Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Moxa Arch Area Infill Gas Development Project, Lincoln, Sweetwater and Uinta Counties, WY, 58738-58739 [05-20198]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 194 / Friday, October 7, 2005 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Preparation of a Supplement to the
Draft Comprehensive Conservation
Plan and Environmental Impact
Statement for the Upper Mississippi
River National Wildlife and Fish
Refuge, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and
Wisconsin
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice advises the public
that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service) intends to prepare a
Supplement to the Draft Comprehensive
Conservation Plan (CCP) and
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) and its implementing
regulations, for the Upper Mississippi
River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
(Refuge) located in Illinois, Iowa,
Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
The Refuge has decided to draft a new
preferred alternative (Alternative E) in
the form of a Supplement to the Draft
CCP and EIS. All current alternatives in
the Draft CCP and EIS (Alternatives A
through D) will remain and will be
considered in preparing the Final CCP
and EIS.
The Service is furnishing this notice
in compliance with the National
Wildlife Refuge System Administration
Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C.
668dd et seq.), and the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, to
advise other agencies and the public of
our intentions.
ADDRESSES: Address comments to
Refuge Manager, Upper Mississippi
River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge,
51 East Fourth Street, Room 101,
Winona, MN 55987. Comments may
also be submitted electronically to
r3planning@fws.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Don
Hultman at (507) 452–4232.
By Federal
law, all lands within the National
Wildlife Refuge System are to be
managed in accordance with an
approved CCP. The CCP guides
management decisions and identifies
refuge goals, long-range objectives, and
strategies for achieving refuge purposes.
The Service issued a Draft CCP and
EIS on May 1, 2005, with a 120-day
public review and comment period. The
comment period ended August 31, 2005.
During this time, 21 public information
meetings and public workshops were
held and attended by 2,900 citizens.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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18:27 Oct 06, 2005
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More than 2,500 written comments were
received.
The public will have an opportunity
to review and comment on the
Supplement for 60 days following its
release. Public open houses will also be
held in several communities during the
comment period. Notice of availability
of the Supplement will be published in
the Federal Register. In addition,
announcements of Supplement
availability and public involvement
opportunities will be made through
special mailings, media announcements,
and on the planning website listed
below.
The current Draft CCP and EIS, along
with other information on the planning
process are available at https://
www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/
uppermiss/.
We estimate that the Supplement to
the Draft CCP and EIS will be available
in November 2005.
Dated: September 8, 2005.
Robyn Thorson,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
[FR Doc. 05–20171 Filed 10–6–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management
Agency
[FEMA–3259–EM]
Florida; Amendment No. 1 to Notice of
an Emergency Declaration
Federal Emergency
Management Agency, Emergency
Preparedness and Response Directorate,
Department of Homeland Security.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice amends the notice
of an emergency declaration for the
State of Florida (FEMA–3259–EM),
dated September 20, 2005, and related
determinations.
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 29, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Magda Ruiz, Recovery Division, Federal
Emergency Management Agency,
Washington, DC 20472, (202) 646–2705.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The notice
of an emergency declaration for the
State of Florida is hereby amended to
include the following area among those
areas determined to have been adversely
affected by the catastrophe declared an
emergency by the President in his
declaration of September 20, 2005:
Monroe County for debris removal
[Category A] under the Public Assistance
PO 00000
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Program (already designated for emergency
protective measures [Category B] under the
Public Assistance Program.)
(The following Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance Numbers (CFDA) are to be used
for reporting and drawing funds: § 97.030,
Community Disaster Loans; 97.031, Cora
Brown Fund Program; 97.032, Crisis
Counseling; 97.033, Disaster Legal Services
Program; 97.034, Disaster Unemployment
Assistance (DUA); 97.046, Fire Management
Assistance; 97.048, Individuals and
Households Housing; 97.049, Individuals and
Households Disaster Housing Operations;
97.050, Individuals and Households
Program—Other Needs; 97.036, Public
Assistance Grants; 97.039, Hazard Mitigation
Grant Program.)
R. David Paulison,
Acting Under Secretary, Emergency
Preparedness and Response, Department of
Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 05–20285 Filed 10–6–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–10–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WY–090–1310–DB]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Moxa Arch Area Infill Gas
Development Project, Lincoln,
Sweetwater and Uinta Counties, WY
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare
an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) and to conduct scoping for the
Moxa Arch Area Infill Gas Development
Project (MAIP), Lincoln, Sweetwater,
and Uinta Counties, Wyoming.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Under Section 102(2)(C) of
the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM), Kemmerer
Field Office, announces its intent to
prepare an EIS on the potential impacts
of a proposed natural gas development
project consisting primarily of
conventional gas well development, in
the Moxa Arch area, Wyoming. The
proposed additional wells would fill in
or ‘‘infill’’ among existing wells drilled
and developed under the Expanded
Moxa Arch Area Natural Gas
Development Project EIS and Record of
Decision (ROD) (1997).
