Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Previously Issued Oil and Gas Leases in the White River National Forest, CO, 72733-72734 [2015-29717]
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tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 224 / Friday, November 20, 2015 / Notices
manage surface within the planning
area. The closest non-BLM surface
management unit to the Roan Plateau
planning area is the White River
National Forest to the northwest.
Major issues considered in the Draft
RMP Amendment/Supplemental EIS
include fluid minerals management,
social and economic impacts, riparian
habitat management; and air, water, and
ecological resources. Due to the limited
size of the Planning Area and the
supplemental nature of this analysis,
regional mitigation and landscape level
analysis are not specifically considered
in this document; however, the BLM
Colorado River Valley and White River
field offices have considered them in
their broader planning areas. The RMP
also addresses decisions regarding Wild
and Scenic Rivers, Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern (ACECs), and
lands with wilderness characteristics.
Greater Sage-Grouse decisions proposed
in the Amendment are consistent with
the Northwest Colorado Greater SageGrouse Amendment Record of Decision.
The Draft RMP Amendment/
Supplemental EIS focuses on evaluating
new information and new issues raised
since the BLM developed the 2006 Roan
Plateau Final EIS. This includes an
evaluation of four alternatives including
the No Action Alternative (Alternative
I). Alternative II is based on the
Proposed Plan from the 2006 Roan RMP
Amendment/Final EIS and includes
updated decisions and analysis based
on new information, including refined
mapping, and issues raised during
scoping. Alternative III is based on the
‘‘Community Alternative’’ raised during
the original EIS process by Rock the
Earth, and augmented with input from
Supplemental EIS scoping comments.
This alternative allows oil and gas
leasing throughout the planning area,
but limits surface disturbance on BLM
lands above the rim (i.e, on top of the
plateau). Wilderness characteristics
would be managed for protection in this
alternative, and all eligible rivers in the
planning area would be determined to
be suitable for designation as Wild and
Scenic Rivers. Target shooting would be
prohibited within 1⁄4 mile (610 acres) of
a popular road that runs through an area
designated as open to cross country offhighway vehicle travel in Alternative III.
Alternative IV is the BLM’s Preferred
Alternative and is based on the terms of
the Settlement Agreement. This
alternative would allow for leasing at
the base of the plateau (11,170 acres)
and within several retained lease areas
on the top of the plateau (1,830 acres),
subject to development restrictions
described in the Settlement Agreement.
Specific management prescriptions
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:39 Nov 19, 2015
Jkt 238001
intended to protect lands with
wilderness characteristics and Wild and
Scenic Rivers are not proposed in this
alternative as they were not addressed
as part of the Settlement Agreement;
however, they are analyzed within the
range of alternatives for consideration.
Other resource management decisions
in this alternative would be similar to
Alternative II.
Pursuant to 43 CFR 1610.7–2(b), this
notice announces a concurrent public
comment period on the proposed
ACECs, as the previous ACEC decisions
are also being revisited consistent with
the Court’s remand. The BLM analyzed
potential ACECs meeting the relevance
and importance criteria within the range
of alternatives. All three action
alternatives analyze the designation of
four ACECs to protect key fisheries,
botanical/ecological resources, and
visual resources. The ACECs overlay
areas with management prescriptions
that include No Surface Occupancy
stipulations and other restrictions
specific to these resources. The
proposed ACECs include:
• East Fork Parachute Creek: 6,990
acres (Alternatives II, III), 7,110 acres
(Alternative IV)
• Trapper/Northwater Creek: 6,290
acres (Alternatives II, III, and IV)
• Magpie Gulch: 4,710 acres
(Alternatives II, III, and IV); and
• Anvil Points: 6,900 acres
(Alternatives II, III, and IV).
Please note that public comments and
all information submitted with such
comments will be available for public
review and disclosure at the above
address during regular business hours (8
a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday through Friday,
except holidays.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10,
43 CFR 1610.2.
Ruth Welch,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2015–29716 Filed 11–19–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–JB–P
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72733
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCON04000 L16100000.DP000]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
Previously Issued Oil and Gas Leases
in the White River National Forest, CO
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) Colorado
River Valley Field Office (CRVFO), Silt,
Colorado, prepared a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
reconsidering previous decisions to
issue 65 leases on lands within the
White River National Forest (WRNF).
