Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the West Tavaputs Plateau Natural Gas Full Field Development Plan, Carbon and Duchesne Counties, Utah, 6201-6202 [E8-1760]

Download as PDF mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2008 / Notices activities and uses be managed? (2) What facilities and infrastructure are appropriate to provide visitor interpretation and administration of the Monument? (3) How will the BLM manage resource uses and protect the biological, historical, cultural, and visual values of the Monument? (4) How will Monument management be integrated with other agency and community plans? (5) How will transportation and access be managed? (6) How will Monument management affect economic and social conditions in the area? Copies of the Proposed RMP and Final EIS for the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument have been sent to affected Federal, State, and Local Government agencies and to interested parties. Copies of the Proposed RMP and Final EIS are available for public inspection at the BLM Lewistown Field Office, 920 Northeast Main Street, Lewistown, Montana or at the Missouri Breaks Interpretive Center, 701 Seventh Street, Fort Benton, Montana. Interested persons may also review the Proposed RMP and Final EIS on the Internet at: https://www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/fo/ lewistown_field_office/um_rmp _process.html. Comments on the Draft RMP/EIS received from the public and internal BLM review comments were incorporated into the Proposed RMP and Final EIS. Public comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text, but did not significantly change proposed land use decisions. Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM regarding the Proposed RMP and Final EIS may be found at 43 CFR 1610.5–2. E-mail and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid protests unless the protesting party also provides the original letter by either regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the protest period. Under these conditions, the BLM will consider the e-mail or faxed protest as an advance copy and it will receive full consideration. If you wish to provide the BLM with such advance notification, please direct faxed protests to the attention of Brenda HudgensWilliams, Protest Coordinator, at 202– 452–5112, and e-mails to Brenda_Hudgens-Williams@blm.gov. All protests, including the follow-up letter (if e-mailing or faxing) must be in writing and mailed to the following address: Regular Mail: Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box 66538, Washington, DC 20035. Overnight Mail: Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, 1620 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20036. VerDate Aug<31>2005 18:22 Jan 31, 2008 Jkt 214001 Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware that your entire protest—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your protest to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. The Director will promptly render a decision on a protest. The decision will be in writing and will be sent to the protesting party by certified mail, return receipt requested. The decision of the Director is the final decision of the Department of the Interior. Gene R. Terland, State Director. [FR Doc. E8–1790 Filed 1–31–08; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–$$–P DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [UT–070–1310–EJ] Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the West Tavaputs Plateau Natural Gas Full Field Development Plan, Carbon and Duchesne Counties, Utah Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. AGENCY: SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the West Tavaputs Plateau Natural Gas Full Field Development Plan prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The DEIS evaluates the impacts of development of natural gas resources on approximately 137,700 acres of public, state, and private lands on the West Tavaputs Plateau in Carbon and Duchesne Counties, Utah. This NEPA analysis will provide a basis for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to amend the applicable land use plan per 43 CFR 1610 if necessary. DATES: The 90-day public review and comment period of the DEIS will commence on the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its notice of availability in the Federal Register. Comments must be submitted to the Price Field Office during this period to assure their consideration. Public open house meetings will be held in Price, Roosevelt, and in the Salt Lake City area to assist the public in its review of the PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 6201 DEIS and to accept written comments. Notice of these meetings will be publicized through various media, including the Utah BLM Environmental Notification Bulletin Board, at least 15 days prior to the meetings. ADDRESSES: Address written comments to: Bureau of Land Management, Price Field Office, 125 South 600 West, Price, Utah 84501, Attn: West Tavaputs Plateau Natural Gas Full Field Development Plan DEIS, or submit them electronically at https://www.blm.gov/ut/ st/en/fo/price/energy/oil_gas/. Comments and information submitted on the DEIS, including names, e-mail addresses, and street addresses of respondents, will be available for public review and disclosure at the above address. All comment submittals must include the commenter’s name and street address. 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 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. FOR FURTHER INROMATION CONTACT: Brad Higdon, Environmental Coordinator, Price Field Office at (435) 636–3613. The West Tavaputs Plateau Natural Gas Full Field Development Plan DEIS is available online at https://www.blm.gov/ ut/st/en/fo/price/energy/oil_gas/ or at the Price Field Office. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DEIS evaluates a proposal by Bill Barrett Corporation and other operators to develop up to 807 natural gas wells on approximately 538 well pads within the 137,700 acre project area. The development plan proposal also includes a network of access roads, production facilities, and other operational infrastructure. To address potential effects on the multiple resources which make up the affected environment, the BLM, in coordination with its cooperating agencies, has developed five alternatives in the DEIS. The alternatives include a No Action Alternative, the Proposed Action, a Transportation Impact Reduction Alternative, a Conservation Alternative, and an Agency Preferred Alternative, which includes components from each of the former alternatives. The alternatives incorporate best management practices for oil and gas development and other measures necessary to adequately E:\FR\FM\01FEN1.SGM 01FEN1 6202 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2008 / Notices address impacts to transportation, public safety, cultural resources, recreational opportunities, Wilderness Study Areas (WSA), non-WSA lands with wilderness characteristics, areas proposed for designation as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, wildlife, Threatened