[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19094-19095]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09180]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNVB02000-L19200000-ET0000; N-94970; LR0RF1709500; MO# 4500111101]


Notice of Application for Withdrawal in Nye County, Nevada

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States Department of Energy Office of Legacy 
Management (DOE) has filed an application with the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM), requesting that the Secretary of the Interior 
withdraw 361 acres of public lands to assist the DOE to carry out its 
responsibilities regarding public health, safety, and national security 
in connection with a past underground nuclear detonation in Hot Creek 
Valley, Nye County, Nevada. Publication of this Notice temporarily 
segregates the lands, subject to valid existing rights, for up to two 
years from all forms of appropriation or other disposition under the 
public land laws, including the mining laws and the mineral-leasing 
laws. The two-year segregation will provide the BLM and the DOE 
sufficient time to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) which will 
analyze the environmental effects of the requested withdrawal and any 
alternatives in order for the BLM to make a recommendation to the 
Secretary of Interior on the requested withdrawal.

DATES: Comments regarding this withdrawal proposal must be received by 
July 30, 2018. The BLM welcomes comments regarding the environmental 
consequences of the proposed withdrawal, for consideration in 
preparation of the EA.

ADDRESSES: Comments pertaining to this Notice should be submitted by 
any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 775-482-7810.
     Mail: BLM Nevada State Director, Attn: NV 930 CNTA 
Withdrawal, Bureau of Land Management, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Reno, 
NV 89520.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wendy Seley, Project Lead, Tonopah 
Field Office, Attn: DOE Withdrawal, 1553 South Main Street, P.O. Box 
911, Tonopah, NV 89049; email: [email protected]. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay 
Service (FRS) at 1-775-861-6511 to contact the above individual during 
normal business hours. The FRS 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: In order to fulfill its obligations under 
the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2201) regarding public 
health, safety, and national security in connection with a past 
underground nuclear detonation, the DOE requests that the 361 acres of 
public lands be withdrawn from all forms of appropriation or other 
disposition under the public land laws, including the mining laws and 
mineral leasing laws, subject to valid existing rights.
    The AEA requires the DOE to take necessary measures to protect 
human health and the environment from nuclear contamination, and 
provides broad authority for the DOE to do so. The AEA states, in part, 
that DOE may ``establish by rule, regulation, or order, such standards 
and instructions to govern the possession and use of special nuclear 
material, source material, and byproduct material as the Commission may 
deem necessary or desirable to promote the common defense and security 
or to protect health or to minimize danger to life or property'' (42 
U.S.C. 2201(b)).
    This application is to withdraw lands adjacent to and surrounding 
land and interests withdrawn under Public Land Order (PLO) No. 4338, 
published in the Federal Register Volume 32, No. 241, December 14, 
1967. The PLO established the Central Nevada Test Area (CNTA) for an 
underground nuclear test. The test, which was conducted in 1968, 
resulted in a determination that the site was unsuitable for further 
nuclear tests. DOE requests a new withdrawal of lands adjacent to and 
surrounding the 1967 withdrawal in order to prevent disturbance to 
residual subsurface contamination. The BLM will hold a 90-day scoping 
period to identify issues and begin preparing an EA to analyze the 
impacts of the proposed withdrawal.
    As required by section 204(b)(1) of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), 43 U.S.C. 1714(b)(1), and the BLM 
regulations at 43 CFR part 2310.3-1, the BLM is publishing the Notice 
that DOE has requested the withdrawal of the following described lands:

Mount Diablo Meridian

T. 9 N. R. 51 E., Unsurveyed,
    Sections 14, 15, 22, and 23. It is an irregular bounded portion 
of land being described as follows:
    BEGINNING at a point which is north 35[deg]15'30'' west, 
14,986.1 feet from the southeast corner of township 9 north, range 
51 east.
    THENCE, north 89[deg]43'10'' west, a distance of 6602.5 feet.
    THENCE, north 0[deg]16'30'' east, a distance of 6602.6 feet.
    THENCE, south 89[deg]43'10'' east, a distance of 6602.5 feet.
    THENCE, south 0[deg]17'20'' west, a distance of 6602.6 feet to 
the POINT OF BEGINNING.
    BASIS OF BEARING: Mean geodetic bearings referenced to the true 
meridian.
    EXCEPTING those portions withdrawn by PLO No. 4338 (UC-1 
withdrawal).
    The area encumbered by the existing withdrawal contains 
approximately 640 acres.
    The area encumbered by the new withdrawal is 361 acres in Nye 
County.

    This proposed withdrawal would fully encompass the use-restriction 
and compliance boundaries established by DOE. The objective of the 
compliance boundary is to protect the public and environment from 
exposure to groundwater contamination by the underground nuclear test. 
The objective of the use-restriction boundary is to restrict access to 
subsurface materials, including groundwater. The proposed withdrawal 
for 20 years would maintain the physical integrity of the subsurface 
environment, and would ensure that DOE's ongoing, long-term site 
characterization studies of the CNTA are not invalidated or otherwise 
adversely affected.
    The use of a right-of-way, interagency agreement, or cooperative 
agreement would not adequately constrain non-discretionary uses which 
could result in permanent loss of significant values and threaten 
public health, safety, and Federal investment in the long-term 
monitoring program established for the CNTA.
    There are no suitable alternative sites because the lands contain 
the specific area surrounding the underground nuclear test site, and 
Federal improvements described in the application.
    No water rights will be required for this withdrawal.
    The legal descriptions and the maps depicting the lands are 
available for public inspection at the following offices: BLM Nevada 
State Office, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Reno, Nevada

[[Page 19095]]

89502; BLM Tonopah Field Office, 1553 South Main Street, Tonopah, 
Nevada 89049.
    Information regarding the proposed withdrawal will be available for 
public review at the BLM's Tonopah Field Office, during regular 
business hours, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays. Before including your address, phone number, email 
address, or other personally identifying information in your comment, 
you should be aware that your entire comment--including your personally 
identifying information--may be made publicly available at any time. 
While you can ask the BLM in your comment to withhold your personally 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.
    For a period until May 1, 2020, subject to valid existing rights, 
the public lands described in this Notice is segregated, for up to two 
years, from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, 
including the mining laws and the mineral-leasing laws, unless the 
application/proposal is denied or canceled or the withdrawal is 
approved prior to that date.
    Licenses, permits, cooperative agreements, or discretionary land 
use authorizations may be allowed during the period of segregation, but 
only with the approval of the authorized officer and, as appropriate, 
with the concurrence of DOE.

    Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1714(b)(1) and 43 CFR 2300

Michael J. Herder,
Acting State Director, Nevada.
[FR Doc. 2018-09180 Filed 4-30-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P