DATES: To ensure comments will be
considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Previously
Issued Oil and Gas Leases in the WRNF
Draft EIS within 49 days following the
date the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of
Availability in the Federal Register. The
BLM will host four public meetings on
the Draft EIS from 4 to 7 p.m., at the
following locations:
• December 14, Glenwood Springs
Community Center, 100 Wulfson Rd.,
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601.
• December 15, DeBeque Elementary
School, 730 Minter Ave., De Beque, CO
81630.
• December 16, Roaring Fork High
School, 2270 Hwy. 133, Carbondale, CO
81623.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
related to the Previously Issued Oil and
Gas Leases in the WRNF Draft EIS by
any of the following methods:
• Web site: https://www.blm.gov/co/st/
en/fo/crvfo.html.
• Email: WRNFleases@blm.gov.
• Fax: 970–876–9090.
• Mail: BLM Colorado River Valley
Field Office, Attn: WRNF Leases, 2300
River Frontage Road, Silt, CO 81652.
Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined at the CRVFO at the
above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg
Larson, Project Manager, at the address
above, by telephone at 970–876–9000,
or by email at glarson@blm.gov. You
may contact Mr. Larson to request to
have your name added to our mailing
list. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\20NON1.SGM
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tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
72734
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 224 / Friday, November 20, 2015 / Notices
to contact the above individual during
normal business hours. The FIRS is
available 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, to leave a message or question
with the above individual. You will
receive a reply during normal business
hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM
developed this Draft EIS to address a
NEPA defect identified by the IBLA
related to the issuance of the oil and gas
leases on WRNF lands from 1995 to
2004. In 2007, the Interior Board of
Land Appeals (IBLA) ruled that before
including WRNF parcels in an oil and
gas lease sale, the BLM must either
formally adopt NEPA analysis
completed by the U.S. Forest Service
(USFS) or conduct a NEPA analysis of
its own (Board of Commissioners of
Pitkin County, 173 IBLA 173 (2007)).
The BLM has identified 65 existing
leases with effective dates ranging from
1995 to 2012 that were leased by the
BLM without adopting USFS NEPA or
without the BLM preparing its own
NEPA analysis. The most recent USFS
decision to make these lands available
for oil and gas leasing was analyzed in
the 1993 WRNF Oil and Gas Leasing
EIS, a decision that was reaffirmed in
the 2002 WRNF Plan. Before offering
and subsequently issuing the leases at
issue in an oil and gas lease sale, the
BLM obtained concurrence from the
USFS; however, as noted above, it did
not adopt the USFS’s NEPA analysis or
prepare its own. As a result, the BLM
has determined additional actions need
to be taken to correct this defect.
Because the BLM has determined that
the WRNF NEPA analysis conducted is
no longer adequate, the BLM is
conducting its own NEPA analysis
through this EIS regarding previous
decisions to lease WRNF lands for oil
and gas development.
The BLM will determine whether
these 65 leases should be cancelled,
reaffirmed, or modified with additional
or different terms. Under a separate
effort, the WRNF updated its 1993 Oil
and Gas Leasing EIS to address future
oil and gas leasing availability. The
USFS released the Final EIS and Draft
Record of Decision in December 2014.
The BLM incorporated as much of the
new USFS NEPA analysis of future oil
and gas leasing on WRNF lands as
possible into its analysis of existing
leases.
Five alternatives are considered in the
BLM’s Draft EIS. The No Action
alternative reaffirms the lease
stipulations in the 65 leases as they
were issued; the BLM would take no
action by continuing to administer the
leases with their current stipulations.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:39 Nov 19, 2015
Jkt 238001
Alternative 2 would address
inconsistencies by adding stipulations
identified in the 1993 WRNF EIS that
were not attached to eight leases.
Alternative 3 would modify the 65
leases to match the stipulations
identified for future leasing in the 2014
USFS Final EIS Proposed Action.
