Notice2023-04988
Notice of Application for Withdrawal Extension; and Public Meeting; Fort Wainwright, AK
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 10, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
The Department of the Army (Army) has filed an application with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the extension of the current withdrawal in the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska. The Army requested an extension of the existing approximately 869,862-acre withdrawal for the Yukon Training Area (formerly Fort Wainwright Yukon Training Range) and the Donnelly Training Areas East and West (formerly Fort Greely East and West Training Ranges) from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, including the mining laws and the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, for 25 years or more, subject to valid existing rights. The existing withdrawal will expire on November 6, 2026. The decision about this application will be made by Congress. This notice advises the public of an opportunity to comment on this application for a withdrawal extension and to attend a public meeting.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 47 (Friday, March 10, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 47 (Friday, March 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15069-15070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04988]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_AK_FRN_MO4500169761; F-020174, F-35871, F-35872]
Notice of Application for Withdrawal Extension; and Public
Meeting; Fort Wainwright, AK
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of withdrawal application.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Army (Army) has filed an application
with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the extension of the
current withdrawal in the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska. The Army requested an
extension of the existing approximately 869,862-acre withdrawal for the
Yukon Training Area (formerly Fort Wainwright Yukon Training Range) and
the Donnelly Training Areas East and West (formerly Fort Greely East
and West Training Ranges) from all forms of appropriation under the
public land laws, including the mining laws and the mineral leasing and
geothermal leasing laws, for 25 years or more, subject to valid
existing rights. The existing withdrawal will expire on November 6,
2026. The decision about this application will be made by Congress.
This notice advises the public of an opportunity to comment on this
application for a withdrawal extension and to attend a public meeting.
DATES: Comments regarding this withdrawal application must be received
by June 8, 2023. In addition, the BLM and Army will host public
meetings addressing the withdrawal application. The date, time, and
location information for the public meetings are listed in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
ADDRESSES: Comments pertaining to this application for withdrawal
extension should be sent to the Alaska State Director, BLM Alaska State
Office, 222 West Seventh Avenue, No. 13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513-7504
or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e1838d8cbe808abe9295809584be8588938482958e93a1838d8ccf868e97"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="84e6e8e9dbe5efdbf7f0e5f0e1dbe0edf6e1e7f0ebf6c4e6e8e9aae3ebf2">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chelsea Kreiner, BLM Alaska State
Office, (907) 271-4205, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#80e3ebf2e5e9eee5f2c0e2ecedaee7eff6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b5d6dec7d0dcdbd0c7f5d7d9d89bd2dac3">[email protected]</span></a>, or you may contact the
BLM office at the address above. Individuals in the United States who
are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may
dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or Tele Braille) to access telecommunications relay
services. 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 Military Lands Withdrawal Act (MLWA) of
1999 (Pub. L. 106-65) withdrew approximately 869,862 acres of public
land comprising Yukon Training Area, Donnelly Training Area East, and
Donnelly Training Area West from all forms of appropriation under
public land laws and reserved them for use by the Army. The withdrawal
will expire on November 6, 2026, unless extended by Congress. The Army
has filed an application for extension of the current withdrawal of
approximately 869,862 acres of public lands from all forms of
appropriation under the public land laws, including the mining laws and
the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, for 25 years or more.
The purpose of the withdrawal extension is to allow for continued
military use of the Yukon Training Area and the Donnelly Training Areas
East and West in anticipation of continuing national defense
requirements.
The Yukon Training Area covers approximately 246,277 acres and is
located approximately 16 miles east-southeast of Fairbanks and
immediately east of Eielson Air Force Base. Donnelly Training Areas
East and West are located near Fort Greely in the Tanana River valley
in central Alaska approximately 80 miles southeast from Fort
Wainwright, near the city of Delta Junction in the Southeast Fairbanks
Census Area. Donnelly Training Area East is approximately 51,590 acres
and Donnelly Training Area West is approximately 571,995 acres. The
August 10, 2000, Federal Register publication (65 FR 49012) described
the approximately 869,862 acres of public lands withdrawn by the MLWA.
The Engle Act (Pub. L. 85-337, 43 United States Code 155-157)
requires land withdrawals for defense purposes of more than 5,000 acres
in the aggregate for any one defense project or facility to be
authorized by Congress through legislation. The MLWA requires the Army
to notify the Secretary of the Interior and Congress whether there is a
continuing military need for the withdrawn land. The Army and the
Department of the Interior (DOI) intend to submit a legislative
proposal for extension of the withdrawal and reservation to Congress
not later than May 1, 2025.
As required by section 204(b)(1) of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 1714(b)(1), and the BLM regulations
at 43 CFR part 2300, the BLM is publishing the notice of the Army's
application. While the BLM and the DOI assist the Army with
[[Page 15070]]
the processing of withdrawal applications, and the Secretary of the
Interior makes a recommendation to Congress on applications for
withdrawals of this size for defense purposes, Congress will decide
whether to extend the existing withdrawal for the Yukon Training Area
and Donnelly Training Areas East and West. This notice invites the
public to comment on the application for withdrawal extension and
notifies the public that a public meeting will occur.
The Army is preparing a legislative environmental impact statement
(EIS) in support of the legislative proposal and published a notice of
intent to conduct public scoping under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) in the Federal Register on September 24, 2021 (86 FR
53038). The Army conducted a virtual public scoping meeting on October
13, 2021, and accepted comments on potential alternatives, potential
environmental impacts, information, and analyses relevant to the
proposed action. The NEPA scoping period ended on October 25, 2021. The
BLM is participating as a cooperating agency in the preparation of the
legislative EIS, and the draft legislative EIS is anticipated to be
published soon. Information on the environmental review process can be
viewed at the Army's project website at <a href="https://www.aklweleis.com/">https://www.aklweleis.com/</a>.
For a period until June 8, 2023, all persons who wish to submit
comments in connection with the withdrawal application may present
their comments in writing to the Alaska State Director at the address
listed in the ADDRESSES section earlier. All comments received will be
considered before the Secretary of the Interior makes any
recommendation for withdrawal to Congress.
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.
In addition, BLM and Army will host public meetings on Monday,
April 10, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. at the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel and
Conference Center, Yukon Room, 813 Noble Street, Fairbanks, Alaska, and
on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. at the Delta Junction
Community Center, 2287 Deborah Street, Delta Junction, Alaska.
The withdrawal extension application will be processed in
accordance with MLWA, and to the extent consistent with MWLA, the
regulations set forth in 43 CFR 2310.4 and subject to section 810 of
the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, (16 U.S.C. 3120).
(Authority: 43 CFR 2310.4.)
Steven M. Cohn,
Alaska State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023-04988 Filed 3-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-10-P
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