§ 1610.5-1 - Resource management plan approval and administrative review.

§ 1610.5-1 Identification of planning issuesResource management plan approval and administrative review.

(a) The responsible official shall prepare a preliminary statement of purpose and need, which briefly indicates the underlying purpose and need to which the BLM is responding (see 43 CFR 46.420). This statement shall be informed by Director and deciding official guidance (see § 1610.1-1(a)), public views (see § 1610.4(a)(4)), the planning assessment (see § 1610.4(c)), the results of any previous monitoring and evaluation within the planning area (see § 1610.6-4), Federal laws and regulations applicable to public lands, and the purposes, policies, and programs implementing such laws and regulations. The BLM shall initiate the identification of planning issues by notifying the public and making the preliminary statement of purpose and need available for public review.

(b) The public, other Federal agencies, State and local governments, and Indian tribes shall be given an opportunity to suggest concerns, needs, opportunities, conflicts, or constraints related to resource management for consideration in the preparation of the resource management plan, including those respecting officially approved and adopted plans of other Federal agencies, State and local governments, and Indian tribes. The responsible official shall analyze those suggestions and other available data and information, such as the planning assessment (see § 1610.4-1), and determine the planning issues to be addressed during the planning process. Planning issues may be modified during the planning process to incorporate new information. The identification of planning issues should be integrated with the scoping process required by regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR 1501.7).

proposed resource management plan or revision shall be submitted by the Field Manager to the State Director for supervisory review and approval. When the review is completed the State Director shall either publish the proposed plan and file the related environmental impact statement or return the plan to the Field Manager with a written statement of the problems to be resolved before the proposed plan can be published.

(b) No earlier than 30 days after the Environmental Protection Agency publishes a notice of the filing of the final environmental impact statement in the Federal Register, and pending final action on any protest that may be filed, the State Director shall approve the plan. Approval shall be withheld on any portion of a plan or amendment being protested until final action has been completed on such protest. Before such approval is given, there shall be public notice and opportunity for public comment on any significant change made to the proposed plan. The approval shall be documented in a concise public record of the decision, meeting the requirements of regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (40 CFR 1505.2).

[48 FR 20368, May 5, 1983, as amended at 70 FR 14567, Mar. 23, 2005; 81 FR 89661, Dec. 12, 2016; 82 FR 60555, Dec. 21, 2017]