National Forests and Grasslands in Texas; Oil and Gas Leasing Availability Analysis Environmental Impact Statement, 44843-44845 [2019-18357]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 27, 2019 / Notices
the United States as a permanent
resident and are able to meet United
States citizenship requirements prior to
completion of your degree.
4. Must be in good academic standing.
High School College and College
applicants will apply by:
(1) Writing an essay describing
educational and career goals;
(2) Submitting a high school and/or a
college transcript;
(3) Submitting a resume, and;
(4) Submitting two letters of
recommendation. These letters of
recommendation may be from high
school teachers, college professors, and
college officials.
Estimate of Burden: Public reporting
burden for this collection of information
is estimated to average 1.3 hours per
response.
Respondents: High School or College
Student applicants; High School
Teachers and Guidance Counselors,
College Professor(s), and College
Officials.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
170 applications will generate 510
responses.
Estimated Number of Responses per
Respondent: 3. Each application will
generate three responses.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on
Respondents: 663 hours.
Comments are invited on: (1) Whether
the proposed collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
(3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including the use
of appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology. Comments may
be sent to Lawrence A. Shorty, USDA
1994 Tribal Scholars Program. All
comments received will be available for
public inspection during regular
business hours at the same address.
All responses to this notice will be
summarized and included in the request
for Office of Management and Budget
approval. All comments will become a
matter of public record.
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Signed on this 21st day of August, 2019.
Riley W. Pagett,
Chief of Staff, Office of Partnerships and
Public Engagement.
[FR Doc. 2019–18361 Filed 8–26–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
National Forests and Grasslands in
Texas; Oil and Gas Leasing Availability
Analysis Environmental Impact
Statement
Forest Service, USDA,
Notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The National Forests and
Grasslands in Texas (NFGT) are
initiating the preparation of an
environmental impact statement (EIS).
The EIS will analyze and disclose the
effects of identifying areas as available
or unavailable for new oil and gas
leasing. The proposed action identifies
the following elements: What lands will
be made available for future oil and gas
leasing; what stipulations will be
applied to lands available for future oil
and gas leasing, and if there would be
any plan amendments to the 1996 NFGT
Revised Land and Resource
Management Plan (Forest Plan).
DATES: Public comments concerning the
scope of the analysis must be received
by October 11, 2019. The draft EIS is
expected in the winter of 2019, and the
final EIS is expected in the fall of 2020.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to
Oil and Gas EIS Project, National
Forests and Grasslands in Texas, 2221
N. Raguet Street, Lufkin, Texas 75904.
Comments may also be submitted
electronically through the project
website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/
texas/oil-and-gas or via fax to (936)
639–8588.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Potts, Natural Resources and
Planning Staff Officer, at (936) 639–
8539.
Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1 (800) 877–8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern
Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
Purpose and Need for Action
The Forest Service withdrew its
consent to lease NFGT lands from the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for
oil and gas development in 2016. The
reason for the withdrawal of consent
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44843
was due to stakeholder concerns,
including insufficient public
notification, insufficient opportunity for
public involvement, and insufficient
environmental analysis. Environmental
impacts of oil and gas leasing were last
evaluated in the 1996 Final EIS for the
NFGT Forest Plan. That document did
not include an analysis of current
issues, such as current impacts on air
pollution, or of technologies, such as
horizontal drilling and hydraulic
fracturing.
There is a need to analyze the impacts
of new oil and gas development
technologies on surface and subsurface
water and geologic resources; air
resources; fish and wildlife resources;
fragile and rare ecosystems; threatened
and endangered species; and invasive
plant management. There is the need to
examine changed conditions since the
Forest Plan was published, such as
increases in dispersed and developed
recreation, wild and scenic river
eligibility and suitability, and changed
socioeconomic conditions. Tribes will
also need to be consulted to identify
needed protections for heritage resource
areas.
These current issues and changed
conditions need to be evaluated in
determining which National Forest
System (NFS) lands administered by the
NFGT should be made available for
future oil and gas leasing. Such an
evaluation also is necessary to
determine what lease stipulations
should apply to those lands to protect
resources.
