Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Alpine Satellite Development Plan for the Proposed Greater Mooses Tooth Unit Development Project, Alaska, 9920-9921 [2014-03682]

Download as PDF 9920 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 35 / Friday, February 21, 2014 / Notices proposal will be subject to the predecisional review process. The regulation further provides that ‘‘all interested and affected parties who provided written comment as defined in subsection 218.2 during scoping or the comment period will be eligible to participate in the objections process.’’ 36 CFR 218.16(b)(3). The purpose of this paragraph is to provide notice that the proposed decisions made by the USFS for this project will be subject to the predecisional review process in 36 CFR Part 218 subparts A and B. Donald A. Simpson, Wyoming State Director. [FR Doc. 2014–03683 Filed 2–20–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–22–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Alpine Satellite Development Plan for the Proposed Greater Mooses Tooth Unit Development Project, Alaska Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Arctic Field Office, Fairbanks, Alaska, issues the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for public comment and announces upcoming public meetings and subsistence hearings to receive comments on the Draft Supplemental EIS and the proposed project’s potential to impact subsistence resources and activities. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the Supplemental EIS is being prepared to supplement the Alpine Satellite Development Plan (ASDP) Final EIS, dated September 2004, regarding the establishment of satellite oil production pads and associated infrastructure within the Alpine field. DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive written comments on the Draft Supplemental EIS within 60 days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. Written comments on the Draft Supplemental EIS will be accepted until April 22, 2014. Draft Supplemental EIS public meetings will be held in the following communities in Alaska: Anaktuvuk Pass, Anchorage, Atqasuk, Barrow, Fairbanks, Nuiqsut, Point Lay, and rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 14:09 Feb 20, 2014 Jkt 232001 Wainwright. The public meetings at Anaktuvuk Pass, Atqasuk, Barrow, Nuiqsut, Point Lay, and Wainwright will incorporate subsistence hearings. The date, time, and location of the meetings will be announced on BLM Alaska’s Web site, through public notices, media news releases, and/or other mailings. ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed to: GMT1 SEIS Comments, Attn: Bridget Psarianos, 222 West 7th Avenue, # 13 Anchorage, AK 99513– 7504; faxed to 907–271–3933; hand delivered to the BLM Public Information Center in the Federal Building, 222 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99513–7504; or emailed to: gmt1comments@slrconsulting.com Copies of the Draft Supplemental EIS are available for public inspection at the BLM Public Information Center in the Federal Building, 222 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99513–7504; and the Fairbanks District Office at 1150 University Avenue, Fairbanks, AK 99709. The Draft Supplemental EIS can be reviewed at BLM Alaska’s ePlanning Web site at http:www.blm.gov/ak/GMT. A CD or paper copy may be requested by calling Bridget Psarianos, BLM project lead at 907–271–4208. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bridget Psarianos, BLM Alaska State Office, 907–271–4208. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1– 800–877–8339 to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to leave a message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ASDP Draft Supplemental EIS analyzes an application by ConocoPhillips, Alaska, Inc. (CPAI) for issuance of a right-of-way grant and related authorizations to construct, operate, and maintain a drill site, access road, pipelines, and ancillary facilities to support development of petroleum resources at the Greater Mooses Tooth Unit # 1 (GMT1) drill site within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR–A). The BLM manages the surface and subsurface at the proposed drill site and a majority of the proposed infield road and pipeline route is on BLM-managed lands. The proposed GMT1 site is approximately 14 miles west of the CPAI-operated Alpine Central Processing Facility (CD–1). The proposed drill site would be operated and maintained by Alpine staff and supported using CD–1 infrastructure. PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 