Notice2021-23591
Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Navajo Nation Integrated Weed Management Plan, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah
Primary source
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Published
October 29, 2021
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentIndian Affairs Bureau
Abstract
This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as the lead Federal agency, with the Navajo Nation as a cooperating agency, intends to file a Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DPEIS) with the Environmental Protection Agency for the proposed Navajo Nation Integrated Weed Management Plan (NNIWMP). This notice also announces that the DPEIS is now available for public review and comment and that a public hearing will be held to receive comments on the DPEIS.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 207 (Friday, October 29, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 207 (Friday, October 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60065-60066]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23591]
[[Page 60065]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
[222A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900253G]
Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Navajo
Nation Integrated Weed Management Plan, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) as the lead Federal agency, with the Navajo Nation as a
cooperating agency, intends to file a Draft Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement (DPEIS) with the Environmental Protection Agency for
the proposed Navajo Nation Integrated Weed Management Plan (NNIWMP).
This notice also announces that the DPEIS is now available for public
review and comment and that a public hearing will be held to receive
comments on the DPEIS.
DATES: To be fully considered, written comments on the DEIS must arrive
no later than 45 days after EPA publishes its Notice of Availability in
the Federal Register. The dates and times of the virtual public
hearings will be published in the Navajo Times, the Gallup Sun,
Farmington Daily Times, the Gallup Independent, and the Navajo-Hopi
Observer.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Leonard Notah, NEPA
Coordinator, Navajo Regional Office, Branch of Environmental Quality
Compliance and Review, P.O. Box 1060, Gallup City, New Mexico 87301 or
by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7b171e14151a091f5515140f1a133b19121a551c140d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cba7aea4a5aab9afe5a5a4bfaaa38ba9a2aae5aca4bd">[email protected]</span></a>. The locations of the virtual public
hearings will be published in the Navajo Times, the Gallup Sun,
Farmington Daily Times, the Gallup Independent, and the Navajo-Hopi
Observer. The NNIWMP DPEIS is available for review at: <a href="https://www.bia.gov/regional-offices/navajo/navajo-nation-integrated-weed-management-plan">https://www.bia.gov/regional-offices/navajo/navajo-nation-integrated-weed-management-plan</a>. Please see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this notice for physical locations where the DPEIS is available and for
information on how to register to participate in the virtual public
hearings.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leonard Notah, NEPA Coordinator,
Bureau of Indian Affairs Navajo Regional Office, Branch of
Environmental Quality Compliance and Review, P.O. Box 1060, Gallup
City, New Mexico 87301, telephone (505) 863-8256, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3c505953525d4e58125253485d547c5e555d125b534a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1579707a7b7467713b7b7a61747d55777c743b727a63">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed Federal action is
implementation of the NNIWMP. The BIA Navajo Regional Office prepared
the NNIWMP to determine the most effective and appropriate methods to
treat noxious and invasive weeds. The DPEIS discloses the direct,
indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of weed treatment
techniques that would result from the Proposed Action and alternatives.
The weed treatment techniques provide the BIA with the tools to
implement an integrated approach to treating weeds on the Navajo Nation
(Navajo Tribal Trust Lands, Navajo Indian Allotments, and Navajo
Partitioned Lands).
The purpose of the NNIWMP is to prevent, eradicate, contain, and/or
monitor 45 noxious weed species on the Navajo Nation including the
Navajo Tribal trust lands, Navajo Indian allotments, and Navajo
partitioned lands. The NNIWMP focuses on managing non-native invasive
plant species using mechanical, manual, cultural, biological, and
chemical weed treatment methods.
The following objectives were developed for the NNIWMP:
<bullet> Develop the best control techniques described for the
target weed species in a planned, coordinated, and economically
feasible program to limit the impact and spread of noxious and invasive
weeds;
<bullet> Incorporate project successes and lessons learned from
completed weed projects on the Navajo Nation when developing weed
removal project proposals through adaptive management;
<bullet> Identify and prevent the expansion of existing
infestations of target weed species, and quickly prevent the spread of
new high priority weed species in the project area;
<bullet> Coordinate weed removal efforts with adjacent landowners,
land managers, and/or Federal agencies to prevent the further spread of
weed populations (e.g. State roads and Bureau of Land Management);
<bullet> Provide and promote economic opportunities to the Navajo
people by improving rangeland productivity and potentially providing
economic opportunities to remove noxious plant species; and
<bullet> Develop a public education program focusing on weed
identification, prevention, and removal techniques for local
communities and non-profit organizations.