Drilling is proposed to occur over a
10-year period and the life-of-project is
anticipated to be 40 years. The project
area is located west of Green River, east
of Lyman and Opal, and south of the
Fontenelle Reservoir.
DATES: This notice initiates the public
scoping process. The BLM can best use
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07OCN1
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 194 / Friday, October 7, 2005 / Notices
public input if comments and resources
information are submitted within 30
days of the publication of this notice. To
provide the public with an opportunity
to review the proposal and project
information, the BLM will host meetings
in Evanston, Rock Springs, and
Kemmerer, Wyoming, during fall 2005.
The BLM will notify the public of the
meetings’ dates, times, and locations at
least 15 days prior to the event.
Announcement will be made by news
release to the media, individual
mailings, and posting on the BLM Web
site listed below (if available).
ADDRESSES: Please send written
comments or resource information to
the Bureau of Land Management,
Kemmerer Field Office, Michele Easley,
Project Manager, 312 Highway 189
North, Kemmerer, WY 83101. Electronic
mail may be sent to:
kemmerer_wymail@blm.gov. Please
include ‘‘ATTN: Moxa Arch Infill’’ in
the subject line. Additionally, the
scoping notice will be posted on the
Wyoming BLM NEPA Web page (if
available) at https://www.wy.blm.gov/
nepa/nepadocs.htm. If you are
interested in viewing material
referenced or posted on the BLM Web
site, please contact the Kemmerer Field
Office as to its availability.
Your input is important and will be
considered in the environmental
analysis process. BLM will keep
respondents informed of decisions
resulting from this analysis. Please note
that public comments and information
submitted regarding this project,
including respondents’ names, street
addresses, and e-mail addresses, will be
available for public review and
disclosure at the above address during
regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30
p.m.) Monday through Friday, except
holidays. Individual respondents may
request confidentiality. If you wish to
withhold any or all personal
information from public review or from
disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act, you must state this
plainly at the beginning of your written
comment. Such requests will be
honored to the extent allowed by the
law. All submissions from organizations
or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be
made available for public inspection in
their entirety.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bureau of Land Management, Michele
Easley, Project Manager, 312 HWY 189
N, Kemmerer, Wyoming 83101. Ms.
Easley may also be reached by
telephone at (307) 828–4524, or by
VerDate Aug<31>2005
18:27 Oct 06, 2005
Jkt 208001
sending an electronic message to:
Michele_Easley@blm.gov.
The
project area is generally located within
Townships 15 through 23 North, Ranges
111 through 113 West, 6th Principal
Meridian, Lincoln, Sweetwater, and
Uinta Counties, Wyoming. The project
area is bisected by Interstate 80 through
its southern third. It includes
approximately 476,260 acres of mixed
Federal, State, and private lands in
Sweetwater, Lincoln, and Uinta
counties. Approximately 230,400 acres
(48 percent) are managed by the BLM;
31,665 acres are managed by the Bureau
of Reclamation (7 percent); 13,505 are
owned and managed by the State of
Wyoming (3 percent), and
approximately 200,690 acres (42
percent) are privately owned. The
Kemmerer Field Office manages the
Federal mineral estate underlying the
BLM-administered lands within the
project area.
The project proponents are EOG
Resources and other operators
(henceforth referred to as the Operators)
within the Moxa Arch area. Since the
issuance of the Expanded Moxa Arch
EIS, drilling activities have been
conducted that have led to the
development of about 1,400 producing
gas wells as of February 2005. At that
time, the Operators submitted to the
BLM a proposal to infill drill within the
same approximately 476,260 acre
project area analyzed in the Expanded
Moxa Arch EIS. The Operators propose
to develop over the long term
approximately 1,860 additional wells.
The Operators’ proposal to conduct
infill drilling among the existing wells
is based on the two zones, the core and
the flank, described and illustrated in
the Expanded Moxa Arch Natural Gas
Development Project EIS and ROD
(1997).