The Draft Supplemental EIS will evaluate any relevant new circumstances and information which have arisen since the ASDP Final EIS was issued in September 2004, update alternatives, and address any changes to CPAI’s proposed development plan for GMT1. The Draft Supplemental EIS will result in a Record of Decision (ROD) that will approve, deny, or approve with modification, CPAI’s application, as well as incorporate any additional mitigation measures that may be relevant. The Draft Supplemental EIS analyzes CPAI’s proposed project, three action alternatives to the proposed project, including an alternative that does not include a road between GMT1 and the currently permitted Colville Delta 5 pad, and a no action alternative. The key issues in the Draft Supplemental EIS center on oil and gas production decisions, the protection of physical, biological, and subsistence resources, and the evaluation and consideration of appropriate on-sight and compensatory mitigation measures. Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act requires the BLM to evaluate the effects of the alternatives presented in the Draft Supplemental EIS on subsistence activities, and to hold public hearings if it finds that any alternative may significantly restrict subsistence activities. The analysis of environmental impacts in the Draft Supplemental EIS indicates that the action alternatives and the cumulative impacts may significantly restrict subsistence activities in Nuiqsut; the cumulative impacts may also significantly restrict subsistence activities in Barrow, Atqasuk, Wainwright, Point Lay, and Anaktuvuk Pass. Therefore, the BLM will hold public hearings on subsistence in conjunction with the public meetings in the potentially affected communities of Anaktuvuk Pass, Atqasuk, Barrow, Nuiqsut, Point Lay, and Wainwright. Written comments should be submitted by any of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. Before including your address, phone number, email 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 view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. E:\FR\FM\21FEN1.SGM 21FEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 35 / Friday, February 21, 2014 / Notices Authority: 40 CFR 1502.9, 40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR Part 2880. Bud Cribley, State Director. [FR Doc. 2014–03682 Filed 2–20–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–JA–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLNVSO3100 L51010000 ER0000 LVRWF1304100.241A; 14–08807; MO# 4500060501; TAS: 14X5017] Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and the Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment for the Silver State Solar South Project, Clark County, NV Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. AGENCY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Silver State Solar South Project and Proposed Las Vegas Field Office Resource Management Plan (RMP) amendment. The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management signed the ROD on February 14, 2014, which constitutes the final decision of the Department. ADDRESSES: Copies of the ROD/ approved RMP amendment are available for public inspection or upon request at the Southern Nevada District Office, Bureau of Land Management, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130 or via the Internet at https:// www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/lvfo/blm_ programs/energy/Silver_State_Solar_ South.html. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Helseth, Renewable Energy Project Manager, telephone 702–515–5173; address 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130; email ghelseth@ blm.gov. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to contact Mr. Helseth during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question for Mr. Helseth. You will receive a reply during normal business hours. