December 7, 2016

Dear Reader:

This letter replaces the Dear Reader Letter issued on November 30, 2016 and provides a new date for the submission of written comments. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Miles City Field Office prepared an environmental assessment (EA) to analyze the potential effects from offering 156 nominated lease parcels for competitive oil and gas leasing in a sale tentatively scheduled to occur on May 3, 2017.

The EA with an unsigned Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is available for a 30-day public comment period. Written comments must be postmarked by January 6, 2017, to be considered. Comments may be submitted using one of the following methods:

Email: BLM_MT_Miles_CityFO_Lease_EA@blm.gov
Mail: Miles City Field Office
Attn: Irma Nansel
111 Garryowen Road
Miles City, Montana 59301-7000

Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Upon review and consideration of public comments, the EA will be updated as needed. Based on our analysis, parcels recommended for leasing in our assessment would be included as part of a competitive oil and gas lease sale tentatively scheduled to occur on May 3, 2017.

Prior to issuance of any leases, the Decision Record and FONSI will be finalized and posted for public review on our BLM e-Planning website. Please refer to the BLM e-Planning website at http://tinyurl.com/q3skph4. Current and updated information about our EA, Lease Sale Notice, and corresponding information pertaining to this sale can be found at the link referenced above.

If you have any questions or would like more information about lease sale notices or the issuance of the EA, Decision Record and FONSI, please contact me at 406-233-2837.
                                                                                                  Sincerely,


                                                                                                  /s/ Todd D. Yeager
                                                                                                  Field Manager