Notice2024-31314
BLM Director's Response to the Wyoming Governor's Appeal of the BLM Wyoming State Director's Governor's Consistency Review Determination for the Buffalo Field Office Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
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
December 30, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is publishing this notice of the reasons for the BLM Director's determination to reject the Governor of Wyoming's recommendations regarding the Buffalo Field Office Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 249 (Monday, December 30, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 249 (Monday, December 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 106557-106559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31314]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[PO #4820000251]
BLM Director's Response to the Wyoming Governor's Appeal of the
BLM Wyoming State Director's Governor's Consistency Review
Determination for the Buffalo Field Office Proposed Resource Management
Plan Amendment and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of response.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is publishing this notice
of the reasons for the BLM Director's determination to reject the
Governor of Wyoming's recommendations regarding the Buffalo Field
Office Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) and Final
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS).
ADDRESSES: A copy of the Record of Decision and Approved RMPA is
available on the BLM website at: <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2021239/570">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2021239/570</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Bernier, Division Chief for
Decision Support, Planning, and National Environmental Policy Act;
telephone 303-239-3635; address P.O. Box 151029, Lakewood, CO 80215;
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e1898384938f888493a1838d8ccf868e97"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6c040e091e0205091e2c0e0001420b031a">[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 Ms. Bernier. 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: On May 17, 2024, the BLM released the
Proposed RMPA/Final SEIS for the Buffalo Field Office (89 FR 43431). In
accordance with the regulations at 43 CFR 1610.3-2(e), the BLM
submitted the Proposed RMPA/Final SEIS for the Buffalo Field Office to
the Governor of Wyoming for a 60-day Governor's Consistency Review in
order for the Governor to review the Proposed RMPA and identify any
inconsistencies with State plans, policies, or programs. On July 16,
2024, the Governor of Wyoming submitted a response for the Buffalo
Field Office planning effort to the BLM Wyoming State Director. After
careful consideration of the concerns raised in the Governor's
response, the State Director decided not to accept the Governor's
recommendations. The BLM sent a written response to the Governor on
August 16, 2024.
On September 12, 2024, the Governor of Wyoming appealed the State
Director's decision to the BLM Director. In reviewing these appeals,
the regulations at 43 CFR 1610.3-2(e) state that ``[t]he Director shall
accept the (consistency) recommendations of the Governor(s) if he/she
determines they provide for a reasonable balance between the state's
interest and the national interest.'' On November 6, 2024, the BLM
Director issued a response to the Governor detailing the reasons that
the recommendations did not meet this standard. Pursuant to 43 CFR
1610.3-2(e), the basis for the BLM's determination on the Governor's
appeal is presented below. The appeal response is being published
verbatim.
``I am in receipt of your letter dated September 12, 2024, which
contains the State of Wyoming's appeal to the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) Wyoming State Director response to the Governor's consistency
review of the Buffalo Field Office Proposed Resource Management Plan
Amendment (PRMPA) and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
(FSEIS). The Governor's consistency review is an important part of the
BLM land use planning process, and we appreciate the significant time
and attention that you and your staff have committed to this effort.
[[Page 106558]]
The applicable regulations at 43 CFR 1610.3-2(e) provide you with
the opportunity to appeal the State Director's decision to not accept
the recommendations you made in your consistency review letter. These
regulations also guide my review of the appeal, in which I must
consider whether you have raised inconsistencies with State or local
plans, policies, and or programs. If inconsistencies are raised, I
would consider whether your recommendations address the inconsistencies
and provide for a reasonable balance between the national interest and
the State of Wyoming's interest.
I have completed my review of your appeal and determined that the
recommendation you have provided does not meet this standard for
reasons as detailed in the following paragraphs.
In your consistency review and subsequent appeal, you allege 11
inconsistencies with State or local plans, policies, and programs. Your
alleged inconsistencies are as follows:
<bullet> The No Leasing Alternative interferes with the Wyoming
Constitution's policy of supporting public services with severance
taxes from Federal coal development.
<bullet> The No Leasing Alternative is inconsistent with State law
requiring the optimization of its State trust lands.
<bullet> The No Leasing Alternative is inconsistent with Wyoming
Energy Policy.
<bullet> The No Leasing Alternative is inconsistent with the
Wyoming Environmental Quality Act.
<bullet> The No Leasing Alternative conflicts with the State's
Interstate Compact Statute.
<bullet> The No Leasing Alternative is inconsistent with the
Natural Resource Protection Act.
<bullet> The No Leasing Alternative is inconsistent with the
Campbell County's Plan Principles.
<bullet> The No Leasing Alternative is inconsistent with Campbell
County's Plan Policy.
<bullet> The No Leasing Alternative is inconsistent with Campbell
County's Plan Goals.
<bullet> The No Leasing Alternative is inconsistent with Campbell
County's Plan Objectives.