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Silver State Solar Power South, LLC, submitted a right-of-way (ROW) application for the construction, operation, maintenance, and termination of a 250–350 megawatt rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 14:09 Feb 20, 2014 Jkt 232001 (MW) solar energy generation facility within a 13,184-acre area of public land east of Primm, Nevada. The BLM prepared a Draft and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and proposed RMP amendment in consultation with cooperating agencies, taking into account public comments received during the National Environmental Policy Act process. The Final Supplemental EIS/proposed RMP amendment provides a framework for the future management direction and appropriate use of the project area, located in Clark County, Nevada. Because the BLM would need to amend the October 1998 Las Vegas RMP to address proposed changes in land and resource use within the project area, the Supplemental EIS/proposed RMP amendment considered land use planning decisions and implementation decisions to guide the BLM’s management of the project area. The implementation decision to be made was whether to approve, approve with modifications, or deny the issuance of ROW grant applied for by Silver State Solar Power South, LLC, a whollyowned subsidiary of First Solar, Inc. The planning decisions to be made were to: (1) Reduce the size of the Jean Lake/ Roach Lake Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) to ensure that the proposed ROW grant is in conformance with the Las Vegas Field Office RMP and to ensure a balanced use of the public lands and the resources affected by those uses; (2) Revise the Visual Resource Management classification of lands within the project footprint to ensure management is in conformance with Las Vegas Field Office RMP decisions; and (3) Designate an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) and identify management prescriptions for a portion of the proposed ACEC nomination area. The BLM Preferred Alternative for the implementation decision was developed after release of the Draft Supplemental EIS/proposed RMP amendment to address public and agency concerns related to desert tortoise demographic connectivity within the Ivanpah Valley, and agency and public interest in a reduced-scale project. The BLM Preferred Alternative is smaller in area and electricity generation capacity is reduced to 250 MW. The BLM Preferred Alternative would disturb up to 2,427 acres of Federal land entirely within the footprint of alternatives analyzed in the Draft and Final Supplemental EIS/ proposed RMP amendment, and thus involves no new areas of effect. The BLM Preferred Alternative for the RMP PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 9921 amendment identified in the Draft Supplemental EIS/proposed RMP amendment was to: (1) Reduce the acreage of the SRMA by the project footprint (if approved); and (2) Change the Visual Resource Management (VRM) class from VRM Class III to IV for the project footprint (if approved). In the Final Supplemental EIS/proposed RMP amendment, the BLM Preferred Alternative also included a 31,859-acre area for designation as an ACEC for desert tortoise protection and management prescriptions that would be required for the designated ACEC. The Environmental Protection Agency and the BLM published the Notice of Availability for the Final Supplemental EIS/proposed RMP amendment concurrently in the Federal Register (78 FR 57849 and 78 FR 57880) on Friday, September 20, 2013, initiating a 30-day protest period and a 60-day Governor’s consistency review. The BLM received 12 timely protests, which were resolved prior to the issuance of the ROD. The protest resolution is summarized in the ROD and is addressed in the separate Director’s Protest Summary Resolution Report attached to the ROD. The proposed amendment to the Las Vegas Field Office RMP was not modified as a result of the protests received or the resolution. The Governor of Nevada conducted a consistency review of the proposed amendment to the Las Vegas Field Office RMP to identify any inconsistencies with State or local plans, policies or programs. No inconsistencies were identified by the Governor’s office. The ROD approves the BLM Preferred Alternative for the Silver State Solar South project and all mitigation measures identified in the Final Supplemental EIS/proposed RMP amendment. The ROD also approves the BLM Preferred Alternative for the RMP amendment to: (1) Remove the SRMA designation within the ROW grant area; (2) Change the VRM classification from Class III to Class IV within the ROW grant area; and (3) Designate a 31,859acre ACEC adjacent to the ROW grant area and adopt the management prescriptions for the ACEC identified in the Final Supplemental EIS/proposed RMP amendment. Because this decision is approved by the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior, it is not subject to administrative appeal (43 CFR 4.410(a)(3)). E:\FR\FM\21FEN1.SGM 21FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 35 (Friday, February 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9920-9921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-03682]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management


Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Alpine Satellite Development Plan for the 
Proposed Greater Mooses Tooth Unit Development Project, Alaska

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Arctic Field Office, 
Fairbanks, Alaska, issues the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for public comment and announces upcoming public 
meetings and subsistence hearings to receive comments on the Draft 
Supplemental EIS and the proposed project's potential to impact 
subsistence resources and activities. Pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the Supplemental EIS is 
being prepared to supplement the Alpine Satellite Development Plan 
(ASDP) Final EIS, dated September 2004, regarding the establishment of 
satellite oil production pads and associated infrastructure within the 
Alpine field.

DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Draft Supplemental EIS within 60 days following 
the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of 
Availability in the Federal Register. Written comments on the Draft 
Supplemental EIS will be accepted until April 22, 2014.
    Draft Supplemental EIS public meetings will be held in the 
following communities in Alaska: Anaktuvuk Pass, Anchorage, Atqasuk, 
Barrow, Fairbanks, Nuiqsut, Point Lay, and Wainwright. The public 
meetings at Anaktuvuk Pass, Atqasuk, Barrow, Nuiqsut, Point Lay, and 
Wainwright will incorporate subsistence hearings. The date, time, and 
location of the meetings will be announced on BLM Alaska's Web site, 
through public notices, media news releases, and/or other mailings.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed to: GMT1 SEIS Comments, 
Attn: Bridget Psarianos, 222 West 7th Avenue,  13 Anchorage, 
AK 99513-7504; faxed to 907-271-3933; hand delivered to the BLM Public 
Information Center in the Federal Building, 222 West 7th Avenue, 
Anchorage, AK 99513-7504; or emailed to: gmt1comments@slrconsulting.com
    Copies of the Draft Supplemental EIS are available for public 
inspection at the BLM Public Information Center in the Federal 
Building, 222 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99513-7504; and the 
Fairbanks District Office at 1150 University Avenue, Fairbanks, AK 
99709. The Draft Supplemental EIS can be reviewed at BLM Alaska's 
ePlanning Web site at http:www.blm.gov/ak/GMT. A CD or paper copy may 
be requested by calling Bridget Psarianos, BLM project lead at 907-271-
4208.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bridget Psarianos, BLM Alaska State 
Office, 907-271-4208. Persons who use a telecommunications device for 
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 
1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business 
hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to 
leave a message or question with the above individual. You will receive 
a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ASDP Draft Supplemental EIS analyzes an 
application by ConocoPhillips, Alaska, Inc. (CPAI) for issuance of a 
right-of-way grant and related authorizations to construct, operate, 
and maintain a drill site, access road, pipelines, and ancillary 
facilities to support development of petroleum resources at the Greater 
Mooses Tooth Unit  1 (GMT1) drill site within the National 
Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The BLM manages the surface and 
subsurface at the proposed drill site and a majority of the proposed 
infield road and pipeline route is on BLM-managed lands. The proposed 
GMT1 site is approximately 14 miles west of the CPAI-operated Alpine 
Central Processing Facility (CD-1). The proposed drill site would be 
operated and maintained by Alpine staff and supported using CD-1 
infrastructure. The Draft Supplemental EIS will evaluate any relevant 
new circumstances and information which have arisen since the ASDP 
Final EIS was issued in September 2004, update alternatives, and 
address any changes to CPAI's proposed development plan for GMT1. The 
Draft Supplemental EIS will result in a Record of Decision (ROD) that 
will approve, deny, or approve with modification, CPAI's application, 
as well as incorporate any additional mitigation measures that may be 
relevant. The Draft Supplemental EIS analyzes CPAI's proposed project, 
three action alternatives to the proposed project, including an 
alternative that does not include a road between GMT1 and the currently 
permitted Colville Delta 5 pad, and a no action alternative. The key 
issues in the Draft Supplemental EIS center on oil and gas production 
decisions, the protection of physical, biological, and subsistence 
resources, and the evaluation and consideration of appropriate on-sight 
and compensatory mitigation measures.
    Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 
requires the BLM to evaluate the effects of the alternatives presented 
in the Draft Supplemental EIS on subsistence activities, and to hold 
public hearings if it finds that any alternative may significantly 
restrict subsistence activities. The analysis of environmental impacts 
in the Draft Supplemental EIS indicates that the action alternatives 
and the cumulative impacts may significantly restrict subsistence 
activities in Nuiqsut; the cumulative impacts may also significantly 
restrict subsistence activities in Barrow, Atqasuk, Wainwright, Point 
Lay, and Anaktuvuk Pass. Therefore, the BLM will hold public hearings 
on subsistence in conjunction with the public meetings in the 
potentially affected communities of Anaktuvuk Pass, Atqasuk, Barrow, 
Nuiqsut, Point Lay, and Wainwright.
    Written comments should be submitted by any of the methods listed 
in the ADDRESSES section. Before including your address, phone number, 
email 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 view, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.


[[Page 9921]]


    Authority: 40 CFR 1502.9, 40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR Part 2880.

Bud Cribley,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-03682 Filed 2-20-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P
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