Notice of Availability of the Final Supplement to the Montana Statewide Oil and Gas Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Amendment of the Powder River and Billings Resource Management Plans (RMPs), 66253-66254 [E8-26473]
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66253
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 217 / Friday, November 7, 2008 / Notices
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.
John Kalish,
Field Manager, Palm Springs-South Coast
Field Office.
[FR Doc. E8–26476 Filed 11–6–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–40–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLOR 930.0000.L6350.0000.DQ0000; HAG–
09–0022]
Notice of Availability of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Revision of the Resource
Management Plans of the Western
Oregon Bureau of Land Management
Districts of Salem, Eugene, Roseburg,
Coos Bay, and Medford, and the
Klamath Falls Resource Area of the
Lakeview District; Amendment
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Amended Notice.
ebenthall on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This is an amended notice for
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
No. 20080416, Final EIS, Bureau of
Land Management (BLM), Oregon (OR),
Western Oregon BLM Districts of Salem,
Eugene, Roseburg, Coos Bay, and
Medford Districts, and the Klamath
Falls Resource Area of the Lakeview
District, Revision of the Resource
Management Plans (RMP),
Implementation, OR, which originally
published in the Federal Register on
October 17, 2008 [73 FR 61905]. This
amended notice reflects a decision by
the BLM to offer a protest period on the
proposed revision of the Western
Oregon RMPs. Any person who
participated in the planning process and
has an interest which is or may be
adversely affected by the approval of the
proposed RMPs may protest such
approval. A protest period is not a
comment period. A valid protest
addresses only those issues which were
submitted for the record during the
planning process and contains a concise
statement explaining why the decision
to adopt the proposed plan would
violate an applicable statute, regulation
or BLM policy.
DATES: The protest shall be filed
(postmarked or delivered) by December
8, 2008. E-mailed and faxed protests
will not be accepted as valid protests
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:04 Nov 06, 2008
Jkt 217001
unless the protesting party also provides
the original letter by either regular mail
(USPS) or overnight delivery service
postmarked by the close of the protest
period. Under these conditions, the
BLM will consider the e-mailed or faxed
protest as an advance copy and will
afford it full consideration. If you wish
to provide the BLM with such advance
notification, please direct faxed protests
to the attention of Brenda HudgensWilliams—BLM protest coordinator at
202–208–5010, and e-mailed protests to:
Brenda_Hudgens-Williams@blm.gov.
ADDRESSES: You may send your protest
to one of the following addresses:
• USPS Delivery Service: Director
(210), Attention: Brenda HudgensWilliams—Western Oregon Plans
Revisions, P.O. Box 66538, Washington,
DC 20035
• Overnight Delivery Service (not
USPS): Director (210), Attention: Brenda
Hudgens-Williams—Western Oregon
Plans Revisions, 1620 L Street NW.,
Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20036
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
protest shall be in writing and shall be
filed with the Director. The protest shall
contain:
• The name, mailing address,
telephone number and interest of the
person filing the protest;
• A statement of the issue or issues
being protested;
• A statement of the part or parts of
the plan or amendment being protested;
• A copy of all documents addressing
the issue or issues that were submitted
during the planning process by the
protesting party or an indication of the
date the issue or issues were discussed
or provided for the record; and
• A concise statement explaining why
the decision to adopt the proposed plan
would violate an applicable statute,
regulation or BLM policy.
Concerns that have not been raised
previously in the planning process,
concerns that are not germane to the
planning process, and/or statements that
merely reflect disagreement, express
opinions, or make demands or
allegations without the support of a
concise statement on why a decision to
adopt the proposed plan is in error will
not be further analyzed and will be
considered invalid protests.
• The Director shall promptly render
a decision on all valid protests and will
send his written decision to the
protesting party by certified mail, return
receipt requested.
• The decision of the Director shall be
the final decision of the Department of
the Interior.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Jerry Hubbard, Public Affairs Specialist,
PO 00000
Frm 00042
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Bureau of Land Management, Oregon
State Office, 333 S.W. 3rd Ave.,
Portland, Oregon 97208, Telephone
(503) 808–6115.
Dated: November 3, 2008.
Edward W. Shepard,
State Director, Oregon/Washington.
[FR Doc. E8–26672 Filed 11–6–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–33–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[MT–020–1310–DT
050E]
Notice of Availability of the Final
Supplement to the Montana Statewide
Oil and Gas Environmental Impact
Statement and Proposed Amendment
of the Powder River and Billings
Resource Management Plans (RMPs)
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: By Order of the U.S. District
Court for the District of Montana, dated
April 5, 2005, and pursuant to the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 and the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has
prepared a Final Supplement to the
Montana Statewide Oil and Gas
Environmental Impact Statement and
Proposed Amendment (Proposed SEIS/
Amendment) of the Powder River and
Billings Resource Management Plans
(RMPs).
