Notice2024-17514
Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the BLM Rio Puerco Field Office, New Mexico
Primary source
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Published
August 9, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
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) Rio Puerco Field Office has prepared a Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) and associated Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and by this notice is announcing the start of a 30-day protest period of the Proposed RMP.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 154 (Friday, August 9, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65392-65394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17514]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_NM_FRN_MO4500178348]
Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan
and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the BLM Rio Puerco Field
Office, New Mexico
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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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) Rio Puerco
[[Page 65393]]
Field Office has prepared a Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) and
associated Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and by this
notice is announcing the start of a 30-day protest period of the
Proposed RMP.
DATES: This notice announces a 30-day protest period to the BLM on the
Proposed RMP beginning with the date following the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) publication of its Notice of Availability
(NOA) of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS by September 9, 2024. The EPA
usually publishes its NOAs on Fridays. Protests must be postmarked or
electronically submitted on the BLM's ePlanning website during the 30-
day protest period.
ADDRESSES: The Proposed RMP/Final EIS is available online in the
Documents and Reports section of the ePlanning project website at
<a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/64954/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/64954/510</a>. Documents
pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/64954/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/64954/510</a> and at the Rio Puerco
Field Office.
Instructions for filing a protest with the BLM for the Proposed RMP
for the BLM Rio Puerco Field Office can be found at: <a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest">https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest</a> and at 43 CFR 1610.5-2.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Lujan, Resource Management Plan
Project Manager, BLM Rio Puerco Field Office; telephone: 505-761-8734;
address: 100 Sun Ave. NE, Suite 330, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87109; or
email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f3929f8699929db3919f9edd949c85"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="46272a332c272806242a2b68212930">[email protected]</span></a>. 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. Lujan. 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: In the Rio Puerco Proposed RMP/Final EIS,
the BLM analyzed the environmental consequences of four alternatives
under consideration for managing approximately 731,600 acres of surface
estate and about 3.6 million acres of subsurface mineral estate, which
is known as the decision area. These lands, administered by the BLM Rio
Puerco Field Office, are located within Bernalillo, Cibola, McKinley,
Sandoval, Torrance, and Valencia counties in central New Mexico. The
Rio Puerco planning area encompasses approximately 9.5 million acres,
including National Forest; National Monuments; and Tribal, State, and
private lands. It also includes valuable mineral resources and the
largest population center in the State of New Mexico. This land use
plan would replace the current Rio Puerco RMP, which the BLM approved
in 1986 and amended in 1992. The Proposed RMP/Final EIS analyzes the
impacts of delineating lands to account for changes in population,
types of uses, technologies, user interests, and public understanding
of resource availability in the Middle Rio Grande Watershed in central
New Mexico.
The plan addresses several interrelated issues and management
concerns, including land tenure adjustments, land use authorizations,
recreation, areas with special management designations, lands with
wilderness characteristics, livestock grazing, transportation access,
renewable energy, visual resources, wildland/urban interface, and
mineral resources. The agency selected these issues based on broad
concerns or controversies related to conditions, trends, needs, and
existing and potential uses of the planning area lands. Management
prescriptions in potential areas of critical environmental concern
(ACECs) that could limit development of (1) commercial mineral, solar,
wind, or geothermal resources or (2) recreation or other resources
important primarily for their economic benefit to the planning area
must be evaluated to avoid unnecessarily restricting these activities.
Additionally, large areas of mixed ownership (BLM parcels amongst
private, Tribal, or other ownership) pose significant access and
multiple-use issues, which is why this Proposed RMP/Final EIS
identifies them as potential areas for exchange.
The four alternatives analyzed in detail in the Final EIS are as
follows:
<bullet> BLM Alternative A (No Action)--Continues 1986 Resource
Management Plan management direction;
<bullet> BLM Alternative B--Emphasizes resource protection;
<bullet> BLM Alternative C (Proposed) (Draft Preferred)--Focuses on
providing a balance of resource uses with conservation; and
<bullet> BLM Alternative D--Allows for a greater opportunity for
resource use and development.
