Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 220 / Thursday, November 14, 2024 / Notices 90037 

Thence North 20°46′49′′ East, along the 

East parcel line of said parcel, a distance of 

360.38 feet (Record North 20°48.30’’ East, 

36’0.38 feet per Docket 1042, page 700) to the 

Northeast comer of said Parcel; 

Thence South 89°52′00′′ West, along the 

North parcel line of the said parcel, a 

distance of 451.61 feet (Record South 

89°05′25′′ West, 451.81 feet per Docket 1042, 

page 700) to the Northwest comer of said 

Parcel; 

Thence South 0°05′25′′ West, along the 

West parcel line of said Parcel, a distance of 

336.70 feet (Record South 0°–5′00′ West, 

336.61 feet per Docket 1042, page 700) to a 

point on the aforementioned East-West 

midsection line of Section 28; 

Thence South 89°51′19′′ West, along the 

said East-West midsection line, a distance of 

120.00 feet (Record South 89°53′00′′ West, 

120.00 feet per Docket 1042, page 700) to the 

Point of Beginning. 

Parcel 3, Flying Heart Stables, Is Located at 

8400 North US Highway 89, Flagstaff, AZ 

86004 

A portion of a parcel of land lying within 

the Southeast quarter of Section 28, 

Township 22 North, Range 8 East of the Gila 

and Salt River Meridian, Coconino County, 

Arizona, described as follows: 

Beginning at a 2.5 inch aluminum cap 

stamped ‘‘Woodson Eng. LS 16630’’ marking 

the center 1⁄4 of said Section 28; 

Thence North 89 degrees, 50 minutes, 52 

seconds East, 119.60 (North 89 degrees, 53 

minutes, 00 seconds East, 120.00 feet record) 

along the Northerly line of said Southeast 

quarter; 

Thence South 00 degrees, 06 minutes, 14 

seconds East, 245.68 feet (South 00 degrees, 

05 minutes, 00 seconds West 245.38 feet 

record); 

Thence South 83 degrees, 06 minutes, 14 

seconds East, 285.88 feet (South 82 degrees, 

55 minutes, 00 seconds East, 349.98 feet 

record) to a point on the Westerly right of 

way of US Highway 89. Said point being on 

a curve concave to the Northwest, having a 

radius of 2764.79 feet to which the radius 

point bears South 56 degrees, 45 minutes, 50 

seconds East; 

Thence Southwesterly 170.02 feet along 

the arc of said right of way, through a central 

angle of 03 degrees, 31 minutes, 25 seconds; 

Thence South 36 degrees, 40 minutes, 59 

seconds West, 512.63 feet (South 38 degrees 

West, 811.14 feet record) along said right of 

way to the point of intersection with the 

Westerly line of said Southeast quarter; 

Thence North 00 degrees, 00 minutes, 29 

seconds West (Basis of bearings), 830.05 feet 

(North 00 degrees, 05 minutes, 00 seconds 

East, 998.58 feet record) along said line to the 

true point of beginning. 

Excepting therefrom that portion of the 

Southeast quarter of Section 28, Township 22 

North, Range 8 East of the Gila and Salt River 

Base and Meridian, Coconino County, 

Arizona, deeded to the State of Arizona, by 

and through its Department of Transportation 

in instrument recorded in Docket 1070, Pages 

967–968, records of Coconino County, 

Arizona, described as follows: 

That portion of the above described 

property which lies between the existing 

Westerly right of way line of U.S. Highway 

89 (Flagstaff-Cameron Highway) and the 

following described line; 

Beginning at a point on the South line of 

said Section 28, which point bears North 89 

degrees, 31 minutes, 39 seconds East, a 

distance of 1291.75 feet from the Southwest 

comer thereof; 

Thence North 36 degrees, 58 minutes, 18 

seconds East, a distance of 2816.52 feet; 

Thence along the arc of a curve to the left, 

having a radius of 2764.79 feet, a distance of 

500.00 feet, more or less to the point of 

ending on the North line of said Section 28. 

Authority: This notice is published in 

the exercise of authority delegated by 

the Secretary of the Interior to the 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs by 

209 Departmental Manual 8.1 and is 

published to comply with the 

requirements of 25 CFR 151.13(c)(2)(ii) 

that notice of the decision to acquire 

land in trust be promptly provided in 

the Federal Register. 

Bryan Newland, 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2024–26534 Filed 11–13–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4337–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_HQ_FRN_MO4500178504] 

Clarifying the Implementation of 

Certain BLM Oil and Gas Measurement 

Regulations 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed notice to lessees. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) is proposing to 

adopt Notice to Lessees No. 5 (NTL–5), 

clarifying when and how operators are 

expected to comply with certain 

requirements in the oil and gas 

measurement regulations, which 

became effective in January 2017. 