<bullet> The No Leasing Alternative is inconsistent with the
Johnson County Plan Objectives.
To address these inconsistencies, it is your recommendation that
the BLM adopt the No Action Alternative (Alternative B) for the Buffalo
PRMPA. Upon review, I find that your recommendation does not present a
reasonable balance between the national interest and the State's
interest, because Alternative B is inconsistent with national policy.
The Buffalo FSEIS/PRMPA was developed under the BLM's authority to
manage coal under all the applicable statutes and regulations
including, but not limited to; the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended; the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as
amended; the Mineral Leasing Act on Acquired Lands of 1947, as amended;
and all applicable regulations developed from these statutes found in
43 CFR 3000 and 3400.
Section 102(a)(7) of FLPMA declares that it is the policy of the
United States that management of the public lands be based on
``multiple use'' and ``sustained yield.'' Section 103(c) of FLPMA
defines ``multiple use'' as the management of the public lands and
their various resource values so that they are used in the combination
that will best meet the present and future needs of the American
people. FLPMA's multiple-use policy does not require that all uses be
allowed on all areas of the public lands. Through the land use planning
process, the BLM evaluates and chooses an appropriate balance of
resource uses that involves tradeoffs between competing uses, and the
BLM has discretion to allocate the public lands to particular uses and
to employ the mechanism of land use allocation to protect for certain
resource values.
As explained in the FSEIS/PRMPA, the BLM has determined that the
economic benefits from coal leasing no longer balance with the adverse
effects to other public land resources, including but not limited to,
air quality and environmental justice, as well as social and economic
considerations. In addition, the BLM has determined that continued coal
leasing at any level in the planning area is no longer consistent with
presidential executive orders and policies. For instance, continued
coal leasing in the planning area is inconsistent with Presidential
Executive Orders 13990, entitled, Protecting Public Health and the
Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis, and
14008, entitled, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, as
well as Department of the Interior Secretary's Order 3399, entitled,
Department-Wide Approach to the Climate Crisis and Restoring
Transparency and Integrity to the Decision-Making Process. These
executive orders and policies direct agencies to, among other things,
work on confronting the climate crisis to improve public health and the
environment, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increase renewable
energy production on public lands and waters, and to review potential
climate and other impacts from oil and natural gas development on
public lands.
As explained in the Buffalo FSEIS/PRMPA, the mining of coal in the
planning area would continue to contribute to GHG emissions, which in
turn adds to ongoing impacts from climate change on human health and
disease in numerous ways (Buffalo FSEIS/PRMPA section 3.5.1). The BLM
also determined that the potential environmental justice health-related
impacts would be highest under Alternative B, and therefore, not in
alignment with the Nation's interest in addressing climate-related
public health concerns. Moreover, additional coal leasing in the
planning area would not support the Nation's long term climate strategy
(November 2021) of limiting global temperature rise and putting the
U.S. on a pathway to net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. Coal production is
in decline, both nationally and in the Wyoming Powder River Basin,
where coal production has been declining since the late 2000's. As
such, the Nation's energy market is moving away from coal towards
natural gas and renewable energy, which are more aligned with the
Nation's long term climate strategy, and continued coal leasing in the
planning area would not support the national interest.
Regarding Campbell County's Plan, the BLM did determine that the
previous version of the Buffalo FSEIS/PRMPA (2019) was consistent with
the 2022 Campbell County Natural Resource Land Use Plan. However, since
that time, Federal policy direction regarding continued coal mining has
shifted, as discussed above. As such, the BLM determined in this
current planning effort that the 2022 Campbell County Natural Resource
Land Use Plan is not consistent with Federal policies and executive
orders applicable to BLM-administered lands.
For these reasons outlined above, I find that your recommendation
does not present a reasonable balance between the national interest and
the State's interest.
Your consistency review and subsequent appeal also alleged 12
issues related to Federal laws, regulations, and policies including the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the Mineral Leasing Act
of 1920, Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976, the Surface
Mining and Coal Reclamation Act, the Federal Coal Screening
regulations, and others. These Federal issues do not raise
inconsistencies with State or local plans, policies, or programs and
are
[[Page 106559]]
outside the scope of the Governor's Appeal process.
Finally, the BLM has prepared the Buffalo PRMPA/FSEIS in accordance
with all applicable Federal laws, regulations, and policies. The BLM
did carefully review and consider applicable State, local, and other
Federal agency plans, policies, and programs in the development of the
Buffalo PRMPA/FSEIS. The BLM is consistent, to the extent practicable,
with these plans as per the provisions of FLPMA and the planning
regulations at 43 CFR 1610-3-2.''
(Authority: 43 CFR 1610.3-2(e))
Nada Wolff Culver,
Principal Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 2024-31314 Filed 12-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-22-P
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