Copies of the Proposed
SEIS/Amendment have been sent to
affected federal, state, and local
government agencies; to tribal
governments; and to interested parties.
Copies of the Proposed SEIS/
Amendment are available for public
inspection at the BLM Miles City Field
Office, 111 Garryowen Road, Miles City,
Montana; and at the BLM Montana State
Office, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings,
Montana. You may also view the
Proposed SEIS/Amendment on the
Internet at https://www.blm.gov/eis/mt/
milescity_seis/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mary Bloom, Project Manager, by
telephone at (406) 233–2852; by mail at
111 Garryowen Road, Miles City, MT
59301; or by e-mail at
Mary_Bloom@blm.gov.
ADDRESSES:
The
Powder River and Billings RMP areas
comprise approximately 1.5 million
acres of BLM-managed surface and 5
million acres of BLM-managed mineral
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
E:\FR\FM\07NON1.SGM
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66254
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 217 / Friday, November 7, 2008 / Notices
estate. There are approximately 3.2
million acres of BLM-managed oil and
gas. The Powder River RMP area
includes Powder River and Treasure
Counties, and portions of Big Horn,
Carter, Custer, and Rosebud Counties.
The Billings RMP area includes Carbon,
Golden Valley, Musselshell, Stillwater,
Sweet Grass, Wheatland, and
Yellowstone Counties and the
remaining portion of Big Horn County.
The Proposed SEIS/Amendment
supplements the 2003 Montana
Statewide Final Oil and Gas
Environmental Impact Statement and
Proposed Amendment of the Powder
River and Billings Resource
Management Plans (Statewide
Document).
The Statewide Document was
approved on April 30, 2003. Several
lawsuits were filed against the BLM’s
decisions. Two of the lawsuits resulted
in an April 5, 2005, ruling by the U.S.
District Court ordering the BLM to
prepare the SEIS/Amendment to
consider a phased development
alternative for coal bed natural gas
(CBNG) production in the Billings and
Powder River RMP areas.
Topics addressed in the Proposed
SEIS/Amendment include those
provided or recommended by the U.S.
District Court: Phased CBNG
development, the inclusion of the
proposed Tongue River Railroad in the
cumulative impact analysis, and a
discussion on how private water well
mitigation agreements help alleviate the
impacts of methane migration and
groundwater drawdown. The Notice of
Intent to plan for the Draft SEIS/
Amendment was published in the
Federal Register in Volume 70 FR
Number 150, p. 45417, August 5, 2005.
The Draft SEIS/Amendment analyzed
three new alternatives (F, G and H) to
consider phased CBNG development.
Under Alternative F, the BLM would
limit the number of Federal applications
for permit to drill (APD) approved each
year cumulatively and in each fourthorder watershed. The BLM would also
limit the percentage of disturbance
within identified crucial wildlife
habitat. Further, the BLM would place
a limit on the volume of untreated water
discharged to surface waters from
Federal CBNG wells within each fourthorder watershed.
Under Alternative G, development of
CBNG on Federal leases in the Billings
and Powder River RMP areas would be
done following the same management
actions as described under Alternative
F. However, while the BLM would limit
the number of Federal APDs approved
each year cumulatively, development
would be limited to a low range of
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:04 Nov 06, 2008
Jkt 217001
predicted wells based on the Statewide
Document’s Reasonably Foreseeable
Development scenario.
Alternative H, the BLM’s preferred
alternative, contained three key
components. First, a phased
development approach would be
implemented where a CBNG proposal
would be reviewed against four filters or
screens to determine if the proposal
needed to be modified. Second, this
alternative would include extensive
requirements that an operator must meet
when submitting a project Plan of
Development (POD). Third, mitigation
measures, and subsequent modifications
to existing operations via adaptive
management, would be considered and
applied to each POD, as appropriate.
The 90-day public comment period on
the Draft SEIS/Amendment ended May
2, 2007. During the comment period, the
EPA notified the BLM of air analysis
deficiencies in the Draft SEIS/
Amendment. As a result, the BLM
prepared a draft supplement to the Draft
SEIS/Amendment to demonstrate that
predicted visibility effects in Class I and
II areas could be mitigated. The 90-day
public comment period for the
additional air quality analyses ended
March 13, 2008.
