Notice of Availability of Draft Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resource Management Plan Amendments To Address Land Use Allocations in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, 72751-72753 [E7-24811]
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the life of the Buckskin Mine by as
many as 6 years.
Lands in the application contain
private surface estate overlying the
Federal coal.
The Buckskin Mine is operating under
approved mining permits from the Land
Quality and Air Quality Divisions of the
Wyoming Department of Environmental
Quality.
The Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM)
will be a cooperating agency in the
preparation of the EIS. If the tract is
leased to the applicant, the new lease
must be incorporated into the existing
mining and reclamation plan for the
mine. Before the Federal coal in the
tract can be mined the Secretary of the
Interior must approve the revised
Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) mining plan
for Buckskin Mine. The OSM is the
Federal agency that is responsible for
recommending approval, approval with
conditions, or disapproval of the revised
MLA mining plan to the Office of the
Secretary of the Interior. Other
cooperating agencies may be identified
during the scoping process.
The BLM will provide interested
parties the opportunity to submit
comments or relevant information or
both. This information will help the
BLM identify issues to be considered in
preparing the Hay Creek II Coal EIS.
Issues that have been identified in
analyzing the impacts of previous
Federal coal leasing actions in the
Wyoming Powder River Basin (PRB)
include the need for resolution of
conflicts between existing and proposed
oil and gas development and coal
mining on the tract proposed for coal
leasing; potential impacts to big game
herds and hunting; potential impacts to
Greater Sage-grouse; potential impacts
to listed threatened and endangered
species; potential health impacts related
to blasting operations conducted by the
mine to remove overburden and coal;
the need to consider the cumulative
impacts of coal leasing decisions
combined with other existing and
proposed development in the Wyoming
PRB; and potential site-specific and
cumulative impacts on air and water
quality.
Your response is important and will
be considered in the EIS process. If you
do respond, we will keep you informed
of the availability of environmental
documents that address impacts that
might occur from this proposal. Before
including your address, phone number,
e-mail address, or other personal
identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
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18:37 Dec 20, 2007
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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.
Dated: November 5, 2007.
Alan Rabinoff,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. E7–24428 Filed 12–20–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WO–320–1310–DS–OSHL]
Notice of Availability of Draft Oil Shale
and Tar Sands Resource Management
Plan Amendments To Address Land
Use Allocations in Colorado, Utah, and
Wyoming and Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and
the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) has prepared the
Draft Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resource
Management Plan Amendments To
Address Land Use Allocations in
Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (PEIS). By this notice, the
BLM is announcing the opening of a 90day public review and comment period
for the PEIS. The planning area lies
within the Green River Formation in
Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
DATES: Please submit written comments
on the PEIS within 90 days following
the date the Environmental Protection
Agency publishes their Notice of
Availability in the Federal Register. The
BLM will announce future meetings
and/or hearings and any other public
participation activities at least 15 days
in advance on the internet and through
public notices, media news releases,
and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the PEIS will be
sent to affected Federal, state, and local
government agencies and other
interested parties. Copies of the PEIS are
available for public inspection via the
internet at https://ostseis.anl.gov,
electronic media (on CD–ROM), and
paper. Paper and electronic (CD–ROM)
copies of the PEIS are available at BLM
PO 00000
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72751
locations listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY
section of this notice.
You may submit comments by any of
the following methods:
• Web Site: https://ostseis.anl.gov.
• Mail: BLM Oil Shale and Tar Sands
Resources Draft Programmatic EIS
Comments, 9700 South Cass Avenue,
Argonne, IL 60439.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sherri Thompson, BLM Project
Manager, at (303) 239–3758,
(sherri_thompson@blm.gov), Bureau of
Land Management, 2850 Youngfield
Street, Lakewood, Colorado 80215 or
Mitchell Leverette, BLM Acting Division
Chief, Solid Minerals, at (202) 452–
0351, (mitchell_leverette@blm.gov),
Bureau of Land Management, 1620 L
Street NW., Washington, DC 20036.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Draft
Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources PEIS
is being prepared to meet the
requirements established by Congress in
Section 369 of the Energy Policy Act of
2005 and to meet the requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969. It will evaluate the amendment
of 12 resource management plans to
designate public lands in Colorado,
Utah, and Wyoming managed by the
U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI),
BLM as available for application for
commercial leasing for oil shale and tar
sands development. The PEIS evaluates
the amendment of nine land use plans
to designate lands as available for
commercial oil shale leasing and
amendment of six land use plans to
designate lands as available for
commercial tar sands leasing. Three of
the plans that could be amended
contain both oil shale and tar sands
resources, so a total of 12 plans will be
amended.
The Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare
a Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (PEIS) and Plan Amendments
for Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources
Leasing on Lands Administered by the
BLM in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming
was published in the Federal Register
on December 13, 2005 (70 Fed. Reg.
73791–73792). As originally stated in
the NOI, this PEIS is to evaluate the
potential impacts associated with
commercial leasing of oil shale and tar
sands resources that are located on
public lands in the three states. The
scope of the analysis was to include an
assessment of the direct, indirect, and
cumulative environmental, cultural, and
socio-economic impacts associated with
commercial leasing of these resources
under a range of alternatives. Since the
NOI was published, however, initial
environmental analysis and input from
cooperating agencies has led BLM to
INFORMATION
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conclude that critical information on
which to assess potential impacts,
define required mitigation and approve
commercial leasing, is not available at
this time. Therefore, BLM has limited
the purpose and need for the PEIS. The
purpose and need for the PEIS now is
to:
(1) Identify the most geologically
prospective areas where oil shale and
tar sands resources are present on
public lands and that could be open to
application for commercial leasing,
exploration, and development; and
(2) Evaluate the environmental effects
associated with amendments of 12 land
use plans to allow for application for
commercial oil shale or tar sands
leasing.
In the NOI, the BLM identified planning
criteria, initiated the public scoping
process, and invited the public to
provide comments on the scope and
objectives of the PEIS and to identify
issues to be addressed in the planning
process. During the scoping process,
public meetings were held in Salt Lake
City, Vernal, and Price, Utah; Rock
Springs and Cheyenne, Wyoming; and
Rifle and Denver, Colorado. About 5,000
people participated in the scoping
process by attending public meetings or
submitting comments. The BLM
published a scoping report in March
2006, summarizing and categorizing
issues, concerns, and comments
received. These comments were
considered in developing the
alternatives in this PEIS.
The study area for the oil shale
resources includes the most geologically
prospective resources of the Green River
Formation located in the Green River,
Piceance, Uinta, and Washakie Basins
and encompasses approximately
3,540,000 acres. The BLM has identified
the most geologically prospective areas
for oil shale development on the basis
of the grade and thickness of the oil
shale deposits. For the purposes of this
PEIS, the most geologically prospective
oil shale resources in Colorado and Utah
are those deposits that yield 25 gallons
or more of shale oil per ton of rock (gal/
ton) and are 25 feet thick or greater. In
Wyoming, where the oil shale resource
is not as high quality as in Colorado and
Utah, the most geologically prospective
oil shale resources are those deposits
that yield 15 gallon/ton or more of shale
oil and are 15 feet thick or greater.
For the tar sands resources, the study
area includes those locations designated
as Special Tar Sand Areas (STSAs) by
Congress in the Combined Hydrocarbon
Leasing Act of 1981 (P.L. 97–78). Eleven
STSAs were identified in Utah: Argyle
Canyon-Willow Creek (hereafter referred
to as Argyle Canyon), Asphalt Ridge-
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Whiterocks and Vicinity (hereafter
referred to as Asphalt Ridge), Circle
Cliffs East and West Flanks (hereafter
referred to as Circle Cliffs), Hill Creek,
Pariette, P.R. Spring, Raven Ridge-Rim
Rock and Vicinity (hereafter referred to
as Raven Ridge), San Rafael Swell,
Sunnyside and Vicinity (hereafter
referred to as Sunnyside), Tar Sand
Triangle, and White Canyon. The total
acreage of the study area is
approximately 1,026,000 acres.
The oil shale and tar sands resources
within the defined study areas are
located within the jurisdiction of 12
separate BLM administrative units.
These units include the Glenwood
Springs, Grand Junction, and White
River Field Offices in Colorado; the
Moab, Monticello, Price, Richfield, and
Vernal Field Offices and the Grand
Staircase-Escalante National Monument
in Utah; and the Kemmerer, Rawlins,
and Rock Springs Field Offices in
Wyoming. With the exception of the
Grand Staircase-Escalante National
Monument, the final Record of Decision
for this PEIS would amend existing land
use plans in affected BLM
administrative units to designate the
lands available for application for
commercial leasing, exploration, and
development for oil shale and tar sands
resources.
