[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 127 (Friday, July 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43225-43226]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-15527]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCON04000 L16100000.DT0000-16X]


Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan 
Amendment and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Roan Plateau Planning Area, Colorado

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) 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) Amendment and Final 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Roan Plateau 
planning area and by this notice announces its availability.

DATES: BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the 
conditions identified in the regulations may protest the BLM's Proposed 
RMP Amendment/Final Supplemental 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 publishes its Notice of 
Availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Roan Plateau Proposed RMP Amendment/Final 
Supplemental EIS have been sent to affected Federal, State and local 
government agencies and to other stakeholders. Copies of the Proposed 
RMP Amendment/Final Supplemental EIS are also available for public 
inspection at the Colorado River Valley Field Office, 2300 River 
Frontage Road, Silt, CO 81652. Interested persons may also review the 
Proposed RMP Amendment/Final Supplemental EIS on the Internet at 
www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Programs/land_use_planning/rmp/roan_plateau.html.
    All protests must be in writing and mailed to one of the following 
addresses:
    Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Protest Coordinator, 
P.O. Box 71383, Washington, DC 20024-1383.
    Overnight Delivery: BLM Director (210), Attention: Protest 
Coordinator, 20 M Street SE., Room 2134LM, Washington, DC 20003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Larson, Project Manager; 
telephone (970) 876-9048; see Colorado River Valley Field Office 
address above; 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, seven 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 prepared the Roan Plateau Proposed 
RMP Amendment/Final Supplemental EIS to evaluate a range of management 
decisions for resources, resource uses, and special designations in the 
planning area. The Proposed RMP/Final Supplemental EIS also responds to 
a June 22, 2012, ruling by the United States District Court for the 
District of Colorado remanding the 2007 Roan Plateau Record of 
Decision. The Court set aside the 2007 Roan Plateau RMP Amendment and 
remanded the matter to the BLM for further action in accordance with 
the Court's decision. In particular, the Court found that the Final EIS 
was deficient insofar as it failed to adequately address the: (i) 
``Community Alternative'' that various local governments, environmental 
organizations and individual members of the public recommended during 
the planning process leading up to the 2007 plan amendment; (ii) 
Cumulative air-quality impacts of the RMP Amendment decision in 
conjunction with anticipated oil and gas development on private lands 
outside the Roan Plateau planning area; and (iii) Issue of potential 
ozone impacts from proposed oil and gas development. Based on the 
Court's ruling and new information available since the BLM developed 
the Final EIS,

[[Page 43226]]

the BLM determined that a new RMP Amendment and supplemental analysis 
under NEPA were warranted. The parties involved in the litigation 
regarding the 2007 plan amendment reached a settlement in November 
2014. Based on that agreement, the Roan Plateau Proposed RMP Amendment/
Final Supplemental EIS includes an alternative that was identified in 
the November 2014 settlement. That ``Settlement Alternative'' was 
identified as the Proposed Alternative in the Draft Supplemental EIS.
    The planning area, which is in west-central Colorado, includes 
approximately 73,602 acres of BLM-managed land (Federal surface, 
Federal mineral estate, or both). It is located primarily in Garfield 
County with a small portion in southern Rio Blanco County. The Roan 
Plateau RMP Amendment proposes to amend the management decisions in the 
Glenwood Springs and White River RMPs as they relate to the planning 
area.
    The Roan Plateau RMP Amendment process began originally with 
scoping in 2000. The BLM published the Draft EIS in November 2004 and 
the Final EIS in August 2006. The BLM then issued two Records of 
Decision, one in June 2007 and a second, pertaining to Areas of 
Critical Environmental Concern, in March 2008. Following the District 
Court ruling in 2012, the BLM published a Notice of Intent to develop 
the Draft RMP Amendment/Supplemental EIS on January 28, 2013 (78 FR 
5834), which initiated a second scoping period. The Draft RMP 
Amendment/Supplemental EIS was published on November 20, 2015 (80 FR 
72732), and made available for public comment. The BLM held three 
public meetings to discuss the Draft RMP Amendment/Supplemental EIS and 
received approximately 50,000 comment submissions during the comment 
period. The BLM carefully considered those comments. The BLM made 
changes to the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final Supplemental EIS in 
response to comments received from the public and cooperating agencies, 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service consultation, and extensive 
internal BLM reviews. These changes included the addition of clarifying 
text and updated information, however, none of the changes constituted 
a substantial change in the proposed land use plan decisions or the 
analysis in the Draft Supplemental EIS that would require additional 
supplementation.
    Major issues considered in the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final 
Supplemental EIS include fluid minerals management; social and economic 
impacts; riparian habitat management; recreation; and air, water, and 
ecological resources. The RMP also addresses decisions regarding Wild 
and Scenic Rivers, Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, and lands 
with wilderness characteristics. Decisions related to Greater Sage-
Grouse management in the proposed Amendment are consistent with last 
year's Northwestern Colorado Greater Sage-Grouse Resource Management 
Plan Amendment Record of Decision.
    The Proposed RMP Amendment/Final Supplemental EIS focuses on 
evaluating new information and new issues raised since the BLM 
developed the 2006 Roan Plateau Final EIS. This includes an evaluation 
of four alternatives including the No Action Alternative (Alternative 
I). Alternative II is based on the Proposed Plan from the 2006 Roan RMP 
Amendment/Final EIS and includes updated decisions and analysis based 
on new information and issues raised during the scoping period for the 
Supplemental EIS. Alternative III is based on the ``Community 
Alternative'' raised during the original EIS process by Rock the Earth. 
Alternative III was augmented with input from other Supplemental EIS 
scoping comments. This alternative allows oil and gas leasing 
throughout the planning area, but limits surface disturbance on BLM 
lands above the rim. Wilderness characteristics would be managed for 
protection in this alternative, and all eligible river segments in the 
planning area would be determined to be suitable for designation as 
Wild and Scenic Rivers. Alternative III also analyzes two proposed sub-
alternatives for target shooting restrictions in an open Off-Highway 
Vehicle area. Alternative IV is the BLM's Proposed Alternative and is 
based on the terms of the 2014 Settlement Agreement. This alternative 
would allow for leasing at the base of the plateau (11,170 acres) and 
within several retained lease areas on the top of the plateau (1,830 
acres). Other resource management decisions in this alternative would 
be similar to Alternative II.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM 
regarding the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final Supplemental EIS may be 
found in the ``Dear Reader'' Letter of the Roan Plateau Proposed RMP 
Amendment/Final Supplemental 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 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 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].
    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 can 
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 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2.

Ruth Welch,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-15527 Filed 6-30-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-JB-P