25520 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 89 / Friday, May 8, 1998 / Notices

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sarah Nichols, Cave Protection

Specialist, BLM Prineville District, P.O.

Box 550, Prineville, Oregon 97754,

telephone (541) 416–6725.

SUPPLEMENTAY INFORMATION: Violation of

this closure order is punishable by a

fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or

imprisonment not to exceed 12 months

as provided in 43 CFR 8360.0–7.

Dated: May 1, 1998.

James G. Kenna,

Deschutes Area Manager, Prineville District

Office.

[FR Doc. 98–12194 Filed 5–7–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–33–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[MT–060–08–1610–00, 1616P]

Notice of Availability of the Draft Oil

and Gas Supplemental Resource

Management Plan and Environmental

Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Land

Policy and Management Act and the

National Environmental Policy Act the

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has

prepared a Draft Oil and Gas

Supplemental Resource Management

Plan and Environmental Impact

Statement (RMP/EIS). This is a draft

supplement to the 1992 Judith-ValleyPhillips RMP and is available to the

public for a 90-day review period. The

Draft Oil and Gas Supplemental RMP/

EIS addresses two additional

alternatives for oil and gas leasing on

3.4 million acres in northcentral

Montana: Fergus, Petroleum, Judith

Basin, Phillips, and Valley Counties and

the southern portion of Chouteau

County. One of the alternatives would

avoid oil and gas leasing in areas with

valuable wildlife habitat. The other

alternative, the preferred alternative,

would provide for oil and gas leasing

while protecting other resource values

through stipulations or closing areas

where resource values are not

compatible with exploration and

development.

DATES: The agency must receive

comments on or before August 6, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments to

David L. Mari, District Manager, Bureau

of Land Management, Lewistown

District Office, P.O. Box 1160,

Lewistown, MT 59457–1160.

Copies of the Draft Oil and Gas

Supplemental RMP/EIS are available

from the Bureau of Land Management,

Lewistown District Office, P.O. Box

1160, Lewistown, Montana 59457–1160.

Public reading copies will be

available for review at the following

Bureau of Land Management locations:

Montana State Office, 222 North 32nd

Street, Billings, Montana; Lewistown

District Office, Airport Road,

Lewistown, Montana; Phillips Resource

Area, 501 S 2nd Street East, Malta,

Montana: and Valley Resource Area,

Hwy 2 W, Glasgow, Montana.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry

Majerus, 406–538–7461.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

September 1988, the National Wildlife

Federation protested the issuance of oil

and gas leases by the BLM in the State

of Montana. The reasons for the protest

were an inadequate analysis under the

National Environmental Policy Act and

non-compliance with the Endangered

Species Act. The BLM’s November 1988

decision on this protest was that BLM

would suspend lease issuance on tracts

with special wildlife stipulations until a

new RMP/EIS was completed meeting

the Bureau’s supplemental program

guidance.

In September 1988, the BLM issued a

notice of intent to prepare an RMP/EIS

for public lands in northcentral

Montana. One of the issues identified

for the RMP was oil and gas leasing. The

draft Judith-Valley-Phillips RMP/EIS

was released for public comment in July

1991. The National Wildlife Federation

comments on the draft raised the

concern that the November 1988

decision was not mentioned, much less

identified as a practical alternative. The

BLM responded to this comment in the

final Judith-Valley-Phillips RMP/EIS

that areas nominated for lease which

require special stipulations to protect

wildlife would not be offered for lease

but this was an interim policy until the

RMP/EIS was completed and not an

alternative.

In December 1992 the BLM released

the final Judith-Valley-Phillips RMP/EIS

for a 30 day protest period. In January

1993, the National Wildlife Federation

protested the final RMP/EIS because the

document neither mentioned the 1988

decision nor identified an alternative of

carrying the temporary arrangement

forward to avoid leasing valuable

wildlife habitat. After careful review of

this issue by the BLM’s Director the

protest warranted a supplement to the

final RMP/EIS addressing an alternative

for oil and gas leasing that would avoid

leasing valuable wildlife habitat.

(Authority: Sec. 202, Pub. L. 94–579, 90 Stat.

2747 (43 U.S.C. 1712) and Sec. 102, Pub. L.

91–190, 83 Stat. 852 as amended (42 U.S.C.

4332))

Dated: April 27, 1998.

B. Gene Miller,

Associate District Manager.

[FR Doc. 98–12187 Filed 5–7–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–DN–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[UTU–60470, UTU–69463]

Utah; Proposed Reinstatement of

Terminated Oil and Gas Leases

In accordance with Title IV of the

Federal Oil and Gas Royalty

Management Act (Pub. L. 97–451), a

petition for reinstatement of oil and gas

leases UTU–60470 and UTU–69463 for

lands in Carbon County, Utah, was

timely filed and required rentals

accruing from April 1, 1998, the date of

termination, have been paid.

The lessee has agreed to new lease

terms for rentals and royalties at rates of

$5 per acre and 16–2⁄3 percent,

respectively. The $500 administrative

fee for each lease has been paid and the

lessee has reimbursed the Bureau of

Land Management for the cost of

publishing this notice.

Having met all the requirements for

reinstatement of the lease as set out in

Section 31 (d) and (e) of the Mineral

Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. 188), the

Bureau of Land Management is

proposing to reinstate leases UTU–

60470 and UTU–69463, effective April

1, 1998, subject to the original terms and

conditions of the lease and the

increased rental and royalty rates cited

above.

Robert Lopez,

Group Leader, Minerals Adjudication Group.

[FR Doc. 98–12211 Filed 5–7–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–DQ–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CA–370–1430–01, CA 15801, CAS 308, CAS

309, CA 6549, CAS 310]

Notice of Realty Action: Intent To

Convey Lands for Landfill Purposes,

Modoc County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Intent to convey lands for

landfill purposes.

SUMMARY: The County of Modoc has

requested that five landfills currently