Within the above-listed
administrative units, and within the
defined boundaries of the most
geologically prospective resources of the
Green River formation and the
designated STSAs, public lands
managed by the BLM where the Federal
Government owns both the surface
estate and subsurface mineral rights are
included in the scope of the PEIS
analysis. Lands where the surface estate
is owned by Tribes, States, or private
parties but where the federal
government owns the subsurface
mineral estate (i.e., split estate lands)
are also included in the scope of this
analysis. Tribal lands on which both the
surface estate and subsurface mineral
estate are owned by the Tribe are not
included in the scope of analysis.
This PEIS examines alternatives for
designation of lands as available for
application for commercial leasing of oil
shale and tar sands resources. For both
oil shale and tar sands resources, there
are three alternatives: Alternatives A
(the no action alternative), B, and C. The
alternatives vary in the amount of area
available for application for leasing. The
BLM has identified Alternative B for oil
shale leasing and Alternative B for tar
sands leasing as the preferred
alternatives in the PEIS.
For oil shale resources, Alternative A,
the ‘‘no action’’ alternative, continues
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existing management. Under this
alternative, it is assumed that the six
existing oil shale Research,
Demonstration, and Development
(RD&D) projects will proceed on their
current 160-acre lease parcels.
Alternative A only includes the RD&D
activities at these 160-acre sites; it does
not evaluate future commercial leasing
at these or any other locations. Each of
these six projects has an associated
preference right lease area for future
potential commercial development.
Under Alternative A, the RD&D leases
require additional land use planning
and site-specific NEPA analysis prior to
granting the RD&D lessees use of the
preference right lease area for
commercial development.
Under Alternative A, current BLM
land use plans within the study area
would not be amended to allow for
application for leasing for commercial
development of oil shale. Further, the
ROD for the PEIS would not identify the
most geologically prospective resources,
specific exclusion areas, land available
for application for lease, and so forth.
For commercial oil shale development
to occur in the future, specific land use
plans would need to be amended to
identify areas available for lease. Such
leasing would be subject to additional
NEPA analyses and the oil shale
regulations to be promulgated by the
BLM.
The BLM has developed two
programmatic alternatives for
identifying lands available for
application for commercial leasing and
for establishing a commercial oil shale
leasing program. Programmatic
Alternatives B and C apply different
approaches to designating lands
available for application for commercial
oil shale leasing. Under both
programmatic oil shale alternatives,
nine land use plans would be amended
to:
(1) Identify the most geologically
prospective oil shale resources within
each field office;
(2) Make certain lands within these
most geologically prospective areas
available for application to lease;
(3) Identify any technology
restrictions;
(4) Stipulate requirements for future
NEPA analyses and consultation
activities; and
(5) Specify that priority will be given
to the use of land exchanges to facilitate
commercial oil shale development
pursuant to Section 369(n) of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005.
Under Alternative B, about 2 million
acres would be available for application
for lease and under Alternative C, about
830,000 acres would be available for
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application. Under Alternative C,
additional lands would be excluded
from the potential area available for
leasing. The lands that would be
available under Alternative C include
some of the lands that are available
under Alternative B, but exclude lands
that are identified as requiring special
management or resource protection in
existing land use plans. Site-specific
NEPA analyses would be required under
both alternatives prior to leasing and
approval of plans of operations during
the project development phase. These
site-specific analyses will identify
potential project-specific impacts and
define appropriate lease stipulations
and required mitigation measures.
Included in this PEIS are potentially
applicable mitigation measures that
would be applied following the sitespecific analyses, as appropriate. In
addition, conservation measures agreed
upon with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) and documented in
the PEIS would be applicable to all
future commercial leases.
For tar sands resources, Alternative A
also is the no action alternative. Under
this alternative, land use plans would
not be amended to allow for leasing for
commercial tar sands development, but
current plans authorize leasing under
the existing Combined Hydrocarbon
Leasing (CHL) program. The BLM has
assumed no development of tar sands
resources on public lands since there
has been no tar sands development
under the existing CHL in the last 20
years or more. At the time this PEIS was
drafted, no commercial tar sands project
proposals have been submitted to the
BLM on existing CHL leases. On this
basis, the BLM has determined that it is
unlikely that commercial tar sands
development will occur under the CHL
program.
