78350 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 234 / Friday, December 4, 2020 / Notices 

and cumulative impacts on all affected 

resources. In addition to the Proposed 

Action, Alternative A, the following 

alternatives are also analyzed in the 

document: Alternative B, which is a 

partial backfilling of the pit that would 

result in a small wet area; Alternative C 

which does not backfill the pit and 

would result in three small, and 

probably seasonal, pit lakes; and the No 

Action Alternative. Alternatives A, B 

and C include an application for an 

eagle take permit for loss of productivity 

of three golden eagle breeding pairs. 

Additionally, Alternative C would 

require nest site enhancement as 

compensatory mitigation under the Bald 

and Golden Eagle Protection Act. 

A Notice of Availability (NOA) of the 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) for the proposed Project was 

published in the Federal Register on 

July 31, 2020 (85 FR 10460). Two virtual 

public meetings were held during the 

comment period. The BLM received 63 

public comment documents during the 

45-day comment period. The documents 

contained 813 individual substantive 

comments which included concerns on 

potential impacts to groundwater 

quality, potential impacts to springs and 

stream flows in the surrounding area of 

the mine, storage and management of 

waste rock and tailings, grazing 

allotments, and mine closure. These 

comments were considered and 

addressed in Appendix R (Comments 

Responses) of the Final EIS. 

Comments on the Draft EIS received 

from the public and internal BLM 

review were considered and 

incorporated, as appropriate, into the 

Final EIS. Public comments resulted in 

corrections or the addition of clarifying 

text but did not significantly change the 

proposed action. 

The BLM has consulted with the 

Nevada State Historic Preservation 

Office (SHPO) on the Project in 

accordance with the 2014 State Protocol 

Agreement between the BLM and 

Nevada SHPO for Implementing the 

National Historic Preservation Act. The 

BLM has determined that the Project 

would cause adverse effects to 57 

historic properties and the Nevada 

SHPO has concurred. The BLM and 

Nevada SHPO recently executed a 

Memorandum of Agreement to resolve 

adverse effects to the 57 historic 

properties. The specific actions 

necessary to resolve adverse effects to 

historic properties would be carried out 

if the Project is authorized, prior to 

Project implementation. 

The BLM has consulted and continues 

to consult with Indian tribes on a 

government-to-government basis in 

accordance with Executive Order 13175 

and other policies. Tribal concerns, 

including impacts to Indian trust assets 

and potential impacts to cultural 

resources have been analyzed in the 

Final EIS. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 and 43 CFR 

1506.10) 

Ester M. McCullough, 

Winnemucca District Manager. 

[FR Doc. 2020–26599 Filed 12–3–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[21X.LLAK930000 L16100000.PN0000] 

Notice of Availability of the Proposed 

Resource Management Plan and Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Bering Sea-Western Interior 

Planning Area, Alaska 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended, and the Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act of 1976, as 

amended, the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM), Anchorage Field 

Office, Anchorage, Alaska, prepared a 

Proposed Resource Management Plan 

(RMP)/Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) for the Bering Sea– 

Western Interior region of Alaska and by 

this notice is announcing its 

availability. 

DATES: BLM planning regulations state 

that any person who meets the 

conditions as described in the 

regulations at 43 CFR 1610.5–2 may 

protest the BLM’s Proposed RMP/Final 

EIS. A person who meets the conditions 

must file or postmark their protest no 

later than 30 days from the date of the 

Final EIS Notice of Availability 

published by the Environmental 

Protection Agency. 

