[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 64 (Monday, April 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19525-19526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07017]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[L10200000.LLHQ2200000.PH0000.LXSIWEED0000]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement for Approval of Herbicide Active Ingredients for Use on 
Public Lands

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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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, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intends to 
prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze 
the impacts to the environment from approving new herbicide active 
ingredients for use on BLM-managed public lands. By this notice, the 
BLM is announcing the beginning of the scoping process and is 
soliciting public comments regarding potential environmental impacts, 
potential alternatives, and relevant studies or analyses.

DATES: This notice initiates the 30-day public scoping process for the 
EIS. The BLM requests comments concerning the scope of the analysis, 
potential alternatives, and identification of relevant information, 
studies, and analyses by May 4, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues related to the approval of 
herbicide active ingredients for use on public lands by any of the 
following methods:
     Website: https://go.usa.gov/xtk6a.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Seth Flanigan--Project Manager, HQ-220, 1387 South 
Vinnell Way, Boise, ID 83709.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at 
https://go.usa.gov/xtk6a.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seth Flanigan, Senior Natural Resource 
Specialist, telephone: 208-373-4094; email: [email protected]. 
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of 
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services for contacting 
Mr. Flanigan. Individuals outside the United States should use the 
relay services offered within their country to make international calls 
to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM 
intends to prepare a Programmatic EIS for a review of herbicides that 
may be approved for use in vegetation treatments on BLM-managed public 
lands, announces the beginning of the associated scoping process, and 
seeks public input.

Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    The BLM's purpose and need is to improve the effectiveness of its 
invasive plant management efforts by allowing the use of Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA)-registered herbicides not currently authorized 
for use on BLM public lands. Approving additional herbicides would 
diversify the BLM's herbicide treatment options and help meet the 
purposes that were first identified in the 2007 and 2016 Programmatic 
EISs also related to vegetation treatments, which are to make 
herbicides available for vegetation treatment on public lands and to 
describe the stipulations that apply to their use.

Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives

    The BLM proposes to approve and use several herbicide active 
ingredients, including aminocyclopyrachlor, clethodim, fluozifop-p-
butyl, flumioxazin, imazamox, indaziflam, oryzalin, and trifluralin, 
for use in vegetation treatments on public lands. These active 
ingredients are registered by the EPA. In an action to approve any of 
these active ingredients, the BLM will adopt and rely on Human Health 
and Ecological Risk Assessments prepared by the U.S. Forest Service.

Preliminary Issues

    The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, 
including alternatives, and guide the planning process. Preliminary 
issues for the analysis have been identified by BLM personnel and other 
stakeholders. These include effects to vegetation resources including 
special status plant species, aquatic and terrestrial wildlife species 
and their habitat including special status animal species, soil 
ecology, water quality, pollinator habitat, and cultural and historic 
resources.

Schedule for the Decision-Making Process

    The BLM will provide additional opportunities for public 
participation

[[Page 19526]]

consistent with the NEPA process, including a 45-day comment period on 
the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS is anticipated to be available for public 
review beginning in November 2022. The BLM anticipates releasing a 
Final EIS in March 2023 and anticipates issuing a Record of Decision in 
April 2023.

Public Scoping Process

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping period and public 
review of the planning criteria, which will guide the development and 
analysis of the Draft EIS.
    The BLM does not intend to hold any public meetings during the 
public scoping period. Should the BLM later decide to hold public 
meetings, the specific date(s) and location(s) of any meeting will be 
announced at least 15 days in advance through local media, newspapers, 
and the BLM website at: https://go.usa.gov/xtk6a.

Responsible Official

    Assistant Director for Resources and Planning.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    Through this process, the BLM will decide whether to approve the 
herbicide active ingredients identified earlier for use on BLM-managed 
public lands. This decision will be based on the best available science 
and current needs for vegetation management. Any authorization to apply 
any of these active ingredients at a particular site will be made 
through a separate, site-specific decision and so is not within the 
scope of the programmatic EIS or potential decision described in this 
notice.

Interdisciplinary Team and Coordination

    The BLM will identify and analyze the proposed action and all 
reasonable alternatives to address their reasonably foreseeable impacts 
and, in accordance with 40 CFR 1502.14(e), include in that analysis 
appropriate mitigation measures not already included in the proposed 
action or alternatives. Mitigation may include avoidance, minimization, 
rectification, reduction or elimination over time, or compensation, and 
may be considered at multiple scales, including the landscape scale.
    The BLM will coordinate the NEPA process with other required 
reviews under the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1536) and section 
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) as 
provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3), including public involvement 
requirements of Section 106. Information about historic and cultural 
resources and threatened and endangered species within areas 
potentially affected by the proposed action or alternatives will assist 
the BLM in identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources. The 
BLM will consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-government basis 
in accordance with Executive Order 13175, BLM MS 1780, and other 
Departmental policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian 
trust assets and potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given 
due consideration.
    Federal, State, and local agencies, along with tribes and other 
stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the proposed 
action that the BLM is evaluating, are invited to participate in the 
scoping process. If eligible, the BLM may request Federal, State, or 
local agencies to participate in the development of the environmental 
analysis as cooperating agencies.
    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.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7)

David Jenkins,
Assistant Director, Resources and Planning.
[FR Doc. 2022-07017 Filed 4-1-22; 8:45 am]
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