Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Normally Pressured Lance Natural Gas Development Project, 31628-31629 [2017-14130]
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31628
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 129 / Friday, July 7, 2017 / Notices
Revested Lands (O&C) Act and access
related issues. Members of the public
will have the opportunity to make
comments to the RAC during a public
comment period at 11:45 a.m.
Written comments may be sent to the
Northwest Oregon District office, 1717
Fabry Road SE., Salem, OR 97306.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comments, please 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.
Authority: 43 CFR 1784.4–2
Jose L. Linares,
Northwest Oregon District Manager.
[FR Doc. 2017–14342 Filed 7–6–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–33–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWYD01000 L13140000.NB0000 17X]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Normally Pressured Lance Natural
Gas Development Project
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976, as
amended, the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (Draft
EIS) for the proposed Normally
Pressured Lance (NPL) natural gas
development project within the BLM
Pinedale and Rock Springs Field Offices
and by this notice is announcing the
opening of the comment period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be
considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the NPL Draft EIS
within 45 days following the date the
Environmental Protection Agency
publishes the notice of availability of
the NPL Draft EIS in the Federal
Register. The BLM will announce future
meetings or any other public
participation activities at least 15 days
in advance through public notices,
media releases, and/or mailings.
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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20:56 Jul 06, 2017
Jkt 241001
You may submit comments
related to the NPL Draft EIS by any of
the following methods:
• Email: blm_wy_npl_eis@blm.gov
• Mail: NPL EIS Project Manager, BLM
Pinedale Field Office, P.O. Box 768,
Pinedale, WY 82941
Copies of the NPL Draft EIS are
available at the Pinedale Field Office at
the following locations:
BLM Pinedale Field Office, 1625 West
Pine Street, Pinedale, WY 82941
or
BLM Rock Springs Field Office, 280
Highway 191 North, Rock Springs,
WY 82901
or on the project Web site at: https://
tinyurl.com/hloulms.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan (Liz) Dailey—NPL EIS Project
Manager, BLM Pinedale Field Office,
P.O. Box 768, Pinedale, WY 82941, 307–
367–5310, sdailey@blm.gov. Persons
who use telecommunications device for
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Relay Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339
to contact the above individual during
normal business hours. The FRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 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 NPL
project is located immediately south
and west of the existing Jonah Gas Field
in Sublette County, Wyoming. The
project area lies within the BLM
Wyoming High Desert District and spans
the Pinedale Field Office (PFO) in the
north and the Rock Springs Field Office
(RSFO) to the south. The project
encompasses approximately 141,000
acres of public, state, and private lands.
Approximately 96% of the project area
is on public lands. Within the NPL
project area, there are both unitized and
non-unitized development areas.
There are approximately 48,036 acres
of Greater sage-grouse Priority Habitat
Management Area (PHMA) within the
NPL project area (405 acres within the
PFO and 47,631 acres within the RSFO).
There are approximately 92,825 acres of
General Habitat Management Area in
the NPL project area (78,228 within the
PFO and 14,597 within the RSFO).
There are 27,292 acres (26,392 on BLMadministered lands) of Greater sagegrouse Winter Concentration Area
(WCA) within the NPL. These are
divided into two distinct WCAs: Alkali
Creek, consisting of 20,132 acres (19,232
on BLM-administered lands), and Alkali
Draw, consisting of 7,160 acres (all on
BLM-administered lands). These WCAs
are found in the western and northern
portions of the project area,
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
Frm 00081
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
respectively. There are approximately
1,259 acres of Sagebrush Focal Areas
(SFAs) within the NPL project area. All
of the SFAs are within the RSFO.
Jonah Energy LLC, the current
operator after purchasing Encana Oil
and Gas Inc.’s leasehold interest in the
project, is proposing up to 3,500
directionally drilled wells (depth range
from 6,500 to 13,500 feet) over a 10-year
period (Proposed Action). Under Jonah
Energy’s proposal, most wells would be
co-located on a single pad, with no more
than four well pads per 640 acres in
areas outside of PHMA. There would be
only one disturbance per 640 acres
inside PHMA. On average, each well
pad would be 18 acres in size. Regional
gathering facilities would be used
instead of placing compressors at each
well pad. Associated access roads,
pipelines, and other ancillary facilities
would be co-located where possible to
further minimize surface disturbance.
