[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 171 (Friday, September 2, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60733-60736]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21178]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLMTM01000.L12320000.FV0000.LVRDMT110000XXX MO#4500080126]
Proposed Supplementary Rules for the Zortman Ranger Station and
Buffington Day Use Area on Public Land in Phillips County Near Zortman,
MT
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed Supplementary Rules.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Malta Field Office is
proposing additional supplementary rules for the Zortman Ranger
Station, a historic U.S. Forest Service Ranger Station now administered
by the BLM in Zortman, Montana, and Buffington Day Use Area at the Camp
Creek Recreation Area. The supplementary rules are necessary to
maintain the public health and safety and to protect the environment of
the recreation areas. They will help reduce erosion, reduce fire
hazards, provide for public safety, prevent damage to natural
resources, reduce user conflicts, and increase visitor satisfaction.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the proposed supplementary rules by November 1,
2016. In developing final supplementary rules, the BLM may not consider
comments postmarked or received in person or by electronic mail after
this date.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed or hand delivered to the BLM Malta
Field Office, Attn: Field Manager, 501 South 2nd Street East, Malta, MT
59538. You may also submit comments via email to
[email protected] or fax to 406-654-5150. Copies of the fee
proposal are available at the BLM Malta Field Office, 501 South 2nd
Street East, Malta, MT 59538 or on line at: http://www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/fo/malta_field_office.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vinita Shea, Malta Field Manager, at
the above address, or by calling 406-654-5131. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual
during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7
days a week, to leave a message or question with the above individual.
You will receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Comment Procedures
You may mail, email, or hand-deliver comments to the Malta Field
Office, at the addresses listed above (See ADDRESSES). Written comments
on the proposed supplementary rules should be specific and confined to
issues pertinent to the proposed rules, and should explain the reason
for any recommended change. Where possible, comments should reference
the specific section or paragraph of the proposal that the commenter is
addressing. The BLM is not obligated to consider, or include in the
Administrative Record for the final supplementary rules, comments
delivered to an address other than those listed above (See ADDRESSES),
or comments that the BLM receives after the close of the comment period
(See DATES), unless they are postmarked or electronically dated before
the deadline.
Comments, including names, street addresses, and other contact
information for respondents, will be available for public review at the
Malta Field Office address listed in the section ADDRESSES during
regular business hours (8 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 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.
Background
The Zortman Ranger Station, built in 1905, was part of the Lewis
and Clark National Forest until 1965, when management of public lands
in the area was transferred to the BLM. The site includes the four-room
main building, a storage shed, and amphitheater which was built for the
Lewis and Clark Bicentennial celebration. The main building is eligible
for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2013, the
BLM partnered with the Forest Service's historic preservation team to
repair the outside of the main building and landscape the yard to
divert runoff which was undermining the foundation. The interior of the
building has been inventoried and abated for asbestos and lead paint.
The site also features an amphitheater which is used for interpretive
presentations.
Buffington Day Use Area is located within the Camp Creek Recreation
Area just northeast of Zortman, Montana.
[[Page 60734]]
Buffington Day Use Area is utilized by individuals and groups as a
parking site for day hikes, family and group gatherings such as
picnics, reunions, church group outings, and birthday parties. In
September 1994, the BLM completed the Record of Decision and Approved
Phillips Resource Area Resource Management Plan, which provide for the
maintenance and enhancement of the recreational quality of BLM land and
resources to ensure enjoyable recreation experiences.
The proposed supplementary rules are authorized by 43 CFR 8365.1-6,
which states, ``The State Director may establish such supplementary
rules as he/she deems necessary. These rules may provide for the
protection of persons, property, and public lands and resources. No
person shall violate such supplementary rules.''
Discussion of Proposed Supplementary Rules
The supplementary rules are necessary to maintain the public health
and safety, and to protect the environment and facilities of the
recreation areas. The rules will also help reduce erosion and fire
hazards, prevent damage to natural resources, reduce user conflicts,
and increase visitor satisfaction.
The proposed rules would limit the number of days that a person or
group could rent the Zortman Ranger Station allowing more people to
access the facility and thereby increase visitor satisfaction and
reduce user conflicts. Game carcasses would not be allowed to be stored
and no fish or game would be allowed to be cleaned inside the Zortman
Ranger Station. These rules would protect facilities, assist in
ensuring visitor satisfaction, and protect public health.
