[Federal Register: July 28, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 144)]
[Notices]
[Page 43707-43709]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28jy05-45]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[ES-915-1220-PM]
Notice of Proposed Supplementary Rules for Meadowood Special
Recreation Management Area, Fairfax County, VA
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of proposed supplementary rules for Visitor Use and
Permits--Bureau of Land Management-Eastern States (BLM-ES),
Springfield, Virginia.
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SUMMARY: These proposed supplementary rules, applicable to specified
public lands administered by BLM, would implement the management
decisions made in the Meadowood Farm Proposed Program Analysis/
Environmental Assessment, and the Meadowood Integrated Activity
Management Plan for the Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area
(SRMA). The purposes of the proposed supplementary rules are to protect
natural resources and provide for the safety of visitors and property
on public land located in Fairfax County, Virginia.
DATES: Comments on the proposed supplementary rules must be received or
postmarked by August 29, 2005 to be assured consideration. In
developing final supplementary rules, 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-ES Lower
Potomac Field Station, 10406 Gunston Road, Lorton, Virginia 22079. You
may also comment via Internet e-mail to: jeff_mccusker@es.blm.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Cooper, BLM-ES, Lower Potomac
Field Station Manager, 10406 Gunston Road, Lorton, Virginia 22079, at
(703) 339-8009.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Comment Procedures
Written comments on the proposed supplementary rules should be
specific, confined to issues pertinent to the proposed supplementary
rules, and should explain the reason for any recommended change. Where
possible, comments should reference the specific section or paragraph
of the proposal which the comment is addressing. The comments that the
BLM receives after the close of the comment period (see DATES), unless
they are postmarked or electronically dated before the deadline, or
comments delivered to an address not listed above (see ADDRESSES), may
not be considered or included in the Administrative Record for the
final rule.
Comments, including names, street addresses, and other contact
information of respondents, will be available for public review at the
BLM-ES Lower Potomac Field Station, 10406 Gunston Road, Lorton,
Virginia 22079, during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays. Individual respondents may
request confidentiality. If you wish to request that the BLM consider
withholding your name, street address, and other contact information
(such as internet address, fax, or phone number) from public review or
from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state
this prominently at the beginning of your comment. The BLM will honor
requests for confidentiality on a case-by-case basis to the extent
allowed by law. The BLM will make available for public inspection in
their entirety all submissions from organizations or businesses and
their representatives or officials.
II. Background
The BLM-ES Lower Potomac Field Station staff has developed the
supplementary rules listed below to implement the management decisions
made in the Meadowood Farm Proposed Program Analysis/Environmental
Assessment, and the Meadowood Integrated Activity Management Plan for
the Meadowood SRMA. These plans were both developed through a series of
public meetings, and public comment and appeal periods were allowed. No
protests or appeals were received on the decisions in either document.
Upon publication of these supplementary rules in final form, the
Meadowood SRMA will be fully open for the uses and purposes identified
in the Meadowood Farm Proposed Program Analysis/Environmental
Assessment, and the Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area
Integrated Activity Management Plan/Environmental Assessment. The
publication of this rule will also rescind the temporary closure of
these public lands as provided in a Federal Register notice on October
22, 2001 (66 FR 53431).
III. Procedural Matters
Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review
These proposed supplementary rules do not constitute a significant
regulatory action and are not subject to review by the Office of
Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866. The proposed
supplementary rules will not have an effect of $100 million or more on
the economy. They will not adversely affect in a material way the
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public
health or safety, or state, local, or Tribal governments or
communities. These proposed supplementary rules will not create a
serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or
planned by another agency. They 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. They merely impose rules of conduct and impose other
limitations on certain recreational activities on certain public lands
to protect natural resources and human health and safety.
Clarity of the Supplementary Rules
Executive Order 12866 requires each agency to write regulations
that are simple and easy to understand. We
[[Page 43708]]
invite 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 that interferes 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 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
supplementary rules to the address specified in the ADDRESSES section.
National Environmental Policy Act
BLM has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA), the Meadowood
Farm Proposed Program Analysis/Environmental Assessment, and has found
that the proposed supplementary rules would not constitute a major
Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human
environment under Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C). A detailed statement
under NEPA is not required. The BLM has placed the EA and the Finding
of No Significant Impact (FONSI) on file in the BLM Administrative
Record at the address specified in the ADDRESSES section. The BLM
invites the public to review these documents.
