[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 173 (Thursday, September 6, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45196-45199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19300]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

43 CFR Part 8365

[17X.LLUTW01100.L12200000.AL0000]


Prohibition of Target Shooting on Public Lands in the Eastern 
Lake Mountains, Utah County, Utah

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Interim final supplementary rule.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah State Director hereby 
establishes an interim final supplementary rule (rule) prohibiting 
target shooting within a 2,004-acre area on BLM-administered public 
lands in the Eastern Lake Mountains area of the Salt Lake Field Office, 
Eastern Lake Mountains, Utah County, Utah. The rule is necessary to 
implement and enforce this long-term prohibition to provide for public 
safety and historic properties (specifically Native American 
petroglyphs), as authorized in the Decision Record for the Eastern Lake 
Mountains Target Shooting Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA). 
The rule does not restrict other public activities in or access to or 
through the Lake Mountains, including legal hunting.

DATES: The rule is effective on September 6, 2018. You may submit 
comments to the BLM on or before November 5, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Attention: Matt Preston, Salt Lake 
Field Office, 2370 South Decker Lake Boulevard, West Valley City, Utah 
84119.
    Email: [email protected].
    NEPA Register: https://go.usa.gov/xXBNF.
    The environmental assessment, Decision Record, and RMPA are 
available for public review at the mailing and NEPA Register website 
addresses in this section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt Preston, BLM Salt Lake Field 
Manager, Bureau of Land Management at 801-977-4300. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay 
Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual. The 
FRS

[[Page 45197]]

is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You will receive a reply 
during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM is establishing this rule under the 
authority of 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 8365.1-6, which 
allows State Directors to establish supplementary rules for the 
protection of persons, property, and the public lands and resources. 
This provision allows the BLM to issue rules of less than national 
effect by publishing the rule in the Federal Register, but without 
codifying it in the CFR. This rule applies to 2,004 acres of public 
lands managed by the BLM Salt Lake Field Office in the Eastern Lake 
Mountains within Utah County, Utah.
    This Notice and the map of the affected area can be obtained by 
visiting or contacting the Salt Lake Field Office (see ADDRESSES). The 
BLM will post this Notice and the map to the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) Register (see ADDRESSES).

I. Public Comment Procedures

    Please submit your written comments on issues related to this rule 
to one of the addresses shown in the ADDRESSES section above. Comments 
on the rule should be specific, confined to issues pertinent to the 
rule, and explain the reason for any recommended change. Comments 
requesting changes to the Decision Record, environmental assessment, or 
the RMPA are outside the scope of this rule.
    The BLM is not obligated to consider, or include in the 
Administrative Record for the rule, comments delivered to an address 
other than those listed above (see ADDRESSES), or comments that the BLM 
receives after the close of the comment period (see DATES), unless they 
are postmarked or electronically dated before the deadline.
    The BLM will make your comments, including your name and address, 
available for public review at the Salt Lake Field Office address 
listed in ADDRESSES above during regular business hours (8:00 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays). Before 
including your address, phone number, email address, or other 
personally identifiable information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personally identifiable 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask the BLM in your comment to withhold your personally identifiable 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