The BLM has developed two
programmatic alternatives for
identifying lands available for
application for commercial leasing and
for establishing a commercial tar sands
leasing program. Programmatic
Alternatives B and C consist of different
approaches to designating lands
available for application for commercial
tar sands leasing. Under both
alternatives, six land use plans in Utah
would be amended to:
(1) Make certain lands within the
STSAs available for application to lease;
(2) Stipulate requirements for future
NEPA analyses and consultation
activities; and
(3) Specify that priority will be given
to the use of land exchanges to facilitate
commercial tar sands development
pursuant to Section 369(n) of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005.
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Under Alternative B, about 430,000
acres would be available for application
for lease and under Alternative C, about
230,000 acres would be available for
application. Site-specific NEPA analyses
will be required under both alternatives
prior to leasing and approval of plans of
operations during the project
development phase. These site-specific
analyses would identify potential
project-specific impacts and define
appropriate lease stipulations and
required mitigation measures. Included
in this PEIS are potentially applicable
mitigation measures that would be
applied following the site-specific
analyses, as appropriate. In addition,
conservation measures agreed upon
with the USFWS and documented in the
PEIS would be applicable to all future
commercial leases.
The Oil Shale and Tar Sands
Resources PEIS is of interest to
numerous Federal, Tribal, state, and
local governments. The BLM initially
invited about 50 agencies to participate
in preparation of the PEIS as
cooperating agencies. Fourteen agencies
expressed an interest, and
memorandums of understanding
between these agencies and the BLM
were executed to set forth the
parameters of cooperating agency
relationships with these agencies. The
following are participating cooperating
agencies in the preparation of this PEIS:
• National Park Service
• Bureau of Reclamation
• U.S. Forest Service
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• State of Colorado, Department of
Natural Resources and Department of
Public Health and the Environment
• State of Utah
• State of Wyoming
• Garfield County, Colorado
• Mesa County, Colorado
• Rio Blanco County, Colorado
• Duchesne County, Utah
• Uintah County, Utah
• City of Rifle, Colorado
• Town of Rangely, Colorado.
Paper and electronic (CD–ROM)
copies of the PEIS are available at the
following BLM locations:
• Colorado State Office, 2850
Youngfield Street, Lakewood, CO 80215
• Utah State Office, 440 West 200
South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, UT
84101
• Wyoming State Office, 5353
Yellowstone, Cheyenne, WY 82009
• Vernal Field Office, 170 South 500
East, Vernal, UT 84078
• Price Field Office, 125 South 600
West, Price, UT 84501
• Richfield Field Office, 150 East 900
North, Richfield, UT 84701
• Monticello Field Office, 435 North
Main, P.O. Box 7, Monticello, UT 84535
PO 00000
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72753
• White River Field Office, 220 E.
Market Street, Meeker, CO 81641
• Glenwood Springs Field Office,
2425 S. Grand Ave., Suite 101,
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
• Grand Junction Field Office, 2815 H
Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506
• Kemmerer Field Office, 312
Highway 189 North, Kemmerer, WY
83101
• Rawlins Field Office, at 1300 North
Third, PO Box 2407, Rawlins, WY
82301
• Rock Springs Field Office, 280
Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, WY
82901.
Before including your address, phone
number, e-mail address, or other
personal identifying information, 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.
Michael Nedd,
Assistant Director, Minerals, Realty, and
Resource Protection.
[FR Doc. E7–24811 Filed 12–20–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–84–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Draft General Management Plan and
Environmental Impact Statement,
Governors Island National Monument,
New York, NY
National Park Service,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C)
of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91–190, as
amended), the National Park Service
announces the availability of the Draft
General Management Plan and
Environmental Impact Statement for
Governors Island National Monument,
New York.
Consistent with National Park Service
laws, regulations, and policies, and the
purpose of the National Monument, the
Draft GMP/EIS describes and analyzes
four alternatives (A–D) to guide the
management of the Monument over the
next 15 to 20 years. The alternatives
incorporate various management
prescriptions to ensure protection,
access and enjoyment of the park’s
resources. Alternative A is a no action
alternative. Alternative D is the National
E:\FR\FM\21DEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 245 (Friday, December 21, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72751-72753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24811]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WO-320-1310-DS-OSHL]
Notice of Availability of Draft Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resource
Management Plan Amendments To Address Land Use Allocations in Colorado,
Utah, and Wyoming and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) has prepared the Draft Oil Shale and Tar Sands
Resource Management Plan Amendments To Address Land Use Allocations in
Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (PEIS). By this notice, the BLM is announcing the opening of
a 90-day public review and comment period for the PEIS. The planning
area lies within the Green River Formation in Colorado, Utah, and
Wyoming.
