and evaluation findings, new data, new 
or revised policy, a change in circumstances or a proposed action that 
may result in a change in the scope of resource uses or a change in the 
terms, conditions and decisions of the approved plan.
    The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, 
including alternatives, and guide the planning process. The BLM will 
use an interdisciplinary approach to develop

[[Page 26773]]

the RMP amendment in order to consider the variety of resource issues 
and concerns identified.
    Preliminary issues have been identified by BLM personnel, federal, 
state and local agencies and other stakeholders and include:
     Compliance with NEPA, FLPMA, and other applicable laws, 
executive orders, regulations and policy;
     Recognition of valid existing rights;
     All lands that may affect or be affected by BLM management 
decisions. Planning decisions in the RMP amendment will apply only to 
BLM-administered lands and federal mineral estate; and
     A collaborative and multi-jurisdictional approach, when 
possible, to jointly determine the desired future condition and 
management direction for the public lands. To the extent possible and 
within legal and regulatory parameters, the BLM management and planning 
decisions will complement the planning and management decisions of 
other agencies, state and local governments, and jurisdictions 
intermingled with, and adjacent to, the planning area.
    The BLM will evaluate identified issues to be addressed in the 
plan, and will place them into one of three categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the plan amendment;
    2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action; 
or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan amendment.
    The BLM will provide an explanation in the draft RMP amendment/EA 
as to why an issue was placed in category two or three. The public is 
encouraged to help identify any management questions and concerns that 
should be addressed in the plan. The BLM will work collaboratively with 
interested parties to identify the management decisions that are best 
suited to local, regional, and national needs and concerns.
    Comments may be submitted in writing to the BLM at any public 
scoping meeting or through one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES 
section above. Before including your address, phone number, email 
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you 
should be aware that your entire comment--including your personal 
identifying information--may be made publicly available at any time. 
While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2.

Larry Claypool,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-10498 Filed 5-8-14; 8:45 am]
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