Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 15, 2025 / Notices 3911 

Notice to the Public and Documentation 

of Adoption 

This notice identifies to the public the 

BLM’s adoption of the USFS, FWS, and 

NPS CXs for the BLM’s use. The notice 

identifies the types of actions to which 

the BLM would apply the CXs. The 

documentation of the adoption will also 

be available at http://www.blm.gov/ 

programs/planning-and-nepa/whatinforms-our-plans/nepa and at https://

www.doi.gov/oepc/nepa/categoricalexclusions. The BLM will add the 

adopted CXs to the BLM’s NEPA DM 

Chapter in 516 DM 11. 

Authorities 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.). 

Stephen G. Tryon, 

Director, Office of Environmental Policy and 

Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00452 Filed 1–14–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–27–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[PO #4820000251; NVNV106696478] 

Proposed Withdrawal and Opportunity 

for Public Meeting for the Sloan Utility 

and Transportation Corridor; Clark 

County, NV 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed withdrawal. 

SUMMARY: At the request of the Bureau 

of Land Management (BLM), the 

Secretary of the Interior proposes to 

withdraw approximately 1,043.57 acres 

of public lands located in Clark County, 

Nevada, from location and entry under 

the United States mining laws and from 

leasing under the mineral and 

geothermal leasing laws, but not from 

the disposal of mineral materials under 

the mineral materials disposal laws, for 

20 years, subject to valid existing rights. 

The purpose of the proposed 

withdrawal is to establish protection for 

a utility and transportation corridor to 

facilitate the orderly development of 

future infrastructure and public services 

while preventing conflicting land uses. 

Publication of this notice segregates 

these lands for up to 2 years from 

location and entry under the United 

States mining laws and from leasing 

under the mineral and geothermal 

leasing laws, but not from the disposal 

of mineral materials under the mineral 

materials disposal laws, subject to valid 

existing rights. This notice initiates a 

90-day public comment period and 

announces an opportunity to request a 

public meeting. 

DATES: All comments and requests for a 

public meeting must be received by 

April 15, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: All comments should be 

sent to the BLM, Las Vegas Field Office, 

Attn: Proposed Sloan Utility and 

Transportation Corridor Withdrawal, 

4701 N Torrey Pines Dr., Las Vegas, NV 

89130, or via email at blm_nv_lvfo_

landtenureteam@blm.gov. The BLM will 

not consider comments submitted via 

telephone calls. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric 

Benavides, Realty Specialist, BLM Las 

Vegas Field Office, at (702) 515–5144, 

email: ebenavides@blm.gov. Individuals 

in the United States who are deaf, 

deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a 

speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, 

TDD, or Tele Braille) 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 

purpose of the proposed withdrawal is 

to support the development of future 

infrastructure projects and public 

services by ensuring the land in the 

designated utility and transportation 

corridor remains available for these uses 

and by preventing activities or land uses 

that could interfere with or hinder such 

developments. The proposed 

withdrawal would allow for the 

disposal of mineral resources through 

lease, license, or permit if excess 

mineral materials are generated during 

development activities. 

The BLM filed a petition/application 

requesting that the Secretary withdraw 

the following described public lands 

located in Clark County, Nevada, for a 

20-year term: 

Federal Lands 

Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada 

T. 23 S., R. 60 E., 

Sec. 24, SW1⁄4NE1⁄4NE1⁄4, S1⁄2NW1⁄4NE1⁄4, 

S1⁄2NE1⁄4, S1⁄2NE1⁄4NW1⁄4, NW1⁄4NW1⁄4, 

S1⁄2NW1⁄4, and S1⁄2; 

Sec. 25, N1⁄2. 

T. 23 S., R. 61 E., 

Sec. 19, lots 9 thru 13, and 15 thru 19; 

Sec. 30, lots 6 thru 10, NE1⁄4NW1⁄4, 

N1⁄2SE1⁄4NW1⁄4NW1⁄4, NE1⁄4SW1⁄4NW1⁄4, 

and N1⁄2SE1⁄4SW1⁄4NW1⁄4, those portions 

lying northwesterly of the westerly rightof-way of U.S. Highway 15. 

The area described contains 1,015 acres, 

more or less, according to the BLM National 

PLSS CadNSDI, and the official plats of the 

surveys of the said land, on file with the 

BLM. 

Non-Federal Surface Federal Mineral 

Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada 

T. 23 S., R. 61 E., 

Sec. 19, lots 14 and 20; 

Sec. 30, lot 5, NE1⁄4NW1⁄4NW1⁄4, and 

S1⁄2SE1⁄4NW1⁄4NW1⁄4. 

The area described contains 28.57 acres, 

according to the official plats of the surveys 

of the said land, on file with the BLM. 

The total areas described, including both 

Federal and non-Federal surface/Federal 

mineral lands, aggregate approximately 

1,043.57 acres, more or less. 

The Secretary of the Interior approved 

the BLM’s petition. Therefore, the 

petition/application constitutes a 

withdrawal proposal by the Secretary of 

the Interior (43 CFR 2310.1–3(e)). 

The use of a right-of-way, interagency, 

or cooperative agreement would not 

provide adequate protection for the area. 

No additional water rights would be 

needed to fulfill the purpose of this 

proposed withdrawal. 

