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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 250 (Tuesday, December 31, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 107156-107157]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31413]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[PO# 4820000251]

BLM Director's Response to the Montana Governor's Appeal of the 
BLM Montana/Dakotas State Director's Governor's Consistency Review 
Determination for the Miles City Field Office Proposed Resource 
Management Plan Amendment and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of response.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is publishing this notice 
of the reasons for the BLM Director's determination to reject the 
Governor of Montana's recommendations regarding the Miles City Field 
Office Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) and Final 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Final SEIS).

ADDRESSES: A copy of the Record of Decision and Approved RMPA for the 
Miles City Field Office RMPA/Final SEIS is available on the BLM website 
at: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2021155/570.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Bernier, Division Chief for 
Decision Support, Planning, and National Environmental Policy Act; 
telephone 303-239-3635; address P.O. Box 151029, Lakewood, CO 80215; 
email [email protected]. 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 
for contacting Ms. Bernier. Individuals outside the United States 
should use the relay services offered within their country to make 
international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 17, 2024, the BLM released the 
Proposed RMPA/Final SEIS for the Miles City Field Office planning 
effort (89 FR 43432). In accordance with the

[[Page 107157]]

regulations at 43 CFR 1610.3-2(e), the BLM submitted the Proposed RMPA/
Final SEIS for the Miles City Field Office planning effort to the 
Governor of Montana for a 60-day Governor's Consistency Review in order 
for the Governor to review the Proposed RMPA and identify any 
inconsistencies with State plans, policies, or programs. On July 16, 
2024, the Governor of Montana submitted a response for the Miles City 
Field Office RMPA/Final SEIS to the BLM Montana/Dakotas State Director. 
The State Director reviewed the Governor's response and the alleged 
consistency issues and did not accept the Governor's recommendations. 
The BLM sent a written response to the Governor on August 12, 2024.
    On September 18, 2024, the Governor of Montana appealed the State 
Director's decision to the BLM Director. In reviewing these appeals, 
the regulations at 43 CFR 1610.3-2(e) state that ``[t]he Director shall 
accept the (consistency) recommendations of the Governor(s) if he/she 
determines they provide for a reasonable balance between the state's 
interest and the national interest.'' On November 6, 2024, the BLM 
Director issued a response to the Governor detailing the reasons that 
the recommendations did not meet this standard. Pursuant to 43 CFR 
1610.3-2(e), the basis for the BLM's determination on the Governor's 
appeal is presented below. The appeal response is being published 
verbatim.
    ``I am in receipt of your letter dated September 18, 2024, which 
contains the State of Montana's appeal to the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM) Montana/Dakotas State Director's response to the Governor's 
consistency review of the Miles City Field Office Proposed Resource 
Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) and Final Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement (SEIS). The Governor's consistency review is an 
important part of the BLM land use planning process, and we appreciate 
the significant time and attention that you and your staff have 
committed to this effort.
    The applicable regulations at 43 CFR 1610.3-2(e) provide you with 
the opportunity to appeal the State Director's decision to not accept 
the recommendations you made in your consistency review letter. These 
regulations also guide my review of the appeal, in which I must 
consider whether you have raised inconsistencies with State or local 
plans, policies, and or programs. If inconsistencies are raised, I 
consider whether your recommendations address the inconsistencies and 
provide for a reasonable balance between the national interest and the 
State of Montana's interest.
    I have completed my review of your appeal and determined that the 
recommendation you have provided does not meet this standard for the 
reasons detailed in the following paragraphs.
    In your appeal, you allege the three consistency issues below:
     ``Alternative D is inconsistent with Montana's 
Constitutional Mandate to utilize State Trust Lands to fund schools and 
other public institutions.''
     ``Alternative D is inconsistent with Montana's `All-Of-
The-Above' Energy Strategy, and the SEIS fails to consider critical 
local energy plan.''
     ``Alternative D conflicts with Montana's Coal Revenue 
Trust Fund Policy.''
    It is your recommendation that `the BLM withdraw the Miles City 
Field Office RMPA/SEIS and work collaboratively with the State to form 
alternatives that honor State plans, policies, and programs.'
    Upon review, I find that your recommendation does not present a 
reasonable balance between the national and the State's interest. The 
Proposed RMPA/Final SEIS is a land use level review specific to the 
Miles City Field Office and is in response to the Federal district 
court's order in Western Organization of Resource Councils, et al. v. 
Bureau of Land Management, Civil Action No. CV-00076-GF-BMM (D. Mont. 
2022). The BLM developed a range of alternatives to meet the purpose 
and need of the Proposed RMPA/Final SEIS and the court's order, such as 
to complete new coal screens in accordance with 43 CFR 3420.1-4; 
provide additional land use planning level analysis that considers no-
leasing and limited coal leasing alternatives; and disclose the public 
health impacts, both climate and non-climate, of burning fossil fuels 
(coal, oil, and gas) from the planning area.
    While there are State and Federal policies that may encourage coal 
mining and facilitate the orderly development of coal resources, they 
do not mandate that coal mining would be authorized wherever coal 
reserves may be present. The Proposed RMPA/Final SEIS also only applies 
to federally administered coal in the Miles City Field Office planning 
area and does not make decisions on State lands or privately owned coal 
resources. Similarly, the BLM's regulatory process does not apply to 
State lands and does not preclude the State from making management 
decisions for State trust lands, nor preclude the State's authority to 
manage[ ], permit, and bill other uses of State lands accordingly to 
meet the State's fiduciary responsibility.
    Additionally, under Alternative D, the State's mineral estate was 
determined to not have development potential or not expected to be 
leased or mined within the life of the plan. This is due to: (1) no new 
mines projected, (2) the Rosebud Mine having sufficient coal reserves 
from existing leases, and (3) the Spring Creek Mine projecting needs 
from pending Federal leases and subsequent 1,300 acres of Federal coal 
leases. The BLM also carefully considered current and future coal 
demand with national and international trends as they relate to coal 
development in the Miles City planning area. The BLM recognizes a 
potential future decrease, but that is expected as the national coal 
market is in decline and trending to continue that decline throughout 
the life of the plan.
    Finally, the BLM has prepared the Miles City Proposed RMPA/Final 
SEIS in accordance with all applicable Federal laws, regulations, and 
policies. The BLM did carefully review and consider applicable State, 
local, and other Federal agency plans, policies, and programs in the 
development of the Miles City Proposed RMPA/Final SEIS. The BLM is 
consistent, to the extent practicable, with these plans as per the 
provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the 
planning regulations at 43 CFR 1610-3-2.''

(Authority: 43 CFR 1610.3-2(e))

Nada Wolff Culver,
Principal Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 2024-31413 Filed 12-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-20-P
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