ADDRESSES: Copies or notification of the 

electronic availability of the RMP for the 

Bering Sea–Western Interior Proposed 

RMP/Final EIS are being sent to affected 

federal, State, tribal, and local 

government agencies and to other 

stakeholders. The electronic Proposed 

RMP/Final EIS is available on the BLM’s 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) Register (https://

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/36665/510 [please use Chrome]) 

and at https://www.blm.gov/programs/ 

planning-and-nepa/plans-indevelopment/alaska/BSWI. On the 

project summary page, click on 

‘‘Documents’’ on the left side of the 

screen to find the electronic version of 

this material. Hard copies of the 

Proposed RMP/Final EIS are also 

available for public inspection. Please 

contact each of the following facilities 

prior to visiting to determine the 

specific COVID–19 protocols in place, 

such as needing an appointment and 

face mask to enter: 

BLM Anchorage Field Office, 4700 BLM 

Road, Anchorage, AK 99507, (907) 

261–1246. 

BLM Fairbanks District Office, 222 

University Avenue, Fairbanks, AK 

99709, (907) 474–2200. 

BLM Alaska Public Information Center, 

James M. Fitzgerald Federal Building, 

222 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 

99513 (907) 271–5960. 

Alaska Resources Library & Information 

Services, 3211 Providence Drive, 

Suite 111, Anchorage, AK 99508, 

(907) 272–7547. 

All protests must be in writing and 

filed with the BLM Director, either as a 

hard copy or electronically via BLM’s 

National NEPA Register by the close of 

the protest period. The only electronic 

protests the BLM will accept are those 

filed through BLM’s National NEPA 

Register. All protest letters sent to the 

BLM via fax or email will be considered 

invalid unless a properly filed protest is 

also submitted. 

Instructions for filing a protest may be 

found in the ‘‘Dear Reader’’ Letter of the 

Bering Sea–Western Interior Proposed 

RMP/Final EIS, at 43 CFR 1610.5–2, and 

online at https://www.blm.gov/ 

programs/ planning-and-nepa/publicparticipation/filing-a-plan-protest. If 

you do not have the ability to file your 

protest electronically, hard copy 

protests must be mailed to one of the 

following addresses: 

• Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), 

Attention: Protest Coordinator, P.O. Box 

261117, Lakewood, CO 80226 

• Overnight Delivery: BLM Director 

(210), Attention: Protest Coordinator, 

2850 Youngfield Street, Lakewood, CO 

80215. 

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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jorjena Barringer, BLM Anchorage Field 

Office, telephone: (907) 267–1317, 

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 234 / Friday, December 4, 2020 / Notices 78351 

email: jbarringer@blm.gov. People who 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to 

contact the above individual during 

normal business hours. The FRS is 

available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 

to leave a message or question with the 

above individual. You will receive a 

reply during normal business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Bering Sea–Western Interior Planning 

Area is in western Alaska and 

encompasses approximately 62.3 

million acres of land, including 13.5 

million acres managed by the BLM. 

This RMP replaces the 1981 

Southwest Management Framework and 

a small portion of the 1986 Central 

Yukon Resource Management Plan, 

including amendments. It provides: 

• Consolidated direction to address 

land and resource use and development 

on BLM-managed lands within the 

planning area under one RMP, and 

• Analysis of the environmental 

effects that could result from the 

implementation of the alternatives 

proposed in the RMP/EIS. 

The purpose of this Proposed RMP is 

to make decisions that guide future land 

management actions and site-specific 

implementation decisions. The 

decisions will address goals and 

objectives for resource management 

(desired outcomes) and establish land 

uses (allocations) that are allowable, 

restricted, or prohibited to achieve the 

goals and objectives. The need for this 

RMP is to provide guidance that will 

address the significant alterations in 

resources, circumstances, laws, policies, 

and regulations in the planning area 

since 1981. 

The Proposed RMP/Final EIS 

evaluates five alternatives for managing 

the planning area. Alternative A, the no 

action alternative, represents existing 

management described by current land 

use plans and provides the benchmark 

against which to compare the other 

alternatives. Alternative B emphasizes 

reducing the potential for competition 

between recreational or developmental 

uses and subsistence resources by 

identifying key areas for additional 

management actions. Alternative C 

emphasizes adaptive management at the 

planning level to maintain the long-term 

sustainability of resources while 

providing for multiple resource uses. 