Alternative 4 is the BLM’s Proposed
Action. It would modify or cancel the 65
leases to match the stipulations and
availability decision for future leasing
identified in the 2014 USFS Draft
Record of Decision. In areas the USFS
identified as open to future leasing,
lease stipulations would be modified;
all or part of 25 existing leases in areas
identified as closed to future leasing
would be cancelled. Alternative 5
would cancel all 65 leases.
The BLM developed this range of
alternatives to respond to public
comments received during public
scoping and input from cooperating
agencies. The BLM held a public
scoping period from April 1 to May 16,
2014, and received more than 32,000
public comments. The BLM held four
public meetings during the scoping
period. Since the end of the public
scoping period, the BLM worked with
cooperating agencies (including the
EPA; USFS; the Colorado Department of
Natural Resources including Colorado
Parks and Wildlife; Garfield, Mesa,
Pitkin, and Rio Blanco counties; the
Town of Carbondale; the City of
Glenwood Springs; the Town of New
Castle; the Town of Parachute; the City
of Rifle; and the town of Silt) to prepare
the Draft EIS.
Please note that public comments and
information submitted including names,
street addresses and email addresses of
persons who submit comments will be
available for public review and
disclosure at the above address during
regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.),
Monday through Friday, except
holidays.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.
Ruth Welch,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2015–29717 Filed 11–19–15; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[16X LLAK980600.L1820000.XX0000.LXSIA
RAC0000]
Notice of Public Meeting, BLM Alaska
Resource Advisory Council
Bureau of Land Management,
Alaska State Office, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 as amended (FLPMA) and
the Federal Advisory Committee Act of
1972 (FACA), the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) Alaska Resource
Advisory Council (RAC) will meet as
indicated below.
DATES: The meeting will be held
December 1 and 2, 2015, at the Office
of Aviation Services located at 4405
Lear Court, Anchorage, Alaska 99502–
1032. The meeting starts at 8:30 a.m.
each day in training Room #109. The
council will accept comments from the
public on Tuesday, December 1, from
3:00–4:00 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thom Jennings, RAC Coordinator, BLM
Alaska State Office, 222 W. 7th Avenue
#13, Anchorage, AK 99513; tjenning@
blm.gov; 907–271–3335. Persons who
use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8339 to contact the above
individual during normal business
hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, to leave a
message or question with the above
individual. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 15member council advises the Secretary of
the Interior, through the BLM, on a
variety of planning and management
issues associated with public land
management in Alaska. At this meeting,
topics planned for discussion will
include: Regional Mitigation Strategy for
the Northeast National Petroleum
Reserve in Alaska (NPR–A), placer
mining reclamation at Jack Wade Creek,
update on land transfer program, update
on permitted oil production in the NPR–
A, and other topics of interest to the
RAC. A full agenda will be posted to the
BLM Alaska RAC Web site
(www.blm.gov/ak/rac) by November 20,
2015.
All meetings are open to the public.
During the public comment period,
depending upon the number of people
wishing to comment, time for individual
oral comments may be limited. Please
SUMMARY:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 224 (Friday, November 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72733-72734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29717]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCON04000 L16100000.DP000]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for Previously Issued Oil and Gas Leases in the White River
National Forest, CO
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado
River Valley Field Office (CRVFO), Silt, Colorado, prepared a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) reconsidering previous decisions
to issue 65 leases on lands within the White River National Forest
(WRNF).
DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Previously Issued Oil and Gas Leases in the
WRNF Draft EIS within 49 days following the date the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of Availability in the
Federal Register. The BLM will host four public meetings on the Draft
EIS from 4 to 7 p.m., at the following locations:
December 14, Glenwood Springs Community Center, 100
Wulfson Rd., Glenwood Springs, CO 81601.
December 15, DeBeque Elementary School, 730 Minter Ave.,
De Beque, CO 81630.
December 16, Roaring Fork High School, 2270 Hwy. 133,
Carbondale, CO 81623.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Previously Issued Oil
and Gas Leases in the WRNF Draft EIS by any of the following methods:
Web site: https://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/crvfo.html.
