BLM proposes to update NEPA manual

On Jan. 25 the Bureau of Land Management placed in the Federal Register an announcement about proposed changes to the section of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s manual that guides BLM’s implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act.

The proposed changes would update BLM’s NEPA procedures to include general requirements for consultation and coordination; public involvement; consensus-based decision making; and adaptive management. There is a new subpart in the manual that requires proposals to be in conformance with existing land use plans. Another new subpart incorporates current guidance for the use of previous NEPA analysis. The revisions include new proposed BLM categorical exclusions.

BLM said “the proposed revisions are necessary to update the procedures used to determine what level of NEPA compliance is appropriate for various types of actions taken in managing public lands,” and that periodically updating the agency’s manual “allows for increased efficiency in managing the NEPA process.”

Comments on the proposed changes must be mailed by the close of the public comment period on Feb. 24. Details of the changes and information about submitting comments can be found in the Federal Register. BLM expects to issue a final version of the changes in the spring of 2006. BLM manages 261 million acres of surface land and 700 million acres of subsurface mineral estate, mostly in the 12 western states.

—Alan Bailey