[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 168 (Thursday, August 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70204-70205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19445]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[BLM_AK_FRN_MO4500181306]


Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Alaska 
Native Claims Settlement Act 17(d)(1) Withdrawals Final Environmental 
Impact Statement, Alaska

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability 
of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
Act (ANCSA) 17(d)(1) Withdrawals Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS). This ROD describes the decision rationale for the selection of 
the No Action Alternative. The ROD also describes the basis for 
Secretarial rescission of Public Land Order (PLO) Nos. 7899, 7900, 
7901, 7902, and 7903. Any order rescinding these PLOs will be published 
separately.

DATES: The Secretary of the Interior signed the ROD on August 23, 2024. 
Any order rescinding PLOs will be published in the Federal Register and 
state its effective date.

ADDRESSES: The ROD is available via the internet at: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2018002/510.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Racheal Jones, BLM Project Manager, 
telephone (907) 290-0307; address ANCSA 17(d)(1) EIS, BLM Anchorage 
District Office, Attn: Racheal Jones, 4700 BLM Road, Anchorage, Alaska 
99507; email [email protected]. Individuals in the United States who are 
deaf, blind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 
(TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services 
for contacting Ms. Jones. 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: The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), 
BLM Alaska, prepared the ANCSA 17(d)(1) Withdrawals EIS to evaluate the 
effects of any Secretarial decision to revoke withdrawals established 
following enactment of ANCSA section 17(d)(1) affecting the lands 
described in PLO Nos. 7899 through 7903. PLO Nos. 7900, 7901, 7902, and 
7903 would have revoked withdrawals on lands in the Ring of Fire, Bay, 
Bering Sea-Western Interior, and East Alaska planning areas,

[[Page 70205]]

respectively. These PLOs were signed on January 15 and 16, 2021; 
however, they were never published in the Federal Register. PLO No. 
7899, which would have revoked withdrawals on lands in the Kobuk-Seward 
Peninsula planning area, was signed on January 11, 2021, and published 
in the Federal Register on January 19, 2021 (86 FR 5236).
    Subsequently, the DOI identified certain procedural and legal 
defects in the decision-making process for these five PLOs, as 
described in the April 16, 2021, Federal Register notice (86 FR 20193), 
including an insufficient analysis under the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA). The DOI extended the opening order for PLO No. 7899 
until August 31, 2024, to provide an opportunity to review the 
decisions and to ensure the orderly management of the public lands (88 
FR 21207). The BLM used this time to address identified deficiencies 
and to update the NEPA analysis. The Secretary identified the No Action 
Alternative (Alternative A) as the preferred alternative in the final 
EIS. A Notice of Availability for the ANCSA 17(d)(1) Withdrawals Final 
EIS was published in the Federal Register on July 5, 2024 (89 FR 
55654). Any order rescinding these PLOs will be published separately 
with the effective date listed with that order.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.9(c)(5))

Deb Haaland,
Secretary of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2024-19445 Filed 8-28-24; 8:45 am]
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