The NNWIMP encompasses a 10-year period but will incorporate a plan
review after five years. Repeated treatments will be necessary for most
species since seeds can be viable in soil for 10 or more years.
Therefore, re-occurring weed treatments will be implemented until the
desired management goal is reached.
Cooperating agencies for this NEPA process include: The Navajo
Nation, Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), Utah Department of
Transportation (UDOT), Navajo Nation Soil and Water Conservation
Districts (SWCD), San Juan Soil and Water Conservation District, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service
(NRCS), the Bureau of Land Management, USDA Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) and the National Park Service. The BIA will
seek to coordinate weed removal projects on adjacent lands managed by
the above-mentioned agencies and neighboring areas managed by the
Coconino National Forest and the Hopi Tribe.
BIA will use the DPEIS to make decisions on the implementation of
the NNIWMP.
Directions for Submitting Comments: In accordance with the
regulations for implementing NEPA, the BIA solicits public comment on
the DPEIS. Comments on the DPEIS may be submitted in writing or by
email to the address listed above in the ADDRESSES section of this
notice. At the top of your letter or in the subject line of your email
message, indicate that the comments are ``Navajo Nation IWMP Draft EIS
Comments.''
Public Hearings: To help protect the public and limit the spread of
the COVID-19 virus, the BIA Navajo Regional Office will hold five
virtual public hearings to facilitate public review and comment on the
DPEIS. Members of the public can register for virtual public hearings
at: <a href="https://www.bia.gov/regional-offices/navajo/navajo-nation-integrated-weed-management-plan">https://www.bia.gov/regional-offices/navajo/navajo-nation-integrated-weed-management-plan</a>.
After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email
with instruction for joining the meeting.
Locations Where the DPEIS is Available for Review: The NNIWMP DPEIS
is available for review at: <a href="https://www.bia.gov/regional-offices/navajo/navajo-nation-integrated-weed-management-plan">https://www.bia.gov/regional-offices/navajo/navajo-nation-integrated-weed-management-plan</a>. Paper and CD
copies of the DPEIS may also be available to the public at the
following BIA Offices (Natural Resources):
<bullet> Navajo Region, 301 West Hill Street, Room 214, Gallup, New
Mexico 87301: Phone (505) 863-8314.
<bullet> Western Navajo Agency, East Highway 160 & Warrior Drive,
#407
[[Page 60066]]
Federal Building, Tuba City, Arizona, 86045; Phone: (928) 283-2252.
<bullet> Chinle (Central) Navajo Agency, U.S. Highway 191 & Navajo
Route 7, Federal Building #136C, Room C-12, Chinle, Arizona 86503;
Phone: (928) 674-5100.
<bullet> Eastern Navajo Agency, Building #222, Chaco Boulevard,
Crownpoint, New Mexico, 87313; Phone: (505) 786-6100.
<bullet> Fort Defiance Agency, Kit Carson Drive, Building #40, Fort
Defiance, Arizona, 86504; Phone: (928) 729-7223.
<bullet> Shiprock (Northern) Navajo Agency, Nataani Nez Complex,
2nd Floor, Highway 491 South, Shiprock, New Mexico, 87420; Phone: (505)
368-3308.
<bullet> Navajo Partitioned Lands, \1/4\ mile South of Navajo Route
4 & Main, Pinon, Arizona, 86510; Phone: (928) 725-3343.
Public Comment Availability: All submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be
available for public review to the extent consistent with applicable
law. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware your
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be
publicly available at any time. You can request the BIA to withhold
your personal identifying information from public review, but we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so. Comments submitted anonymously
will be accepted and considered; however, those who submit anonymous
comments may not have standing to appeal the subsequent decision.
To be placed on the mailing list for future information, please see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Authority: This notice is published in accordance with section
1503.1 of the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR 1500
et seq.) and the Department of the Interior Regulations (43 CFR part
46) implementing the procedural requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq), and in accordance
with the exercise of authority delegated to the Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by part 209 of the Department
Manual.
Bryan Newland,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2021-23591 Filed 10-28-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337-15-P
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