39062 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 136 / Tuesday, July 17, 2007 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army 

Draft Legislative Environmental Impact 

Statement (LEIS) for the Limestone 

Hills Training Area Land Withdrawal, 

Montana Army National Guard 

(MTARNG) 

AGENCY: National Guard Bureau (NGB), 

Department of the Army (DA), DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability. 

SUMMARY: This LEIS has been prepared 

by NGB (lead agency) and the 

Department of the Interior’s (DOIs) 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

(cooperating agency). The LEIS analyzes 

the proposed withdrawal of 18,644 acres 

of federal land within the Limestone 

Hills Training Area (LHTA) from BLM 

administration. The LEIS proposes that 

the DOI and Congress transfer 

administrative responsibility of all 

federal land within the LHTA to the 

Army for military training use by the 

MTARNG. No new facilities are 

proposed in this LEIS. 

DATES: The public comment period for 

the Draft LEIS will end 90 days after 

publication of an NOA in the Federal 

Register by the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments or 

questions should be forwarded by mail 

to Ms. Sundi West, MTARNG, Fort 

Harrison, P.O. Box 4789, Helena, 

Montana 59604–4789; via telephone at 

(406) 324–3088, or via e-mail at 

Sundi.West@us.army.mil. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Mary L. Figarelle, BLM, 106 North 

Parkmont, Butte, Montana 59701; via 

telephone at (406) 533-7671; or via email at Mary_Figarelle@blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

objective of the LEIS is to provide 

comprehensive analysis of the proposed 

action and alternatives to the Secretaries 

of Interior and Army so findings and 

recommendations can be forwarded to 

Congress regarding the proposed land 

withdrawal. The study area for the 

environmental analysis is resource 

dependent. It includes Lewis and Clark 

County and Broadwater County for 

socioeconomic resources, MTARNG 

facilities for military mission, and the 

LHTA for biological and mineral 

resources. 

The LEIS analyzes potential 

environmental effects of four 

alternatives: 

(1) Alternative 1: Under this 

alternative, management responsibility 

for all resources, except for mineral 

resources, would be shifted from the 

BLM to the MTARNG. The DA could 

exercise its authority to condemn 

private land, and/or terminate any 

mineral claim or grazing permits under 

this alternative. 

(2) Alternative 2: Under this 

alternative, the MTARNG and BLM 

would share resource management 

responsibilities. Most resources in the 

LHTAs closure area would be managed 

by MTARNG. Most resources in the 

nonclosure area would be managed by 

the BLM. The closure area is the portion 

of the LHTA that restricts access 

without prior approval of the MTARNG. 

The nonclosure area is the portion of the 

LHTA that is open to public access for 

surface use only. 

(3) Alternative 3 (Preferred 

Alternative): Under the preferred 

alternative, the LHTA would be 

withdrawn from BLM jurisdiction with 

modifications based on scoping 

comments and stakeholder 

recommendations. The proposed 

withdrawal area is approximately 

18,644 acres of federal land that 

encloses 2,666 acres of state owned and 

private land. Land proposed for 

withdrawal is limited to BLM 

administrated land within the 

withdrawal boundary. If does not 

include private or state owned land. 

(4) Alternative 4 (No Action 

Alternative): Under this alternative, the 

BLMs current right-of-way grant for 

military use of the LHTA by MTARNG 

would not be renewed and would expire 

in 2014. 

Significant Issues: The LHTA is a 

23,100-acre parcel of land with private 

and state owned in-holdings totaling 

approximately 2,666 acres. The BLM 

managed 20,460 acres of the total 

acreage and allows the MTARNG to 

conduct military training on its property 

through the right-of-way grant. The 

public land is also used for grazing, 

mining, recreation, transportation, 

utility right-of-ways, and wildlife 

management. A limestone mine is 

currently operating within the LHTA. 

Every federally managed acre of the 

LHTA falls within ne of seven grazing 

allotments. In addition, the MTARNG is 

currently engaged in clearing 

unexploded ordnance from an LHTA 

range that is no longer in use. 

Issues in the LEIS include the 

following: (1) Continued ability of 

Graymont Western’s Indian Creek 

Limestone Mine to extract and process 

ore within the LHTA; (2) allocation and 

management of grazing allotments; (3) 

public access to the LHTA; (4) noise and 

dust generated during training exercises 

and by vehicular traffic; (5) impacts to 

Broadwater County due to possible 

termination of FLM payments in lieu of 

taxes if the withdrawal is granted; (6) 

potential impacts to wildlife I the 

Elkhorn Management Area; (7) 

consistency of land management 

policies after transfer of administrative 

responsibilities; (8) potential impacts to 

range management and cleanup 

activities; (9) owner access to, and use 

of, in-holdings; and (10) impacts to the 

local economy and MTARNG training 

under the no action alternative. 

Potential significant adverse impacts 

to socioeconomics are expected under 

Alternatives 1 and 4. There are no 

potentially significant adverse impacts 

expected under Alternative 2 or 3 

(Preferred Alternative). 

The DA, through MTARNG, is 

continuing its public comment process 

for this action. Public meetings will be 

held during the LEIS public review 

period. 

Dated: July 3, 2007. 

H.E. Wolfe, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the 

Army (Environment, Safety and Occupational 

Health). 

[FR Doc. 07–3472 Filed 7–16–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–08–M 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Department of Education. 

SUMMARY: The IC Clearance Official, 

Regulatory Information Management 

Services, Office of Management invites 

comments on the submission for OMB 

review as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before August 

16, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be addressed to the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Attention: Education Desk Officer, 

Office of Management and Budget, 725 

17th Street, NW., Room 10222, 

Washington, DC 20503. Commenters are 

encouraged to submit responses 

electronically by e-mail to: 

oira_submission@omb.eop.gov or via fax 

to (202) 395–6974. Commenters should 

include the following subject line in 

their response ‘‘Comment: [insert OMB 

number], [insert abbreviated collection 

name, e.g., ‘‘Upward Bound 

Evaluation’’]. Persons submitting 

comments electronically should not 

submit paper copies. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires 

that the Office of Management and 


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