The Forest Service will prepare an EIS
to support the BLM’s independent
decision to include the NFGT
administered NFS lands that are made
available for leasing in future
competitive oil and gas lease sales.
Proposed Action
The Forest Service proposes to
identify NFGT administered lands that
would be administratively available for
future oil and gas leasing; to identify
which stipulations would be applied to
protect resources on lands available for
future oil and gas leasing; and to
determine if the 1996 NFGT Forest Plan
should be amended. The Forest
Service’s analysis will not affect current
valid leasing, including the associated
terms, conditions, and stipulations. The
EIS also would not affect the exercising
of reserved and outstanding mineral
rights on NFS lands. The proposed
changes would apply only to new leases
for federal minerals that may be issued.
Following an initial evaluation of the
need to change current direction, the
following actions are being proposed to
address those areas and management
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 27, 2019 / Notices
directions that need to be changed.
Management direction and the acres
provided below would apply to the
decision area. The decision area
includes only those NFGT lands where
the Forest Service manages the surface
and the underlying mineral estate is
federally managed by the BLM. The
total decision area is approximately
447,000 acres.
• Both current management and the
proposed action would maintain 38,300
acres as closed for congressionallydesignated wilderness areas.
• The proposed action would convert
Controlled Surface Use (CSU)
stipulations to No Surface Occupancy
(NSO) stipulations for natural heritage
botanical areas and reservoirs on the
NFGT. This would decrease the number
of acres with a CSU stipulation from
approximately 73,100 to 63,100 acres.
• The proposed action would remove
the current turkey nesting Timing
Limitation (TL) stipulation.
• The proposed action would add
NSO stipulations to protect natural
heritage botanical areas, special status
species, unique prairie vegetation
communities, inclusional wetlands,
sensitive aquatic areas, natural springs,
and steep slopes. This would increase
the numbers of acres with a NSO
stipulation from approximately 11,100
to 28,000 acres.
• Several NSO and CSU stipulations
would require site-specific surveys to
identify areas where the stipulation
applies. This includes red-cockaded
woodpecker (RCW) NSO and CSU
stipulations for cavity trees, cluster
sites, and foraging habitat. These RCW
stipulations would apply in
Management Area 2, which includes
approximately 226,700 acres of the
decision area. Site-specific surveys are
also required to determine CSU areas for
the protection of 100-year floodplains
and intermittent and perennial
waterways.
• Existing NSO and CSU stipulations
related to erodible soils, flood control
structures, Research Natural Areas,
developed recreation sites, scenic areas
and Lake Conroe would be updated to
improve implementability.
• New stipulations to address
invasive plants, restoration seed mixes,
and soil stability associated with well
pad construction would also be added.
The NFGT website at https://
www.fs.usda.gov/goto/texas/oil-and-gas
includes a listing of the proposed
stipulation changes, a map of the
existing stipulations and where they are
applied, and a map of the proposed
action stipulations and where they
would be applied.
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Proposed Amendment to the NFGT
Forest Plan
The proposed action would also
amend the existing NFGT Forest Plan.
The 36 CFR 219 regulations pertaining
to NFS land management planning (the
planning rule) require that the
responsible official provide notice
‘‘about which substantive requirements
of §§ 219.8 through 219.11 are likely to
be directly related to the amendment’’
(36 CFR 219.13(b)(2)). Whether a rule
provision is directly related to an
amendment is determined by any one of
the following: the purpose for the
amendment, a beneficial effect of the
amendment, a substantial adverse effect
of the amendment, or a lessening of plan
protections by the amendment (36 CFR
219.13(b)(5)).
Under the proposed action, the Forest
Plan would be amended to include the
following restrictions on the lands
available for leasing:
• NSO for the limestone areas on the
Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) National
Grassland (NG), the blackland praries on
the Sam Houston NF and Caddo NG,
habitat areas for the Louisiana Pine
Snake, RCW cluster sites, slopes greater
than 15 percent, inclusional wetlands,
sensitive aquatic areas, and natural
springs.
• CSU for the RCW breeding season.
