[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 43, Volume 2]

[Revised as of October 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 43CFR2310.3-1]



[Page 80-81]

 

                    TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS: INTERIOR

 

    CHAPTER II--BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

 

PART 2300_LAND WITHDRAWALS--Table of Contents

 

              Subpart 2310_Withdrawals, General: Procedure

 

Sec.  2310.3-1  Publication and public meeting requirements.



    (a) When a withdrawal proposal is made, a notice to that effect 

shall be published immediately in the Federal Register. The notice shall 

contain the information required by Sec.  2310.1-3 of this title. In the 

event a withdrawal petition, which subsequently becomes a withdrawal 

proposal, is submitted simultaneously with a withdrawal application, the 

information requirements for notices pertaining to withdrawal 

applications (See paragraph (b) of this section) shall supersede the 

information requirements of this paragraph. However, in such instances, 

the notice required by paragraph (b) of this section shall be published 

immediately without regard to the 30-day period allowed for the filing 

for publication in the Federal Register of withdrawal application 

notices.

    (b)(1) Except for emergency withdrawals and except as otherwise 

provided in paragraph (a) of this section, within 30 days of the 

submission for filing of a withdrawal, extension or modification 

application, the authorized officer shall publish in the Federal 

Register a notice to that effect. The authorized officer also shall 

publish the same notice in at least one newspaper having a general 

circulation in the vicinity of the lands involved and, with the 

cooperation and assistance of the applicant, when appropriate, shall 

provide sufficient publicity to inform the interested public of the 

requested action.

    (2) The notice shall contain, in summary form, the information 

required by Sec.  2310.1-2 of this title, except that the authorized 

officer may exclude the information required by Sec.  2310.1-2(c)(2) of 

this title, and as much of the descriptive information required by Sec.  

2310.1-2(c) (5) and (6) of this title as the authorized officer 

considers appropriate. The notice shall:

    (i) Provide a legal description of the lands affected by the 

application, together with the total acreage of such lands;

    (ii) Specify the extent to which and the time during which any lands 

that may be involved may be segregated in accordance with Sec.  2310.2 

of this title;

    (iii) Identify the temporary land uses that may be permitted or 

allowed during the segregation period as provided for in Sec.  2310.2(c) 

of this title;

    (iv) Provide for a suitable period of at least 90 days after 

publication of the notice, for public comment on the requested action;

    (v) Solicit written comments from the public as to the requested 

action and provide for one or more public meetings in relation to 

requested actions involving 5,000 or more acres in the aggregate and, as 

to requested actions involving less than 5,000 acres, solicit and 

evaluate the written comments of the public as to the requested action 

and as to the need for public meetings;

    (vi) State, in the case of a national defense withdrawal which can 

only be made by an Act of Congress, that if the withdrawal is to be 

made, it will be made by an Act of Congress;

    (vii) Provide the address of the Bureau of Land Management office in 

which the application and the case file pertaining to it are available 

for public inspection and to which the written comments of the public 

should be sent;

    (viii) State that the application will be processed in accordance 

with the regulations set forth in part 2300 of this title;

    (ix) Reference, if appropriate, the Federal Register in which the 

notice of a withdrawal proposal, if any, pertaining to the application 

was published previously;

    (x) Provide such additional information as the authorized officer 

deems necessary or appropriate.

    (c)(1) In determining whether a public meeting will be held on 

applications



[[Page 81]]



involving less than 5,000 acres of land, the authorized officer shall 

consider whether or not:

    (i) A large number of persons have expressed objections to or 

suggestions regarding the requested action;

    (ii) The objections or suggestions expressed appear to have merit 

without regard to the number of persons responding;

    (iii) A public meeting can effectively develop information which 

would otherwise be difficult or costly to accumulate;

    (iv) The requested action, because of the amount of acreage 

involved, the location of the affected lands or other relevant factors, 

would have an important effect on the public, as for example, the 

national or regional economy;

    (v) There is an appreciable public interest in the lands or their 

use, as indicated by the records of the Bureau of Land Management;

    (vi) There is prevailing public opinion in the area that favors 

public meetings or shows particular concern over withdrawal actions; and

    (vii) The applicant has requested a public meeting.

    (2) A public meeting, whether required or determined by the 

authorized officer to be necessary, shall be held at a time and place 

convenient to the interested public, the applicant and the authorized 

officer. A notice stating the time and place of the meeting, shall be 

published in the Federal Register and in at least one newspaper having a 

general circulation in the vicinity of lands involved in the requested 

action, at least 30 days before the scheduled date of the meeting.