Public comments on the Draft SEIS/
Amendment and supplemental air
analyses were considered in the
preparation of the Proposed SEIS/
Amendment. Public comments resulted
in changes to the Air Quality and
Wildlife screens in the Draft SEIS/
Amendment (Alternative H). The Air
Quality Screen was modified to allow
for better monitoring of air quality. The
BLM also received comments on climate
change, which have been addressed in
the Proposed SEIS/Amendment.
Consideration of climate change
analysis did not result in any additional
changes to the Air Quality Screen. The
Wildlife Screen was modified to include
population threshold levels for
pronghorn, mule deer, and sage-grouse
habitat. If the BLM management of
habitat results in declines in the
populations of these species, based on
the established threshold levels, the
BLM would implement mitigation
measures to minimize impacts to
wildlife habitat and maintain wildlife
populations. The Wildlife Screen was
also modified to include provisions that
would allow for the implementation of
protective measures for other species’
habitats.
The Assistant Secretary, Land and
Minerals Management, in the
Department of the Interior is the
responsible official for this proposed
plan amendment on public lands. The
Federal Land Policy and Management
PO 00000
Frm 00043
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Act and its implementing regulations
provide land use planning authority to
the Secretary, as delegated to the
Assistant Secretary. Because the Record
of Decision will be signed by the
Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals
Management, it will be the final
decision for the Department of the
Interior. This decision is not subject to
administrative review (protest) under
the BLM or the Department of the
Interior regulations (43 CFR 1610.5–2).
The BLM has initiated activities to
coordinate and consult with the
Montana Governor. Prior to the issuance
of the Record of Decision and approval
of the proposed land use plan
amendment, the Governor will be given
the opportunity to identify any
inconsistencies between the Proposed
SEIS/Amendment and state or local
plans and to provide recommendations
in writing during the 60-day consistency
review period required by the BLM land
use planning regulations (43 CFR
1610.3–2).
Gene R. Terland,
State Director.
[FR Doc. E8–26473 Filed 11–6–08; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Folsom Dam Safety of Dams Mormon
Island Auxiliary Dam (MIAD)
Modification, California
Bureau of Reclamation,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR)
and notice of public scoping meetings.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and
the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA), the Bureau of Reclamation,
the lead Federal agency, and the
Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency
(SAFCA), acting as the lead State
agency, will prepare a joint EIS/EIR for
the proposed Folsom Dam Safety of
Dams MIAD Modification (Proposed
Action). The purpose of the Proposed
Action is to reduce the seismic and
static risk of failure of MIAD. In this
way, Reclamation will achieve the
existing standards for dam safety and
reduce the risk of injury to those people
living and working downstream of the
Folsom Dam complex.
DATES: A series of scoping meetings will
be held to solicit public input on the
scope of the environmental document,
alternatives, concerns, and issues to be
E:\FR\FM\07NON1.SGM
07NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 217 (Friday, November 7, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66253-66254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26473]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[MT-020-1310-DT 050E]
Notice of Availability of the Final Supplement to the Montana
Statewide Oil and Gas Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed
Amendment of the Powder River and Billings Resource Management Plans
(RMPs)
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: By Order of the U.S. District Court for the District of
Montana, dated April 5, 2005, and pursuant to the Federal Land Policy
and Management Act of 1976 and the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Final
Supplement to the Montana Statewide Oil and Gas Environmental Impact
Statement and Proposed Amendment (Proposed SEIS/Amendment) of the
Powder River and Billings Resource Management Plans (RMPs).
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Proposed SEIS/Amendment have been sent to
affected federal, state, and local government agencies; to tribal
governments; and to interested parties. Copies of the Proposed SEIS/
Amendment are available for public inspection at the BLM Miles City
Field Office, 111 Garryowen Road, Miles City, Montana; and at the BLM
Montana State Office, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, Montana. You may
also view the Proposed SEIS/Amendment on the Internet at https://
www.blm.gov/eis/mt/milescity_seis/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Bloom, Project Manager, by
telephone at (406) 233-2852; by mail at 111 Garryowen Road, Miles City,
MT 59301; or by e-mail at Mary_Bloom@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Powder River and Billings RMP areas
comprise approximately 1.5 million acres of BLM-managed surface and 5
million acres of BLM-managed mineral
[[Page 66254]]
estate. There are approximately 3.2 million acres of BLM-managed oil
and gas. The Powder River RMP area includes Powder River and Treasure
Counties, and portions of Big Horn, Carter, Custer, and Rosebud
Counties. The Billings RMP area includes Carbon, Golden Valley,
Musselshell, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Wheatland, and Yellowstone
Counties and the remaining portion of Big Horn County. The Proposed
SEIS/Amendment supplements the 2003 Montana Statewide Final Oil and Gas
Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Amendment of the Powder
River and Billings Resource Management Plans (Statewide Document).
