[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 169 (Friday, August 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45799-45800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18837]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[19X.LLAK930100 L510100000.ER0000]


Notice of Availability of the Ambler Road Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement, Alaska

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 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 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Ambler Road and by 
this notice is announcing the opening of the comment period. The BLM is 
also announcing that it will be holding public meetings on the Draft 
EIS and subsistence-related hearings to receive comments on the Draft 
EIS and the project's potential to impact subsistence resources and 
activities.

DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Draft EIS within 45 days following the date the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability of 
the Draft EIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will hold public 
meetings in: Alatna, Allakaket, Ambler, Anaktuvuk Pass, Anchorage, 
Bettles, Buckland, Coldfoot, Evansville, Fairbanks, Hughes, Huslia, 
Kiana, Kobuk, Kotzebue, Noatak, Noorvik, Selawik, Shungnak, Stevens 
Village, Tanana, Wiseman, Alaska and in Washington, DC. The dates, 
times, and locations of the meetings will be announced at least 15 days 
in advance through public notices, media releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Ambler Road Draft EIS 
by any of the following methods:

[[Page 45800]]

     Website: https://www.blm.gov/AmblerRoadEIS.
     Mail: Ambler Road DEIS Comments, BLM Fairbanks District 
Office, 222 University Avenue, Fairbanks AK 99709.
     Hand Deliver comments to: BLM, 222 University Avenue, 
Fairbanks, Alaska 99709.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tina McMaster-Goering, Ambler Road EIS 
Project Manager, telephone: 907-271-1310; address: 222 West 7th Avenue, 
#13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513. You may also request to be added to the 
mailing list for the EIS. Documents pertaining to the Draft EIS may be 
examined at https://www.blm.gov/AmblerRoadEIS or at or at the BLM 
Alaska State Office, BLM Alaska Public Information Center (Public 
Room), 222 West 7th Avenue (First Floor), Anchorage, Alaska or the 
Fairbanks District Office, 222 University Avenue, Fairbanks, Alaska.
    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 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: The Bureau of Land Management has prepared 
the Ambler Road Draft EIS. The Draft EIS is in response to an 
application for an industrial road right-of-way (ROW) in north-central 
Alaska across federal public lands and other lands. The road would run 
from the existing Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District. The 
area involved lies south of the Brooks Range, north of the Yukon River, 
west of the Dalton Highway and east of the Purcell Mountains. The 
Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), a public 
corporation of the State of Alaska, is the applicant.
    The purpose of the public comment period is to inform the public of 
the availability of the Draft EIS and solicit comments from the public. 
Information received during the public comment period will be used to 
develop the Final EIS.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information, be advised that your entire 
comment, including your identifying information, may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you may ask us in your comments to 
withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we 
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    The BLM has worked with interested parties to develop a proposed 
action and alternatives consistent with the following criteria:
     The proposed project submitted by the applicant, AIDEA;
     Issues identified during public scoping, impacts and 
potential alternatives to be addressed; and
     Subsistence resources and users, as well as potential 
actions to minimize adverse impacts to subsistence in accordance with 
section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 
(ANILCA).
    Section 810 of ANILCA requires the BLM to evaluate the effects of 
the alternatives presented in the Draft EIS on subsistence activities, 
and to hold public hearings if it finds that any alternatives may 
significantly restrict subsistence users. The preliminary evaluation of 
subsistence impact indicates that certain alternatives analyzed in the 
Draft EIS and the associated cumulative impacts may significantly 
restrict subsistence uses. Therefore, the BLM will hold public hearings 
on subsistence resources and activities in conjunction with the public 
meeting on the Draft EIS in Alatna, Allakaket, Ambler, Anaktuvuk Pass, 
Bettles, Buckland, Coldfoot, Evansville, Hughes, Huslia, Kiana, Kobuk, 
Kotzebue, Noatak, Noorvik, Selawik, Shungnak, Stevens Village, Tanana, 
and Wiseman, Alaska.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6(b).

Ted A. Murphy,
Associate State Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 2019-18837 Filed 8-29-19; 8:45 am]
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