Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 10 / Thursday, January 16, 2025 / Notices 4779 

letter received December 3, 2024. The 

BLM considered the concerns, and 

where not in conflict with the purposes, 

policies and programs of Federal laws 

and regulations applicable to public 

lands, accepted recommendations, 

which are described in sections 1.2 of 

the BLM ROD. As the changes were 

within the range of alternatives 

considered in the RMP/EIS, the BLM 

did not seek public comments on the 

recommendations that were accepted. 

On January 8, 2025, the Governor 

appealed to the BLM Director the Acting 

State Director’s decision not to accept or 

address all the State’s 

recommendations, consistent with 43 

CFR 1610.3–2. After careful review and 

consideration of the Governor’s points, 

the Department of the Interior 

determined that the planning effort 

properly considered all applicable State 

and local plans, policies, and programs, 

and that no further changes are 

necessary to provide for a reasonable 

balance between the national interest 

and the State’s interest. The BLM has 

published the reasons for the 

Department of the Interior’s 

determination to reject the Governor’s 

appeal and recommendations on its 

website (see ADDRESSES). 

The Department of the Interior 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Land and Minerals Management signed 

the BLM ROD. The Manti-La Sal 

National Forest Supervisor signed the 

USDA Forest Service ROD. 

(Authority: 36 CFR 219.13, 36 CFR 219.16, 36 

CFR 219.17, 40 CFR 1501.9, 43 CFR 1610.2, 

and 43 CFR 1610.5–1) 

Matthew A. Preston, 

BLM Utah State Director, Acting. 

Barbara Van Alstine, 

Manti-La Sal National Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00863 Filed 1–15–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–25–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[PO #4820000251] 

Intent To Prepare an Environmental 

Impact Statement for the Oil and Gas 

Leasing Decisions in Seven States 

From February 2015 to December 2020 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) intends to prepare 

an Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) for approximately 3,224 oil and 

gas leases sold in Colorado, Montana, 

New Mexico, North Dakota, South 

Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming and issued 

pursuant to 74 individual lease sale 

decisions. The EIS will provide a 

comprehensive analysis of the potential 

environmental impacts from these 

leases, which have been remanded to 

BLM for further review, including the 

impacts of greenhouse gas emissions (to 

include the social cost of carbon) and 

other common impacts. 

DATES: This notice initiates the public 

scoping process for the EIS. Comments 

on issues, impacts, and potential new 

alternatives to be analyzed, as well as on 

relevant information, studies, or 

analyses, may be submitted in writing 

until March 17, 2025. The BLM will 

announce on its website any additional 

venues for commenting during scoping. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/ 

eplanning-ui/project/2036015/510. 

• Mail: BLM, Headquarters, Division 

of Fluid Minerals, Attention—Oil and 

Gas litigated leases EIS, 301 Dinosaur 

Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87508. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Janna Simonson, Project Lead, or John 

Ajak, Division Chief, via email at bllm_

hq_litigated leases_EIS@blm.gov, or via 

telephone at 505–954–2000; or by mail 

at Bureau of Land Management, 301 

Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87508. 

You may also request to be added to the 

mailing list for the EIS. The 2022 

supplemental EA may be found at the 

https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2022218/510. 

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. Headen. 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: The BLM 

will review the environmental analyses 

for the leasing decisions that were 

challenged in the following lawsuits: 

WildEarth Guardians v. BLM, 19–cv– 

00505 (D.N.M.), 20–2146 (10th Cir.) 

(challenging leasing decisions in New 

Mexico); WildEarth Guardians v. 

Bernhardt, 16–cv–01724 (D.D.C.) 

(challenging leasing decisions in 

Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming); 

WildEarth Guardians v. Bernhardt, 20– 

cv–00056 (D.D.C.) (challenging leasing 

decisions in Colorado, Montana, New 

Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, 

Utah, and Wyoming); WildEarth 

Guardians v. Bernhardt, 21–cv–00175 

(D.D.C.) (challenging leasing decisions 

in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and 

Wyoming); and WildEarth Guardians v. 

Bernhardt, 21–cv–00004 (D. Mont.) 

(challenging leasing decisions in 

Montana, North Dakota and South 

Dakota). Impacts to other resources were 

also raised in the subject complaints. 

The BLM may elect to include 

additional analysis in the EIS for 

resources and impacts beyond 

greenhouse gas emissions, climate 

change, and the social cost of 

greenhouse gases. 

The area encompassed by the 

challenged oil and gas leases includes 

approximately 3.5 million acres within 

the States of Colorado, Montana, New 

Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, 

Utah, and Wyoming. In September 2022, 

the BLM prepared and solicited public 

comments on the Supplemental 

Environmental Assessment Analysis for 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Related to 

Oil and Gas Leasing in Seven States 

from February 2015 to December 2020. 

In consideration of new science and 

information related to greenhouse gas 

emissions, climate change, and the 

social cost of greenhouse gases (e.g., the 

Department’s adoption, on October 16, 

2024, of new estimates of the social cost 

as the best available science), and the 

number of oil and gas leases under 

consideration across seven States, the 

BLM is electing to prepare an EIS, with 

associated opportunities for public 

comment. The number of leases and 

amount of acreage at issue may also 

warrant analysis of other common 

impacts, such as those to wildlife, water 

resources, and night skies. 

The purpose of this public scoping 

process is to solicit information from the 

public related to these leases. 

Information received during this process 

will influence the development of the 

EIS and guide the scope of the 

environmental analysis. 

