Notice2025-14438
Implementing Executive Order 14153 for Special Areas Within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
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
July 30, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
Based on identified deficiencies, inconsistency with the President's and the Department's national energy strategy, and pursuant to direction in Executive Order 14153, "Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential," the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Alaska State Office, is rescinding the BLM notice entitled "Special Areas Within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska," published in the Federal Register on July 17, 2024, and the report entitled "Maximizing Protection in the National Petroleum Reserve- Alaska," and the memorandum with subject header "BLM Interim Management of special areas within the National Petroleum Reserve- Alaska" that were issued on January 16, 2025.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 144 (Wednesday, July 30, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 30, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35916-35917]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-14438]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[A2407-014-004-065516; #O2412-014-004-047181.1]
Implementing Executive Order 14153 for Special Areas Within the
National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Based on identified deficiencies, inconsistency with the
President's and the Department's national energy strategy, and pursuant
to direction in Executive Order 14153, ``Unleashing Alaska's
Extraordinary Resource Potential,'' the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), Alaska State Office, is rescinding the BLM notice entitled
``Special Areas Within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska,''
published in the Federal Register on July 17, 2024, and the report
entitled ``Maximizing Protection in the National Petroleum Reserve-
Alaska,'' and the memorandum with subject header ``BLM Interim
Management of special areas within the National Petroleum Reserve-
Alaska'' that were issued on January 16, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Kuhns, Arctic District
Manager, at 907-474-2310 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#720119071a1c0132101e1f5c151d04"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9ae9f1eff2f4e9daf8f6f7b4fdf5ec">[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 National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-
A) is a 23-million-acre tract managed by the BLM under the authority of
the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act (NPRPA), 42 U.S.C. 6501 et
seq., as amended, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976,
as amended, 43 U.S.C. 1701-1787 (FLPMA), and the Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. 3101-3233 (ANILCA). On May
7, 2024, the BLM issued a final rule, entitled ``Management and
Protection of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska'' (89 FR 38712),
which became effective on June 6, 2024 (2024 Final Rule).
On July 17, 2024, the BLM published a request for information (RFI)
in the Federal Register requesting public input on any need to: (1)
identify additional significant resource values for existing special
areas; (2) modify the boundaries or management of existing special
areas; and (3) identify public lands that may qualify for designation
as new special areas in the NPR-A. That public comment period closed on
September 16, 2024, and on January 16, 2025, the BLM issued both a
report entitled, ``Maximizing Protection in the National Petroleum
Reserve-Alaska,'' (BLM Report) and a memorandum with the subject
header, ``BLM Interim Management of Special Areas within the National
Petroleum Reserve-Alaska'' (Interim Measures Guidance) pursuant to the
NPR-A regulations at 43 CFR 2361.30. These documents made
determinations regarding adding subsistence as a significant resource
value for all special areas and proposed both new and expanded special
areas.
Executive Order 14153, ``Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource
Potential,'' (90 FR 8347) directs the BLM to rescind the RFI published
in the Federal Register on July 17, 2024, and to rescind the Bureau's
guidance on the protection of subsistence resource values in the
existing special areas and proposed new and modified special areas in
the NPR-A that was issued on January 16, 2025.
On June 3, 2025, the BLM published a notice in the Federal Register
proposing to rescind the 2024 Final Rule because, in summary, the 2024
Final Rule would hamper the exploration, leasing, and development of
oil and gas resources within the NPR-A, contrary to the congressional
direction in the NPRPA to develop lands within the NPR-A, including
special areas, as part of an expeditious program of oil and gas
leasing; the rule is unnecessary to effectively manage surface
resources in the NPR-A; and it is inconsistent with the priorities of
the Trump administration.
This document notifies the public that the BLM is implementing the
direction in Executive Order 14153, ``Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary
Resource Potential,'' (90 FR 8347) to rescind a notice published in the
Federal Register on July 17, 2024, entitled ``Special Areas Within the
National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska'' (89 FR 58181) that solicited
public input on special areas for a period of 60 days.