Alternative D provides additional 

flexibility at the site-specific 

implementation level and fewer 

management restrictions at the planning 

level. The Proposed RMP (Alternative E) 

emphasizes adaptive management at the 

planning level to protect the long-term 

sustainability of resources while 

providing for multiple resource uses. 

This alternative is meant to provide 

flexibility at the planning level while 

still providing enough direction to make 

processing of site-specific projects easier 

and more consistent. Alternatives B, C, 

D, and E were developed using input 

from the public, stakeholders, and 

cooperating agencies. Major planning 

issues addressed include subsistence 

resources, including water resources, 

fisheries, and wildlife; forestry; minerals 

and mining; recreation; travel 

management and access; and areas of 

critical environmental concern. 

The BLM initiated the scoping 

process for the Bering Sea-Western 

Interior RMP with the publication of a 

Notice of Intent in the Federal Register 

on July 18, 2013 and concluded that 

scoping process 180 days later on 

January 17, 2014. The BLM requested 

agencies, tribes, groups, and the public 

to identify issues and concerns within 

the planning area. Scoping comments 

collected at public meetings and by 

emails, letters, and phone calls were 

used to identify issues and define the 

scope of analysis for management 

alternatives. Meetings were held in 10 

communities with proximity to 

substantial blocks of BLM lands, the 

Iditarod National Historic Trail, the 

Unalakleet Wild River Corridor, and 

major watersheds in the planning area 

(Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers). Local 

and regional news releases advertised 

the times and locations of these 

meetings. Additional detail on the 

public outreach efforts related to the 

scoping process is included in the 

Scoping Report (BLM 2014a). 

During February and March of 2015, 

the BLM held public meetings in 14 

communities that focused on explaining 

the preliminary alternatives for the 

future Draft RMP/EIS. The BLM released 

the Preliminary Alternatives Comment 

Summary Report in August 2015, which 

summarized input received on 

preliminary alternatives for the Draft 

RMP/EIS. The BLM used the comments, 

along with subsequently identified 

issues and planning criteria, to help 

formulate a reasonable range of 

alternatives for analysis in the Draft 

RMP/EIS. 

The BLM provided additional public 

outreach when there were substantial 

project updates through its Bering SeaWestern Interior ePlanning website; 

mailing of postcards and flyers; seven 

newsletter publications; emailed eNews 

Blasts; and through press releases, 

newspaper advertisements, and radio 

public service announcements. 

The 90-day public comment period on 

the Draft RMP/EIS ran from March 15, 

2019, to June 13, 2019, with 17 public 

meetings held during that time to gather 

comments on the Draft RMP/EIS. The 

BLM engaged in a collaborative 

outreach and public involvement 

process during the public comment 

period that included federally 

recognized tribes, Alaska Native 

corporations, city, state, and federal 

agencies, non-governmental 

organizations, and the general public. 

The BLM collected comments on 

alternatives, objectives, and actions 

described in the Draft RMP/EIS. This 

Proposed RMP/Final EIS reflects 

changes and adjustments based on 

information received during public 

comment on the Draft RMP/EIS and new 

information. The Bering Sea-Western 

Interior Comment Summary Report 

(BLM 2019) provides additional detail 

on the public comment period, 

comments received, and how those 

comments were addressed in this 

Proposed RMP/Final EIS. A summary of 

comments received during the public 

comment period and responses to those 

comments is also included in Appendix 

G. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 3120(a); 40 CFR 

1506.6(b). 

Chad B. Padgett, 

State Director, Alaska. 

[FR Doc. 2020–26646 Filed 12–3–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–JA–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLNVL00000.L19900000.EX0000 21X MO 

#4500150160] 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Robinson Mine Plan of Operations 

Amendment, White Pine County, 

Nevada 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (NEPA), and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ely 

District (EYDO), Nevada, has prepared a 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) for the Robinson Mine Plan of 

Operations Amendment project and by 

this notice is announcing its 

availability. 

DATES: In order to have comments 

considered for inclusion in the Final 

EIS, the BLM must receive comments on