The leasing decisions that will be 

analyzed in this EIS arise from BLM’s 

responsibility under the Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act and the 

Mineral Leasing Act. The purpose and 

need for the EIS is to address issues 

raised in multiple civil lawsuits about 

the adequacy of the environmental 

analyses for the various decisions at 

issue and to ensure compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act, 

applicable Executive and Secretarial 

Orders, and Departmental policies 

regarding analysis of the impacts from 

greenhouse gas emissions and the social 

cost of greenhouse gases—including 

Executive Order 13990, Secretary’s 

Order 3399, and new information 

provided in the 2023 BLM Specialist 

Report on Annual Greenhouse Gas 


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4780 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 10 / Thursday, January 16, 2025 / Notices 

Emissions and Climate Trends. Potential 

new alternatives to be considered in the 

EIS include, but are not limited to, those 

that would affirm the issuance of these 

leases under the terms, conditions, and 

stipulations as originally issued, or not 

affirm their issuance under their 

original terms, conditions, and 

stipulations. 

After the scoping comment period is 

closed, the BLM will review and 

consider the scoping comments received 

and will develop a Draft EIS, which 

BLM estimates will be completed 

approximately 6 to 8 months after the 

scoping period ends. At that time, the 

Draft EIS will be made available for 

public comment for at least 45 days. 

After the close of the Draft EIS comment 

period, the BLM will develop a Final 

EIS incorporating comments received on 

the Draft, which the BLM estimates will 

be completed approximately 6 months 

after the Draft EIS comment period 

ends. A record of decision selecting an 

alternative from the Final EIS would be 

issued no sooner than 30 days after 

notice of the availability of the Final EIS 

is published in the Federal Register. 

(Authority: 30 U.S.C. 181 and 226; 43 U.S.C. 

1701 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 4332; and 43 CFR part 

3100 (2024)) 

Steven Feldgus, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land 

and Minerals Management. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00854 Filed 1–15–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–27–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[PO #4820000251] 

Call for Nominations for Bureau of 

Land Management Northern New 

Mexico Resource Advisory Council 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of call for nominations. 

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is 

to request public nominations for the 

Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) 

Northern New Mexico Resource 

Advisory Council (RAC) for terms 

scheduled to expire. This RAC provides 

advice and recommendations to the 

BLM on land use planning and 

management of the National System of 

Public Lands within its geographic 

areas. 

DATES: All nominations must be 

received no later than February 18, 

2025. 

ADDRESSES: Nominations and completed 

applications should be sent to the 

individual listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jamie Garcia, BLM Rio Puerco Field 

Office, 100 Sun Avenue NE, Suite 330, 

Albuquerque, NM 87109; email: 

jagarcia@blm.gov; phone: (505) 761– 

8787. 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 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act (FLPMA) directs the Secretary of the 

Interior to involve the public in 

planning and issues related to 

management of lands administered by 

the BLM through the establishment of 

10- to 15-member citizen-based advisory 

councils that are managed in accordance 

with the Federal Advisory Committee 

Act (FACA). As required by FACA, RAC 

membership must be balanced and 

representative of the various interests 

concerned with the management of the 

public lands. The rules governing RACs 

are found at 43 CFR part 1780 subpart 

1784. The RACs include the following 

three membership categories: 

Category One—Holders of Federal 

grazing permits or leases within the area 

for which the RAC is organized; 

represent interests associated with 

transportation or rights-of-way; 

represent developed outdoor recreation, 

off-highway vehicle users, or 

commercial recreation activities; 

represent the commercial timber 

industry; or represent energy and 

mineral development. 

Category Two—Representatives of 

nationally or regionally recognized 

environmental organizations; dispersed 

recreational activities; archaeological 

and historical interests; or nationally or 

regionally recognized wild horse and 

burro interest groups. 

Category Three—Hold state, county, 

or local elected office; are employed by 

a state agency responsible for the 

management of natural resources, land, 

or water; represent Indian tribes within 

or adjacent to the area for which the 

RAC is organized; are employed as 

academicians in natural resource 

management or the natural sciences; or 

represent the affected public at large. 

Individuals may nominate themselves 

or others. Nominations received during 

the National Call for Nominations are 

being considered and individuals do not 

need to reapply. Nominees must be 

residents of the State of New Mexico. 

The BLM will evaluate nominees based 

on their education, training, experience, 

and knowledge of the geographic area of 

the RAC. Nominees should demonstrate 

a commitment to collaborative resource 

decision-making. 

The following must accompany all 

nominations: 

—A completed RAC application, which 

can either be obtained through your 

local BLM office or online at: https:// 

www.blm.gov/sites/default/files/docs/ 

2022-05/BLM-Form-1120-19_RACApplication.pdf 

—Letters of reference from represented 

interests or organizations; and 

—Any other information that addresses 

the nominee’s qualifications. 

Simultaneous with this notice, the 

BLM will issue an online announcement 

providing additional information for 

submitting nominations. 

(Authority: 43 CFR 1784.4–1) 

Sabrina Flores, 

Albuquerque District Manager. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00950 Filed 1–15–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–23–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_AK_FRN_MO4500183710; AA–11821] 

Alaska Native Claims Selection 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of decision approving 

lands for conveyance. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) hereby provides 

constructive notice that it will issue an 

appealable decision approving 

conveyance of the surface estate in 

certain lands to Cook Inlet Region, Inc., 

an Alaska Native regional corporation, 

pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims 

Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA), as 

amended. Ownership of the subsurface 

estate will be retained by the United 

States. 

DATES: Any party claiming a property 

interest in the lands affected by the 

decision may appeal the decision in 

accordance with the requirements of 43 

CFR part 4 within the time limits set out 

in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section. 

ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of 

the decision from the Bureau of Land 

Management, Alaska State Office, 222 

West Seventh Avenue, #13, Anchorage, 

AK 99513–7504. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1