[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 81 (Thursday, April 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22703-22704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08881]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNV933000.19200000-ET0000.LRORF2012100; TAS XXX; N-98605; MO# 
4500146306]


Notice of Application for Withdrawal; and Notification of Public 
Meeting; Nye County, Nevada

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is providing notice of an 
application from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
(NASA) requesting that the Secretary of the Interior withdraw and 
reserve lands necessary for NASA's satellite calibration activities 
within the Railroad Valley (RRV), Nye County, Nevada, area for a period 
of 20 years, subject to valid existing rights. Publication of this 
Notice segregates approximately 22,995.05 acres of public lands from 
all forms of appropriation or other disposition under the public land 
laws, including the mining, mineral leasing, and geothermal leasing 
laws, for up to

[[Page 22704]]

two years, subject to valid existing rights. This notice also invites 
the public to comment on the withdrawal application by several methods, 
including a virtual public meeting.

DATES: Comments must be received by July 28, 2021. On Monday, July 19, 
2021, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern time, NASA will hold a 
virtual public meeting in connection with the proposed withdrawal. NASA 
will publish further instructions about how to access the online public 
meeting in the Reno Gazette-Journal (Reno), Las Vegas Review-Journal 
(Las Vegas), The Ely Times (Ely), and Tonopah Times-Bonanza & Goldfield 
News (Tonopah) newspapers a minimum of 30 days prior to the meeting.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be sent to the BLM Nevada State Office, 
1340 Financial Boulevard., Reno, NV 89502; faxed to 775-861-6606; or 
sent by email to [email protected]. The BLM will not 
consider comments received via telephone calls.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edison Garcia, Land Law Examiner, BLM, 
by telephone at 775-861-6530; by email at [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, 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: NASA has filed an application requesting 
that the Secretary of the Interior withdraw the public lands described 
below from all forms of appropriation or other disposition under the 
public land laws, including the mining, mineral leasing, and the 
geothermal leasing laws, subject to valid existing rights, and reserve 
them for NASA's satellite calibration activities within the Railroad 
Valley, Nye County, Nevada area for a period of 20 years.
    Publication of this Notice segregates approximately 22,995.05 acres 
of public lands, for up to two years from all forms of appropriation or 
other disposition under the public land laws, including the mining, 
mineral leasing, and geothermal leasing laws, subject to valid existing 
rights. This notice also invites the public to comment on the 
withdrawal application by several methods, including a virtual public 
meeting to be held Monday, July 19, 2021, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 
Eastern time.
    The two-year segregation of 22,995.05 acres of public land will 
provide the BLM and NASA 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 the Interior. Further, NASA intends 
to select from among the segregated lands a subset of those lands most 
suitable for its purposes; therefore, it is likely that if the 
Secretary does elect to withdraw any of the lands requested, far fewer 
of the segregated lands would eventually be withdrawn.
    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 2300, the BLM is publishing Notice of NASA's 
application to withdraw the following described lands:

Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada

T. 7 N., R. 56 E.,
    Secs. 2 thru 17;
    Secs. 20 thru 27.
T. 8 N., R. 56 E.,
    Secs. 19 thru 21;
    Secs. 27 thru 35.

    The areas described aggregate 22,995.05 acres in Nye County.

    According to the application, RRV is the only location in the U.S. 
with the appropriate characteristics to enable satellite calibration 
and has been used for these purposes since 1993. Alternative sites to 
RRV are less desirable, due to the effects of human activity, site 
inhomogeneity, topography, and excessive brightness--all of which 
negatively impact the accuracy of sensor readings for satellite 
calibration. The lands subject to the withdrawal application are the 
lands for which protection is sought from the impacts of exploration 
and development under the United States mineral and geothermal leasing 
laws.
    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 Federal 
investment in the long-term satellite calibration program established 
for NASA.
    No water will be needed to fulfill the purpose of the requested 
withdrawal.
    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 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.
    Notice is hereby given that a virtual (online) public meeting in 
connection with the application for withdrawal will be held on Monday, 
July 19, 2021, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern time. NASA will 
publish a notice of the online venue in local newspapers a minimum of 
30 days before the schedule date of the meeting.

    Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1714(b)(1) and 43 CFR 2310.3-1

Jon K. Raby,
State Director, Nevada.
[FR Doc. 2021-08881 Filed 4-28-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P