In addition to the Proposed Action,
the BLM analyzed three other
alternatives: The No Action Alternative,
using existing standard stipulations and
examining the project area under the
historical rate of development of around
three wells per year; Alternative A,
using a phased approach moving
through existing leased oil and gas units
and responding to identified wildlife
issues; and Alternative B, which
addressed a broadrange of resource
concerns in response to issues identified
during scoping.
Alternatives A and B each analyzed
the same rate of development as the
Proposed Action as well as the use of
regional gathering facilities. However, in
addition to varying resource protection
measures, each alternative analyzed
differing densities of development—
from one to four multi-well pads per
640 acres, depending on the resource
considerations of the project area.
Additionally, Alternative A analyzed
the merits of developing the project area
in phases. Phased development across
the project area analyzed development
in three geographically defined phases,
occurring sequentially, and taking into
consideration existing oil and gas units.
Interim and final reclamation
activities would be implemented under
all alternatives so as to return the
landscape to proper biological and
ecological function in conformance with
the NPL Reclamation Plan and the
relevant Resource Management Plans.
Formal public scoping for the NPL
project began on April 12, 2011, with
the publication of the Notice of Intent in
the Federal Register (76 FR 20370).
Public scoping comments were used to
identify issues that informed the
formulation of alternatives and framed
E:\FR\FM\07JYN1.SGM
07JYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 129 / Friday, July 7, 2017 / Notices
the scope of analysis for the NPL Draft
EIS.
All alternatives conform to the PFO
Resource Management Plan Record of
Decision (2008) and the RSFO Green
River Resource Management Plan
Record of Decision (1997) as well as the
Record of Decision and Approved
Resource Management Plan
Amendments for the Rocky Mountain
Region, Including the Greater SageGrouse Sub-Region of Wyoming (2015).
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 review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 and 40 CFR
1506.10
Mary Jo Rugwell,
BLM Wyoming State Director.
[FR Doc. 2017–14130 Filed 7–6–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement
[Docket ID BSEE–2017–0003; OMB Control
Number 1014–0018; 17XE1700DX
EEEE500000 EX1SF0000.DAQ000]
Agency Information Collection
Activities: OMB Control Number 1014–
0018; Oil and Gas Drilling Operations
ACTION:
Notice; request for comments.
To comply with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), the Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is
inviting comments on a collection of
information that we will submit to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and approval. The
information collection request (ICR)
concerns a renewal to the paperwork
requirements in BSEE’s regulations
concerning Oil and Gas Drilling
Operations.
DATES: You must submit comments by
September 5, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by either of the following methods listed
below.
• Electronically go to https://
www.regulations.gov. In the Search box,
enter BSEE–2017–0003 then click
search. Follow the instructions to
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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20:56 Jul 06, 2017
Jkt 241001
submit public comments and view all
related materials. We will post all
comments.
• Email kye.mason@bsee.gov, fax
(703) 787–1546, or mail or hand-carry
comments to the Department of the
Interior; Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement;
Regulations and Standards Branch;
ATTN: Nicole Mason; 45600 Woodland
Road, Sterling, VA 20166. Please
reference ICR 1014–0018 in your
comment and include your name and
return address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nicole Mason, Regulations and
Standards Branch, (703) 787–1607, to
request additional information about
this ICR.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: 30 CFR part 250, subpart D, Oil
and Gas Drilling Operations.
Form(s): BSEE–0125, BSEE–0133, and
BSEE–0133S.
OMB Control Number: 1014–0018.
Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS) Lands Act (OCSLA) at 43 U.S.C.
1334 authorizes the Secretary of the
Interior to prescribe rules and
regulations necessary for the
administration of the leasing provisions
of that Act related to mineral resources
on the OCS. Such rules and regulations
will apply to all operations conducted
under a lease, right-of-way, or a right-ofuse and easement. Operations on the
OCS must preserve, protect, and
develop oil and natural gas resources in
a manner that is consistent with the
need to make such resources available
to meet the Nation’s energy needs as
rapidly as possible; to balance orderly
energy resource development with
protection of human, marine, and
coastal environments; to ensure the
public a fair and equitable return on the
resources of the OCS; and to preserve
and maintain free enterprise
competition.