The following 36 CFR 219
requirements will likely be ‘‘directly
related’’ to this LRMP amendment:
• 36 CFR 219.8(a)(2)(ii)—The plan
must include plan components to
maintain or restore: ‘‘Soils and soil
productivity, including guidance to
reduce soil erosion and sedimentation.’’
• 36 CFR 219.8(a)(2)(iv)—The plan
must include plan components to
maintain or restore: ‘‘Water resources in
the plan area, including lakes, streams,
and wetlands.’’
• 36 CFR 219.9(a)(2)(ii)—The plan
must include plan components to
maintain or restore: ‘‘Rare aquatic and
terrestrial plant and animal
communities.’’
• 36 CFR 219.9(b)(1)—The
responsible official shall ‘‘provide the
ecological conditions necessary to:
contribute to the recovery of federally
listed threatened and endangered
species.’’
• 36 CFR 219.10(a)(2)—When
developing plan components for
integrated resource management the
responsible official shall consider:
‘‘Renewable and nonrenewable energy
and mineral resources.’’
Preliminary Issues
A preliminary list of issues that will
be reviewed during this analysis is as
follows:
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• Impacts on areas of the forest where
air pollution levels have not met the
National Ambient Air Quality Standards
for criteria air pollutants and have been
designated as nonattainment areas.
• Impacts on surface and subsurface
water quantity and quality, including
public water supplies.
• Impacts from well pad and steep
slope erosion and seditment transport
into streams, wetlands, or other
sensitive aquatic areas.
• Impacts from noxious and invasive
weed spread.
• Impacts on rare plants and
ecosystems.
• Fragmentation, removal, or
disturbances on wildlife corridors,
critical wildlife habitats, and other
important or sensitive wildlife habitats.
• Impacts on threatened and
endangered species, such as the RCW
and Louisiana pine snake.
• Impacts on prescribed rangeland
conservation burning and reforestation
management.
• Traffic, noise, light pollution, and
visual impacts on nearby residents,
visitors, and other forest users.
• Impacts on royalty payments to
counties associated with any changes in
oil and gas leasing.
• Impacts on special designations and
impacts on wilderness character.
• Impacts on recreationists and loss
of recreation opportunities.
• Impacts on geologic features on the
NFGT, including salt domes, and
potential for induced seismicity.
Additional issues may be identified
based on comments received during this
public scoping period.
Preliminary Alternatives
In the EIS, the Forest Service will
analyze the No Action Alternative (the
existing oil and gas leasing alternative),
the Proposed Action Alternative, and a
No Leasing Alternative. Some possible
additional alternatives would be ones
that add NSO stipulations to: all
streamside management zones, the
Longleaf Pine Special Area, streams
eligible for Wild and Scenic River
designation, bottomland areas, all lands
within RCW Habitat Management Areas,
and habitat areas associated with the
Neches River rose mallow. Other
alternatives may also be developed and
considered, in order to address issues
raised during the scoping process.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
Based on the analysis and information
contained in the EIS, the Forest
Supervisor will decide which areas will
be open to development, subject to
standard oil and gas leasing terms and
conditions; and which areas will be
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 27, 2019 / Notices
open to development, subject to NSO,
CSU, or TL stipulations. The Forest
Supervisor also will decide under what
conditions the Forest Service will
authorize the BLM to modify, waive, or
grant an exception to a stipulation. In
accordance with leasing analysis
requirements in 36 CFR 228.102, the
Forest Supervisor will consider
alternatives to the proposal, including
that of not allowing leasing. Whether or
not to lease specific lands is not part of
this decision.
jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Decision Will Be Subject to Objection
Before a decision is made, oil and gas
leasing availability will be subject to the
pre-decisional administrative review
process (the objection process) outlined
in 36 CFR 218; however, the decision to
amend the Forest Plan for the NFGT
will be subject to the objection process
identified in 36 CFR 219 Subpart B.
These two pre-decisional objection
processes will run concurrently.
Under both the 36 CFR 218 and 219
administrative review processes, only
those individuals and entities who have
previously submitted substantive formal
comments on the proposed project or
the plan amendment may file an
objection. Comments can be submitted
by the public during scoping or any
other designated opportunities for
comment.