DATES: Send your comments on the 

proposed NTL–5, included below and 

entitled, Compliance with the Site 

Security, Measurement of Oil, and 

Measurement of Gas, 43 CFR part 3170, 

to the BLM on or before December 16, 

2024. The BLM is not obligated to 

consider any comments received after 

this date in making its decision on the 

final NTL–5. 

ADDRESSES: You may send written 

comments by any of the following 

methods: 

Mail, personal, or messenger delivery: 

U.S. Department of the Interior, Director 

(630), Bureau of Land Management, 

1849 C St. NW, Room 5646, 

Washington, DC 20240, Attention: NTL– 

5. 

Electronic mail: blm_hq_ntl5@

blm.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Ajak, Acting Division Chief, Fluid 

Minerals Division, telephone: 505–549– 

9654, email: jajak@blm.gov, or by mail 

to Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C 

St. NW, Room 5633, Washington, DC 

20240, for information regarding the 

substance of this Notice to Lessees. 

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-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM 

will respond to any relevant and 

substantive public comments it receives 

on this proposed NTL–5 when it 

ultimately publishes any final NTL–5 in 

the Federal Register. If the BLM 

publishes a final NTL–5, it will take 

effect 30 days after its publication date. 

Because the oil and gas measurement 

rules (43 CFR subparts 3174 and 3175) 

became effective on January 17, 2017, 

operators of onshore oil and gas leases 

have had sufficient time to prepare for 

compliance. Further, each of the three 

notifications within this proposed NTL– 

5 have additional, independent 

compliance dates—ranging from 3 

months to 1 year—depending upon the 

requirement. Therefore, if the BLM 

publishes a final NTL–5, it will consider 

an effective date of 30 days following 

the publication of the final NTL–5 as 

sufficient notice for operator 

compliance. 

Compliance With the Site Security, 

Measurement of Oil, and Measurement 

of Gas 

43 CFR Part 3170 

(Proposed NTL–5) 

This proposed Notice is issued 

pursuant to 43 CFR 3164.2, which 

authorizes the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) to issue a Notice to 

Lessees (NTL) when necessary to 

implement the BLM’s oil and gas 

regulations. As explained in detail 

below, there is a need to clarify when 

and how operators are expected to 

comply with certain requirements in the 

oil and gas measurement regulations (43 

CFR subparts 3174 and 3175), which 

became effective in January of 2017. 

Therefore, the BLM is hereby notifying 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
90038 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 220 / Thursday, November 14, 2024 / Notices 

1The preamble to final subpart 3174 

demonstrates that the intent of the cross-reference 

in § 3174.2(f) to the FMP application deadlines in 

§ 3173.12(e) was to tether the subpart’s 

requirements to the date that application 

requirements were effective, not to tether 

(practically or legally) the subpart’s requirement to 

the act of filing an FMP application itself. See 81 

FR 81462, 81468 (Nov. 17, 2016). 

2https://www.blm.gov/sites/default/files/docs/ 

2022-06/BLM_Testing_Procedure_Coriolis_

Liquid.pdf. 

operators of onshore Federal and Indian 

oil and gas leases of the following: 

(1) The BLM will, beginning 3 months 

after the effective date of this NTL, no 

longer decline to enforce the 

requirements of subpart 3174 on 

operators of oil measurement facilities 

in use prior to January 17, 2017. 

(2) The BLM will delay enforcement 

of each of the requirements for BLMapproved equipment and software for 1 

year following the BLM’s publication of 

applicable test procedures. 

(3) In compliance with 43 CFR 

3175.120(e), operators must submit gas 

analysis reports to the Authorized 

Officer (AO) upon request until such 

time as the Gas Analysis Reporting and 

Verification System (GARVS) becomes 

available for use. 

Full Implementation of 43 CFR 3174 

Measurement of Oil 

On November 17, 2016, the BLM 

published final rules in the Federal 

Register pertaining to oil and gas site 

security and measurement (43 CFR 

subparts 3170, 3173, 3174, and 3175) 

with an effective date of January 17, 

2017 (81 FR 81516, 81 FR 81462, and 81 

FR 81356). Section 3173.12(e) requires 

operators to apply for approval of a 

facility measurement point (FMP). For 

permanent measurement facilities in 

place prior to January 17, 2017, the rule 

provided operators with between 1 and 

3 years to apply for an FMP, depending 

on the average volume of oil and gas 

produced from the lease, 

Communitization Agreement, or unit 

Participating Area. Under § 3174.2(f), oil 

measurement facilities in use prior to 

January 17, 2017, are required to comply 

with subpart 3174 ‘‘on or before the date 

the operator is required to apply for an 

FMP number under § 3173.12(e).’’ 