In addition to the general rulemaking
authority of the OCSLA at 43 U.S.C.
1334, section 301(a) of the Federal Oil
and Gas Royalty Management Act
(FOGRMA), 30 U.S.C. 1751(a), grants
authority to the Secretary to prescribe
such rules and regulations as are
reasonably necessary to carry out
FOGRMA’s provisions. While the
majority of FOGRMA is directed to
royalty collection and enforcement,
some provisions apply to offshore
operations. For example, section 108 of
FOGRMA, 30 U.S.C. 1718, grants the
Secretary broad authority to inspect
lease sites for the purpose of
determining whether there is
compliance with the mineral leasing
laws. Section 109(c)(2) and (d)(1), 30
PO 00000
Frm 00082
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
31629
U.S.C. 1719(c)(2) and (d)(1), impose
substantial civil penalties for failure to
permit lawful inspections and for
knowing or willful preparation or
submission of false, inaccurate, or
misleading reports, records, or other
information. Because the Secretary has
delegated some of the authority under
FOGRMA to the Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), 30
U.S.C. 1751 is included as additional
authority for these requirements.
On November 2, 2015, the President
signed into law the Federal Civil
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act
Improvements Act of 2015 (Sec. 701 of
Pub. L. 114–74) (FCPIA of 2015). The
OCSLA directs the Secretary of the
Interior to adjust the OCSLA maximum
civil penalty amount at least once every
three years to reflect any increase in the
Consumer Price Index (CPI) to account
for inflation (43 U.S.C. 1350(b)(1)). The
FCPIA of 2015 requires Federal agencies
to adjust the level of civil monetary
penalties with an initial ‘‘catch-up’’
adjustment, if warranted, through
rulemaking and then to make
subsequent annual adjustments for
inflation. The purpose of these
adjustments is to maintain the deterrent
effect of civil penalties and to further
the policy goals of the underlying
statutes.
These authorities and responsibilities
are among those delegated to BSEE. The
regulations at 30 CFR part 250, subpart
D, concern oil and gas drilling
requirements and are the subject of this
collection. This request also covers
related Notices to Lessees and Operators
(NTLs) that BSEE issues to clarify,
supplement, or provide additional
guidance on some aspects of our
regulations.
BSEE uses the information collected
under subpart D to ensure safe drilling
operations and to protect the human,
marine, and coastal environment.
Among other things, BSEE specifically
uses the information to ensure: The
drilling unit is fit for the intended
purpose; the lessee or operator will not
encounter geologic conditions that
present a hazard to operations;
equipment is maintained in a state of
readiness and meets safety standards;
each drilling crew is properly trained
and able to promptly perform wellcontrol activities at any time during
well operations; compliance with safety
standards; and the current regulations
will provide for safe and proper field or
reservoir development, resource
evaluation, conservation, protection of
correlative rights, safety, and
environmental protection. We also
review well records to ascertain whether
drilling operations have encountered
E:\FR\FM\07JYN1.SGM
07JYN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 129 (Friday, July 7, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31628-31629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14130]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWYD01000 L13140000.NB0000 17X]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Normally Pressured Lance Natural Gas Development
Project
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the proposed
Normally Pressured Lance (NPL) natural gas development project within
the BLM Pinedale and Rock Springs Field Offices and by this notice is
announcing the opening of the comment period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the NPL Draft EIS within 45 days following the date
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of
availability of the NPL Draft EIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will
announce future meetings or any other public participation activities
at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases,
and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the NPL Draft EIS by any
of the following methods:
Email: blm_wy_npl_eis@blm.gov
Mail: NPL EIS Project Manager, BLM Pinedale Field Office, P.O.