Scoping Process
This Notice of Intent initiates the
scoping process, which guides the
development of the EIS by helping to
define its scope. The Forest Service
requests input on the proposed action,
the proposed amendment to the Forest
Plan, the content of the EIS, the issues
and impacts to be addressed in the EIS,
and the alternatives that it should
consider. During scoping, commenters
should clearly describe specific issues
or topics that the EIS should address.
This will assist the Forest Service in
identifying significant environmental,
social, and economic issues related to
oil and gas leasing on NFS lands
administered by the NFGT. The public
may also provide comments on any
other 36 CFR 219 substantive
requirements that are likely to be
‘‘directly related’’ to the proposed plan
amendment (refer to 36 CFR
219.13(b)(2)).
Four public meetings are planned.
The meeting addresses, dates, and times
will be provided on the project website,
https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/texas/oiland-gas.
It is important that reviewers provide
their comments before the Forest
Service begins preparing the EIS;
therefore, comments should be provided
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19:12 Aug 26, 2019
Jkt 247001
before the scoping period closes, and
commenters should clearly articulate
their concerns about the alternatives
and potential impacts. Comments
received in response to this solicitation,
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,
anonymous comments will not provide
the respondent with eligiblity to
participate in subsequent administrative
review or judicial review.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
The Forest Service, NFGT, is the lead
agency and the BLM, New Mexico State
Office, is a cooperating agency in this
analysis.
Responsible Official
The responsible official is William E.
Taylor, Jr., Forest Supervisor, National
Forests and Grasslands in Texas, 2221
N. Raguet Street, Lufkin, Texas 75904.
Dated: July 25, 2019.
Frank R. Beum,
Acting Associate Deputy Chief, National
Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2019–18357 Filed 8–26–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A–520–807]
Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel
Pipe From the United Arab Emirates:
Final Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review; 2016–2017
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(Commerce) determines that producers
and/or exporters subject to this
administrative review made sales of
subject merchandise at less than normal
value during the period of review (POR)
June 8, 2016 through November 30,
2017.
AGENCY:
DATES:
Applicable August 27, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Manuel Rey or Whitley Herndon, AD/
CVD Operations, Office II, Enforcement
and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone:
(202) 482–5518 or (202) 482–6274,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
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44845
Background
This review covers nine producers
and exporters of the subject
merchandise. Commerce selected two
companies, Ajmal Steel Tubes & Pipes
Ind. L.L.C. (Ajmal)/Noble Steel
Industries L.L.C. (Noble Steel)
(collectively, Ajmal Steel) 1 and
Universal Tube and Plastic Industries,
Ltd. (UTP)/THL Tube and Pipe
Industries LLC (TTP)/KHK Scaffolding
and Formwork LLC (collectively,
Universal).2 The producers and or
exporters not selected for individual
examination are listed in the ‘‘Final
Results of the Review’’ section of this
notice.
On February 21, 2019, Commerce
published the Preliminary Results.3 In
March 2019, Ajmal Steel and Universal
submitted case briefs.
On May 8, 2019, we issued a postpreliminary determination related to an
alleged particular market situation in
this administrative review.4 In May
2019, the petitioners 5 submitted a case
brief related to the post-preliminary
determination,6 and Ajmal Steel and
Universal submitted rebuttal briefs on
this topic.7 On May 23, 2019, we
1 On December 11, 2018, we preliminarily
collapsed Ajmal and Noble Steel. See
Memorandum, ‘‘Whether to Collapse Ajmal Steel
Tubes and Pipes Ind. L.L.C. and Noble Steel
Industries L.L.C. in the 2016–2017 Antidumping
Duty Administrative Review of Circular Welded
Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe from the United Arab
Emirates,’’ dated December 11, 2018. Because no
party commented on this decision, we continue to
find it appropriate to collapse Ajmal and Noble for
purposes of the final results.
