Fishlake National Forest; Utah; Oil and Gas Leasing EIS, 2881-2882 [2011-886]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Forest Service

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2881-2882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-886]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Fishlake National Forest; Utah; Oil and Gas Leasing EIS

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Corrected Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement for the Oil and Gas Leasing Analysis. The original notice was 
published on July 7, 2006.

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SUMMARY: The Fishlake National Forest (FNF) is preparing an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) to disclose the potential effects 
of a proposal to make lands administered by the FNF available for oil 
and gas leasing, and to determine what lease stipulations would apply 
to those lands. The proposal also includes amending the FNF Land and 
Resource Management Plan (LRMP) to update management direction for 
minerals management, specifically oil and gas. The scope of the 
analysis is forest-wide. A Notice of Intent (NOI) was first published 
for this proposal on July 7, 2006, Volume 71, No. 130, pages 38602-
38604. Due to the length of time that has passed since the first NOI 
was published, the FNF is publishing this Corrected NOI.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis were received 
during the initial scoping period in 2006, and are being considered in 
the preparation of this EIS. New or additional comments should be 
received within 30 days from the publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register. The draft EIS is expected April 2011 and the final 
EIS is expected October 2011.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Shelly Dyke, Team Leader, Fishlake 
National Forest, 115 E. 900 North, Richfield, Utah 84701; phone (801) 
597-7633; fax (435) 896-0374; e-mail: forest_service_act2@fs.fed.us. 
Comments may also be sent via e-mail to sdyke@fs.fed.us. Please include 
``Oil and Gas Leasing Analysis'' on the subject line.
    It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times 
and in such a way that they are useful to the Agency's preparation of 
the EIS. Therefore, comments should clearly articulate the reviewer's 
concerns and contentions.
    Comments received, including names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be part of the public record for this proposed action. 
Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered, however 
those who submit comments anonymously would not be considered to have 
standing in the process. Those who commented during the initial scoping 
period need not resubmit comments, unless there are additional comments 
they wish to make.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Zappell, Public Affairs Officer 
at (435) 896-1070.
    Technical Contact: Diane Freeman, Ecosystem Staff Officer at (435) 
896-1050.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action

    Agency regulations at 36 CFR 228.102 require the Forest Service to 
analyze lands under their jurisdiction that have not already been 
analyzed for oil and gas leasing. None of the lands administered by the 
FNF have previously been analyzed for oil and gas leasing. In analyzing 
lands for oil and gas leasing, the Forest Service must comply with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Federal Onshore Oil and 
Gas Leasing Reform Act (FOOGLRA) of 1987 establishes consent authority 
to the Forest Service for leasing, prior to the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) offering National Forest System lands for lease. The 
BLM Utah State Office has received several Expressions of Interest 
(EOI) for leasing portions of the FNF. In order to facilitate the BLM 
processing and responding to those EOIs, the FNF must first complete a 
leasing analysis to

[[Page 2882]]

determine which lands to identify for leasing, and what additional 
stipulations, if any would apply to those lands. Finally, the FNF LRMP 
has not yet been revised; therefore an amendment is needed to update 
direction for protecting surface resources relative to minerals 
management, specifically oil and gas exploration and development.
    The purpose of this leasing analysis is to identify which lands 
would be available and approved for oil and gas leasing, to determine 
what standard or special lease stipulations would apply to which pieces 
of land for resource protection, to project the type and amount of 
post-leasing activity that would be reasonably foreseeable, and to 
analyze the potential impacts of reasonably foreseeable post-leasing 
activity.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to make all lands administered by the FNF 
available for lease. The following areas would be leased with the No 
Surface Occupancy (NSO) stipulation: All Research Natural Areas; 
Quitchupah Canyon Cultural Area; Areas with slopes greater than 35 
percent; North Horn sediment areas greater than 25 percent slope; 
Habitat within one mile of known threatened, endangered, or proposed 
(TEP) plants; Habitat of TEP species covered under a conservation 
agreement or recovery plan; Areas within 300 feet of riparian areas, 
wetlands, lakes, reservoirs, perennial streams, and springs; Municipal 
water source protection areas; Bald eagle winter concentration areas; 
Sage grouse leks and nesting habitat; Known colonies of pygmy rabbits; 
Key habitats for boreal toad; Developed recreation sites; Areas with a 
Primitive Recreation Opportunity Spectrum; Forest Service 
administrative sites and facilities; National Recreation Trails; 
Inventoried Roadless Areas as identified in the 2001 Roadless Area 
Conservation Rule.
    The following areas would be leased with a Timing Limitation (TL) 
stipulation: Sage grouse brood-rearing areas (May 1 to July 5); Goshawk 
nesting and nest replacement areas (March 1 to September 30); Big game 
wintering areas (January 1 to April 15); Big game calving and fawning 
areas (May 1 to July 5).
    The following areas would be leased with the Controlled Surface Use 
(CSU) stipulation:
    Unstable lands; Sensitive plant habitat within one mile of known 
sites; Campground water systems; Goshawk post-fledging areas; Raptor 
nest areas; High scenic integrity areas (including areas seen from 
Capital Reef National Park and Fremont Indian State Park); Areas with a 
Semi-Primitive Non-motorized Recreation Opportunity Spectrum; Air 
quality non-attainment areas; Cultural resource areas.
    All other areas would be leased with standard lease terms and 
conditions. Lease notices (LN) would be included in leases to inform 
prospective bidders of restrictions required by law or regulation.

Possible Alternatives

    In addition to the Proposed Action, the No Action alternative will 
be analyzed in detail. Under this alternative oil and gas leasing would 
occur under current management direction. Other alternatives could 
include a range of more restrictive lease stipulations placed on more 
acreage, and/or fewer acres approved for lease availability.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    The USDA Forest Service is the lead agency. The USDI Bureau of Land 
Management, and the State of Utah are cooperating agencies.

Responsible Official

    The responsible official is the Forest Supervisor of the Fishlake 
National Forest.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The Forest Supervisor of the Fishlake National Forest will decide 
which lands administered by the FNF will be administratively available 
for oil and gas leasing, and what stipulations would be applied to 
future leases. The Forest Supervisor will also decide whether to 
approve a non-significant Forest Plan amendment to update management 
direction for leasable minerals. This decision will not result in 
ground-disturbing activities such as exploration, drilling, or field 
development. Any ground disturbing activity that may be proposed 
subsequent to leasing would require further site-specific review and 
environmental analysis prior to approval as outlined in current Federal 
regulations (36 CFR 228.107).

Scoping Process

    The initial scoping period started when the NOI was published in 
2006. There is an opportunity to submit additional comments not already 
submitted, for 30 days after publication of this Corrected NOI.
    A series of public meetings were held in July and August, 2006. No 
additional public meetings are planned at this time. The proposal has 
been listed on the FNF Schedule of Proposed Actions since 2006.

    Dated: January 6, 2011.
Joseph G. Reddan,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2011-886 Filed 1-14-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P