About 1,400 producing gas wells,
with their attendant service roads and
pipelines, are currently active in the
project area. Because of the success rate
of drilling activities conducted since the
issuance of the 1997 Expanded Moxa
Arch Area EIS, the Operators anticipate
that infill drilling would facilitate the
extraction of additional gas resources
and extend production. The Operators
propose to infill drill and develop
approximately 1,860 additional wells at
the rate of about 186 wells per year over
a period of 10 years, or until the
resource base is fully developed. Of
these additional wells, approximately
1,226 will be drilled in the proven
production or ‘‘core’’ area and 635 in
the remaining ‘‘flank’’ area. The
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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58739
anticipated life of each producing well
is expected to be about 40 years.
The Operators anticipate drilling infill
wells to the Frontier and Dakota
formations at varying densities ranging
from 67 acres to 160 acres per aliquot
section (4 to 10 additional wells/
section) in the core area and 320 acres
per well (2 additional wells/section) in
the flank area. The proposed wells
would be drilled during a 10-year
period after project approval.
Approximately 75 percent of the new
wells drilled south of the northern
boundary of Township 20 North may
produce ‘‘commingled’’ gas from both
the Frontier and the Dakota formations
via a common well bore. The use of
commingled downholes generally limits
overall surface disturbance by reducing
the need to drill separate wells to
distinct formations. The total number of
wells drilled would depend largely on
factors outside of the Operators’ control,
such as production success, engineering
technology, economics, availability of
commodity markets, and lease
stipulations and restrictions.
Infrastructure required to support gas
production would include electric
power lines, roads, gas flow lines and
pipelines, well pads, water injection
and evaporation facilities, and gas
treatment facilities. Gas would be
transported through pipelines to
centralized compression and treatment
facilities. Additional compression may
be required on transportation pipelines
to transport produced gas. Limited well
site compression may be necessary.
Produced water would be trucked to
approved evaporation pits or water
injection wells.
Major issues at this time include
potential impacts to: Air quality, semidesert ecosystems and their dependent
wildlife species (including antelope,
sage grouse, and white-tailed prairie dog
colonies and their associated species);
vegetation, including noxious weeds;
reclamation; and riparian habitat
associated with the Black’s Fork, Hams
Fork, and Green River corridors. The
EIS and its information may be used to
amend the Kemmerer RMP. Alternatives
identified at this time include the
proposed action and the no action
alternatives.
Alan L. Kesterke,
Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 05–20198 Filed 10–6–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–22–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 194 (Friday, October 7, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58738-58739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20198]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WY-090-1310-DB]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the Moxa Arch Area Infill Gas Development Project, Lincoln, Sweetwater
and Uinta Counties, WY
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) and to conduct scoping for the Moxa Arch Area Infill
Gas Development Project (MAIP), Lincoln, Sweetwater, and Uinta
Counties, Wyoming.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Under Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
Kemmerer Field Office, announces its intent to prepare an EIS on the
potential impacts of a proposed natural gas development project
consisting primarily of conventional gas well development, in the Moxa
Arch area, Wyoming. The proposed additional wells would fill in or
``infill'' among existing wells drilled and developed under the
Expanded Moxa Arch Area Natural Gas Development Project EIS and Record
of Decision (ROD) (1997).
Drilling is proposed to occur over a 10-year period and the life-
of-project is anticipated to be 40 years. The project area is located
west of Green River, east of Lyman and Opal, and south of the
Fontenelle Reservoir.
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process. The BLM can
best use
[[Page 58739]]
public input if comments and resources information are submitted within
30 days of the publication of this notice. To provide the public with
an opportunity to review the proposal and project information, the BLM
will host meetings in Evanston, Rock Springs, and Kemmerer, Wyoming,
during fall 2005. The BLM will notify the public of the meetings'
dates, times, and locations at least 15 days prior to the event.
Announcement will be made by news release to the media, individual
mailings, and posting on the BLM Web site listed below (if available).
ADDRESSES: Please send written comments or resource information to the
Bureau of Land Management, Kemmerer Field Office, Michele Easley,
Project Manager, 312 Highway 189 North, Kemmerer, WY 83101. Electronic
mail may be sent to: kemmerer_wymail@blm.gov. Please include ``ATTN:
Moxa Arch Infill'' in the subject line. Additionally, the scoping
notice will be posted on the Wyoming BLM NEPA Web page (if available)
at https://www.wy.blm.gov/nepa/nepadocs.htm. If you are interested in
viewing material referenced or posted on the BLM Web site, please
contact the Kemmerer Field Office as to its availability.
