Bureau of Land Management Regulations Washington State Association of Counties Cooperating Agency & Coordination Training November 22, 2013 – Vancouver, WA Kerry E. Rodgers Senior Planning and Environmental Analyst Division of Decision Support, Planning and NEPA US DOI-BLM, Washington, DC

Goals for Today’s Presentation Role(s) of cooperating agencies (CAs) in the BLM planning process Role(s) of CAs in the BLM NEPA process BLM Model MOU Related DOI & BLM policy and guidance Role(s) of cooperating agencies (CAs) in the BLM planning process Role(s) of CAs in the BLM NEPA process BLM Model MOU Related DOI & BLM policy and guidance 2

Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) Section 202 guides the BLM planning process. Section 202(a) requires that the DOI Secretary, “with public involvement, …develop, maintain, and, when appropriate, revise land use plans which provide … for the use of the public lands…” Section 202(e) authorizes management decisions to implement land use plans. Section 202(f) requires an opportunity for public involvement and procedures for participation. 3

Two Levels of Decisions Planning Decisions -Planning regulations + NEPA regulations -Integrated process -Typically leads to a Proposed RMP/Final EIS and ROD Project Decisions -Also called Management or Implementation Decisions -NEPA regulations and process (if no plan amendment) **Cooperating agencies have important roles in both BLM planning and project decisions. 4

CAs in the BLM Planning Process BLM land use planning regulations (43 CFR 1600 et seq.) provide for cooperating agency participation throughout the planning process as feasible, given resources and expertise. -See 43 CFR (a)(5) (directing State Directors and Field Managers to “[w]here possible and appropriate, develop [RMPs] collaboratively with cooperating agencies”). A Desk Guide to Cooperating Agency Relationships and Coordination with Intergovernmental Partners (2012) outlines roles for several steps of the process. 5

CAs in the BLM Planning Process BLM’s development of a prep(aration) plan or “prep plan” for a Resource Management Plan (RMP) -Sets the schedule and budget Scoping and identification of issues BLM’s development of planning criteria BLM’s collection of inventory data 6

CAs in the BLM Planning Process BLM’s analysis of baseline data and preparation of an Analysis of the Management Situation (AMS) BLM’s formulation of alternatives BLM’s estimation of alternatives’ effects BLM’s selection of a preferred alternative and issuance of a Draft RMP/Draft EIS 7

CAs in the BLM Planning Process BLM’s response to public comments and issuance of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS -60-day Governor’s Consistency Review -30-day Protest Period BLM’s response to protests and ROD signature Implementation and monitoring of the Final RMP 8

CAs in the Project NEPA Process DOI regulations require invitations to “eligible government entities” to serve as CAs for EISs. BLM (and other DOI bureaus) must consider requests from a government entity to serve as a CA and state the reasons for any denial in the EIS. BLM (and other DOI bureaus) may allow CAs to help develop environmental assessments (EAs) and must provide for public involvement. 9

CAs in the Project NEPA Process Identifying issues to be addressed Collecting data for NEPA analysis (e.g., resource, environmental, social, economic, or institutional) Developing and evaluating alternatives and their effects Other tasks for NEPA analyses and documents 10

Other Considerations for Project-Level EISs Power of NEPA scoping Importance of time limits Disclosure of CA relationships Requirement to request comments from affected local governments and agencies - Note: BLM need not delay preparation or issuance of a Final EIS if agencies do not comment on time. 11

BLM Model MOU Establishing CA Relationships Template and 2012 CA Desk Guide are at: cooperating_agencies.html Drafted for a planning effort, but can be adapted for a project/implementation EIS No prescribed format, but key elements help 12

BLM Model MOU Establishing CA Relationships I.Introduction II.Purpose III.Authorities for the MOU IV.Roles and Responsibilities V.Other Provisions VI.Agency Representatives VII.Administration of the MOU VIII.Signatures Attachments – Detailed Tasks & Schedule 13

BLM Model MOU Other Provisions to Consider V.A. – Authorities not altered. V.E. – Documenting disagreement or inconsistency. -Including a summary of CAs’ views in the Draft RMP/EIS and Proposed RMP/Final EIS -Describing substantial inconsistencies with state, local, or tribal plans and policies V.F. – Management of information. 14

Related DOI Policy & Guidance: Environmental Statement Memoranda ESM No. 13-6, “State and Local Agency Review of Environmental Impact Statements” (Jan. 7, 2013) – ESM No , “Incorporating Consensus- Based Management in Agency Planning and Operations” (Jan. 7, 2013) (43 CFR ) –

Related BLM Policy & Guidance: Instruction Memoranda (IMs) IM No , “Revised Guidance for Establishing Implementation Priorities for Land Use Plans” (Oct. 25, 2012) – nd_Bulletins/national_instruction/2013/M_ html nd_Bulletins/national_instruction/2013/M_ html IM No , “Transitioning from Printing Hard Copies of NEPA and Planning Documents to Providing Documents in Electronic Formats” (June 21, 2013) – nd_Bulletins/national_instruction/2013/IM_ print.html nd_Bulletins/national_instruction/2013/IM_ print.html 16

Related BLM Policy & Guidance: Instruction Memoranda (IMs) IM No , “Interim Policy – Draft Regional Mitigation Manual Section 1794” (June 13, 2013) – nd_Bulletins/national_instruction/2013/IM_ html nd_Bulletins/national_instruction/2013/IM_ html 17

Questions? Kerry E. Rodgers Senior Planning and Environmental Analyst, BLM Washington Office (202) (office) – 18