II. Discussion of Interim Final Supplementary Rule

    The rule is necessary to implement and enforce the long-term target 
shooting closure authorized in the Decision Record for the Eastern Lake 
Mountains Target Shooting RMPA. The long-term closure covers 2,004 
acres of public lands in Utah County, Utah. This rule replaces and 
expands the previous target shooting closure orders implemented by the 
BLM in the Eastern Lake Mountains since 2012 (81 FR 90864, 79 FR 74111, 
77 FR 75186). The expanded closure area identified in this 
supplementary rule is necessary in order to provide additional 
protection for public health and safety to those who may be endangered 
by target shooting and for protection of historic properties 
(specifically Native American petroglyphs) damaged by target shooting, 
outside the previous closure area.
    The BLM determined that a long-term target shooting closure was 
necessary due to a variety of concerns, including: Several serious 
public safety incidents of errant gunfire endangering lives and 
property, the high incidence of target shooting-caused wildfires 
annually, documented and irreparable damage to historic properties 
(specifically Native American petroglyphs), and the large amounts of 
litter and hazardous waste that result from target shooting. In 
addition, the area is not considered safe for target shooting due to 
the lack of proper backstops in lower elevations, nearby homes, and its 
proximity to State Highway 68. Public outreach and education efforts to 
address these problems have not been successful.
    The BLM has determined that this rule is necessary to allow 
immediate implementation of the long-term closure, thereby providing 
for public safety and protection of important historic and pre-historic 
properties.
    In accordance with section 553(b)(B) of the Administrative 
Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B)), the BLM finds good cause that 
publishing a proposed supplementary rule, accepting public comment on 
the proposed supplementary rule, and then, publishing a final 
supplementary rule are contrary to the public interest. The urgency and 
magnitude of the need to reduce the risks to public safety and health, 
and historic properties (specifically Native American petroglyphs) 
associated with target shooting in the Eastern Lake Mountains warrants 
expedited action. Furthermore, the planning process for the Eastern 
Lake Mountains Target Shooting RMPA offered extensive opportunities for 
public comment, including public notices, an extended scoping period, 
an extended comment period, a protest period on the proposed land use 
plan decision, and a Governor's consistency review.
    Under section 553(d)(3) of the APA (5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3)), good cause 
also exists for making these rules effective immediately because a 
variety of government and public stakeholders have asked the BLM to 
take immediate and affirmative action to curtail the public safety 
risks and the damage to historic properties (specifically Native 
American petroglyphs) caused by the target shooting. The environmental 
assessment for the RMPA discussed the need to establish a supplementary 
rule, and thus, the public was on notice during that process that this 
supplementary rule would follow completion of the RMPA. A summary of 
the planning process, including public participation periods, is 
described below in Section III. Procedural Matters, National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
    The BLM invites public comment on this interim final supplementary 
rule until November 5, 2018. If any substantive comments are received 
in response to this notice, the BLM will determine whether or not to 
modify this rule. The BLM will publish a Notice establishing the final 
supplementary rule only if substantive comments are received. If no 
substantive comments are received, the rule will become a final 
supplementary rule without another published notice.

III. Procedural Matters

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 Regulatory Planning and Review

    The rule prohibits target shooting on a limited area of public 
lands in the Eastern Lake Mountains. The rule is not a significant 
regulatory action and is not subject to review by the Office of 
Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866 or 13563. The rule 
would not have an annual effect of $100 million or more on the economy; 
and it would not adversely affect in a material way the economy, 
productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or 
safety, or state, local, or tribal governments, or communities. The 
rule would not create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere 
with an action taken or planned by another agency; and it would not 
materially alter the budgetary effects of entitlements, grants, user 
fees, or loan programs, or the rights or obligations of their 
recipients; nor does it raise novel legal or policy issues. This rule

[[Page 45198]]

implements and supports enforcement of the long-term target shooting 
closure authorized in the Decision Record for the Eastern Lake 
Mountains Target Shooting RMPA.

Clarity of the Supplementary Rule

    Executive Order 12866 requires each agency to write regulations 
that are simple and easy to understand. The BLM invites your comments 
on how to make this rule easier to understand, including answers to 
questions such as the following:
    (1) Are the requirements in the rule clearly stated?
    (2) Does the rule contain technical language or jargon that 
interferes with its clarity?
    (3) Does the format of the rule (grouping and order of sections, 
use of headings, paragraphing, etc.) aid or reduce its clarity?
    (4) Would the rule be easier to understand if it was divided into 
more (but shorter) sections?
    (5) Is the description of the rule in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this preamble helpful in understanding the rule? How could 
this description be more helpful in making the rule easier to 
understand?
    Please send any comments you have on the clarity of the rule to one 
of the addresses specified in the ADDRESSES section.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