Your input is important and will be considered in the environmental
analysis process. BLM will keep respondents informed of decisions
resulting from this analysis. Please note that public comments and
information submitted regarding this project, including respondents'
names, street addresses, and e-mail addresses, will be available for
public review and disclosure at the above address during regular
business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) Monday through Friday, except
holidays. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you
wish to withhold any or all personal information from public review or
from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state
this plainly at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests
will be honored to the extent allowed by the law. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their
entirety.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bureau of Land Management, Michele
Easley, Project Manager, 312 HWY 189 N, Kemmerer, Wyoming 83101. Ms.
Easley may also be reached by telephone at (307) 828-4524, or by
sending an electronic message to: Michele--Easley@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The project area is generally located within
Townships 15 through 23 North, Ranges 111 through 113 West, 6th
Principal Meridian, Lincoln, Sweetwater, and Uinta Counties, Wyoming.
The project area is bisected by Interstate 80 through its southern
third. It includes approximately 476,260 acres of mixed Federal, State,
and private lands in Sweetwater, Lincoln, and Uinta counties.
Approximately 230,400 acres (48 percent) are managed by the BLM; 31,665
acres are managed by the Bureau of Reclamation (7 percent); 13,505 are
owned and managed by the State of Wyoming (3 percent), and
approximately 200,690 acres (42 percent) are privately owned. The
Kemmerer Field Office manages the Federal mineral estate underlying the
BLM-administered lands within the project area.
The project proponents are EOG Resources and other operators
(henceforth referred to as the Operators) within the Moxa Arch area.
Since the issuance of the Expanded Moxa Arch EIS, drilling activities
have been conducted that have led to the development of about 1,400
producing gas wells as of February 2005. At that time, the Operators
submitted to the BLM a proposal to infill drill within the same
approximately 476,260 acre project area analyzed in the Expanded Moxa
Arch EIS. The Operators propose to develop over the long term
approximately 1,860 additional wells.
The Operators' proposal to conduct infill drilling among the
existing wells is based on the two zones, the core and the flank,
described and illustrated in the Expanded Moxa Arch Natural Gas
Development Project EIS and ROD (1997).
About 1,400 producing gas wells, with their attendant service roads
and pipelines, are currently active in the project area. Because of the
success rate of drilling activities conducted since the issuance of the
1997 Expanded Moxa Arch Area EIS, the Operators anticipate that infill
drilling would facilitate the extraction of additional gas resources
and extend production. The Operators propose to infill drill and
develop approximately 1,860 additional wells at the rate of about 186
wells per year over a period of 10 years, or until the resource base is
fully developed. Of these additional wells, approximately 1,226 will be
drilled in the proven production or ``core'' area and 635 in the
remaining ``flank'' area. The anticipated life of each producing well
is expected to be about 40 years.
The Operators anticipate drilling infill wells to the Frontier and
Dakota formations at varying densities ranging from 67 acres to 160
acres per aliquot section (4 to 10 additional wells/section) in the
core area and 320 acres per well (2 additional wells/section) in the
flank area. The proposed wells would be drilled during a 10-year period
after project approval.
Approximately 75 percent of the new wells drilled south of the
northern boundary of Township 20 North may produce ``commingled'' gas
from both the Frontier and the Dakota formations via a common well
bore. The use of commingled downholes generally limits overall surface
disturbance by reducing the need to drill separate wells to distinct
formations. The total number of wells drilled would depend largely on
factors outside of the Operators' control, such as production success,
engineering technology, economics, availability of commodity markets,
and lease stipulations and restrictions.
Infrastructure required to support gas production would include
electric power lines, roads, gas flow lines and pipelines, well pads,
water injection and evaporation facilities, and gas treatment
facilities. Gas would be transported through pipelines to centralized
compression and treatment facilities. Additional compression may be
required on transportation pipelines to transport produced gas. Limited
well site compression may be necessary. Produced water would be trucked
to approved evaporation pits or water injection wells.
Major issues at this time include potential impacts to: Air
quality, semi-desert ecosystems and their dependent wildlife species
(including antelope, sage grouse, and white-tailed prairie dog colonies
and their associated species); vegetation, including noxious weeds;
reclamation; and riparian habitat associated with the Black's Fork,
Hams Fork, and Green River corridors. The EIS and its information may
be used to amend the Kemmerer RMP. Alternatives identified at this time
include the proposed action and the no action alternatives.
Alan L. Kesterke,
Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 05-20198 Filed 10-6-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P