and Endangered Species, visual resources, air quality, and other relevant issues. If components of the Proposed Action conflict with the Price River Management Framework Plan, the BLM must consider whether or not to amend the plan as part of its decision on full field development. A plan amendment would be necessary if the BLM, as part of its decision, approves an action that does not conform to the plan. Therefore, the DEIS discloses which full field development activities would not be in conformance with the plan and identifies which land use plan decisions would be amended. to evaluate alternatives that would create additional water storage for the Yakima River basin and assess their potential to supply the water needed for ecosystem aquatic habitat, basin-wide agriculture, and municipal demands. The need for the study is based on the existing finite water supply and limited storage capability of the Yakima River basin in low water years. This finite supply and limited storage capacity do not meet the water supply demands in all years and result in significant adverse impact to the Yakima River basin’s economy, which is agriculturebased, and to the basin’s aquatic habitat, specifically, anadromous fisheries. The study seeks to identify means of increasing water storage available, including storage of Columbia River water, for purposes of improving anadromous fish habitat and meeting irrigation and municipal water supply needs. Selma Sierra, Utah State Director. [FR Doc. E8–1760 Filed 1–31–08; 8:45 am] Meetings will be held on 2 days in two locations: • Wednesday, February 27, 2008, in Yakima, Washington. • Thursday, February 28, 2008, in Kennewick, Washington. On each day, an informational open house will occur from 1 to 2 p.m., followed by a public hearing to receive oral comments from 2 to 4 p.m. Another open house will occur from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by another public hearing from 7 to 9 p.m. Requests for special assistance at the meetings should be submitted by February 15, 2008 (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section, Special Assistance for Public Meetings). Written comments on the draft PR/EIS will be accepted through March 31, 2008. ADDRESSES: Meetings will be held at the following locations: • Yakima, Washington: Yakima Convention Center, 10 North 8th St. • Kennewick, Washington: Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd. The meeting facilities are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Written comments on the Draft PR/ EIS should be addressed to the Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Columbia Area Office, Attention: David Kaumheimer, Environmental Programs Manager, 1917 Marsh Road, Yakima, Washington 98901–2058. Comments may also be submitted electronically to storagestudy@pn.usbr.gov. Requests for paper or CD copies of the Draft PR/EIS may be made to (509) 575–5848, ext. 612. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for locations where copies of the DATES: BILLING CODE 1310–EJ–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study; Benton, Yakima, and Kittitas Counties, Washington INT–DES 08–03 Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of Availability and Public Hearings on the Draft Planning Report and Environmental Impact Statement. mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES AGENCY: SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has prepared a combined Draft Planning Report and Environmental Impact Statement (Draft PR/EIS) on the Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study (Storage Study). The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is a joint lead with Reclamation in the preparation of the Draft PR/EIS which will also be used to comply with requirements of the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). The cooperating agencies on this study are Yakima County; the U.S. Department of the Army: Yakima Training Center and the Seattle District of the U.S. Corps of Engineers; and the U.S. Department of Energy: Office of River Protection. The purpose of the Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study is VerDate Aug<31>2005 18:22 Jan 31, 2008 Jkt 214001 PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Draft PR/EIS are available for public review. Information on this project can also be found at https://www.usbr.gov/pn/ programs/storage_study/. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact David Kaumheimer, Environmental Programs Manager, Telephone: (509) 575–5848, extension 232. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Hearing Process Information Requests to make oral comments at the public hearings may be made at each hearing. In order to ensure that all those interested in providing oral comments have an opportunity to do so, oral comments at the hearings will be limited to 5 minutes. Comments will be recorded by a court reporter. Speakers will be called in the order indicated on the sign in list for speaking. Speakers not present when called will be recalled at the end of the scheduled speakers. Speakers may provide written versions of their oral comments, or other additional written comments, for the hearing record. Longer comments should be summarized at the public hearing and submitted in writing either at the public hearing or identified as hearing comments and mailed within 7 days of the hearing date to Mr. Dave Kaumheimer as indicated under the ADDRESSES section. Background Information Reclamation has undertaken this study to explore ways to augment water supplies in the Yakima River Basin for the benefit of anadromous fish, irrigated agriculture, and municipal water supply under the authority of Public Law 108– 7, Title II, Section 214 which was passed by Congress on February 20, 2003. Public Law 108–7 states: The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, shall conduct a feasibility study of options for additional water storage in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, with emphasis on the feasibility of storage of Columbia River water in the potential Black Rock Reservoir and the benefit of additional storage to endangered and threatened fish, irrigated agriculture, and municipal water supply. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act. Ecology is a joint lead with Reclamation in the preparation of this Draft PR/EIS which also complies with SEPA. In addition to the No Action Alternative, this jointly prepared Draft PR/EIS provides NEPA coverage for three storage alternatives, referred to as the Joint Alternatives, which Reclamation and Ecology are considering as part of the Storage Study. E:\FR\FM\01FEN1.SGM 01FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 22 (Friday, February 1, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6201-6202]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1760]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[UT-070-1310-EJ]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the West Tavaputs Plateau Natural Gas Full Field 
Development Plan, Carbon and Duchesne Counties, Utah