Email: WRNFleases@blm.gov.
Fax: 970-876-9090.
Mail: BLM Colorado River Valley Field Office, Attn: WRNF
Leases, 2300 River Frontage Road, Silt, CO 81652.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the CRVFO at
the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Larson, Project Manager, at the
address above, by telephone at 970-876-9000, or by email at
glarson@blm.gov. You may contact Mr. Larson to request to have your
name added to our mailing list. Persons who use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339
[[Page 72734]]
to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS
is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to leave a message or
question with the above individual. You will receive a reply during
normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM developed this Draft EIS to address
a NEPA defect identified by the IBLA related to the issuance of the oil
and gas leases on WRNF lands from 1995 to 2004. In 2007, the Interior
Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) ruled that before including WRNF parcels
in an oil and gas lease sale, the BLM must either formally adopt NEPA
analysis completed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) or conduct a NEPA
analysis of its own (Board of Commissioners of Pitkin County, 173 IBLA
173 (2007)). The BLM has identified 65 existing leases with effective
dates ranging from 1995 to 2012 that were leased by the BLM without
adopting USFS NEPA or without the BLM preparing its own NEPA analysis.
The most recent USFS decision to make these lands available for oil and
gas leasing was analyzed in the 1993 WRNF Oil and Gas Leasing EIS, a
decision that was reaffirmed in the 2002 WRNF Plan. Before offering and
subsequently issuing the leases at issue in an oil and gas lease sale,
the BLM obtained concurrence from the USFS; however, as noted above, it
did not adopt the USFS's NEPA analysis or prepare its own. As a result,
the BLM has determined additional actions need to be taken to correct
this defect. Because the BLM has determined that the WRNF NEPA analysis
conducted is no longer adequate, the BLM is conducting its own NEPA
analysis through this EIS regarding previous decisions to lease WRNF
lands for oil and gas development.
The BLM will determine whether these 65 leases should be cancelled,
reaffirmed, or modified with additional or different terms. Under a
separate effort, the WRNF updated its 1993 Oil and Gas Leasing EIS to
address future oil and gas leasing availability. The USFS released the
Final EIS and Draft Record of Decision in December 2014. The BLM
incorporated as much of the new USFS NEPA analysis of future oil and
gas leasing on WRNF lands as possible into its analysis of existing
leases.
Five alternatives are considered in the BLM's Draft EIS. The No
Action alternative reaffirms the lease stipulations in the 65 leases as
they were issued; the BLM would take no action by continuing to
administer the leases with their current stipulations. Alternative 2
would address inconsistencies by adding stipulations identified in the
1993 WRNF EIS that were not attached to eight leases. Alternative 3
would modify the 65 leases to match the stipulations identified for
future leasing in the 2014 USFS Final EIS Proposed Action. Alternative
4 is the BLM's Proposed Action. It would modify or cancel the 65 leases
to match the stipulations and availability decision for future leasing
identified in the 2014 USFS Draft Record of Decision. In areas the USFS
identified as open to future leasing, lease stipulations would be
modified; all or part of 25 existing leases in areas identified as
closed to future leasing would be cancelled. Alternative 5 would cancel
all 65 leases.
The BLM developed this range of alternatives to respond to public
comments received during public scoping and input from cooperating
agencies. The BLM held a public scoping period from April 1 to May 16,
2014, and received more than 32,000 public comments. The BLM held four
public meetings during the scoping period. Since the end of the public
scoping period, the BLM worked with cooperating agencies (including the
EPA; USFS; the Colorado Department of Natural Resources including
Colorado Parks and Wildlife; Garfield, Mesa, Pitkin, and Rio Blanco
counties; the Town of Carbondale; the City of Glenwood Springs; the
Town of New Castle; the Town of Parachute; the City of Rifle; and the
town of Silt) to prepare the Draft EIS.
Please note that public comments and information submitted
including names, street addresses and email addresses of persons who
submit comments will be available for public review and disclosure at
the above address during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.),
Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.
Ruth Welch,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-29717 Filed 11-19-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JB-P