Pets would be required to be leashed if left unattended outside or
kenneled if left unattended inside the Zortman Ranger Station. These
rules would protect the Ranger Station. Pets would be required to be
leashed and would not be allowed to be left unattended at the
Buffington Day Use Area. This rule would protect public safety. No
cutting of standing trees or any vegetation at the Zortman Ranger
Station or the Buffington Day Use Area would be allowed. These rules
would prevent damage to natural resources and reduce erosion. Campfires
would only be allowed in BLM-provided fire rings to prevent fire
hazards.
Visitors would be prohibited from leaving any personal property or
refuse after vacating the Zortman Ranger Station or the Buffington Day
Use Area, even if that property is intended for other campers or
occupants, in order to increase visitor satisfaction and safety. Quiet
hours at the Zortman Ranger Station would be 10:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m. and
site usage at the Buffington Day Use Area would be 6:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.
These rules would enhance visitor satisfaction.
The proposed supplementary rules would apply to the Zortman Ranger
Station, a historic U.S. Forest Service Ranger Station now administered
by the BLM in Zortman, Montana, and Buffington Day Use Area at the Camp
Creek Recreation Area. Both areas comprise approximately 3 acres of
public lands within Phillips County, Montana.
Procedural Matters
Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review
These supplementary rules are not significant regulatory actions
and are not subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget
under Executive Order 12866. The supplementary rules will result in an
annual cost of less than $100 million or more on the economy. They will
not adversely affect in a material way the economy, productivity,
competition, jobs, environment, public health or safety, or State,
local, or tribal governments or communities. These supplementary rules
will not create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an
action taken or planned by another agency. The rules do not alter the
budgetary effects of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs
or the rights or obligations of their recipients, nor do they raise
novel legal or policy issues. These rules would merely impose rules of
conduct within the recreation sites.
Clarity of the Supplementary Rules
Executive Order 12866 requires each agency to write regulations
that are simple and easy to understand.
The BLM invites your comments on how to make these proposed
supplementary rules easier to understand, including answers to
questions such as the following:
(1) Are the requirements in the proposed supplementary rules
clearly stated?
(2) Do the proposed supplementary rules contain technical language
or jargon interfering with their clarity?
(3) Does the format of the proposed supplementary rules (grouping
and order of sections, use of headings, paragraphing, etc.) aid or
reduce their clarity?
(4) Would the proposed supplementary rules be easier to understand
if they were divided into more (but shorter) sections?
(5) Is the description of the proposed supplementary rules in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this preamble helpful to your
understanding of the proposed supplementary rules? How could this
description be more helpful in making the proposed supplementary rules
easier to understand?
Please send any comments you have on the clarity of the proposed
supplementary rules to the address specified in the ADDRESSES section.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Supplementary rules are made under the Visitor Services regulations
of the Bureau of Land Management found at 43 CFR 8365.1-6. The BLM has
determined that these proposed supplementary rules are administrative
in nature, and are therefore categorically excluded from environmental
review under Section 102(2)(C) of NEPA, 43 CFR 46.205, and 43 CFR
46.210(c) and (i). The BLM's Malta Field Office has prepared a
Categorical Exclusion (CX) document to determine that these proposed
supplementary rules do not meet any of the 12 criteria for exceptions
to categorical exclusions listed at 43 CFR 46.215. Pursuant to the
Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR 1508.4) and the
environmental regulations, policies, and procedures of the Department
of the Interior, the term ``categorical exclusions'' means a category
of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant
effect on the human environment and that have been found to have no
such effect in procedures adopted by a Federal agency and for which
neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact
statement is required. The supplementary rules merely contain rules of
conduct for certain recreational lands in Montana. These rules are
designed to protect the environment and the public health and safety.
The BLM has placed the CX and the Decision Record (DR) on file in the
BLM Administrative Record at the address specified in the ADDRESSES
section.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
Congress enacted the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), as
amended, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, to ensure that government regulations do not
unnecessarily or disproportionately burden small entities. The RFA
requires a regulatory flexibility analysis if a rule would have a
significant economic impact, either detrimental or beneficial,
[[Page 60735]]
on a substantial number of small entities. These supplementary rules
pertain to recreational use of specific public lands, and do not affect
commercial or governmental entities of any size. Therefore, the BLM has
determined under the RFA that these supplementary rules will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities,
and do not necessitate preparation of a regulatory flexibility
analysis.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
These fees and supplementary rules do not constitute a ``major
rule'' as defined at 5 U.S.C. 804(2). They would not result in an
annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more, in a major
increase in costs or prices, or in significant adverse effects on
competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or on
the ability of United States-based enterprises to compete with foreign-
based enterprises in domestic and export markets. They will merely
impose reasonable restrictions on certain actions within the Malta
Field Office fee campgrounds.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA), 2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.,
requires an assessment of unfunded mandates on State, local or tribal
governments. These supplementary rules do not impose any unfunded
mandate on State, local, or tribal governments, in the aggregate, or
the private sector, of more than $100 million per year. The rules also
will not have a significant or unique effect on small governments. They
restrict certain actions within the subject fee sites. Therefore, the
BLM is not required to prepare a statement containing the information
required by the UMRA.