The preferred alternative for the Proposed RMP is Alternative C,
which was identified in the 2012 Draft RMP/Final EIS. The BLM has
updated the alternatives, including Alternative C, for clarity and to
incorporate the latest science and data, as well as to reflect current
policies, laws, procedures, Tribal perspectives from government-to-
government consultation, input and special expertise provided by
cooperating agencies, and designations such as the Placitas Withdrawal
(89 FR 31763 (April 25, 2024)). Some of these changes to Alternative C
include closing additional sub-surface mineral acreage in the Placitas
area to salable and locatable mineral development, closing areas with
low potential for fluid mineral development, and modifying recreation
management area designations. Alternative C would designate a total of
18 ACECs: 8 carried forward from the existing RMP (Cabezon Peak,
Ca[ntilde]on Tapia, Elk Springs ACEC and Juana Lopez Research Natural
Area, Jones Canyon, Ojito, Pronoun Cave Complex, San Luis Mesa Raptor
Area, and Torreon Fossil Fauna); 2 expansions of ACECs in the existing
RMP (Bluewater Canyon and Espinazo Ridge [formerly Ball Ranch]); and 10
new ACECs (Bony Canyon, Ca[ntilde]on Jarido, Cerro Verde, Guadalupe
Ruin and Community, Ignacio Chavez, Legacy Uranium Mines, Petaca Pinta,
and San Miguel Dome).
On February 29, 2008, the BLM published a Notice of Intent in the
Federal Register, notifying the public of a formal scoping period and
soliciting public participation (73 FR 11142). Between March 2007 and
February 2008, Rio Puerco Field Office managers and staff had
discussions about the Rio Puerco Draft RMP/Draft EIS with 12 local
American Indian Tribal groups, including Acoma Pueblo, Eastern Navajo
Agency Council, Isleta Pueblo, Jemez Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, Navajo
Nation, Ojo Encino Navajo Chapter, Sandia Pueblo, San Felipe Pueblo,
Santo Domingo Pueblo, Torreon Navajo Chapter, Zia Pueblo, and Zuni
Pueblo. A scoping presentation was given to the BLM Resource Advisory
Council in March 2008. In April 2008, a scoping notice was distributed
to more than 900 individuals. The BLM also met with various stakeholder
and interest groups in the following ways:
<bullet> The BLM held eight scoping meetings in April 2008 in
Albuquerque, Bernalillo, Cuba, Grants, Gallup, Los Lunas, Moriarty, and
Rio Rancho.
<bullet> The BLM held two Economic Profile System workshops early
in the process with local citizens and community leaders to develop a
common understanding of the local economies and the ways in which land-
use planning decisions might affect them.
<bullet> The public provided input on relevant issues to consider
in the planning process. This information was
[[Page 65394]]
received during the scoping period ending on September 30, 2008.
<bullet> The BLM hosted two internal Alternatives Development
Workshops.
<bullet> The BLM held a Cooperating Agency Workshop.
On July 13, 2012, the BLM published a Notice of Availability in the
Federal Register, notifying the public of the release of the Draft RMP/
Draft EIS, and the beginning of the comment period (77 FR 41444).
During the 90-day comment period, the BLM received over 45,000 comments
from interested parties. Substantive public comments and BLM responses
are available in the Proposed RMP/Final EIS, Volume III, Appendix R.
The Proposed RMP/Final EIS is the compilation of all the public input
and data analyzed and presented in the Draft RMP/Draft EIS plus the
public input considered during the 90-day comment period.
Protest of the Proposed RMP
The BLM planning regulations state that any person who participated
in the preparation of the RMP and has an interest that will or might be
adversely affected by approval of the Proposed RMP may protest its
approval to the BLM Director. Protest on the Proposed RMP constitutes
the final opportunity for administrative review of the proposed land
use planning decisions prior to the BLM adopting an approved RMP.
Instructions for filing a protest regarding the Proposed RMP with the
BLM Director may be found online at <a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest">https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest</a> and at 43
CFR 1610.5-2. All protests must be in writing and mailed to the
appropriate address, as set forth in the ADDRESSES section earlier, or
submitted electronically through the BLM ePlanning project website as
described previously. Protests submitted electronically by any means
other than the ePlanning project website or by fax will be invalid
unless a protest is also submitted as a hard copy. The BLM Director
will render a written decision on each protest. The Director's decision
shall be the final decision of the Department of the Interior.
Responses to valid protest issues will be compiled and documented in a
Protest Resolution Report made available following the protest
resolution online at: <a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/protest-resolution-reports">https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/protest-resolution-reports</a>. Upon resolution of
protests, the BLM will issue a Record of Decision and Approved RMP.
Before including your phone number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your protest to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR
1610.5)
Melanie G. Barnes,
BLM New Mexico State Director.
[FR Doc. 2024-17514 Filed 8-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-FB-P
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