BLM Issues Permit for 2014 Burning Man Event

Winnemucca, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Winnemucca District, Black Rock Field Office, has issued a Special Recreation Permit (SRP) authorizing Black Rock City (BRC) LLC to conduct the annual Burning Man event for 2014. In 2012, the Burning Man 2012-2016 SRP Environmental Assessment (EA) was completed for the event; its associated Decision Record (DR) and Finding of No Significant Impact were signed and dated on June 12, 2012. Prior to issuance of the SRP for this year, an analysis of the event was completed through a Determination of NEPA Adequacy (DNA), which considered potential impacts to public land resources. This year, the Burning Man event will take place from August 24 through September 1, 2014.

As part of the SRP, BRC is required to keep the maximum population of the event from exceeding 68,000 participants. BRC will also be required to comply with 13 standard permit stipulations that are standard to all SRPs, as well as 55 special permit stipulations specifically tailored for the Burning Man event. These stipulations pertain to matters involving event set-up and signage, public access, traffic control, resource management, fire management, dust abatement, event security and public safety, sanitation, fee calculation and payment, as well as event take-down and clean-up.

BLM Winnemucca District Manager Gene Seidlitz stated, “Our chief priorities in administering this permit is the protection and conservation of natural, historical and cultural resources, as well as ensuring the safety of event participants and all staffs. I have the utmost confidence that the permit and its associated environmental analysis address these priorities.”

Burning Man is the largest, most complex SRP issued by the BLM and has occurred on public lands situated on the Black Rock Desert Playa since 1990. Tens of thousands of people travel to this remote desert location to participate. The operations associated with the event occupy approximately 4,400 acres of public land for a 7-week period; this period is initiated in mid-August through temporarily fencing the site perimeter and concludes in late September with final site clean-up activities. Major activities are confined to several weeks in late August through early September which encompass final set-up activities, execution of the actual event, and the initial phases of clean-up. During the actual event, Black Rock City becomes one of the largest cities in Nevada.

As in past years, temporary public land-use closure/temporary restrictions to protect the environment ensure public safety, address concerns relayed by adjacent communities, and to facilitate administration of the event, will be implemented; this temporary closure will be put into effect during the event and in the period immediately before and after it.

Copies of the EA, DNA, DR, SRP stipulations, and other related documents are available for viewing at http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/wfo/blm_information/nepa0.html and upon request from the BLM Winnemucca District Office, 5100 East Winnemucca Boulevard, Winnemucca, NV 89445-2921, during regular business hours (7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except for federal holidays.