[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 139 (Friday, July 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39053-39055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15726]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLAK941000.L14100000.ET0000.212]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment To
Consider Opening Lands Subject to ANCSA 17(d)(1) Withdrawals to
Selection Under the Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment
Program of 2019
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended; the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976 (FLPMA), as amended; the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA), as amended; the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (ANCSA), as amended; and the John D. Dingell, Jr.
Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 (Dingell Act), the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intends to prepare an Environmental
Assessment (EA) to consider the effects of opening lands withdrawn
pursuant to Section 17(d)(1) of ANCSA to selection by eligible
individuals under the Dingell Act.
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the EA.
Comments on relevant issues may be submitted in writing by September
21, 2021. The deadline to submit public comment is September 21, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues related to the proposed
project by any of the following methods:
ePlanning Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2014748/510.
Mail: 222 W. 7th Avenue, Stop #13, Anchorage, Alaska
99513.
[[Page 39054]]
More details and instructions for submitting public
comment can be found on the BLM ePlanning website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2014748/510.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the
ePlanning website.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Serena Sweet at (907) 271-4534, or by
email at [email protected] on questions specific to NEPA, and Paul
Krabacher at (907) 271-5681, or by email at [email protected], on
questions specific to the Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment
Program of 2019. People who use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339
to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FRS
is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or
question. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Land Order (PLO) 7899, addressing
lands in the Kobuk-Seward Peninsula planning area, was signed on
January 11, 2021, and published in the Federal Register on January 19,
2021 (86 FR 5236). PLOs 7900, 7901, 7902, and 7903--addressing lands in
the Ring of Fire, Bay, Bering Sea-Western Interior, and East Alaska
planning areas respectively--were signed on January 15 and 16, 2021,
but were never published in the Federal Register and therefore do not
have an opening date. The Department extended the opening order for PLO
7899 by 60 days on February 18, 2021, to provide an opportunity to
review the decisions and ensure the orderly management of the public
lands (86 FR 10131). Subsequently, certain procedural and legal defects
were identified in the decision-making process for these PLOs,
including insufficient analysis under NEPA, failure to follow section
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and possible
failure to adequately evaluate impacts under section 7 of the
Endangered Species Act (ESA). Due to these deficiencies, on April 16,
2021, the Department--relying on inherent authority to revisit
decisions based on identified legal errors--delayed the opening of
lands under PLO 7899 and the publication of PLOs 7900, 7901, 7902, and
7903 for up to two years.
In the meantime, the BLM has committed to undertaking a process to
update the NEPA analysis for these decisions, comply with the consent
requirements of Section 204(i) of FLPMA, and complete appropriate
consultation under Section 106 of the NHPA, Section 7 of the ESA, and
Section 810 of ANILCA in order to ensure that any decision to open some
or all of the lands under reconsideration for selection under the
Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment Program is adequately
supported under the law and, once conveyed, there are no questions
about ownership of Alaska Native Veterans' allotments.
The Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment Program was
established by Section 1119 of the Dingell Act. Through this program,
the BLM can provide eligible individuals the opportunity to select an
allotment of up to 160 acres from vacant, unappropriated, and
unreserved Federal lands in Alaska, or lands selected by the State of
Alaska or Alaska Native corporations if that entity agrees to
relinquish that portion of their selection. By law, lands will be
available for selection only for a period of five years, which began
when the regulations became effective on December 28, 2020, and
continues through December 29, 2025. For more information on the Alaska
Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment Program, please visit
https://www.blm.gov/programs/lands-and-realty/regional-information/alaska/land-transfer/ak-native-allotment-act/alaska-native-vietnam-veterans-land-allotment.
Currently, approximately 1.6 million acres of BLM-administered land
in Alaska is available for selection by Alaska Native Veterans,
including lands selected by the State of Alaska and Alaska Native
Corporations. The areas subject to this review would--if opened for
selection under the Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment
Program--make available up to 28 million additional acres of lands
within the Kobuk-Seward Peninsula, Ring of Fire, Bay, Bering Sea-
Western Interior, and East Alaska planning areas.
Because the Dingell Act allows eligible individuals to select lands
for only a limited period, and consistent with the Congressional intent
that the Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment Program
quickly convey allotments to eligible individuals, the BLM will hold
any applications for lands covered by PLOs 7900, 7901, 7902, and 7903
within the Kobuk-Seward Peninsula, Bay, Ring of Fire, Bering Sea-
Western Interior, and East Alaska planning areas while the agency
completes the EA to consider opening the lands for selection. All
complete applications for lands within those planning areas will be
considered as simultaneously filed at the time that any lands covered
by those applications are opened to selection. If the BLM receives
applications for an allotment within these lands, the agency will send
a letter acknowledging receipt and notifying the applicant that all
valid applications received at or prior to 8 a.m. Alaska Time on April
16, 2023, or the time that the lands covered by the applications are
opened to selection, would be considered as simultaneously filed at
that time. If the lands selected are not made available at the end of
this process, the BLM will provide the applicant notice and they will
have 60 days to make a substitute selection.
The input of Alaska Native Tribes is of critical importance to this
EA. Therefore, the BLM has already held a series of government-to-
government consultations with Tribes and a consultation meeting with
Alaska Native corporations. During the planning process, the BLM will
continue to consult with potentially affected Federally recognized
Tribes on a government-to-government basis, and with affected Alaska
Native corporations in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other
policies. Native concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given appropriate
consideration. We respectfully request participation in consultation by
these Alaska Native entities to receive their views and recommendations
on lands to be opened for selection by eligible individuals. The BLM
anticipates holding additional informational meetings and will also
hold individual consultation meetings if requested.
The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA process to help
fulfill the public involvement process under the NHPA, including as
provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about historic and
cultural resources within the area potentially affected by the proposed
action will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating impacts to
such resources. Federal, State, and local agencies, along with Tribes
and other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the
proposed opening of lands withdrawn by Section 17(d)(1) of ANCSA to
selection of allotments for the Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land
Allotment Program, are invited to participate in the scoping process
and, if eligible, may request or be asked by the BLM to participate in
the development of the EA as cooperating agencies. Potentially affected
Tribes will receive a letter initiating consultation under Section 106
of the NHPA in the coming weeks and the BLM will work
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with consulting parties to schedule consultation meetings.
The BLM is seeking public comments on issues, planning criteria,
concerns, potential impacts, alternatives, and mitigation measures that
should be considered in the analysis. Substantive comments will be used
to prepare an EA. Additional opportunities, for public participation
will be available upon publication of the draft EA.
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.
Chad Padgett,
State Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 2021-15726 Filed 7-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P