This notice also serves to announce that the BLM is rescinding the
report entitled, ``Maximizing Protection in the National Petroleum
Reserve-Alaska,'' and the memorandum entitled, ``BLM Interim Management
of special areas within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska'' that
were issued on January 16, 2025.
These documents are being rescinded for the following reasons:
First, the BLM did not comply with the regulations in developing the
report or the interim guidance. The regulations at 43 CFR 2361.30(b)(3)
direct the BLM authorized officer to provide the public and interested
stakeholders with the opportunity to make recommendations about lands,
significant resource values, and protection measures for special areas
and to ``evaluate and respond to recommendations that are made in
completing its evaluation.'' The BLM received more than 80,000
responses to the request, but the vast majority of those were form
letters. However, many of the unique letters submitted in response to
the RFI (<a href="https://www.blm.gov/alaska/report/npr-special-area-rfi-unique-responses">https://www.blm.gov/alaska/report/npr-special-area-rfi-unique-responses</a>) opposed the expansion of special areas and the addition of
new significant resource values. This includes letters from small
businesses, the Alaska Congressional Delegation, the oil and gas
industry and trade groups, Alaska Native Corporations, local
governments, and
[[Page 35917]]
the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. The BLM Report, however,
did not evaluate and respond to these public comments. Rather, it
dismissed the concerns of these entities with a single line in a
section entitled ``Other Submissions'' stating:
Likewise, the BLM received comments from some entities opposing any
change in management or protections in the NPR-A, largely on procedural
grounds.
This response does not comply with the requirement in 43 CFR
2361.30(b)(3) to ``evaluate and respond to'' public input on changes or
additions to special areas. Not giving due consideration to opposing
viewpoints calls into question the BLM's determinations in the BLM
Report and the Interim Measures Guidance put in place to implement
those determinations., This deficiency alone compels the BLM to rescind
those documents.
Second, the policies contained in those documents conflict with the
President's and the Department's national energy strategy that is
articulated through E.O. 14153, ``Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary
Resource Potential;'' E.O. 14154, ``Unleashing American Energy;'' E.O.
14156, ``Declaring a National Energy Emergency;'' Secretary's Order
3417, ``Addressing the National Energy Emergency;'' Secretary's Order
3418, ``Unleashing American Energy;'' and Secretary's Order 3422,
``Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential.'' Consistent
with the direction from the President and the Secretary, the BLM's
policy is to efficiently and effectively maximize the development and
production of the natural resources located on Federal lands within
Alaska, consistent with the statutory requirements of the NPRPA to
ensure protection of surface resource values, including ``the maximum
protection of such surface values to the extent consistent with the
requirements of this Act for the exploration of the reserve.'' 42
U.S.C. 6504(a). The implementation of the BLM Report and Interim
Measures Guidance would frustrate those purposes and would likely
hinder the expeditious development of an oil and gas program in the
Reserve as envisioned by the NPRPA. Additionally, the Interim Measures
Guidance identified to protect subsistence as a significant resource
value do not provide any substantive protection for subsistence use as
a significant resource value and are unnecessary to effectively manage
surface resources in the NPR-A.
Third, as noted above, E.O. 14153, ``Unleashing Alaska's
Extraordinary Resource Potential,'' (90 FR 8347) directs the BLM to
rescind the Bureau's guidance on the protection of subsistence resource
values in the existing special areas and proposed new and modified
special areas in the NPR-A that was issued on January 16, 2025.
For the reasons articulated above, the BLM is rescinding the BLM
Report as well as the Interim Measures Guidance. This action is a
rescission of an internal policy that was not subject to a notice and
comment and does not constitute rulemaking under the Administrative
Procedure Act. The BLM will continue to engage the public during
project-specific National Environmental Policy Act processes and
resource management planning to ensure that its decisions implement the
dual mandate of the NPRPA including maximum protection of significant
resource values in special areas. This change does not affect statutory
obligations to conduct ANILCA sec. 810 analyses or to engage with
Tribal governments and subsistence users as part of the land use
planning and permitting process.
Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.; 16
U.S.C. 3101 et seq.
Kevin J. Pendergast,
State Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 2025-14438 Filed 7-29-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-10-P
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