ROAR responded to BLM's request for comments on the Notice of Realty Action for Christo's Over the River proposal. The letter was submitted through our legal representative. By way of summarizing our points, the opening and closing paragraphs are printed immediately below:

Dear Mr. Vieira:

 

This firm represents Rags Over the Arkansas River, Inc. (“ROAR”), and the purpose of this letter is to identify some concerns of ROAR’s  board of directors and its members about the Over the River Project (“OTR”) plan and the current project review process.  First, the OTR project plan is still incomplete.  Second, ROAR believes that the Council on Environmental Quality’s (“CEQ”) guidance requires additional scoping once a complete plan is submitted.  Third, ROAR would like to suggest additional scoping issues to be considered in the OTR environmental impact statement (“EIS”).  Fourth, the OTR proposal is not consistent with the 1996 Royal Gorge Resource Area Resource Management Plan (“RMP”), and therefore an amendment to the RMP would be necessary before BLM can approve the OTR.  Finally, none of the OTR project plan, the RMP, the original permit application, or BLM’s most recent National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) schedule on its website identify the type of land use authorization that OTR seeks; this information is critical to determine the proper review and project standards and allow informed public participation in the NEPA process for the OTR proposal....

Conclusions and Recommendations.

 

Based on the foregoing, BLM’s determination that the OTR project is in conformance with the RMP is in error.  Further, BLM’s determination that at least portions of the proposed lands (e.g., the Arkansas Canyonlands ACEC) are open for the OTR Project is also in error.

 

BLM should withdraw its Notice of Realty Action, require Christo to submit the identified missing information, re-open scoping and forbid any OTR construction or activity in the Arkansas Canyonlands ACEC.  Further, once the OTR application is complete, BLM must amend the RMP before it can approve the OTR project.

 

Thank you for considering ROAR’s concerns as you go forward with NEPA review. 

You may read the document in its entirety by downloading the Word Doc.
Learn more about the approval process, as well as the meaning and significance of the acronyms referenced by checking our website.

Stay tuned...

 

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