Notice2024-27677
Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment for the Buffalo Field Office, Wyoming
Primary source
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Published
November 27, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Approved Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment for the Buffalo Field Office located in Buffalo, Wyoming. The BLM Director signed the ROD on November 20, 2024, which constitutes the decision of the BLM and makes the Approved RMP Amendment effective immediately.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 229 (Wednesday, November 27, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 93650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27677]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_WY_FRN_MO4500183156]
Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision and Approved
Resource Management Plan Amendment for the Buffalo Field Office,
Wyoming
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 Approved Resource Management
Plan (RMP) Amendment for the Buffalo Field Office located in Buffalo,
Wyoming. The BLM Director signed the ROD on November 20, 2024, which
constitutes the decision of the BLM and makes the Approved RMP
Amendment effective immediately.
DATES: The BLM Director signed the ROD/Approved RMP Amendment on
November 20, 2024.
ADDRESSES: The ROD/Approved RMP Amendment is available online at:
<a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2021239/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2021239/510</a>. Printed
copies of the ROD/Approved RMP Amendment are available for public
inspection at the Buffalo Field Office or can be provided upon request
by contacting Tom Bills, Project Manager, telephone (307) 684-1133; or
at the address BLM Buffalo Field Office, 1425 Fort Street, Buffalo, WY
82834; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1266707b7e7e6152707e7f3c757d64"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1c687e7570706f5c7e7071327b736a">[email protected]</span></a>.
A copy of the Protest Resolution Report is available 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>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Bills, Project Manager,
telephone (307) 684-1133; or at the address BLM Buffalo Field Office,
1425 Fort Street, Buffalo, WY 82834; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#205442494c4c5360424c4d0e474f56"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="85f1e7ece9e9f6c5e7e9e8abe2eaf3">[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. 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 Approved RMP Amendment addresses a
United States District Court for the District of Montana order (Western
Organization of Resource Councils, et al. v. BLM; CV 00076-GF-BMM; 8/3/
2022). The Approved RMP Amendment changes the existing 2015 Buffalo
Approved RMP.
The RMP Amendment approved by the ROD includes land use allocations
of areas acceptable for further consideration for coal leasing and
those that are not. The Approved RMP Amendment is Alternative A (No
Leasing) from the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact State (EIS),
making no BLM administered coal acceptable and 413,250 acres
unavailable for further consideration for coal leasing within the
Buffalo Field Office planning area. The Approved RMP Amendment does not
affect the area with coal development potential or the area determined
to be suitable for surface coal mining. The Approved RMP Amendment
includes the updated coal screens (43 CFR 3420.1-4(e)) using current
data and evaluated the issues identified through internal and public
scoping. Application of coal screen 1 (development potential)
identified approximately 413,250 acres of BLM-administered coal as
having development potential. The Approved RMP Amendment also addresses
the NEPA deficiencies identified by the court order associated with the
application of the multiple-use screen. Specifically, the application
of a multiple-use climate change criterion that uses greenhouse gas
emissions as a proxy for climate change. Reducing availability of BLM-
administered coal for leasing consideration reduces the contribution of
greenhouse gas emissions from the development and combustion of BLM-
administered coal from the planning area.
The BLM determined that additional leasing of BLM-administered coal
is not necessary based on the current analysis in the Final
Supplemental EIS. The analysis indicates that operating mines in the
planning area collectively have existing leases with sufficient coal
reserves to maintain projected mine production levels into 2041.
The BLM published a notice of availability for the Draft
Supplemental EIS and Potential RMP Amendment in the Federal Register on
May 8, 2023, which initiated a 90-day comment period (88 FR 29691). On
May 31, 2023, the BLM hosted a public meeting in Gillette, Wyoming, to
present the Draft Supplemental EIS/RMP Amendment to the public and
solicit comments. The BLM also hosted an on-line public meeting on June
5, 2023. During the public comment period, the BLM received 25 unique
written submissions containing 147 substantive comments. The Draft
Supplemental EIS comments helped the BLM refine the Final Supplemental
EIS and guided the development of the Proposed RMP Amendment.
The BLM provided the Proposed RMP Amendment for public protest on
May 17, 2024 (89 FR 43431), for a 30-day protest period, and received
five valid protests. The BLM Assistant Director for Planning and
Resources resolved all protests. Responses to protest issues were
compiled and documented in a Protest Resolution Report (see ADDRESSES).
No changes were made to the Approved RMP Amendment as a result of
protest resolution.
The BLM provided the Proposed RMP Amendment to the Governor of
Wyoming for a 60-day Governor's consistency review. The State Director
made no changes to the Proposed RMP Amendment as a result of the
Governor's review. On September 13, 2024, the Governor submitted an
appeal to the BLM Director on the State Director's response to the
Governor's consistency review. In accordance with planning regulations
(1610.3-2), the Director notified the Governor on November 6, 2024, of
the reasons for the determination to reject the Governor's
recommendations.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR 1610.5-1)
Tracy Stone-Manning,
BLM Director.
[FR Doc. 2024-27677 Filed 11-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-26-P
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