DATES: Please submit written comments on the PEIS within 90 days
following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes their
Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce
future meetings and/or hearings and any other public participation
activities at least 15 days in advance on the internet and through
public notices, media news releases, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the PEIS will be sent to affected Federal, state,
and local government agencies and other interested parties. Copies of
the PEIS are available for public inspection via the internet at http:/
/ostseis.anl.gov, electronic media (on CD-ROM), and paper. Paper and
electronic (CD-ROM) copies of the PEIS are available at BLM locations
listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Web Site: https://ostseis.anl.gov.
Mail: BLM Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources Draft
Programmatic EIS Comments, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sherri Thompson, BLM Project Manager,
at (303) 239-3758, (sherri_thompson@blm.gov), Bureau of Land
Management, 2850 Youngfield Street, Lakewood, Colorado 80215 or
Mitchell Leverette, BLM Acting Division Chief, Solid Minerals, at (202)
452-0351, (mitchell_leverette@blm.gov), Bureau of Land Management,
1620 L Street NW., Washington, DC 20036.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Draft Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources
PEIS is being prepared to meet the requirements established by Congress
in Section 369 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and to meet the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. It will
evaluate the amendment of 12 resource management plans to designate
public lands in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming managed by the U.S.
Department of the Interior (DOI), BLM as available for application for
commercial leasing for oil shale and tar sands development. The PEIS
evaluates the amendment of nine land use plans to designate lands as
available for commercial oil shale leasing and amendment of six land
use plans to designate lands as available for commercial tar sands
leasing. Three of the plans that could be amended contain both oil
shale and tar sands resources, so a total of 12 plans will be amended.
The Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement (PEIS) and Plan Amendments for Oil Shale and Tar Sands
Resources Leasing on Lands Administered by the BLM in Colorado, Utah,
and Wyoming was published in the Federal Register on December 13, 2005
(70 Fed. Reg. 73791-73792). As originally stated in the NOI, this PEIS
is to evaluate the potential impacts associated with commercial leasing
of oil shale and tar sands resources that are located on public lands
in the three states. The scope of the analysis was to include an
assessment of the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental,
cultural, and socio-economic impacts associated with commercial leasing
of these resources under a range of alternatives. Since the NOI was
published, however, initial environmental analysis and input from
cooperating agencies has led BLM to
[[Page 72752]]
conclude that critical information on which to assess potential
impacts, define required mitigation and approve commercial leasing, is
not available at this time. Therefore, BLM has limited the purpose and
need for the PEIS. The purpose and need for the PEIS now is to:
(1) Identify the most geologically prospective areas where oil
shale and tar sands resources are present on public lands and that
could be open to application for commercial leasing, exploration, and
development; and
(2) Evaluate the environmental effects associated with amendments
of 12 land use plans to allow for application for commercial oil shale
or tar sands leasing.
In the NOI, the BLM identified planning criteria, initiated the public
scoping process, and invited the public to provide comments on the
scope and objectives of the PEIS and to identify issues to be addressed
in the planning process. During the scoping process, public meetings
were held in Salt Lake City, Vernal, and Price, Utah; Rock Springs and
Cheyenne, Wyoming; and Rifle and Denver, Colorado. About 5,000 people
participated in the scoping process by attending public meetings or
submitting comments. The BLM published a scoping report in March 2006,
summarizing and categorizing issues, concerns, and comments received.
These comments were considered in developing the alternatives in this
PEIS.
The study area for the oil shale resources includes the most
geologically prospective resources of the Green River Formation located
in the Green River, Piceance, Uinta, and Washakie Basins and
encompasses approximately 3,540,000 acres. The BLM has identified the
most geologically prospective areas for oil shale development on the
basis of the grade and thickness of the oil shale deposits. For the
purposes of this PEIS, the most geologically prospective oil shale
resources in Colorado and Utah are those deposits that yield 25 gallons
or more of shale oil per ton of rock (gal/ton) and are 25 feet thick or
greater. In Wyoming, where the oil shale resource is not as high
quality as in Colorado and Utah, the most geologically prospective oil
shale resources are those deposits that yield 15 gallon/ton or more of
shale oil and are 15 feet thick or greater.
