[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 204 (Friday, October 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72819-72821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25527]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNMF01000.L13150000.NB0000.16X]
Amended Notice of Intent To Amend the Resource Management Plan
for the Farmington Field Office, New Mexico and Prepare an Associated
Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA) (43 U.S.C. 1711-1712), the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) Farmington Field Office, Farmington, New Mexico is
preparing a Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) with an
associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). By this notice, the
BLM is announcing the beginning of a scoping process to solicit public
comments and to identify issues specifically related to analysis of
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) managed mineral leasing and associated
activity decisions pursuant to 25 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
part 200 et seq. as part of the EIS for the Farmington RMPA.
[[Page 72820]]
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the RMP
amendment specific to the extension of analysis in that EIS to BIA
decision-making where BIA manages mineral leasing and associated
activities in the RMPA Planning Area. Comments may be submitted in
writing until December 20, 2016. The BIA and BLM will host public
meetings specific to using this EIS to inform BIA mineral leasing and
associated activity decisions. The date(s) and location(s) of the
public scoping meeting(s) will be announced at least 15 days in advance
through local news media, newspapers, and the BLM Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/nm/farmington. To be included in the analysis, all comments
must be received prior to the close of the 60-day scoping period or 15
days after the last public meeting, whichever is later. We will provide
additional opportunities for public participation, as appropriate.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria
related to applying this EIS to BIA-managed mineral leasing and
associated activity decisions in the RMPA Planning Area by any of the
following methods:
Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nm/farmington.
Email: [email protected].
Fax: 505-564-7608.
Mail: 6251 North College Blvd. Suite A, Farmington, NM
87402.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the BLM
Farmington Field Office/Federal Indian Mineral Office, 6251 N. College
Blvd. Suite A, Farmington, NM 87402; BLM New Mexico State Office, 301
Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87508; BIA Eastern Navajo Agency, 222
Chaco Blvd., Crownpoint, NM 87313; and BIA Navajo Regional Office, 301
West Hill Ave., Gallup, NM 87301. Documents may also be viewed on the
BLM's Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nm/farmington.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Ames, BLM Project Manager,
telephone 505-564-7611; address 6251 North College Blvd., Suite A,
Farmington, New Mexico 87402; email [email protected], or
Harrilene Yazzie, BIA Supervisory Environmental Protection Specialist,
telephone 505-863-8287; address P.O. Box 1060, Gallup, New Mexico
87301; email [email protected] to have your name added to our
mailing list. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 to contact
the above individual during normal business hours. The Service 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 Farmington Field Office, Farmington,
New Mexico initiated preparation of the RMPA/EIS in 2014. The initial
scoping period, announced by Federal Register Notice of Intent on
February 25, 2014, offered the public an opportunity to comment on
planning criteria and issues related to the BLM's RMPA/EIS. After the
close of the public scoping period on the RMPA/EIS, the BIA formally
joined the EIS process as a joint lead agency and intends to use this
planning effort to inform its subsequent mineral leasing and associated
activity decision-making processes. This notice announces the beginning
of a scoping process seeking public input on issues and planning
criteria specifically related to analysis of BIA mineral leasing and
associated activity decisions to be considered in this EIS process.
This notice does not reopen the scoping period related to issues and
planning criteria for the BLM decisions to be analyzed in this EIS.
The Planning Area is located in San Juan, Rio Arriba, McKinley, and
Sandoval Counties in New Mexico, and encompasses approximately
4,200,000 acres of land, including approximately 1,900,000 acres of
Tribal surface land, 1,300,000 acres of BLM-managed land, across 17
Navajo Nation chapters, individual Indian allotments, and numerous
Chapter House residents. The purpose of this public scoping process is
to determine issues relevant to considering BIA-managed mineral leasing
and associated activity decisions in the Planning Area.
The BLM's preliminary planning criteria identified in the February
25, 2014, Federal Register Notice are hereby incorporated by reference.