Box 768, Pinedale, WY 82941
Copies of the NPL Draft EIS are available at the Pinedale Field
Office at the following locations:
BLM Pinedale Field Office, 1625 West Pine Street, Pinedale, WY 82941
or
BLM Rock Springs Field Office, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, WY
82901
or on the project Web site at: https://tinyurl.com/hloulms.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan (Liz) Dailey--NPL EIS Project
Manager, BLM Pinedale Field Office, P.O. Box 768, Pinedale, WY 82941,
307-367-5310, sdailey@blm.gov. Persons who use telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at
1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business
hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 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 NPL project is located immediately south
and west of the existing Jonah Gas Field in Sublette County, Wyoming.
The project area lies within the BLM Wyoming High Desert District and
spans the Pinedale Field Office (PFO) in the north and the Rock Springs
Field Office (RSFO) to the south. The project encompasses approximately
141,000 acres of public, state, and private lands. Approximately 96% of
the project area is on public lands. Within the NPL project area, there
are both unitized and non-unitized development areas.
There are approximately 48,036 acres of Greater sage-grouse
Priority Habitat Management Area (PHMA) within the NPL project area
(405 acres within the PFO and 47,631 acres within the RSFO). There are
approximately 92,825 acres of General Habitat Management Area in the
NPL project area (78,228 within the PFO and 14,597 within the RSFO).
There are 27,292 acres (26,392 on BLM-administered lands) of Greater
sage-grouse Winter Concentration Area (WCA) within the NPL. These are
divided into two distinct WCAs: Alkali Creek, consisting of 20,132
acres (19,232 on BLM-administered lands), and Alkali Draw, consisting
of 7,160 acres (all on BLM-administered lands). These WCAs are found in
the western and northern portions of the project area, respectively.
There are approximately 1,259 acres of Sagebrush Focal Areas (SFAs)
within the NPL project area. All of the SFAs are within the RSFO.
Jonah Energy LLC, the current operator after purchasing Encana Oil
and Gas Inc.'s leasehold interest in the project, is proposing up to
3,500 directionally drilled wells (depth range from 6,500 to 13,500
feet) over a 10-year period (Proposed Action). Under Jonah Energy's
proposal, most wells would be co-located on a single pad, with no more
than four well pads per 640 acres in areas outside of PHMA. There would
be only one disturbance per 640 acres inside PHMA. On average, each
well pad would be 18 acres in size. Regional gathering facilities would
be used instead of placing compressors at each well pad. Associated
access roads, pipelines, and other ancillary facilities would be co-
located where possible to further minimize surface disturbance.
In addition to the Proposed Action, the BLM analyzed three other
alternatives: The No Action Alternative, using existing standard
stipulations and examining the project area under the historical rate
of development of around three wells per year; Alternative A, using a
phased approach moving through existing leased oil and gas units and
responding to identified wildlife issues; and Alternative B, which
addressed a broadrange of resource concerns in response to issues
identified during scoping.
Alternatives A and B each analyzed the same rate of development as
the Proposed Action as well as the use of regional gathering
facilities. However, in addition to varying resource protection
measures, each alternative analyzed differing densities of
development--from one to four multi-well pads per 640 acres, depending
on the resource considerations of the project area. Additionally,
Alternative A analyzed the merits of developing the project area in
phases. Phased development across the project area analyzed development
in three geographically defined phases, occurring sequentially, and
taking into consideration existing oil and gas units.
Interim and final reclamation activities would be implemented under
all alternatives so as to return the landscape to proper biological and
ecological function in conformance with the NPL Reclamation Plan and
the relevant Resource Management Plans.
Formal public scoping for the NPL project began on April 12, 2011,
with the publication of the Notice of Intent in the Federal Register
(76 FR 20370). Public scoping comments were used to identify issues
that informed the formulation of alternatives and framed
[[Page 31629]]
the scope of analysis for the NPL Draft EIS.
All alternatives conform to the PFO Resource Management Plan Record
of Decision (2008) and the RSFO Green River Resource Management Plan
Record of Decision (1997) as well as the Record of Decision and
Approved Resource Management Plan Amendments for the Rocky Mountain
Region, Including the Greater Sage-Grouse Sub-Region of Wyoming (2015).
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 review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 and 40 CFR 1506.10
Mary Jo Rugwell,
BLM Wyoming State Director.
[FR Doc. 2017-14130 Filed 7-6-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P