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Notice of Proposed Supplementary Rules on Public Land in California
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: November 20, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 224)]
[Notices]
[Page 65471-65473]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20no03-83]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CA 670 1232 FH]
Notice of Proposed Supplementary Rules on Public Land in California
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Supplementary rules for payment of special recreation permit
fees immediately upon arrival at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation
Area.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)'s El Centro Field Office
is proposing supplementary rules. These rules will apply to the public
lands within the El Centro Resource Field Office, California Desert
District, Imperial County, California. The supplementary rules require
the payment of special recreation permit fees immediately upon arrival.
Any primary vehicle while on public lands within the Planning Area
Boundary or the recreation area must display a weekly or seasonal
permit for the areas described above. The rules are needed in order to
enhance the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Fee Program and to provide
revenue for resource protection and for public health and safety.
DATES: You should submit your comments by December 22, 2003. In
developing final rules, BLM may not consider comments postmarked or
received in person or by electronic mail after this date.
ADDRESSES:
Mail: Bureau of Land Management, El Centro Field Office, 1661 S.
4th St., El Centro, CA 92243.
Personal or messenger delivery: Bureau of Land Management, El
Centro Field Office, 1661 S. 4th St., El Centro, CA 92243.
Internet e-mail: Neil_Hamada@ca.blm.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Neil Hamada, Dunes Manager, Imperial
Sand Dunes Recreation Area, Bureau of Land Management, El Centro Field
Office, 1661 S. 4th St., El Centro, CA 92243 , (760) 337-4451.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Comment Procedures.
II. Discussion of the Supplementary Rules.
III. Procedural Matters.
[[Page 65472]]
I. Public Comment Procedures
Electronic Access and Filing Address
You may view an electronic version of these proposed supplementary
rules at BLM's Internet Home page: http://www.blm.gov. 
You may
also comment via the Internet to (insert local comment Web site). Please
also include ``Attention: {insert RIN number{time} '' and your name and
return address in your Internet message. If you do not receive a
confirmation from the system that we have received your Internet
message, contact us directly at (phone number).
Written Comments
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 you are addressing. BLM may not necessarily consider or
include in the Administrative Record for the final supplementary rules
comments BLM receives after the close of the comment period (see DATES)
or comments delivered to an address other than those listed above (see
ADDRESSES).
Comments, including names, streets addresses, and other contact
information of respondents, will be available for public review at El
Centro Field Office, 1661 S. 4th St., El Centro, CA 92243, during
regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.), Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. Individual respondents may request
confidentiality. If you wish to request that 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. BLM will honor requests
for confidentiality on a case-by-case basis to the extent allowed by
law. BLM will make available for public inspection in their entirety
all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses.
II. Discussion of the Supplementary Rules
The El Centro Field Office is proposing supplementary rules for the
Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA), as provided for in the
Visitor Services regulations of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The supplementary rules would require the payment of special recreation
permit fees immediately upon arrival. Any primary vehicle while on
public lands within the Planning Area Boundary or the recreation area
would be required to display a weekly or seasonal permit for the areas
described below. The supplementary rules are not inconsistent with the
preferred alternative in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area
Management Plan. Special Recreation Permit fees were initially
implemented in January 1999. Supplementary rules were published on
December 17, 1998 (63 FR 69646), to establish those fees. The new
supplementary rules only clarify the existing rules, and are intended
to be appended to the 1998 supplementary rules. They are written only
to clarify when the public pays their special recreation permit fee.
The rules are consistent with the proposed Imperial Sand Dunes
Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP). The RAMP's objectives are to
provide a safe and enjoyable experience to the public visiting the
dunes and the BLM employees and volunteers maintaining the natural
resources. The goals are to reduce or eliminate assaults, drug use,
driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, theft, and any unruly
behavior that may lead to any of these, and to encourage users to obey
all safety rules and regulations, so as to prevent accidents. The
implementation of special recreation permit fees in the dunes will
provide the resources necessary to meet these goals and objectives.
These supplementary rules will apply to the public lands within the
area identified in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area Management
Plan as the Planning Area Boundary, Mammoth Wash Management Area, North
Algodones Dunes Wilderness Management Area, Gecko Management Area,
Glamis Management Area, Adaptive Management Area, Ogilby Management
Area, Dune Buggy Flats Management Area, and the Buttercup Management
Area. BLM has determined these supplementary rules necessary to enhance
the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Fee Program and to provide revenue
for resource protection and for public health and safety.
