3914 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 15, 2025 / Notices 

adopted State or local plan, policy, or 

program. You explain in your appeal 

that the Utah Energy Policy emphasizes 

a diverse energy portfolio. The proposed 

updated Western Solar Plan 

appropriately balances the potential for 

development from both solar and 

geothermal sources of energy. First of 

all, where a current geothermal lease 

already exists, no solar right-of-way 

(ROW) may be issued that would 

interfere with the grantee’s use of the 

public lands consistent with the terms 

and conditions of the geothermal lease. 

Where a solar project is proposed in an 

area with geothermal potential but no 

existing ROW, the BLM will assess the 

best use of the land subject to the 

proposal. In evaluating solar project 

applications, the BLM will consider and 

address the impacts of utility-scale solar 

development on the ability to exploit 

geothermal resources. I decline to adopt 

your recommendation that the BLM 

include a separate planning-level 

exclusion of lands with potential 

geothermal resources in the proposed 

RMPAs because it does not address an 

identified inconsistency with a Utah 

plan, and it is not prudent or necessary 

in light of the presence of further review 

at the implementation stage. 

Extent of Lands Available 

I have considered your concerns 

about the extent of lands available 

under the proposed updated Western 

Solar Plan but find that you have not 

identified an inconsistency with any 

approved or adopted State or local plan, 

policy, or program. Further, the BLM is 

proposing to identify an appropriate 

number of acres of public lands as 

available, both in Utah and the broader 

planning area for this effort. It is true 

that the scope of available areas goes 

well beyond the acreage that the BLM 

anticipates will be developed in fact 

based on the reasonably foreseeable 

development scenario (RFDS), but that 

approach to land allocation and 

management is appropriate. The 

proposed updated Western Solar Plan 

identifies over 5 million acres in Utah 

as available for future solar projects, 

whereas the RFDS estimates that 

slightly less than 40,000 acres of 

development is expected to occur in 

Utah by 2045. It is appropriate for 

broad-scale planning efforts to make 

orders-of-magnitude more lands 

available for a given use than the RFDS 

estimates would be put to that use. 

Complexity and controversy involved in 

navigating technical challenges, 

environmental concerns, community 

interests, and other potential 

uncertainties involved in the 

deliberative permitting process make 

that approach prudent. Making 

significantly more acres available than 

the BLM estimates will be developed 

will help to ensure solar projects are not 

only sited for feasibility and legal 

compliance but also in a way that is 

environmentally responsible and works 

for local communities. The fact that 

more lands are allocated as available 

than the RFDS suggests will be 

developed in fact does not represent an 

inconsistency with the Utah plans 

identified in your appeal, and I 

therefore decline to adopt your 

recommendation to make the proposed 

RMPAs commensurate with the RFDS. 

Alleged Inconsistency With Treatment 

of Livestock Grazing Under State and 

County Plans 

The proposed updated Western Solar 

Plan appropriately balances use of the 

public lands for solar energy 

development and use of the public 

lands for livestock grazing, in keeping 

with the BLM’s obligation to manage the 

public lands under principles of 

multiple use and sustained yield. As 

your appeal recognizes, the proposed 

updated Western Solar Plan would not 

approve any solar project or result in the 

reduction of authorized unit months 

(AUM) associated with public land 

livestock grazing permits or leases in 

Utah. A future decision to issue a ROW 

for solar development within a grazing 

allotment would be subject to projectspecific review and would need to 

comply with the applicable grazing 

regulations and the design features 

included as part of the proposed 

updated Western Solar Plan, including 

those, such as design feature LG–1, 

designed to minimize conflicts between 

solar development and grazing. To the 

extent that the potential for future 

reductions in AUMs resulting from solar 

ROW grants represents an inconsistency 

with the Utah or Beaver County 

Resource Management Plan, I 

considered your recommendation to add 

an exclusion criteria and additional 

design features related to livestock 

grazing. This recommendation does not 

provide for a reasonable balance 

between the national interest and the 

State’s interest because the BLM has 

determined that the national interest in 

supporting use of public land for solar 

development is incompatible with an 

exclusion that would make all lands 

within grazing allotments unavailable. 

