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20 September 2006
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[Federal Register: September 20, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 182)]
[Notices]
[Page 55010-55012]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20se06-75]
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DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[UT-062-06-1220-PM]
Notice of Supplementary Rules Requiring Human Waste Carry-Out for
White Wash Sand Dunes Area, Moab Field Office, UT
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Interim Final Supplementary Rules Requiring Human
Waste Carry-out for White Wash Sand Dunes Area, Moab Field Office,
Utah.
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SUMMARY: These interim final supplementary rules, applicable to
specified public lands administered by BLM's Moab Field Office, require
the possession, set up for usage, and use of portable toilets for
individuals and groups camping on public lands administered by the Moab
Field Office in the White Wash Sand Dunes area of Grand County Utah.
This action is necessary to protect public health and maintain public
land recreation opportunities in the area.
DATES: These interim final supplementary rules are effective September
20, 2006 and will remain in effect until modified by the authorized
officer or such time as constructed toilets are installed to provide
reasonable coverage of the geographic area. We invite comments until
November 20, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Deliver all comments concerning the interim final rule by
one of the following means:
Mail, personal, or messenger delivery: address your comment to the
Bureau of Land Management, Moab Field Office, 82 East Dogwood Avenue,
Moab, Utah 84532; Internet: you may access the Federal eRulemaking
Portal: http://www.regulations.gov; E-mail: you may send comments to
momail@ut.blm.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Russell von Koch, Recreation Branch
Chief, BLM Moab Field Office, 82 East Dogwood Avenue, Moab, Utah 84532,
or telephone 435-259-2100.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Comment Procedures
Written comments on the interim final supplementary rules should be
specific, confined to issues pertinent to the interim final
supplementary rules, and should explain the reason for any recommended
change. Where possible, comments should reference the specific section
or paragraph of the rules that the comment is addressing. BLM need not
consider or include in the Administrative Record for the final
supplementary rules: (a) Comments that BLM receives after the close of
the comment period (see DATES), unless they are postmarked or
electronically dated before the deadline, or (b) comments delivered to
an address other than those listed above (See ADDRESSES).
You may also access and comment on the interim final supplementary
rules at the Federal eRulemaking Portal by following the instructions
at that site (see ADDRESSES).
Comments, including names, street addresses, and other contact
information of respondents, will be available for public review at the
Moab Field Office, 82 East Dogwood Avenue, Moab, Utah 84532, 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, businesses, and government
agencies, or from individuals identifying themselves as representatives
or officials of such entities.
II. Background and Purpose
Improper disposal of human body waste by recreation visitors to
undeveloped public lands in the White Wash Sand Dunes area near Green
River, Utah, has produced conditions hazardous to public health.
Subsequent to receiving public complaints, the Sanitarian for the
Southeastern Utah Health Department has requested BLM to implement
corrective action. Problems identified include dumping of recreational
vehicle holding tanks on public roads (an illegal activity under both
State and Federal law), human waste on the ground at camping areas, and
frequent burying of human waste near camping areas. In addition to the
public health issue, the presence of solid human waste impacts the
quality of recreation opportunities in the White Wash Sand Dunes area.
The interim final supplementary rules are necessary to halt ongoing
impacts, provide for sanitation and public safety, and maintain the
quality of recreation opportunities.
BLM finds good cause to publish these supplementary rules on an
interim final basis, effective the date of publication, because of
public health and safety concerns within the management area. The Moab
Field Office was contacted on June 14, 2006, by the Sanitarian for the
Southeastern Utah Health Department regarding human waste at White Wash
Sand Dunes. The problems identified by the Sanitarian include frequent
dumping of holding tanks from recreational vehicles along the main
access road (presumably done as people leave the area), human waste on
the ground at camping areas, and the high density of poorly buried
human waste near camping areas. The Health Department has received
several complaints about this situation. These conditions represent an
immediate threat to human health, and cause a continuous nuisance to
recreational visitors and users of nearby lands.
III. Procedural Matters
Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review
These interim final supplementary rules are not a significant
regulatory action and are not subject to review by the Office of
Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866. The interim final
supplementary rules will not have an annual effect of $100 million or
more on the economy. They are not intended to affect commercial
[[Page 55011]]
activity, but impose a rule on disposal of the human waste of
recreational visitors for health protection reasons in a limited area
of public lands. 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 interim final supplementary rules will
not create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an
action taken or planned by another agency, but in fact are in
furtherance of cooperation with State and local agencies. The interim
final supplementary rules do not materially alter the budgetary effects
of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the right or
obligations of their recipients; nor do they raise novel legal or
policy issues. They merely impose a requirement to possess and use
portable toilets on recreational users of a limited portion of the
public lands in Utah in order to protect human health, safety, and the
environment.
Clarity of the Interim Final 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 these interim final supplementary rules easier to understand,
including answers to questions such as the following:
(1) Are the requirements in the interim final supplementary rules
clearly stated?
(2) Do the interim final supplementary rules contain technical
language or jargon that interferes with their clarity?
(3) Does the format of the interim final supplementary rules
(grouping and order of sections, use of headings, paragraphing, etc.)
aid or reduce their clarity?
(4) Would the interim final supplementary rules be easier to
understand if they were divided into more (but shorter) sections?