III. Procedural Matters
Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review
These supplementary rules are not a significant regulatory action
and are not subject to review by Office of Management and Budget under
Executive Order 12866. The supplementary rules will not have an effect
of $100 million or more on the economy. They are not intended to affect
commercial activity, but merely clarify when a fee that is already
charged must be paid.
The supplementary rules 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. The proposed supplementary rules will not create a serious
inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by
another agency. The supplementary rules will not alter the budgetary
effects of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the
right or obligations of their recipients; nor will they raise novel
legal or policy issues.
Clarity of the Supplementary Rules
Executive Order 12866 requires each agency to write regulations
that are simple and easy to understand. We invite your comments on how
to make the 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 in
understanding the proposed supplementary rules? How could this
description be more helpful in making the 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 determined that these proposed supplementary rules
requiring the payment of special recreation permit fees immediately
upon arrival at Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area and certain other
locations are purely administrative in nature. Therefore, they are
categorically excluded from environmental review under section
[[Page 65473]]
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act, pursuant to 516
Departmental Manual (DM), Chapter 2, Appendix 1. In addition, the
proposed rules do not meet any of the 10 criteria for exceptions to
categorical exclusions listed in 516 DM, Chapter 2, Appendix 2.
Pursuant to Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR
1508.4) and the environmental policies and procedures of the Department
of the Interior, the term ``categorical exclusions'' means a category
of actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant
effect on the human environment, that have been found to have no such
effect in procedures adopted by a Federal agency, and for which neither
an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is
required.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
Congress enacted the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) of 1980, 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. The supplementary rule does not
pertain specifically to commercial or governmental entities of any
size, but to public recreational use of specific public lands. It
merely makes clear when a fee that is already charged must be paid.
Therefore, BLM has determined under the RFA that the proposed
supplementary rules would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA)
The supplementary rules do not constitute a ``major rule'' as
defined at 5 U.S.C. 804(2). Again, the supplementary rules merely
clarify when a fee that is already charged must be paid. The
supplementary rules have no effect on business--commercial or
industrial--use of the public lands.
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. They merely clarify when a fee that is already charged must be
paid. Therefore, the Department of the Interior has determined that the
proposed rules would not cause a taking of private property or require
further discussion of takings implications under this Executive Order.
Executive Order 13132, Federalism
The proposed rules will 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. They merely clarify when a fee that is
already charged must be paid. Therefore, in accordance with Executive
Order 13132, BLM has determined that these proposed 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 has
determined that these proposed rules would not unduly burden the
judicial system and that it meets the requirements of sections 3(a) and
3(b)(2) of the Order.
Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments [Replaces Executive Order 13084]
In accordance with Executive Order 13175, we have found that the
final supplementary rules do not include policies that have tribal
implications. They merely clarify when a fee that is already charged
must be paid.
Paperwork Reduction Act
These 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 the supplementary rules is Chief Area
Ranger Robert Zimmer, Bureau of Land Management, El Centro Field
Office.
Supplementary Rules for Payment of Special Recreation Permit Fees
Immediately Upon Arrival at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area
Under 43 CFR 8365.1-6, the Bureau of Land Management will enforce
the following supplementary rules on the public lands within the area
identified as defined in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area
Management Plan as the Planning Area Boundary, Mammoth Wash Management
Area, North Algodones Dunes Wilderness Management Area, Gecko
Management Area, Glamis Management Area, Adaptive Management Area,
Ogilby Management Area, Dune Buggy Flats Management Area, and the
Buttercup Management Area. These lands are within the Imperial Sand
Dunes Special Recreation Management Area within the lands managed by
the El Centro Field Office of the California Desert District,
California. You must follow these rules:
Sec. 1 When must visitors pay the special recreation permit fees?
You must pay the special recreation permit fees immediately upon
arrival.
Sec. 2 How must permits be displayed?
Any primary vehicle while on public lands within the Planning Area
Boundary or the recreation area must display a weekly or seasonal
permit for the areas described above.
Sec. 3 What are the penalties for violations of these rules?
Under section 303(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1733(a)) and 43 CFR 8360.0-7 if you violate any of
these supplementary rules on public lands within the boundaries
established in the rules, you may be tried before a United States
Magistrate and fined no more than $1,000 or imprisoned for no more than
12 months, or both. Such violations may also be subject to the enhanced
fines provided for by 18 U.S.C. 3571.
Dated: October 7, 2003.
Mike Pool,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 03-28960 Filed 11-19-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P