Conclusion 

I have found that no changes to the 

proposed updated Western Solar Plan 

are necessary in response to the issues 

raised in your appeal as they either do 

not identify inconsistencies with any 

approved or adopted State or local 

plans, policies, or programs or do not 

provide for a reasonable balance 

between the State’s interest and the 

national interest (43 CFR 1610.3–2(e)). 

Nada Wolff Culver, 

Principal Deputy Director. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00753 Filed 1–14–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–27–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_NV_FRN_MO4540000292; 

NVNV106391927] 

Proposed Withdrawal and Public 

Meeting for the Amargosa Valley, 

Nevada 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed withdrawal. 

SUMMARY: The Secretary of the Interior 

proposes to withdraw 308,890 acres of 

Federal lands located in Nye County, 

Nevada, from location and entry under 

the United States mining laws, and from 

leasing under the mineral and 

geothermal leasing laws, for 20 years, 

subject to valid existing rights. The area 

also includes approximately 40,000 

acres, more or less, of non-Federal lands 

that would be subject to the withdrawal 

if they are subsequently acquired by the 

United States. The purpose of the 

proposed withdrawal is to protect the 

cultural, recreational, and biological 

resources of these lands. Publication of 

this notice temporarily segregates the 

lands for up to 2 years from location and 

entry under the United States mining 

laws and leasing under the mineral and 

geothermal leasing laws, subject to valid 

existing rights. The lands will remain 

open to disposal under the mineral 

materials laws. This notice initiates a 

90-day public comment period and 

announces a public meeting on the 

proposed withdrawal, including input 

related to ongoing mining activities for 

sepiolite, saponite, and bentonite within 

the study area related to projected 

development of valid existing rights. 

DATES: All Comments must be received 

by April 15, 2025. 

The BLM will hold a Public Meeting 

on the withdrawal proposal on February 

27, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. Pacific time at the 

Amargosa Community Center located at 

1640 E. Amargosa Farm Road, Amargosa 

Valley, NV 89020. 

ADDRESSES: All comments should be 

submitted to the BLM Pahrump Field 

Manager, Bureau of Land Management, 

Pahrump Field Office, Attn: Amargosa 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 15, 2025 / Notices 3915 

Withdrawal, 4701 North Torrey Pines 

Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130, or via email 

at blm_nv_sndo_amargosa@blm.gov. 

The BLM will not consider comments 

via telephone calls. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nicholas B. Pay, Field Manager, 

Pahrump Field Office at (702) 515–5042, 

or you may contact the BLM office at the 

address listed in the ADDRESSES section. 

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. You will 

receive a reply during normal business 

hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the proposed withdrawal is 

to protect the cultural, recreational, and 

biological resources of the lands 

proposed for withdrawal. The proposed 

withdrawal includes the federal lands 

within the area described below in Nye 

County, Nevada: 

Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada 

Tps. 14 thru 17 S., R. 48 E., partly 

unsurveyed, those portions lying 

southwesterly of the centerline of U.S. 

Highway No. 95. 

Tps. 15 thru 18 S., Rs. 49 and 50 E., those 

portions lying southwesterly of the 

centerline of U.S. Highway No. 95. 

T. 19 S., R. 50 E. 

Tps. 15 thru 18 S., R. 51 E., partly 

unsurveyed, those portions lying 

southwesterly of the centerline of U.S. 

Highway No. 95. 

T. 19 S., R. 51 E., 

Secs. 1 thru 18. 

T. 16 S., R. 52 E., 

Secs. 7 thru 10, secs. 15 thru 22, and secs 

27 thru 34, those portions lying 

southwesterly of the centerline of U.S. 

