[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70024-70025]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-28724]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLUT920-09-L13300000-EN000, UTU-XXXX]


Notice of Expansion of the Lisbon Valley Known Potash Leasing 
Area, Utah

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Potash is a trade name for potassium bearing minerals used 
mainly for fertilizer. Potash and certain other non-energy solid 
minerals found on Federal lands may be leased for development in either 
of two ways: (1) If it is unknown whether an area contains valuable 
potash deposits, an interested party may obtain a prospecting permit, 
which grants it the exclusive right to explore for potash, and, if a 
valuable deposit is found, that party may qualify for a noncompetitive 
lease; or (2) If the BLM has access to information which shows that 
valuable deposits of potash exist in an area, the area may be 
classified and designated a Known Potash Leasing Area (KPLA), where 
prospecting permits may not be issued, and any leasing must be done on 
a competitive basis.
    In 1960, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) established the 
Lisbon Valley KPLA, based on mineral land classification standards 
established in 1957. In 1983, under Secretarial Order 3087, the 
authority to designate KPLAs was transferred to the BLM. Recent 
advances in drilling technology have provided the capability to extract 
deep potash deposits using dissolution. Based on this new technology, 
the BLM approved new mineral land classification standards for the Utah 
portion of the Paradox Basin geologic province, which includes Lisbon 
Valley in 2009. The BLM Utah State Office used the new standards and 
the analysis of available drilling information to determine that the 
Lisbon Valley KPLA should be expanded to include deep solution-mineable 
potash deposits. Additional information regarding this KPLA expansion, 
including maps and the Potash Master Title Plats, are available in the 
Public Room of the BLM Utah State Office and at the following Web site: 
http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/prog/more/Land_Records.html. The lands 
included in the Lisbon Valley KPLA expansion, located in San Juan 
County, Utah, are described as follows:

Salt Lake Base Meridian, Utah

T. 29 S., R. 24 E.,
    Sec. 29, SW\1/4\SW\1/4\;
    Sec. 30, E\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 31, E\1/2\E\1/2\, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\, W\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 32, W\1/2\W\1/2\, E\1/2\SW\1/4\, S\1/2\SE\1/4\; and
    Sec. 33, E\1/2\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, E\1/2\SW\1/4\, SW\1/4\SW\1/4\.
    Containing 1,200.00 acres.

T. 29\1/2\ S., R. 24 E.,
    Sec. 27, lots 2-4;
    Sec. 28, lots 1-4;
    Sec. 29, lots 1-4;
    Sec. 32, N\1/2\, E\1/2\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 33, all; and
    Sec. 34, W\1/2\NE\1/4\, W\1/2\, SE\1/4\.

    Containing 1,980.68 acres.

T. 30 S., R. 24 E.,
    Sec. 2, W\1/2\SW\1/4\;
    Sec. 3, all;
    Sec. 4, all;
    Sec. 5, lots 1, 2, S\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 8, E\1/2\, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\;
    Sec. 9, all;
    Sec. 10, all;
    Sec. 11, SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, W\1/2\, W\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 13, W\1/2\SW\1/4\;
    Sec. 14, all;
    Sec. 15, all;
    Sec. 16, N\1/2\, N\1/2\S\1/2\, S\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 17, NE\1/4\, E\1/2\NW\1/4\, N\1/2\S\1/2\;
    Sec. 21, E\1/2\E\1/2\;
    Sec. 22, all;
    Sec. 23, all;
    Sec. 24, W\1/2\;
    Sec. 25, W\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NE\1/4\, W\1/2\, SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 26, all;
    Sec. 27, N\1/2\, N\1/2\S\1/2\, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\, S\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 28, N\1/2\, N\1/2\S\1/2\;
    Sec. 35, N\1/2\N\1/2\, S\1/2\NE\1/4\; and
    Sec. 36, N\1/2\, N\1/2\S\1/2\, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\, S\1/2\SE\1/4\.

    Containing 10,997.82 acres.

T. 31 S., R. 24 E.,
    Sec. 1, lots 1-3, S\1/2\NE\1/4\, NE\1/4\SE\1/4\.

    Containing 253.75 acres.

T. 30 S., R. 25 E.,
    Sec. 30, lots 2-4, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\, SW\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 31, all;
    Sec. 32, W\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NE\1/4\, NW\1/4\, S\1/2\;
    Sec. 33, SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, S\1/2\NW\1/4\, S\1/2\;
    Sec. 34, S\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, S\1/2\; and
    Sec. 35, SW\1/4\, SW\1/4\SE\1/4\ .

    Containing 2,517.75 acres.

T. 31 S., R 25 E.,
    Sec. 2, lots 3, 4, SW\1/4\NW\1/4\;
    Sec. 3, lots 1-4, S\1/2\N\1/2\, N\1/2\SW\1/4\, SW\1/4\SW\1/4\, 
NE\1/4\;SE\1/4\;

[[Page 70025]]

    Sec. 4, all;
    Sec. 5, all; and
    Sec. 6, lots 1-6, S\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, 
SE\1/4\.

    Containing 2,495.23 acres.
    Containing an aggregate acreage of: 19,445.23.

DATES: This mineral land classification will become effective upon date 
of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Inquiries should be sent to the State Director (UT-923), 
Bureau of Land Management, Utah State Office, 440 West 200 South, Suite 
500, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Competitive leasing within the KPLA will be 
initiated based on expressions of interest. Any competitive leases 
issued will be subject to the oil and gas leasing stipulations 
contained in the 2008 Moab and Monticello Resource Management Plans 
(Moab RMP, Appendix A and Monticello RMP, Appendix B). Competitive 
potash leases will also be subject to additional conditions of approval 
developed as part of site-specific National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA) compliance.
    In accordance with Departmental Manual (DM) 516, Chapter 11.9 
J(12), the classification of a KPLA is an action that is categorically 
excluded from NEPA analysis, provided that there are no ``extraordinary 
circumstances'' as described in 43 CFR 46.215. The proposed Lisbon 
Valley KPLA expansion was reviewed and was determined to have no 
``extraordinary circumstances'' as documented in DOI-BLM-UT-9230-2010-
0003-CX. Further NEPA review will be done for site specific proposals 
within the KPLA.
    This notice will be published in the Moab Times Independent for 2 
consecutive weeks after publication in the Federal Register.
    Pursuant to the authority in the Act of March 3, 1879, (43 U.S.C. 
31), as supplemented by Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1950 (43 U.S.C. 
1451, note) and 235 Departmental Manual 1.1L, and the Mineral Leasing 
Act of 1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), the Lisbon Valley KPLA 
of May 18, 1960, is expanded to include the lands listed above 
effective on November 16, 2010.

Kent Hoffman,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-28724 Filed 11-15-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P