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, on a
substantial number of small entities. These proposed supplementary
rules should have no effect on business entities of whatever size. They
merely would impose reasonable restrictions on certain recreational
activities on certain public lands to protect natural resources and the
environment, and human health and safety. Therefore, BLM has determined
under the RFA that these proposed supplementary rules would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA)
These proposed 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 an 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 would merely impose
reasonable restrictions on certain recreational activities on certain
public lands to protect natural resources and the environment, and
human health and safety.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
These proposed supplementary rules do not impose an unfunded
mandate on State, local, or tribal governments or on the private sector
of more than $100 million per year; nor do these proposed supplementary
rules have a significant or unique effect on State, local, or tribal
governments or the private sector. They would merely impose reasonable
restrictions on certain recreational activities on certain public lands
to protect natural resources and the environment, and human health and
safety. Therefore, the BLM is not required to prepare a statement
containing the information required by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(2 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Executive Order 12630, Governmental Actions and Interference With
Constitutionally Protected Property Rights (Takings)
The proposed supplementary rules do not represent a government
action capable of interfering with constitutionally protected property
rights. The proposed supplementary rules would have no effect on
private lands or property. Therefore, the Department of the Interior
has determined that the rule would not cause a taking of private
property or require preparation of a takings assessment under this
Executive Order.
Executive Order 13132, Federalism
The proposed supplementary rules would 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. The proposed
supplementary rules would have no effect on state or local government.
Therefore, in accordance with Executive Order 13132, the BLM has
determined that these proposed supplementary rules do not have
sufficient federalism implications to warrant preparation of a
federalism assessment.
Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform
Under Executive Order 12988, the Office of the Solicitor determined
that these proposed supplementary rules would 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
In accordance with Executive Order 13175, we have found that these
proposed supplementary rules do not include policies that have tribal
implications.
Paperwork Reduction Act
These proposed 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.
Author
The principal author of these proposed supplementary rules is Gary
Cooper, Lower Potomac Field Station Manager, Eastern States, Bureau of
Land Management.
For the reasons stated in the preamble and under the authorities
for supplementary rules found under 43 CFR 8341.2, 8364.1, and 8365.1-
6, and 43 U.S.C. 1740, the State Director, Eastern States, Bureau of
Land Management, proposes to issue supplementary rules for public lands
managed by the BLM in the Lower Potomac Field Station area to read as
follows:
Supplementary Rules for Certain Public Lands Managed by the Lower
Potomac Field Station Office, Bureau of Land Management
Prohibited Acts within the Meadowood Special Recreation Management
Area (SRMA) boundary:
1. You must not hunt unless you are participating in a managed hunt
following Commonwealth of Virginia hunting regulations, and planned by
the
[[Page 43709]]
Lower Potomac Field Station Manager (LPFSM).
2. You must not use fireworks or explosive devices.
3. You must not enter the Meadowood SRMA between sunset and sunrise
unless you have a contract or other written permission to board or
maintain horses at Meadowood. Between sunset and sunrise, persons with
a boarding contract and their accompanied guests and other persons
authorized by the LPFSM may enter the boarding facilities and adjacent
pastures at 10406 Gunston Road only.
4. You must not swim or bathe in the ponds or streams.
5. You must not operate motorized vehicles or devices in the SRMA
unless authorized by the LPFSM, except for the following established
roads:
a. From Old Colchester Road to the control line flying circles in
the west parcel.
b. From Belmont Boulevard to the visitor parking area.
c. From Gunston Road to the parking areas at the horse barn and the
BLM compound. These parking areas are designated for BLM employees and
contractors, visitors to the Lower Potomac Field Station Office,
boarders, or their guests only.
6. You must not enter the fenced pastures at 10406 Gunston Road
unless you have a contract or other written permission to board or
maintain horses at Meadowood.
7. You must not enter into any area posted as closed to entry or
use.
8. You must not camp unless authorized by the LPFSM.
9. You must not use a bicycle except on the roads identified above
and on designated trails.
10. You must not store fuel or accelerants.
11. You must not use control line model airplanes outside of times
and places designated by the LPFSM.
12. You must not use model rockets or explosive devices.
13. You must not use or possess weapons, other than for hunts
planned by the BLM.
Exception for Official Use of Site
Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers, government
employees, and BLM volunteers are exempt from these supplementary rules
in the course of their official duties. Limitations on the use of
motorized vehicles do not apply to emergency vehicles, fire suppression
and rescue vehicles, law enforcement vehicles, and other vehicles
performing official duties, or as approved by an authorized officer of
the BLM.
Penalties
1. Violations of these supplementary rules are punishable as
follows: By a sentence of incarceration not more than one year, and a
fine as provided by law under 43 U.S.C. 1733 and 18 U.S.C. 3571.
2. You may also be subject to civil action for unauthorized use of
the public lands or related waters and their resources, for violations
of permit terms, conditions, or stipulations, or for uses beyond those
allowed by the permit.
Michael D. Nedd,
State Director, Eastern States.
[FR Doc. 05-14938 Filed 7-27-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P