The Statewide Document was approved on April 30, 2003. Several
lawsuits were filed against the BLM's decisions. Two of the lawsuits
resulted in an April 5, 2005, ruling by the U.S. District Court
ordering the BLM to prepare the SEIS/Amendment to consider a phased
development alternative for coal bed natural gas (CBNG) production in
the Billings and Powder River RMP areas.
Topics addressed in the Proposed SEIS/Amendment include those
provided or recommended by the U.S. District Court: Phased CBNG
development, the inclusion of the proposed Tongue River Railroad in the
cumulative impact analysis, and a discussion on how private water well
mitigation agreements help alleviate the impacts of methane migration
and groundwater drawdown. The Notice of Intent to plan for the Draft
SEIS/Amendment was published in the Federal Register in Volume 70 FR
Number 150, p. 45417, August 5, 2005.
The Draft SEIS/Amendment analyzed three new alternatives (F, G and
H) to consider phased CBNG development. Under Alternative F, the BLM
would limit the number of Federal applications for permit to drill
(APD) approved each year cumulatively and in each fourth-order
watershed. The BLM would also limit the percentage of disturbance
within identified crucial wildlife habitat. Further, the BLM would
place a limit on the volume of untreated water discharged to surface
waters from Federal CBNG wells within each fourth-order watershed.
Under Alternative G, development of CBNG on Federal leases in the
Billings and Powder River RMP areas would be done following the same
management actions as described under Alternative F. However, while the
BLM would limit the number of Federal APDs approved each year
cumulatively, development would be limited to a low range of predicted
wells based on the Statewide Document's Reasonably Foreseeable
Development scenario.
Alternative H, the BLM's preferred alternative, contained three key
components. First, a phased development approach would be implemented
where a CBNG proposal would be reviewed against four filters or screens
to determine if the proposal needed to be modified. Second, this
alternative would include extensive requirements that an operator must
meet when submitting a project Plan of Development (POD). Third,
mitigation measures, and subsequent modifications to existing
operations via adaptive management, would be considered and applied to
each POD, as appropriate.
The 90-day public comment period on the Draft SEIS/Amendment ended
May 2, 2007. During the comment period, the EPA notified the BLM of air
analysis deficiencies in the Draft SEIS/Amendment. As a result, the BLM
prepared a draft supplement to the Draft SEIS/Amendment to demonstrate
that predicted visibility effects in Class I and II areas could be
mitigated. The 90-day public comment period for the additional air
quality analyses ended March 13, 2008.
Public comments on the Draft SEIS/Amendment and supplemental air
analyses were considered in the preparation of the Proposed SEIS/
Amendment. Public comments resulted in changes to the Air Quality and
Wildlife screens in the Draft SEIS/Amendment (Alternative H). The Air
Quality Screen was modified to allow for better monitoring of air
quality. The BLM also received comments on climate change, which have
been addressed in the Proposed SEIS/Amendment. Consideration of climate
change analysis did not result in any additional changes to the Air
Quality Screen. The Wildlife Screen was modified to include population
threshold levels for pronghorn, mule deer, and sage-grouse habitat. If
the BLM management of habitat results in declines in the populations of
these species, based on the established threshold levels, the BLM would
implement mitigation measures to minimize impacts to wildlife habitat
and maintain wildlife populations. The Wildlife Screen was also
modified to include provisions that would allow for the implementation
of protective measures for other species' habitats.
The Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management, in the
Department of the Interior is the responsible official for this
proposed plan amendment on public lands. The Federal Land Policy and
Management Act and its implementing regulations provide land use
planning authority to the Secretary, as delegated to the Assistant
Secretary. Because the Record of Decision will be signed by the
Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management, it will be the final
decision for the Department of the Interior. This decision is not
subject to administrative review (protest) under the BLM or the
Department of the Interior regulations (43 CFR 1610.5-2).
The BLM has initiated activities to coordinate and consult with the
Montana Governor. Prior to the issuance of the Record of Decision and
approval of the proposed land use plan amendment, the Governor will be
given the opportunity to identify any inconsistencies between the
Proposed SEIS/Amendment and state or local plans and to provide
recommendations in writing during the 60-day consistency review period
required by the BLM land use planning regulations (43 CFR 1610.3-2).
Gene R. Terland,
State Director.
[FR Doc. E8-26473 Filed 11-6-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-$$-P