Executive Order 12630, Governmental Actions and Interference With
Constitutionally Protected Property Rights (Takings)
These supplementary rules are not a government action capable of
interfering with constitutionally protected property rights. The rules
will have no effect on private lands or property. Therefore, the BLM
has determined that these supplementary rules will not cause a taking
of private property or require preparation of a takings assessment
under this Executive Order.
Executive Order 13132, Federalism
These supplementary rules will not have a substantial direct effect
on the states, on the relationship between the national government and
the states, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among
the various levels of government. These supplementary rules will have
little or no effect on State or local government. Therefore, in
accordance with Executive Order 13132, the BLM has determined that
these supplementary rules do not have sufficient Federalism
implications to warrant preparation of a Federalism Assessment.
Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform
The BLM has determined that the supplementary rules will not unduly
burden the judicial system and that they meet the requirements of
sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of the Order.
Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments
The proposed supplementary rules would merely establish rules of
conduct for public use of a limited area of public land and would not
affect land held for the benefit of Indians or Alaska Natives or impede
their rights. The BLM has found that the supplementary rules do not
include policies that have tribal implications.
Executive Order 13352, Facilitation of Cooperative Conservation
In accordance with Executive Order 13352, the BLM has determined
that the proposed supplementary rules would not impede facilitating
cooperative conservation; would take appropriate account of and
consider the interests of persons with ownership or other legally
recognized interests in land or other natural resources; would properly
accommodate local participation in the Federal decision-making process;
and would provide that the programs, projects, and activities are
consistent with protecting public health and safety.
Information Quality Act
In developing these proposed supplementary rules, the BLM did not
conduct or use a study, experiment, or survey requiring peer review
under the Information Quality Act (Section 515 of Pub. L. 106-554).
Paperwork Reduction Act
These supplementary rules do not contain information collection
requirements that the Office of Management and Budget must approve
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Executive Order 13211, Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use
The supplementary rules do not comprise a significant energy
action. They will not have an adverse effect on energy supplies,
production, or consumption. They address recreational use of specific
public lands, and have no connection with energy policy.
Proposed Supplementary Rules: For the reasons stated in this
preamble, and under the authority of 43 CFR 8365.1-6, the State
Director proposes to establish supplementary rules for public lands
managed by the BLM, Malta Field Office. The proposed supplementary
rules for the Zortman Ranger Station are:
1. Rental of the Zortman Ranger Station is limited to no more than
7 consecutive days and no more than 14 days per year per person or
group.
2. Campfires are allowed only in BLM-provided fire rings.
3. Fish and game are not to be cleaned inside the building.
4. No game carcasses are allowed in the building.
5. Pets must be leashed and cannot be left unattended outside the
building.
6. Pets must be kenneled if left unattended inside the building.
7. Quiet hours are 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
8. No cutting of standing trees or any vegetation is allowed at the
site.
9. You must not leave any personal property or refuse after
vacating the premises. This includes any property left for the purposes
of use by another camper or occupant.
The proposed supplementary rules for Buffington Day Use Area are:
1. Site occupancy is limited to day use from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00
p.m.
2. Campfires are allowed only in BLM-provided fire rings.
3. Pets must be leashed and must not be left unattended.
4. No cutting of standing trees or any vegetation is allowed at the
site.
5. You must not leave any personal property or refuse after
vacating the premises. This includes any property left for the purposes
of use by another camper or occupant.
Enforcement
Any person who violates any of these supplementary rules may be
tried before a United States Magistrate and fined in accordance with 18
U.S.C. 3571, imprisoned no more than 12 months under 43 U.S.C. 1733(a)
and 43 CFR 8560.0-7, or both. In accordance with 43 CFR 8365.1-7, State
or local officials
[[Page 60736]]
may also impose penalties for violations of Montana law.
Exemptions
The following persons are exempt from these supplementary rules:
Any Federal, State, local, and/or military employees acting within the
scope of their duties; members of any organized rescue or fire-fighting
force performing an official duty; and persons, agencies,
municipalities or companies holding an existing special-use permit and
operating within the scope of their permit.
Jamie Connell,
State Director, Bureau of Land Management, Montana/Dakotas.
[FR Doc. 2016-21178 Filed 9-1-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P