For the tar sands resources, the study area includes those
locations designated as Special Tar Sand Areas (STSAs) by Congress in
the Combined Hydrocarbon Leasing Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-78). Eleven STSAs
were identified in Utah: Argyle Canyon-Willow Creek (hereafter referred
to as Argyle Canyon), Asphalt Ridge-Whiterocks and Vicinity (hereafter
referred to as Asphalt Ridge), Circle Cliffs East and West Flanks
(hereafter referred to as Circle Cliffs), Hill Creek, Pariette, P.R.
Spring, Raven Ridge-Rim Rock and Vicinity (hereafter referred to as
Raven Ridge), San Rafael Swell, Sunnyside and Vicinity (hereafter
referred to as Sunnyside), Tar Sand Triangle, and White Canyon. The
total acreage of the study area is approximately 1,026,000 acres.
The oil shale and tar sands resources within the defined study
areas are located within the jurisdiction of 12 separate BLM
administrative units. These units include the Glenwood Springs, Grand
Junction, and White River Field Offices in Colorado; the Moab,
Monticello, Price, Richfield, and Vernal Field Offices and the Grand
Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah; and the Kemmerer,
Rawlins, and Rock Springs Field Offices in Wyoming. With the exception
of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, the final Record of
Decision for this PEIS would amend existing land use plans in affected
BLM administrative units to designate the lands available for
application for commercial leasing, exploration, and development for
oil shale and tar sands resources.
Within the above-listed administrative units, and within the
defined boundaries of the most geologically prospective resources of
the Green River formation and the designated STSAs, public lands
managed by the BLM where the Federal Government owns both the surface
estate and subsurface mineral rights are included in the scope of the
PEIS analysis. Lands where the surface estate is owned by Tribes,
States, or private parties but where the federal government owns the
subsurface mineral estate (i.e., split estate lands) are also included
in the scope of this analysis. Tribal lands on which both the surface
estate and subsurface mineral estate are owned by the Tribe are not
included in the scope of analysis.
This PEIS examines alternatives for designation of lands as
available for application for commercial leasing of oil shale and tar
sands resources. For both oil shale and tar sands resources, there are
three alternatives: Alternatives A (the no action alternative), B, and
C. The alternatives vary in the amount of area available for
application for leasing. The BLM has identified Alternative B for oil
shale leasing and Alternative B for tar sands leasing as the preferred
alternatives in the PEIS.
For oil shale resources, Alternative A, the ``no action''
alternative, continues existing management. Under this alternative, it
is assumed that the six existing oil shale Research, Demonstration, and
Development (RD&D) projects will proceed on their current 160-acre
lease parcels. Alternative A only includes the RD&D activities at these
160-acre sites; it does not evaluate future commercial leasing at these
or any other locations. Each of these six projects has an associated
preference right lease area for future potential commercial
development. Under Alternative A, the RD&D leases require additional
land use planning and site-specific NEPA analysis prior to granting the
RD&D lessees use of the preference right lease area for commercial
development.
Under Alternative A, current BLM land use plans within the study
area would not be amended to allow for application for leasing for
commercial development of oil shale. Further, the ROD for the PEIS
would not identify the most geologically prospective resources,
specific exclusion areas, land available for application for lease, and
so forth. For commercial oil shale development to occur in the future,
specific land use plans would need to be amended to identify areas
available for lease. Such leasing would be subject to additional NEPA
analyses and the oil shale regulations to be promulgated by the BLM.
The BLM has developed two programmatic alternatives for identifying
lands available for application for commercial leasing and for
establishing a commercial oil shale leasing program. Programmatic
Alternatives B and C apply different approaches to designating lands
available for application for commercial oil shale leasing. Under both
programmatic oil shale alternatives, nine land use plans would be
amended to:
(1) Identify the most geologically prospective oil shale resources
within each field office;
(2) Make certain lands within these most geologically prospective
areas available for application to lease;
(3) Identify any technology restrictions;
(4) Stipulate requirements for future NEPA analyses and
consultation activities; and
(5) Specify that priority will be given to the use of land
exchanges to facilitate commercial oil shale development pursuant to
Section 369(n) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Under Alternative B, about 2 million acres would be available for
application for lease and under Alternative C, about 830,000 acres
would be available for
[[Page 72753]]
application. Under Alternative C, additional lands would be excluded
from the potential area available for leasing. The lands that would be
available under Alternative C include some of the lands that are
available under Alternative B, but exclude lands that are identified as
requiring special management or resource protection in existing land
use plans. Site-specific NEPA analyses would be required under both
alternatives prior to leasing and approval of plans of operations
during the project development phase. These site-specific analyses will
identify potential project-specific impacts and define appropriate
lease stipulations and required mitigation measures. Included in this
PEIS are potentially applicable mitigation measures that would be
applied following the site-specific analyses, as appropriate. In
addition, conservation measures agreed upon with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS) and documented in the PEIS would be applicable
to all future commercial leases.
