# 2025-00753: BLM Tells California and Utah Governors to Pound Sand 2025-00753, BLM Director's Response to the Appeals by the Governors of California and Utah of the BLM State Director's Governor's Consistency Review Determination for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development Resource Management Plan Amendments, Also Known as the Updated Western Solar Plan, is a Federal Register notice from an unnamed agency published 2025-01-15, effective 2024-12-19 (as of 2026-06-08). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00753 - As of: 2026-06-08 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Document number: 2025-00753 - Title: BLM Director's Response to the Appeals by the Governors of California and Utah of the BLM State Director's Governor's Consistency Review Determination for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development Resource Management Plan Amendments, Also Known as the Updated Western Solar Plan - Type: Notice - Agencies: unknown - Citation: unknown - Published: 2025-01-15 - Effective: 2024-12-19 - Comments close: not stated - Significant: no - Touches household money: no - Regulation identifier numbers: none - Last updated: 2026-06-08 ## In one line BLM Tells California and Utah Governors to Pound Sand ## Summary The BLM Director said no to changes suggested by California and Utah’s governors about the updated Western Solar Plan, which guides big solar energy projects on public lands. This means solar development will move forward as planned, affecting several Western states and helping speed up clean energy without extra delays or costs. The decision keeps the plan on track to support utility-scale solar growth across the region. ## Abstract The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is publishing this notice of the reasons for the BLM Principal Deputy Director's determination to reject the recommendations of the Governors of California and Utah regarding the Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development Resource Management Plan Amendments (RMPAs). ## Effects PRIA read - Updated Western Solar Plan remains unchanged: benefit, medium. The BLM Principal Deputy Director rejected the Governors of California and Utah appeals and determined no changes to the Proposed Updated Western Solar Plan are necessary. The appeal responses were issued December 19, 2024, and the Proposed RMPAs apply across the planning area covering Arizona, Cal… - Endangered Species habitat exclusion stays: cost, medium. The BLM kept the exclusion for habitat for species protected under the Endangered Species Act in some areas of southern Nevada and relied on programmatic consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service. The BLM determined eliminating that habitat exclusio… - Utah: 5 million acres identified available: benefit, medium. The proposed updated Western Solar Plan identifies over 5,000,000 acres in Utah as available for future solar projects, while the reasonably foreseeable development scenario (RFDS) estimates slightly less than 40,000 acres of development in Utah by 2045. The BLM declined to limit available acreage… - Geothermal leases take priority over solar ROWs: cost, medium. Where a current geothermal lease already exists, the BLM will not issue a solar right-of-way that would interfere with the geothermal lessee's use of the public lands consistent with the lease's terms and conditions. If solar is proposed where geothermal potential exists but no current ROW exists,… - Grazing permits protected from AUM reductions: benefit, medium. The proposed updated Western Solar Plan would not approve any solar project or result in the reduction of authorized unit months (AUM) associated with public land livestock grazing permits or leases in Utah. Future solar ROWs within grazing allotments would be subject to project-specific review and… - Pending solar applications partly protected during transition: benefit, low. The Proposed RMPAs include provisions designed to reduce disruption during the transition between plans by limiting the effect of the proposed RMPAs on some pending applications, which affects projects already under construction or where applications are under BLM review. ## Related documents - [2026-20724](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20724): Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Sentinel Deployment and Minuteman III Decommissioning and…, 2026-10-09 - [2026-20771](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20771): Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meetings, 2026-10-09 - [2026-20708](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20708): Self-Regulatory Organizations; Investors Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Pursuant to IEX…, 2026-10-09 - [2026-20710](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20710): Self-Regulatory Organizations; Investors Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Pursuant to IEX…, 2026-10-09 - [2026-20779](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20779): Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From Thailand: Preliminary Results and Rescission, in Part, of Antidumping Duty Administrative Revi…, 2026-10-09 - [2026-20763](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20763): National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures: Wintertime Oil and Gas Exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska C…, 2026-10-09 ## Sources - [2025-00753 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/15/2025-00753/blm-directors-response-to-the-appeals-by-the-governors-of-california-and-utah-of-the-blm-state) - [2025-00753 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-01-15/pdf/2025-00753.pdf) ## Related - [Previous: 2025-00752, Arts Advisory Panel Meetings](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00752) - [Next: 2025-00754, High-Protein Yogurt; Request for Information](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00754) - [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00753 (as of 2026-06-08).