The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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Last updated: 04/04/03
For release October 25, 1996
- Contact:
- Tom Gorey, 202.452.5031
As part of its ongoing efforts to improve customer service, the Bureau of Land Management has published a proposed rule that would provide consistency to procedures that govern protests and appeals of BLM land-management decisions. The proposed rule would also clarify when and how BLM decisions go into effect and whether an appeal will "stay" or delay the implementation of a BLM decision.
"The intent of the proposed rule is to bring consistency to the existing administrative review process for most BLM decisions," said BLM Deputy Director Mat Millenbach. "This will save time for some of those filing appeals and for the BLM."
Under current BLM regulations, anyone who wants to protest a proposed decision, appeal a decision, participate in a contested action, or seek a hearing may encounter difficulty in following proper administrative procedures, as described in various parts of Chapter II, Title 43 of the Code of Federal Regulations (43 CFR). "This proposed rule would make the procedures for objecting to BLM proposals more understandable to the public," said Millenbach. "It would do this by putting the protest-related language in a single location within 43 CFR."
While the proposed rule would make administrative procedures as consistent as possible, some variation in the handling of protests, contested actions, hearings, and appeals will still be necessary due to the many statutes under which the BLM makes decisions on a wide variety of issues.
The proposed rule identifies the circumstances under which a BLM decision would be automatically stayed if someone should appeal that decision within a prescribed 30-day period. Under the proposed rule, this automatic-stay procedure would apply to all BLM decisions that are not covered by exceptions. The proposed rule identifies the 18 exceptions, none of which are new, that would not be affected by this automatic-stay procedure. Decisions covered by specific regulatory exceptions would take effect immediately and would stay in effect during any appeal.
The proposed rule would also make clear that the BLM can place its decisions into immediate effect in cases where the agency believes it must take certain actions to prevent significant harm to health, safety, or the environment.
The BLM, which is seeking public comments on the proposed rule, published it in the Federal Register on October 17 (pages 54120 through 54141). The proposed rule can also be viewed online through the BLM national homepage at http://www.blm.gov/nhp/news/regul/1600p.html. Comments, which must be submitted in writing no later than November 18, 1996, can be sent by regular mail to: Bureau of Land Management, Administrative Record, Room 401LS, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240. Those who want to send comments electronically through the Internet should send them to: WOComment@wo.blm.gov. Those sending by e-mail should include "attn: AC99" and their names and return addresses in their messages. Those who would like to hand deliver their comments should take them to the Bureau of Land Management, Administrative Record, Room 401, 1620 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
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