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Sweetwater County approves letter to BLM seeking cooperator role in RMP review under Secretarial Order
Summary
Commissioners approved a letter to the Bureau of Land Management urging participation as a cooperator in any Rock Springs Resource Management Plan amendment or revision resulting from Secretarial Order 3418; the board authorized distribution to federal delegation and pursues meetings with state BLM leadership.
The Board of County Commissioners approved sending a letter to the Bureau of Land Management asking to be included as a cooperator in any process to review or revise the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan (RMP) after Secretarial Order 3418 directed a review of regulatory impediments to development.
Land use director Eric Bingham outlined options BLM could use under NEPA, including a resource management plan amendment (faster, often with an environmental assessment) or a full revision (which would require an environmental impact statement). "There's some things that, that they can look at possibly doing, through the NEPA process. One is what's called a resource management plan amendment," Bingham said. He urged involvement so the county's concerns and protests are addressed.
Commissioners discussed industry and stakeholder input; Commissioner Jones noted several industry comment letters supporting Alternative C. The board voted unanimously to approve the letter and to distribute the original correspondence to the county's federal delegation and to pursue a March meeting with the state BLM director to clarify next steps.
The letter asks BLM to consider plan amendments where appropriate and to engage the county as a cooperator during any process under the Secretarial Order. County staff and counsel will follow up on scheduling and coordination with the state and federal offices.