Neither a right-of-way nor a 

cooperative agreement would 

adequately provide for the proposed 

uses because this area is a designated 

transportation corridor specifically 

established for compatible rights-of-way 

and the purpose of the withdrawal is to 

protect this corridor from conflicting 

uses. Relocating the proposed 

withdrawal outside this corridor would 

fail to realize its intended purpose of 

consolidating infrastructure to minimize 

environmental impacts and supporting 

the orderly development of future 

infrastructure projects and public 

services. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment, including your 

personal identifying information, may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Notice is hereby given that an 

opportunity for a public meeting is 

afforded in connection with the 

withdrawal proposal. All interested 

persons who desire a public meeting for 

the purpose of being heard on the 

proposed withdrawal must submit a 

written request to the BLM Nevada State 

Director at the BLM address listed above 

no later than April 15, 2025. If the 

authorized officer determines that a 

public meeting will be held, a notice of 

the time, date, and location will be 

published in the Federal Register and a 

local newspaper at least 30 days before 

the scheduled date of the meeting. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
3912 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 15, 2025 / Notices 

For a period until January 15, 2027, 

the public lands described earlier will 

be segregated from location and entry 

under the United States mining laws 

and from leasing under the mineral and 

geothermal leasing laws, but not from 

the disposal of mineral materials under 

the mineral materials disposal laws, 

subject to valid existing rights, unless 

the application is denied or canceled, or 

the withdrawal is approved prior to that 

date. Licenses, permits, cooperative 

agreements, or discretionary land use 

authorizations of a temporary nature 

may be allowed on a case-by-case basis 

during the temporary segregation period 

if they would comply with the 

applicable BLM land use plans for the 

described public lands located within 

the boundary of the proposed 

withdrawal. 

This application will be processed in 

accordance with the regulations set 

forth in 43 CFR part 2300. 

(Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1714) 

Kimberly Prill, 

Acting State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00814 Filed 1–14–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–21–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[PO #4820000251] 

BLM Director’s Response to the 

Appeals by the Governors of California 

and Utah of the BLM State Director’s 

Governor’s Consistency Review 

Determination for Utility-Scale Solar 

Energy Development Resource 

Management Plan Amendments, Also 

Known as the Updated Western Solar 

Plan 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of response. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) is publishing this 

notice of the reasons for the BLM 

Principal Deputy Director’s 

determination to reject the 

recommendations of the Governors of 

California and Utah regarding the 

Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development 

Resource Management Plan 

Amendments (RMPAs). 

ADDRESSES: A copy of the Record of 

Decision (ROD) and RMPAs for UtilityScale Solar Energy Development are 

available on the BLM website at: https:// 

eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/ 

2022371/200538533/20125356/ 

251025336/Solar%20PEIS%20ROD_

Vol%201_Final%2012.19.2024.pdf. 

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 hbernier@blm.gov. 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 August 

30, 2024, the BLM released the Final 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement (PEIS) and Proposed 

Resource Management Plan 

Amendments (RMPAs) for Utility-Scale 

Solar Energy Development (89 FR 

70660). In accordance with the 

regulations at 43 CFR 1610.3–2(e), the 

BLM submitted the Proposed RMPAs for 

Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development 

to the Governors of Arizona, California, 

Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New 

Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and 

Wyoming for a 60-day review to identify 

any inconsistencies with State or local 

plans, policies, or programs. 

The Governors of California, Idaho, 

Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, 

Utah, and Wyoming submitted a 

response regarding the Proposed RMPAs 

for Utility-Scale Solar Energy 

Development to the relevant BLM State 

Directors. After careful consideration of 

the concerns raised by the Governors, 

the relevant State Directors decided not 

to adopt the recommendations made by 

the Governors and sent a written 

response to each respective Governor. 

The applicable regulations at 43 CFR 

1610.3–2(e) provide these Governors 

with the opportunity to appeal the State 

Director’s decision to not accept the 

recommendations made in the 

respective consistency review letters. 

The Governors of California and Utah 

appealed the respective State Director’s 

decisions 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 national 

interest and the State’s interest.’’ 

On December 19, 2024, the BLM 

Principal Deputy Director issued a 

response to each Governor detailing the 

reasons that the recommendations did 

not meet this standard. Each appeal 

response letter provides the basis for the 

BLM’s determination on the respective 

Governor’s appeal (pursuant to 43 CFR 

1610.3–2(e)). The appeal responses are 

being published verbatim. 

California 

On August 30, 2024, the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) released the 

Final Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement and Proposed 

Resource Management Plan 

Amendments (RMPA) for Utility-Scale 

Solar Energy Development. In 

accordance with the regulations at 43 

CFR 1610.3–2(e), the BLM submitted the 

Proposed RMPAs for Utility-Scale Solar 

Energy Development to the Governors of 

Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, 

Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, 

Utah, Washington, and Wyoming for a 

60-day review to identify any 

inconsistencies with State or local 

plans, policies, or programs. 

A representative from the California 

Governor’s Office of Land Use and 

Climate Innovation submitted a 

response regarding the Proposed RMPAs 

for Utility-Scale Solar Energy 

Development to the BLM California 

State Director. After careful 

consideration of the concerns you 

raised, the BLM California State Director 

Joseph Stout decided not to adopt the 

recommendations you made and sent 

you a written response detailing why. 

The applicable regulations at 43 CFR 

161–3–2(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 actual 

inconsistencies with State or local 

plans, polices, and or programs. To the 

extent inconsistencies are raised, I then 

consider whether your 

recommendations address the 

inconsistencies and provide for a 

reasonable balance between the national 

interest and your State’s interest. In 

reviewing your appeal, 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 national 

interest and the State’s interest.’’ 

This letter addresses your appeal of 

the response provided by the BLM 

California State Director regarding your 

consistency review of the Proposed 

RMPAs for Utility-Scale Solar Energy 

Development. The Governor’s 

consistency review is an important part 

of the BLM land use planning process, 

and we appreciate the significant time 


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