(5) Is the description of the interim final supplementary rules in
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this preamble helpful in
understanding the interim final supplementary rules? How could this
description be more helpful in making the interim final supplementary
rules easier to understand?
Please send any comments you may have on the clarity of the interim
final supplementary rules to one of the addresses specified in the
ADDRESSES section.
National Environmental Policy Act
The interim final supplementary rules do 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, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C). BLM has determined that this
supplementary rule requiring the use of portable toilets for overnight
camping is an example of routine and continuing government business,
including such things as supervision, administration, operations,
maintenance and replacement activities having limited context and
intensity, e.g., limited size and magnitude or short-term effects.
Therefore, it is categorically excluded from environmental review under
section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act, pursuant to
516 Departmental Manual (DM), Chapter 2, Appendix 1. In addition, the
supplementary rule does 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 which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant
effect on the human environment and 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 interim final supplementary
rules do not pertain specifically to commercial or governmental
entities of any size, but to public recreational use of specific public
lands. Therefore, BLM has determined under the RFA that the interim
final supplementary rules would not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA)
These interim final supplementary rules do not constitute a ``major
rule'' as defined at 5 U.S.C. 804(2). The interim final supplementary
rules merely contain a requirement that recreational users use portable
toilets and remove their solid human wastes from certain public lands.
The interim final supplementary rules would not affect business,
commercial, or industrial use of the public lands.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
The interim final supplementary rules would not impose an unfunded
mandate on State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate, or the
private sector, of more than $100 million per year; nor would they have
a significant or unique effect on small governments. These interim
final supplementary rules do not require anything of State, local, or
tribal governments. Therefore, 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 interim final supplementary rules are not a government action
capable of interfering with constitutionally protected property rights.
The interim final supplementary rules do not address property rights in
any form, and do not cause the impairment of anybody's property rights.
Therefore, the Department of the Interior has determined that these
interim final supplementary 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 interim final supplementary 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. The interim
final supplementary rules apply on a limited area of land in only one
State, Utah, and are intended to comply with State and local government
requirements. Therefore, BLM has determined that the interim final
supplementary rules do not have sufficient federalism implications to
warrant preparation of a Federalism Assessment.
[[Page 55012]]
Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform
Under Executive Order 12988, we have determined that the interim
final supplementary rules will not unduly burden the judicial system
and that the requirements of sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of the Order are
met. The supplementary rules comprise a provision requiring the use of
portable toilets to protect human health and the environment.
Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments
In accordance with Executive Order 13175, the BLM has found that
these interim final supplementary rules do not include policies that
have tribal implications. The interim final supplementary rules do not
affect lands held for the benefit of Indians, Aleuts, or Eskimos.
Paperwork Reduction Act
These interim final supplementary rules do not contain information
collection requirements that the Office of Management and Budget must
approve under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Author
The principal author of the interim final supplementary rules is
Russell von Koch, Recreation Branch Chief, Moab Field Office, Bureau of
Land Management.
Human Waste Carry-Out Supplementary Rules
1. Definition
Portable toilets may be--
a. A containerized and reusable system;
b. A commercially available biodegradable system that is landfill
disposable; or
c. A toilet within a camper, trailer, or motor home.
2. Rules
a. You must possess, set up for usage, and use portable toilets for
solid human body waste during overnight camping activity in the
following area: Public lands administered by the Bureau of Land
Management in and adjacent to the White Wash Sand Dunes near Green
River, Utah, in the following sections: T. 23 S., R. 17 E., Sections
21, 22, and 28.
b. You must dispose of portable toilet waste off public land. This
requirement is effective on a year-round basis and will remain in
effect for camping use until modified by the authorized officer or
until such time as constructed toilets are installed to provide
reasonable coverage of the geographic area.
c. Campers at the above-described area at White Wash Sand Dunes
must not bury, or leave exposed, solid human body waste and toilet
paper soiled with solid human body waste. The draining of sewage from a
trailer or other vehicle upon the public lands, except in places or
receptacles provided for that purpose, is prohibited by 43 CFR 8365.1-
1(b)(3).
3. Exceptions
The portable toilet requirements do not apply to activities
specifically exempted by BLM, or to military, fire, emergency, and law
enforcement actions. Backpacking is not regulated by these
supplementary rules. Backpacking is defined as camping more than 1 mile
from a road without a vehicle.
4. Implementation
This notice and a map depicting the area included under this human
waste carry-out requirement are available for public review at the Moab
Field Office. The area covered by this requirement is also shown on a
map on the Moab Field Office's Web site at http://www.blm.gov/utah/moab.
BLM will provide public land users with information about the
human waste carry-out requirement using signs at or leading to major
camping areas in the White Wash Sand Dunes area. Enforcement of the
human waste carry-out rules will be taken as necessary in accordance
with 43 CFR 8360.0-7, or violators may be subject to the enhanced
penalties provided for by 18 U.S.C 3571.
5. Future Planning
This notice shall not be construed as a limitation on BLM's future
planning efforts and/or management of camping use on the public lands.
BLM will periodically monitor resource conditions and trends in the
area described above and may modify this notice or implement additional
limitations or closures as necessary.
Dated: August 2, 2006.
Gene R. Terland,
Acting, State Director.
[FR Doc. 06-7929 Filed 9-19-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P