[Federal Register: May 28, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 104)]
[Notices]
[Page 30717-30718]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28my04-102]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WY-030-1310-DB]
Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement
for the Desolation Flats Natural Gas Field Development Project
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of a Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS) for the Desolation Flats Natural Gas Field Development
Project, Wyoming.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability
of the Desolation Flats Natural Gas Field Development Project FEIS that
analyzes the environmental consequences of the Desolation Flats
proposed natural gas development and production operation. The 233,542
acre Desolation Flats project area is located within the administrative
jurisdictions of the BLM Rawlins and Rock Springs Field Offices,
approximately 21 miles south of Wamsutter and 14 miles west of Baggs,
Wyoming in Townships 13-16 North, Ranges 93-96 West, Sixth Principal
Meridian, Sweetwater and Carbon Counties.
DATES: The FEIS will be available for review for 30 calendar days from
the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its NOA in
the Federal Register. The BLM can best utilize your comments and
resource information submissions within the 30 day review period
provided above.
ADDRESSES: A copy of the FEIS has been sent to affected Federal, State,
and local government agencies and to interested parties. Copies of the
FEIS will be available for public inspection at the following
locations:
Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, 5353
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009.
Bureau of Land Management, Rawlins Field Office, 1300 N.
Third Street, Rawlins, Wyoming 82301.
Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field Office, 280
Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, Wyoming 82901.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Simons, Project Manager, BLM
Rawlins Field Office, 1300 N. Third Street, Rawlins, Wyoming 82301. Mr.
Simons may also be reached at (307) 367-5309. Ms. Teri Deakins,
Environmental Protection Specialist, BLM Rock Spring Field Office, 280
Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, Wyoming 82901 may also be contacted
and reached at (307) 352-0211.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EOG Resources, Inc., Tom Brown, Inc., Basin
Exploration, Inc., Yates Petroleum Corporation, Questar Exploration and
Production Company, Merit Energy Company, Santa Fe Snyder Corporation
and other companies (referred to the Operators) propose to drill up to
592 wells. Over the next 20 years the Operators propose to explore and
develop the oil and gas resources held through their existing leases
within the Desolation Flats Project Area. Well density would range from
two wells per 640 acres to four wells per 640 acres, depending on
geologic conditions.
Expansion of natural gas exploration and development is proposed in
and adjacent to other oil and gas developments including the Willow
Reservoir, Wedge, Mulligan Draw, Powder Mountain, Desolation Flats,
Ruger, Dripping Rock, Cedar Chest, Triton, and Lookout Wash Units and
the surrounding areas, collectively referred to as the Desolation Flats
Area. Of the approximately 233,500 acres area surface ownership of the
project area is 96 percent Federal lands administered by the BLM, 3
percent private, and less than 1 percent State of Wyoming. Currently,
there are approximately 127 producing oil and gas wells drilled within
the Desolation Flats project area, and up to 592 additional wells could
be drilled over the next 20 years.
The BLM published its Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement for the Desolation Flats Natural Gas Development
Project in the Federal Register, on May 18, 2000. The Notice of
Availability of a Desolation Flats Draft EIS was published by the EPA
in the Federal Register May 2, 2003. Based upon issues and concerns
identified during scoping and throughout the NEPA process, the
Desolation Flats FEIS analyses focus on the impacts to air quality,
biological and
[[Page 30718]]
physical resources, transportation, socio-economics, and cumulative
effects. The FEIS, in compliance with section 7(c) of the Endangered
Species Act, as amended, includes the Biological Assessment for the
purpose of identifying endangered or threatened species which may be
affected by the Proposed Action.
The Desolation Flats FEIS analyzed 3 alternatives in detail:
1. The Proposed Action Alternative, as described below;
2. Alternative A, an alternative that proposes to expand oil and
gas development into less productive areas within the project area;
3. Alternative B, the No Action Alternative, which means to project
as proposed would not be authorized.
Agency Preferred Alternative: BLM's preferred alternative is the
Proposed Action Alternative.
The Desolation Flats FEIS analyzes the impacts of the Proposed
Action, economic field development of 385 natural gas wells, along with
access roads, pipelines, and other ancillary facilities (gas processing
plant, compressor stations, water disposal sites, etc.).
Alternative A, which is similar to the Proposed Action, would
expand well development into the economically marginal areas of the
leases that may become economically viable in the future, increasing
the number of wells to approximately 592 wells within the project area.
Alternative B is the no-action alternative. Applications for Permit
to Drill (APDs) and Right-of-Way actions would be granted by the BLM on
a case-by-case basis through individual project and site-specific
environmental analysis.
How To Submit Comments
The BLM welcomes your comments on the Desolation Flats FEIS.
Comments may be submitted as follows:
Written comments may be mailed directly or delivered to the BLM at:
Desolation Flats FEIS, Project Manager, Bureau of Land Management
Rawlins Field Office, 1300 N. Third Street, P.O. Box 2407, Rawlins, WY
82301.
BLM will only accept comments on the Desolation Flats FEIS if they
are submitted in one of the methods as described above. To be given
consideration by BLM all DEIS comment submittals must include the
commenter's name and street address.
Our practice is to make comments, including the names and street
addresses of each respondent, available for public review at the BLM
office listed above during business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.),
Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays. Your comments may
be published as part of the EIS process. Individual respondents may
request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or street
address or both from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom
of Information Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of
your written comments. Such requests will be honored to the extent
allowed by law. We will not consider anonymous comments. All
submissions from organizations or businesses will be made available for
public inspection in their entirety.
Dated: March 18, 2004.
Alan L. Kesterke,
Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 04-11498 Filed 5-27-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P