    The rule implements a land use plan decision to prohibit target 
shooting on 2,004 acres to provide for public safety and protect 
historic properties (specifically Native American petroglyphs) as 
authorized in the Decision Record for the Eastern Lake Mountains Target 
Shooting RMPA (DOI-BLM-UT-W010-2015-0023-EA). The BLM analyzed and 
disclosed the environmental consequences of the long-term target 
shooting closure identified in an environmental assessment completed on 
December 14, 2016. The BLM found that the long-term target shooting 
closure, including the rule, would not have a significant individual or 
cumulative effect on the quality of the human environment under Section 
102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4332(2)(C)).
    The Eastern Lake Mountains Target Shooting RMPA was initiated under 
a Notice of Intent published in the Federal Register on June 12, 2015 
(80 FR 33547). A 30-day public scoping period began on June 12, 2015, 
with public open houses on August 4 and 5, 2015, and was subsequently 
extended through August 20, 2015. The BLM released the Draft RMPA and 
associated environmental assessment for a 30-day public comment period 
beginning on April 15, 2016, with an open house on May 11, 2016; and 
subsequently extended the comment period through May 31, 2016. The BLM 
released the Proposed RMPA and associated environmental assessment for 
a 30-day public protest period and 60-day Governor's consistency review 
on December 14, 2016. The BLM informed the public of the scoping period 
and associated open houses, comment period and associated open house, 
and the protest period through news releases, NEPA register postings, 
BLM website postings, flyers on local bulletin boards, and public 
mailings to a project mailing list of more than 300 addresses.
    The environmental assessment, Decision Record, and RMPA are 
available for public review at the locations identified in the 
ADDRESSES section.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Congress enacted the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) of 1980, as 
amended (5 U.S.C. 601-612) to ensure that Government regulations do not 
unnecessarily or disproportionately burden small entities. The RFA 
requires a regulatory flexibility analysis if a rule would have a 
significant economic impact, either detrimental or beneficial, on a 
substantial number of small entities. This rule does not pertain 
specifically to commercial or governmental entities of any size, but to 
public recreational use of specific public lands. This rule establishes 
a rule of conduct for recreational use of certain public lands in the 
Eastern Lake Mountains. Therefore, the BLM has determined, under the 
RFA, that this rule would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    This rule does not constitute a ``major rule'' as defined at 5 
U.S.C 804(2). This rule establishes a rule of conduct for recreational 
use of certain public lands in the Eastern Lake Mountains and would not 
affect business, commercial, or industrial use of the public lands.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    This rule would not impose an unfunded mandate on state, local, or 
tribal governments or the private sector, of more than $100 million per 
year; nor would it have a significant or unique effect on small 
governments. This rule would have no effect on governmental or tribal 
entities and would impose no requirements on any of these entities. 
This rule establishes a rule of conduct for recreational use of certain 
public lands in the Eastern Lake Mountains and does not affect 
business, commercial, or industrial use of these public lands. 
Therefore, the BLM is not required to prepare a statement containing 
the information required by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.).

Executive Order 12630, Governmental Actions and Interference With 
Constitutionally Protected Property Rights (Takings)

    This rule does not represent a Government action capable of 
interfering with constitutionally protected property rights. This rule 
does not address property rights in any form and does not cause the 
impairment of anyone's property rights. This rule establishes a rule of 
conduct for recreational use of certain public lands in the Eastern 
Lake Mountains. Therefore, the BLM has determined that this rule would 
not cause a ``taking'' of private property or require preparation of a 
takings assessment under this Executive Order.

Executive Order 13132, Federalism

    This rule would not have a substantial direct effect on the States, 
on the relationship between the Federal Government and the States, or 
on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various 
levels of government. This rule applies to a limited area of land in 
only one State, Utah, and would not conflict with any Utah state 
statute or regulation. Therefore, in accordance with Executive Order 
13132, the BLM has determined that this rule does not have sufficient 
Federalism implications to warrant preparation of a Federalism 
Assessment.

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform

    Under Executive Order 12988, the BLM has determined that this rule 
would not unduly burden the judicial system and that it meets the 
requirements of sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of the Order.

Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal 
Governments

    In accordance with Executive Order 13175, the BLM consulted and 
coordinated with Indian tribal governments on this rule during the 
development of the Eastern Lake Mountains Target Shooting RMPA, which 
included an implementation-

[[Page 45199]]