For tar sands resources, Alternative A also is the no action
alternative. Under this alternative, land use plans would not be
amended to allow for leasing for commercial tar sands development, but
current plans authorize leasing under the existing Combined Hydrocarbon
Leasing (CHL) program. The BLM has assumed no development of tar sands
resources on public lands since there has been no tar sands development
under the existing CHL in the last 20 years or more. At the time this
PEIS was drafted, no commercial tar sands project proposals have been
submitted to the BLM on existing CHL leases. On this basis, the BLM has
determined that it is unlikely that commercial tar sands development
will occur under the CHL program.
The BLM has developed two programmatic alternatives for identifying
lands available for application for commercial leasing and for
establishing a commercial tar sands leasing program. Programmatic
Alternatives B and C consist of different approaches to designating
lands available for application for commercial tar sands leasing. Under
both alternatives, six land use plans in Utah would be amended to:
(1) Make certain lands within the STSAs available for application
to lease;
(2) Stipulate requirements for future NEPA analyses and
consultation activities; and
(3) Specify that priority will be given to the use of land
exchanges to facilitate commercial tar sands development pursuant to
Section 369(n) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Under Alternative B, about 430,000 acres would be available for
application for lease and under Alternative C, about 230,000 acres
would be available for application. Site-specific NEPA analyses will be
required under both alternatives prior to leasing and approval of plans
of operations during the project development phase. These site-specific
analyses would identify potential project-specific impacts and define
appropriate lease stipulations and required mitigation measures.
Included in this PEIS are potentially applicable mitigation measures
that would be applied following the site-specific analyses, as
appropriate. In addition, conservation measures agreed upon with the
USFWS and documented in the PEIS would be applicable to all future
commercial leases.
The Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources PEIS is of interest to
numerous Federal, Tribal, state, and local governments. The BLM
initially invited about 50 agencies to participate in preparation of
the PEIS as cooperating agencies. Fourteen agencies expressed an
interest, and memorandums of understanding between these agencies and
the BLM were executed to set forth the parameters of cooperating agency
relationships with these agencies. The following are participating
cooperating agencies in the preparation of this PEIS:
National Park Service
Bureau of Reclamation
U.S. Forest Service
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
State of Colorado, Department of Natural Resources and
Department of Public Health and the Environment
State of Utah
State of Wyoming
Garfield County, Colorado
Mesa County, Colorado
Rio Blanco County, Colorado
Duchesne County, Utah
Uintah County, Utah
City of Rifle, Colorado
Town of Rangely, Colorado.
Paper and electronic (CD-ROM) copies of the PEIS are available at
the following BLM locations:
Colorado State Office, 2850 Youngfield Street, Lakewood,
CO 80215
Utah State Office, 440 West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt
Lake City, UT 84101
Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone, Cheyenne, WY 82009
Vernal Field Office, 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078
Price Field Office, 125 South 600 West, Price, UT 84501
Richfield Field Office, 150 East 900 North, Richfield, UT
84701
Monticello Field Office, 435 North Main, P.O. Box 7,
Monticello, UT 84535
White River Field Office, 220 E. Market Street, Meeker, CO
81641
Glenwood Springs Field Office, 2425 S. Grand Ave., Suite
101, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
Grand Junction Field Office, 2815 H Road, Grand Junction,
CO 81506
Kemmerer Field Office, 312 Highway 189 North, Kemmerer, WY
83101
Rawlins Field Office, at 1300 North Third, PO Box 2407,
Rawlins, WY 82301
Rock Springs Field Office, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock
Springs, WY 82901.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other
personal identifying information, 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.
Michael Nedd,
Assistant Director, Minerals, Realty, and Resource Protection.
[FR Doc. E7-24811 Filed 12-20-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-84-P
