COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON, DC 205 15 April 22, 1991 Cy Jamison, Director Bureau of Land Management U.S. Department of the Interior Dear Cy: Recently, I had an opportunity to review your September 25, 1990, memorandum to BLM field officials on the subject of resource management planning and environmental review requirements in the locatable minerals program. Attached to the memorandum was a document entitled "Questions and Answers Concerning Resource Management Planning and Environmental Review Requirements in the Locatable Minerals Program." As you will remember, there was very little difference between what would have been required under the land use planning provisions of my federal onshore oil and gas leasing reform legislation (that were lost in conference) and BLM's supplemental program guidance for fluid minerals. My contention then was that it was appropriate to provide a statutory basis for BLM's guidance document. Moreover, by enacting into law the requirements, I felt that it would have prompted the BLM and the Forest Service to actually implement them in a more timely fashion (you and I both know, with all due respect to your efforts, that there is often a wide gulf between what BLM may require on paper, and what is actually done in the field). With this in mind, I would ask you to advise me as to what you view as the differences between the land use planning provisions of H.R. 918 (section 203) and what BLM requires under its Supplemental Program Guidance for Resource Management Planning, (issued during November 1986), the BLM Manuel, and regulations implementing NEPA and FLPMA. Thank you. With warm regards, I am Sincerely, NICK J. RAHALL, II Chairman, Subcommittee on Mining and Natural Resources Subject: Resource Management Planning and Environmental Review Requirements in the In recent months a number of questions have been raised concerning the relationship of locatable minerals activities to resource management planning and environmental review requirements. In order to assist you in fulfilling your responsibilities we have answered a number of these questions in the attached document. The answers reflect the BLM's ongoing statutory responsibility to ensure that use authorizations are in conformance with approved land use plans and that existing environmental documentation is supplemented as conditions change. Section 102(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) mandates that the BLM implement the Mining and Minerals Policy Act on Federal lands. Section 302(a) of FLPMA states "The Secretary shall manage the public lands under principles of multiple use and sustained yield, in accordance with the land use plans developed by him under Section 202 of this Act.... Section 302(b) instructs the BLM to “....... take any action necessary to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation of the lands.... This responsibility applies to all resource activities, not only energy and mineral activities. The National Environmental Policy Act in Section 102(c) requires that Federal agencies consider the potential environmental impacts of their actions. We anticipate that these questions and answers will spur further questions. We hope to continue to provide guidance to the field in this manner and will update this memorandum as appropriate. We encourage you to assist us by directing additional questions (and draft answers where possible) to Reed Smith, Division of Mining Law and Salable Minerals at FTS 268-4147 or Gordon Knight, Division of Planning and Environmental Coordination at FTS 653-8824. Attachment QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS CONCERNING RESOURCE MANAGEMENT APPENDIX 1 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS CONCERNING RESOURCE MANGEMENT PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW REQUIREMENTS IN THE LOCATABLE MINERALS PROGRAM Attachment 1-1 A. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANNING 1. Where can one find policy guidance on resource management plaaning for locatable minerals? 2 3. Bureauwide planning guidance for all energy and mineral resources including locatable minerals is included in the Supplemental Program Guidance for Resource Management Planning issued in November 1986. (See the BLM Manual Sections 1620 and 1624, guidance specific to locatable minerals is in 1624.3.] What decisions or determinations regarding locatable minerals should be made in a BLM Manual Section 1624.3 states that the following locatable minerals related Identification of areas which are or will be closed to the operation of the mining laws; and Identification of any generic terms, conditions, or other special considerations, if any, that may constrain mining activities in areas which will be open to the operation of the mining laws. Should locatable minerals be addressed in an RMP even if they are not part of an Yes, locatable minerals as well as any other energy and mineral resources should be When an RMP or plan amendment is prepared should the environmental impacts Yes, the regulations implementing NEPA require that an EIS identify the direct, indirect, actual and potential cumulative impacts of a proposed action and any alternatives analyzed in detail. (See 40 CFR 1502.16.] For example, if areas will be closed to entry the EIS prepared with the RMP, or the environmental document prepared with the plan amendment should analyze the effects of such closure on the area and on the minerals industry. Attachment 1-3 |