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United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Washington, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov
In Reply Refer to:
1295 (560)
Mr. William Dunn, Chairman
Winkelman Natural Resource Conservation District
P.O. Box 68
Mammoth, AZ 85618
Subject: Appeal of Decision Concerning Correction of Information in the Scoping Documents
for the Sun Zia Southwest Transmission Project
Dear Mr. Dunn,
This letter is in response to your January 20, 2012, appeal for correction of information under the
Information Quality Act (IQA). The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) convened a panel of
experts to consider this appeal. The panel consisted of members of the BLM, Department of the
Interior (DOI) Office of the Solicitor, and DOI Office of the Chief Information Officer.
We disagree that there has been a “gross misrepresentation of the purpose of and need for the
proposed SunZia project in BLM scoping documents.” However, after careful review of your
request, the panel did recommend that the New Mexico State Office provide additional context
for certain statements on its website in light of information obtained through the ongoing
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. I have accepted the panel’s
recommendation. The New Mexico State Office will modify active documents and website
information in accordance with this letter. However, your request for a new, 45-day comment
period is not appropriate under the Information Quality Act.
Your request and appeal focused on statements made available at the start of, or during, the
NEPA scoping period. The purpose of the scoping period is to identify issues that should be
addressed and/or analyzed in a Final Environmental Impact Study (EIS). Scoping information is
not decisional. Scoping information represents what is known by the BLM, in good faith, at the
time of that initial stage. All information obtained during that stage, such as public comments, is
considered by the BLM in constructing the Draft EIS. This Draft EIS is then publically released
and a formal public-commenting process ensues—to further assist the BLM in formulating the
Final EIS before any agency action is approved.