2 On January 31, 2019, we preliminarily found
that TTP is the successor-in-interest to UTP. See
Memorandum, ‘‘Successor-In-Interest
Determination in the 2016–2017 Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review on Circular Welded CarbonQuality Steel Pipe from the United Arab Emirates,’’
dated January 31, 2019. Because no party
commented on this decision, we continue to find
TTP to be the successor-in-interest to UTP.
3 See Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe
from the United Arab Emirates: Preliminary Results
of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2016–
2017, 84 FR 5417 (February 21, 2019) (Preliminary
Results), and accompanying Preliminary Decision
Memorandum (PDM).
4 See Memorandum, ‘‘Antidumping
Administrative Review of Circular Welded Pipe
from the United Arab Emirates: Post-Preliminary
Determination Regarding Particular Market
Situation Allegation,’’ dated May 8, 2019.
5 The petitioners are Bull Moose Tube Company
and Wheatland Tube Company.
6 See Petitioners’ Case Brief, ‘‘Circular Welded
Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe from The United Arab
Emirates: Petitioners’ Brief Regarding the Particular
Market Situation,’’ dated May 16, 2019.
7 See Universal’s Letter, ‘‘Circular Welded
Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe from the United Arab
Emirates—Rebuttal Brief Regarding Petitioners’
Particular Market Situation Allegation,’’ dated May
21, 2019; and Ajmal Steel’s Letter, ‘‘Administrative
Review of the Antidumping Duty Order on Circular
Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe from the United
Arab Emirates; Post-Preliminary Determination on
Continued
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44843-44845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18357]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
National Forests and Grasslands in Texas; Oil and Gas Leasing
Availability Analysis Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA,
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Forests and Grasslands in Texas (NFGT) are
initiating the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS).
The EIS will analyze and disclose the effects of identifying areas as
available or unavailable for new oil and gas leasing. The proposed
action identifies the following elements: What lands will be made
available for future oil and gas leasing; what stipulations will be
applied to lands available for future oil and gas leasing, and if there
would be any plan amendments to the 1996 NFGT Revised Land and Resource
Management Plan (Forest Plan).
DATES: Public comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be
received by October 11, 2019. The draft EIS is expected in the winter
of 2019, and the final EIS is expected in the fall of 2020.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Oil and Gas EIS Project, National
Forests and Grasslands in Texas, 2221 N. Raguet Street, Lufkin, Texas
75904. Comments may also be submitted electronically through the
project website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/texas/oil-and-gas or via
fax to (936) 639-8588.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Potts, Natural Resources and
Planning Staff Officer, at (936) 639-8539.
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD)
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1 (800) 877-
8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Action
The Forest Service withdrew its consent to lease NFGT lands from
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for oil and gas development in
2016. The reason for the withdrawal of consent was due to stakeholder
concerns, including insufficient public notification, insufficient
opportunity for public involvement, and insufficient environmental
analysis. Environmental impacts of oil and gas leasing were last
evaluated in the 1996 Final EIS for the NFGT Forest Plan. That document
did not include an analysis of current issues, such as current impacts
on air pollution, or of technologies, such as horizontal drilling and
hydraulic fracturing.
There is a need to analyze the impacts of new oil and gas
development technologies on surface and subsurface water and geologic
resources; air resources; fish and wildlife resources; fragile and rare
ecosystems; threatened and endangered species; and invasive plant
management. There is the need to examine changed conditions since the
Forest Plan was published, such as increases in dispersed and developed
recreation, wild and scenic river eligibility and suitability, and
changed socioeconomic conditions. Tribes will also need to be consulted
to identify needed protections for heritage resource areas.
These current issues and changed conditions need to be evaluated in
determining which National Forest System (NFS) lands administered by
the NFGT should be made available for future oil and gas leasing. Such
an evaluation also is necessary to determine what lease stipulations
should apply to those lands to protect resources.
The Forest Service will prepare an EIS to support the BLM's
independent decision to include the NFGT administered NFS lands that
are made available for leasing in future competitive oil and gas lease
sales.