The BLM had anticipated that the 

Automated Fluid Minerals Support 

System (AFMSS) module for FMP 

applications would be fully functional 

prior to January 17, 2017. As of this 

date, the AFMSS FMP application 

module remains unavailable. Since 

promulgation of the final rule, therefore, 

the BLM has been unable to accept 

operators’ electronic FMP applications 

and assign FMP numbers due to 

competing priorities in updating 

AFMSS. 

In January 2017, the BLM issued 

Instruction Memorandum (IM) 2017– 

032 (Jan. 17, 2017). Recognizing the 

delay in finalizing the AFMSS FMP 

application module, the IM explained 

that: ‘‘State and field offices will delay 

implementation and enforcement of 

new oil measurement regulations under 

3174 as they apply to permanent oil 

measurement facilities in place before 

January 17, 2017. The length of the 

delay will be the number of days 

between January 17, 2017, and the date 

when the BLM fully implements FMP 

functionality in [AFMSS]. The phase-in 

periods in § 3174.2(f) will apply this 

same delay.’’ As provided in the IM, the 

BLM sent a letter to operators informing 

stakeholders of this delay in 

enforcement. 

By its own terms, the IM expired on 

September 30, 2020, or 1,353 days after 

January 17, 2017. Thus, the BLM’s 

discretionary delay of enforcement of 

the subpart 3174 requirements 

terminated, at the latest, on September 

30, 2020. 

Although the BLM remains unable to 

accept electronic FMP applications, 

such applications are not a practical or 

legal prerequisite 1 for measurement 

operations in use prior to January 17, 

2017, to comply with the requirements 

of subpart 3174. Operators of oil 

measurement facilities in use prior to 

January 17, 2017, have been on notice 

at least since the expiration of IM 2017– 

032—if not November 17, 2016, when 

the relevant final rule was published— 

that the requirements of subpart 3174 

would eventually apply to them by 

operation of regulation and in the 

absence of any BLM policy of nonenforcement. Particularly in view of this 

extended notice period, the BLM will, 

beginning 3 months after the effective 

date of this NTL, no longer decline to 

enforce the requirements of subpart 

3174 to operators of oil measurement 

facilities in use prior to January 17, 

2017. 

Use of Approved Equipment and 

Software for the Measurement of Oil 

and Gas 

Certain provisions in subparts 3174 

and 3175 require operators to use BLMapproved measurement equipment and 

software. In 2018, IM 2018–077 

explained that the BLM would delay its 

enforcement of the use of approved 

measurement equipment ‘‘until the BLM 

has executed the prerequisite approvals 

of equipment and software, and 

operators are afforded a reasonable 

opportunity to comply.’’ That IM, like 

IM 2017–32, expired on September 30, 

2020. 

In fiscal year 2024, the BLM 

anticipates publishing additional 

recommended test procedures on the 

BLM website (www.blm.gov) and will 

notify local and national industry 

groups of the availability of these test 

procedures. The BLM is hereby 

notifying operators that, following the 

effective date of this NTL, the BLM will 

delay enforcement of each of the 

requirements for BLM-approved 

equipment and software for 1 year 

following the BLM’s publication of 

applicable test procedures. For example, 

operators are expected to use BLMapproved Coriolis meters for liquid 

measurement, the test procedure for 

which is currently available on the BLM 

website,2 by no later than 1 year after 

[THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE FINAL 

NTL]. Prior to a BLM approval of 

measurement equipment or software, 

equipment or software must be installed 

and operated within the manufacturer’s 

recommendations and meet the BLM’s 

measurement uncertainty requirements 

(§ 3174.4 Table 1 and § 3175.31(a)). 

Gas Analysis Reporting 

Under § 3175.120(e), the ‘‘operator 

must submit all gas analysis reports to 

the BLM within 15 days of the due date 

for the sample.’’ Section 3175.120(f) 

requires operators to ‘‘submit all gas 

analysis reports and other required 

related information electronically 

through the GARVS.’’ 

IM 2018–077 noted delays in the 

development of GARVS based on 

competing work priorities. At that time, 

the BLM anticipated that GARVS would 

be available no earlier than June 2019. 

IM 2018–077 instructed the BLM to 

require submission of the gas analysis 

reports, whenever appropriate, in the 

interim until GARVS became available. 

GARVS remains unavailable, and the 

BLM has no timeline for its 

development. In the interim, operators 

must continue to submit gas analysis 

reports to an AO upon request pursuant 

to the BLM’s recordkeeping requirement 

at 43 CFR 3170.7(h). The BLM further 

notifies operators that the submission of 

electronic gas analysis reports through 

GARVS will not be required until 3 

months following the BLM publicly 

announcing GARVS availability on the 

BLM website. 

(Authority: 43 CFR 3164.2) 

David Rosenkrance, 

Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals, and 

Realty Management. 

[FR Doc. 2024–26475 Filed 11–13–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–29–P 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1