Additional preliminary planning criteria specific to BIA's joint lead
agency status include:
The BIA will serve as joint (or co-lead) agency for this
EIS.
The BIA and BLM will prepare the RMPA/EIS in compliance
with FLPMA, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean
Air Act, NEPA, and all other applicable laws, executive orders, and BIA
and BLM management policies.
The BIA will use the EIS as the analytical basis for
decisions pertaining to the leasing of Tribal trust and individual
Indian allotted minerals within the Planning Area.
The BIA will use this EIS to inform decisions on lands
where mineral leasing and associated activities are managed by the BIA.
The BIA and BLM will recognize valid existing rights.
The BIA and BLM will coordinate with Federal, State, and
Tribal governments and local agencies in the RMPA/EIS process to ensure
consistency with existing plans and policies, to the extent
practicable.
The BIA and BLM will consult with Indian Tribes on a
government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175
and other policies.
The BIA and BLM will coordinate with Tribal governments
and provide strategies for the protection of recognized traditional
uses and sacred sites.
The BIA and BLM will apply appropriate protection and
management of cultural resources and historic properties, and will
engage in all required Tribal consultations.
The BIA and BLM will consult with the New Mexico
Department of Game and Fish and the Navajo Nation Department of Fish
and Wildlife as appropriate.
You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria in writing
at any public scoping meeting, or by using one of the methods listed in
the ADDRESSES section above. To be included in the analysis, all
comments must be received prior to the close of the 60-day scoping
period or 15 days after the last public meeting, whichever is later.
The BIA and BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA scoping process to
help fulfill the public involvement process under the National Historic
Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3).
The information about historic and cultural resources within the area
potentially affected by the proposed action will assist the BLM and BIA
in identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources.
The BLM and BIA are required to consult with Indian Tribes, as
applicable, on a government-to-government basis in accordance with
Executive Order 13175 and other policies. Tribal and individual Indian
allottee concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and
potential impacts to cultural resources within the Planning Area, will
be given due consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies and
individual Indian allottees, tribes, and other stakeholders that may be
interested in or affected by the proposed action that the BIA and BLM
are evaluating, are invited to participate in the scoping process.
These entities may request or be requested by the BIA and BLM to
participate in the
[[Page 72821]]
development of the environmental analysis as a cooperating agency, if
eligible. 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. The minutes and list of attendees for each public
scoping meeting will be available to the public and open for 30 days
after the meeting to any participant who wishes to clarify the views he
or she expressed.
The BLM and BIA will evaluate identified issues to be addressed and
will place them into one of three categories; the draft RMPA/EIS will
provide an explanation as to why an issue was placed in category two or
three, and is therefore beyond the scope of this EIS:
1. Issues to be resolved by the BIA in its subsequent decision-
making processes regarding BIA-managed mineral leasing and associated
activities in the Planning Area;
2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action;
or
3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan amendment.
The public is also encouraged to help identify any management
questions and concerns that should be addressed in the plan. The BIA
and BLM will work collaboratively with interested parties to identify
the management decisions that are best suited to local, regional, and
National needs and concerns and trust responsibilities.
The following resource issues were identified in a prior scoping
period announced by the February 25, 2014, Federal Register Notice of
Intent to Prepare a Resource Management Plan Amendment and an
Associated Environmental Impact Statement for the Farmington Field
Office, New Mexico: lands with wilderness characteristics; areas of
critical environmental concern; air, soil, and water resources;
vegetative communities; wildlife/habitat management areas; and land use
authorizations. These resource issues will not be revisited but
embodied in the current scoping process, except as they pertain to BIA-
managed mineral leasing and associated activity decisions.
The BIA and BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop
the plan amendment in order to consider the variety of resource issues
and concerns identified.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2.
Sharon Pinto,
Navajo Regional Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of
the Interior.
Amy Lueders,
State Director, New Mexico, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department
of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2016-25527 Filed 10-20-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-FB-P