level decision to establish this interim final supplementary rule 
through publication in the Federal Register.
    The Salt Lake Field Manager sent project information and invited 
the initiation of formal consultation with the following Native 
American Tribes via certified letter dated June 29, 2015: Jemez Pueblo, 
Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah, Confederated Tribes of 
the Goshute Reservation, Paiute Indian Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe, and 
Eastern Shoshone. The BLM contacted these same tribes via phone between 
July 1 and 7, 2015, to schedule telephone conferences with the Salt 
Lake Field Manager, if desired. The Paiute Indian Tribe requested a 
meeting and a presentation was made to the Paiute Tribal Council on 
July 16, 2015, at which the tribe expressed their support for the 
Eastern Lake Mountains Target Shooting RMPA. Additionally, these tribes 
received formal invitations to participate in the planning process as a 
consulting party and/or cooperating agency; none of the tribes accepted 
either role. These same tribes were included on the project mailing 
list and received notification of the scoping period and associated 
open houses, the public comment period and associated open house, and 
the protest period. Only the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah submitted a 
comment letter during the public comment period expressing concern over 
preserving and protecting Native American petroglyphs. To discuss this 
in detail with the tribe, the BLM attended a Paiute Tribal Council 
meeting on November 1, 2016, in which the tribal leaders expressed 
their support for the Proposed RMPA.
    The Salt Lake Field Manager and staff also attended the November 
15, 2016 Utah Tribal Leaders Conference in Wendover, Nevada, at which 
time tribal leaders of the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute 
Reservation, Paiute, Ute, and Eastern Shoshone were informed of the 
Proposed RMPA and invited to make comments. Tribal leaders asked 
questions and made verbal comments in support of the Proposed RMPA. A 
final letter was mailed to these same tribes on December 14, 2016, 
inviting them to consult on the Proposed RMPA and associated 
environmental assessment. The BLM also contacted these tribes via 
telephone. No further comments were received.

Executive Order 13352, Facilitation of Cooperative Conservation

    Under Executive Order 13352, the BLM has determined that this rule 
would not impede the facilitation of cooperative conservation. This 
rule would take appropriate account of and consider the interests of 
persons with ownership or other legally recognized interests in land or 
other natural resources; properly accommodate local participation in 
the Federal decision-making process; and provide that the programs, 
projects, and activities are consistent with protecting public health 
and safety.

Executive Order 13211, Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This rule does not constitute a ``significant energy action,'' as 
defined in Executive Order 13211. The rule would not have an adverse 
effect on energy supplies, production, or consumption and has no 
connection with energy policy.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule does not contain information collection requirements that 
the Office of Management and Budget must approve under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

IV. Interim Final Supplementary Rule

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, and under the authority of 
43 CFR 8365.1-6, the State Director establishes a rule for 2,004 acres 
of public lands managed by the BLM in the Lake Mountains in Utah 
County, Utah, subject to the Pony Express Resource Management Plan, to 
read as follows:

Prohibited Act

    Target shooting is prohibited within the area described below, 
including 2,004 acres, in Utah County, Utah.

Exemptions

    The following persons are exempt from this rule: Any Federal, 
state, local, and/or military employees acting within the scope of 
their official duties; members of any organized rescue or fire fighting 
force performing an official duty; and persons who are expressly 
authorized or approved by the BLM.

Legal Land Description

    The legal description of the affected public lands is:

Salt Lake Meridian, Utah

T. 7 S, R. 1 E,
    Sec. 6, lot 1 and NE\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 7, lot 1.
T. 7 S, R. 1 W,
    Sec. 13, lots 2 thru 4, lots 9 thru 12, and W\1/2\;
    Sec. 22, those portions of lots 5, 11, and 12 lying 
southwesterly of the top of a ridgeline, bears northwest and 
southeast, on the south side of Pfeiffer Canyon, the easterly end of 
the ridgeline being approximately 460 feet northerly of the south 
one quarter section corner of section 22 along the north-south 
centerline of section 22 and the westerly end of the ridgeline being 
approximately 1,780 feet northerly of the southwest corner of 
section 22 along the section line between sections 21 and 22;
    Sec. 24, lots 1 thru 3, lots 10 thru 13, lots 17 and 18, and 
NW\1/4\;
    Sec. 26, NW\1/4\NE\1/4\, N\1/2\NW\1/4\, and NW\1/4\SW\1/4\;
    Sec. 27, SW\1/4\NE\1/4\;
    Sec. 28, N\1/2\ and SE\1/4\.

    The areas described contain approximately 2,004 acres.

Definition

    Target shooting: The discharge or use of a firearm or other 
dangerous weapon (e.g. bow-and-arrows, projectile weapons, etc.) for 
the purposes of recreational shooting not associated with lawful 
hunting practices.

Enforcement

    Any person who violates this rule may be tried before a United 
States Magistrate and fined in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 3571, 
imprisoned no more than 12 months under 43 U.S.C. 1733(a) and 43 CFR 
8360.0-7, or both. In accordance with 43 CFR 8365.1-7, State or local 
officials may also impose penalties for violations of Utah law.

Edwin L. Roberson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2018-19300 Filed 9-5-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P