Proposed Action
The Forest Service proposes to identify NFGT administered lands
that would be administratively available for future oil and gas
leasing; to identify which stipulations would be applied to protect
resources on lands available for future oil and gas leasing; and to
determine if the 1996 NFGT Forest Plan should be amended. The Forest
Service's analysis will not affect current valid leasing, including the
associated terms, conditions, and stipulations. The EIS also would not
affect the exercising of reserved and outstanding mineral rights on NFS
lands. The proposed changes would apply only to new leases for federal
minerals that may be issued.
Following an initial evaluation of the need to change current
direction, the following actions are being proposed to address those
areas and management
[[Page 44844]]
directions that need to be changed. Management direction and the acres
provided below would apply to the decision area. The decision area
includes only those NFGT lands where the Forest Service manages the
surface and the underlying mineral estate is federally managed by the
BLM. The total decision area is approximately 447,000 acres.
Both current management and the proposed action would
maintain 38,300 acres as closed for congressionally-designated
wilderness areas.
The proposed action would convert Controlled Surface Use
(CSU) stipulations to No Surface Occupancy (NSO) stipulations for
natural heritage botanical areas and reservoirs on the NFGT. This would
decrease the number of acres with a CSU stipulation from approximately
73,100 to 63,100 acres.
The proposed action would remove the current turkey
nesting Timing Limitation (TL) stipulation.
The proposed action would add NSO stipulations to protect
natural heritage botanical areas, special status species, unique
prairie vegetation communities, inclusional wetlands, sensitive aquatic
areas, natural springs, and steep slopes. This would increase the
numbers of acres with a NSO stipulation from approximately 11,100 to
28,000 acres.
Several NSO and CSU stipulations would require site-
specific surveys to identify areas where the stipulation applies. This
includes red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) NSO and CSU stipulations for
cavity trees, cluster sites, and foraging habitat. These RCW
stipulations would apply in Management Area 2, which includes
approximately 226,700 acres of the decision area. Site-specific surveys
are also required to determine CSU areas for the protection of 100-year
floodplains and intermittent and perennial waterways.
Existing NSO and CSU stipulations related to erodible
soils, flood control structures, Research Natural Areas, developed
recreation sites, scenic areas and Lake Conroe would be updated to
improve implementability.
New stipulations to address invasive plants, restoration
seed mixes, and soil stability associated with well pad construction
would also be added.
The NFGT website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/texas/oil-and-gas
includes a listing of the proposed stipulation changes, a map of the
existing stipulations and where they are applied, and a map of the
proposed action stipulations and where they would be applied.
Proposed Amendment to the NFGT Forest Plan
The proposed action would also amend the existing NFGT Forest Plan.
The 36 CFR 219 regulations pertaining to NFS land management planning
(the planning rule) require that the responsible official provide
notice ``about which substantive requirements of Sec. Sec. 219.8
through 219.11 are likely to be directly related to the amendment'' (36
CFR 219.13(b)(2)). Whether a rule provision is directly related to an
amendment is determined by any one of the following: the purpose for
the amendment, a beneficial effect of the amendment, a substantial
adverse effect of the amendment, or a lessening of plan protections by
the amendment (36 CFR 219.13(b)(5)).
Under the proposed action, the Forest Plan would be amended to
include the following restrictions on the lands available for leasing:
NSO for the limestone areas on the Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ)
National Grassland (NG), the blackland praries on the Sam Houston NF
and Caddo NG, habitat areas for the Louisiana Pine Snake, RCW cluster
sites, slopes greater than 15 percent, inclusional wetlands, sensitive
aquatic areas, and natural springs.
CSU for the RCW breeding season.
The following 36 CFR 219 requirements will likely be ``directly
related'' to this LRMP amendment:
36 CFR 219.8(a)(2)(ii)--The plan must include plan
components to maintain or restore: ``Soils and soil productivity,
including guidance to reduce soil erosion and sedimentation.''
36 CFR 219.8(a)(2)(iv)--The plan must include plan
components to maintain or restore: ``Water resources in the plan area,
including lakes, streams, and wetlands.''
36 CFR 219.9(a)(2)(ii)--The plan must include plan
components to maintain or restore: ``Rare aquatic and terrestrial plant
and animal communities.''