Highway No. 95. 

T. 17 S., R. 52 E., 

Secs. 3 thru 10, secs. 15 thru 22, and secs. 

26 thru 35. 

T. 18 S., R. 52 E., 

Secs. 2 thru 10, secs 15 thru 21, and secs. 

29 thru 32. 

T. 19 S., R. 52 E., 

Secs. 5 thru 8 and secs. 17 and 18. 

San Bernadino Meridian, Nevada 

T. 25 N., R. 7 E., 

Secs. 4, 5, and 6. 

T. 26 N., R. 7 E., 

Sec. 31. 

The area described, including both 

Federal and non-Federal land, contains 

308,890 acres, more or less, as derived 

from Bureau of Land Management GIS 

data. No part of this description shall be 

construed to impact surface rights to 

non-Federal land or existing valid 

claims to Federal subsurface mineral 

estate. 

Non-Federal lands included in the 

description above would be subject to 

the proposed withdrawal only if they 

are subsequently acquired by the United 

States. 

The Secretary of the Interior approved 

the BLM’s petition. Therefore, the 

petition/application constitutes a 

withdrawal proposal of the Secretary of 

the Interior (43 CFR 2310.1–3(e)). 

The use of a right-of-way, interagency 

agreement, or cooperative agreement 

would not adequately constrain nondiscretionary uses and would not 

provide adequate protection for the 

cultural, recreational, and biological 

resources in this area. 

No additional water rights would be 

needed to fulfill the purpose of the 

proposed withdrawal. 

There are no suitable alternative sites 

as the described lands contain the 

resource values to be protected. 

Records relating to the withdrawal 

proposal may be examined by 

contacting the BLM at the address and 

phone number provided above in this 

notice. 

For a 90-day period from the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register, all persons who wish to 

submit comments in connection with 

the proposed withdrawal may present 

their views in writing to the address or 

email above, including comments or 

input related to on-going mining 

activities for sepiolite, saponite, and 

bentonite within the proposed 

withdrawal area related to projected 

development of valid existing rights. 

Information regarding the proposed 

withdrawal will be available for public 

review at the BLM’s Southern Nevada 

District Office, during regular business 

hours, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday 

through Friday, except federal holidays. 

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. All submissions from 

organizations or businesses, and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives of officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

made available for public inspection in 

their entirety. 

Notice is hereby given that the BLM 

will hold a Public Meeting on February 

27, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. Pacific time at the 

Amargosa Community Center located at 

1640 East Amargosa Farm Road, 

Amargosa Valley, Nevada 89020. 

For a period until January 15, 2027, 

the Federal lands described in this 

notice will be segregated from location 

and entry under the United States 

mining laws and from leasing under the 

mineral or geothermal leasing 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 

that will not significantly impact the 

values to be protected by the proposed 

withdrawal may be allowed with the 

approval of the authorized officer of the 

BLM during the temporary segregation 

period. 

The withdrawal proposal will be 

processed in accordance with the 

regulations set forth in 43 CFR 2300. 

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

Jon K. Raby, 

State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00700 Filed 1–14–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–21–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[PO #4820000251] 

Record of Decision and Approved 

Resource Management Plan for the 

North Dakota Resource Management 

Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, 

North Dakota 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) announces the 

availability of the Record of Decision 

(ROD) and Approved Resource 

Management Plan (RMP) for North 

Dakota. The Principal Deputy Assistant 

Secretary for Land and Minerals 

Management signed the ROD on January 

8, 2025, which constitutes the decision 

of the BLM and makes the Approved 

RMP effective immediately. 

DATES: The Principal Deputy Assistant 

Secretary for Land and Minerals 

Management signed the ROD/Approved 

RMP on January 8, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: The ROD/Approved RMP is 

available online at the BLM National 

Environmental Policy Act Register at 

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

project/1505069/570. A printed copy of 

the ROD/Approved RMP will also be 


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