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the West Tavaputs Plateau 
Natural Gas Full Field Development Plan prepared pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The DEIS evaluates 
the impacts of development of natural gas resources on approximately 
137,700 acres of public, state, and private lands on the West Tavaputs 
Plateau in Carbon and Duchesne Counties, Utah. This NEPA analysis will 
provide a basis for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to amend the 
applicable land use plan per 43 CFR 1610 if necessary.

DATES: The 90-day public review and comment period of the DEIS will 
commence on the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its 
notice of availability in the Federal Register. Comments must be 
submitted to the Price Field Office during this period to assure their 
consideration. Public open house meetings will be held in Price, 
Roosevelt, and in the Salt Lake City area to assist the public in its 
review of the DEIS and to accept written comments. Notice of these 
meetings will be publicized through various media, including the Utah 
BLM Environmental Notification Bulletin Board, at least 15 days prior 
to the meetings.

ADDRESSES: Address written comments to: Bureau of Land Management, 
Price Field Office, 125 South 600 West, Price, Utah 84501, Attn: West 
Tavaputs Plateau Natural Gas Full Field Development Plan DEIS, or 
submit them electronically at https://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/price/
energy/oil_gas/. Comments and information submitted on the DEIS, 
including names, e-mail addresses, and street addresses of respondents, 
will be available for public review and disclosure at the above 
address. All comment submittals must include the commenter's name and 
street address. 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 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.

FOR FURTHER INROMATION CONTACT: Brad Higdon, Environmental Coordinator, 
Price Field Office at (435) 636-3613. The West Tavaputs Plateau Natural 
Gas Full Field Development Plan DEIS is available online at https://
www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/price/energy/oil_gas/ or at the Price Field 
Office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DEIS evaluates a proposal by Bill 
Barrett Corporation and other operators to develop up to 807 natural 
gas wells on approximately 538 well pads within the 137,700 acre 
project area. The development plan proposal also includes a network of 
access roads, production facilities, and other operational 
infrastructure.
    To address potential effects on the multiple resources which make 
up the affected environment, the BLM, in coordination with its 
cooperating agencies, has developed five alternatives in the DEIS. The 
alternatives include a No Action Alternative, the Proposed Action, a 
Transportation Impact Reduction Alternative, a Conservation 
Alternative, and an Agency Preferred Alternative, which includes 
components from each of the former alternatives. The alternatives 
incorporate best management practices for oil and gas development and 
other measures necessary to adequately

[[Page 6202]]

address impacts to transportation, public safety, cultural resources, 
recreational opportunities, Wilderness Study Areas (WSA), non-WSA lands 
with wilderness characteristics, areas proposed for designation as 
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, wildlife, Threatened and 
Endangered Species, visual resources, air quality, and other relevant 
issues.
    If components of the Proposed Action conflict with the Price River 
Management Framework Plan, the BLM must consider whether or not to 
amend the plan as part of its decision on full field development. A 
plan amendment would be necessary if the BLM, as part of its decision, 
approves an action that does not conform to the plan. Therefore, the 
DEIS discloses which full field development activities would not be in 
conformance with the plan and identifies which land use plan decisions 
would be amended.

Selma Sierra,
Utah State Director.
 [FR Doc. E8-1760 Filed 1-31-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1310-EJ-P
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