1. Why is the proposed federal action necessary?

The proposed federal action is necessary to ensure current resource management is revised to respond to resource conditions that have changed over the past 30 years and respond to new issues and policies. Such changes have resulted in different users and uses of public lands. Issues have emerged that relate to potential threatened and endangered (T&E) species, special status wildlife and habitat, and the significant amount of oil and gas exploration and development throughout the planning area.

2. What are the benefits of the proposed federal action?

The benefits of revising the RMP are to address the level of development from the Bakken oil boom (beyond the impacts analyzed in the 1988 RMP and most recent Reasonably Foreseeable Development Scenario), as well as to provide for an updated air quality analysis, coal analysis, and management direction for wildlife habitat and vegetation. In doing so, the RMP will provide meaningful direction for management of BLM lands and resources in the planning area.

3. How will the BLM consider comments from the public on the Draft RMP/EIS?

The BLM is committed to collecting comments from the public and interested parties. Comments received during the public scoping period were summarized in a Scoping Report that was made available to the public before the Draft RMP/EIS was released. The BLM team reviewed and considered every comment submitted and addressed them as appropriate. For the Draft RMP/EIS, the BLM will consider and evaluate all comment submissions received. Substantive comments received will be addressed in the Proposed RMP/Final EIS. The comment submittals will be available for public review and may be published as part of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS.

4. How will the BLM engage the public during the comment period?

The BLM is committed to an open and inclusive NEPA process. All comments will be carefully considered in our review and decision(s) on meeting the agency’s NEPA responsibilities and other applicable laws in this process. The public participates in the NEPA scoping process by helping to identify issues and potential alternatives to the proposed action, and by evaluating the analysis of the proposed action and alternatives in the Draft EIS during the public review period for that document. All public comments received are considered. As the first step in the NEPA process, the BLM initiated the “scoping period” by publishing a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register on July 28, 2020. The public scoping comment period ended on August 28, 2020. The BLM used scoping comments to help identify and develop planning issues and to guide development of the action alternatives. Comments received during the public scoping period are summarized in a Scoping Report.

The BLM initiated the public comment period on the Draft RMP/EIS by publishing a Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register on January 20, 2023. As part of the public comment process, the BLM will host a total of three public meetings. One meeting will be held virtually and two meetings will be held in-person (Visit the NEPA and Public Involvement station for more information). To ensure the public has an opportunity to review public meeting materials and have questions answered, this virtual open house website has been developed. The public can submit comments through the virtual open house website at any time during the public comment period. Information also is available on the project’s the BLM ePlanning website. More details are available here.

5. Who are the cooperating agencies?

The BLM is the lead federal agency under NEPA for development of the RMP/EIS. On April 21, 2020, the NDFO sent 91 letters to local, state, federal, and Tribal representatives, inviting them to participate as cooperating agencies. An agency or Tribe has the option of signing on as a cooperator at any time during the RMP revision process. A cooperating agency is any federal, state, or local government agency or Native American tribe that enters into a formal agreement—a memorandum of understanding—with the lead federal agency to help in the environmental analysis. The following 11 agencies are currently participating as cooperating agencies: North Dakota Parks and Recreation, Billings County, Bowman County, McKenzie County, Mountrail County, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service - Dakota Prairie Grasslands, National Park Service, and Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

6. What are the next steps?

Following the conclusion of the public comment period, the BLM will review all comments submitted and use them to help prepare the Proposed RMP/Final EIS. Comments received during the Draft RMP/EIS comment period will be summarized in a public comment report that will be made available to the public with the release of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS.

Next Station: Providing Comments

 

For more information on the North Dakota RMP/EIS, please visit the project’s BLM ePlanning website or contact Kristine Braun, Eastern Montana/Dakotas Planning and Environmental Coordinator, at 701-227-7725.

To be added or removed from the mailing list, please send an email to blm_mt_north_dakota_rmp@blm.gov.