36 CFR 219.9(b)(1)--The responsible official shall
``provide the ecological conditions necessary to: contribute to the
recovery of federally listed threatened and endangered species.''
36 CFR 219.10(a)(2)--When developing plan components for
integrated resource management the responsible official shall consider:
``Renewable and nonrenewable energy and mineral resources.''
Preliminary Issues
A preliminary list of issues that will be reviewed during this
analysis is as follows:
Impacts on areas of the forest where air pollution levels
have not met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for criteria
air pollutants and have been designated as nonattainment areas.
Impacts on surface and subsurface water quantity and
quality, including public water supplies.
Impacts from well pad and steep slope erosion and
seditment transport into streams, wetlands, or other sensitive aquatic
areas.
Impacts from noxious and invasive weed spread.
Impacts on rare plants and ecosystems.
Fragmentation, removal, or disturbances on wildlife
corridors, critical wildlife habitats, and other important or sensitive
wildlife habitats.
Impacts on threatened and endangered species, such as the
RCW and Louisiana pine snake.
Impacts on prescribed rangeland conservation burning and
reforestation management.
Traffic, noise, light pollution, and visual impacts on
nearby residents, visitors, and other forest users.
Impacts on royalty payments to counties associated with
any changes in oil and gas leasing.
Impacts on special designations and impacts on wilderness
character.
Impacts on recreationists and loss of recreation
opportunities.
Impacts on geologic features on the NFGT, including salt
domes, and potential for induced seismicity.
Additional issues may be identified based on comments received
during this public scoping period.
Preliminary Alternatives
In the EIS, the Forest Service will analyze the No Action
Alternative (the existing oil and gas leasing alternative), the
Proposed Action Alternative, and a No Leasing Alternative. Some
possible additional alternatives would be ones that add NSO
stipulations to: all streamside management zones, the Longleaf Pine
Special Area, streams eligible for Wild and Scenic River designation,
bottomland areas, all lands within RCW Habitat Management Areas, and
habitat areas associated with the Neches River rose mallow. Other
alternatives may also be developed and considered, in order to address
issues raised during the scoping process.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
Based on the analysis and information contained in the EIS, the
Forest Supervisor will decide which areas will be open to development,
subject to standard oil and gas leasing terms and conditions; and which
areas will be
[[Page 44845]]
open to development, subject to NSO, CSU, or TL stipulations. The
Forest Supervisor also will decide under what conditions the Forest
Service will authorize the BLM to modify, waive, or grant an exception
to a stipulation. In accordance with leasing analysis requirements in
36 CFR 228.102, the Forest Supervisor will consider alternatives to the
proposal, including that of not allowing leasing. Whether or not to
lease specific lands is not part of this decision.
Decision Will Be Subject to Objection
Before a decision is made, oil and gas leasing availability will be
subject to the pre-decisional administrative review process (the
objection process) outlined in 36 CFR 218; however, the decision to
amend the Forest Plan for the NFGT will be subject to the objection
process identified in 36 CFR 219 Subpart B. These two pre-decisional
objection processes will run concurrently.
Under both the 36 CFR 218 and 219 administrative review processes,
only those individuals and entities who have previously submitted
substantive formal comments on the proposed project or the plan
amendment may file an objection. Comments can be submitted by the
public during scoping or any other designated opportunities for
comment.
Scoping Process
This Notice of Intent initiates the scoping process, which guides
the development of the EIS by helping to define its scope. The Forest
Service requests input on the proposed action, the proposed amendment
to the Forest Plan, the content of the EIS, the issues and impacts to
be addressed in the EIS, and the alternatives that it should consider.
During scoping, commenters should clearly describe specific issues or
topics that the EIS should address. This will assist the Forest Service
in identifying significant environmental, social, and economic issues
related to oil and gas leasing on NFS lands administered by the NFGT.
The public may also provide comments on any other 36 CFR 219
substantive requirements that are likely to be ``directly related'' to
the proposed plan amendment (refer to 36 CFR 219.13(b)(2)).
Four public meetings are planned. The meeting addresses, dates, and
times will be provided on the project website, https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/texas/oil-and-gas.
It is important that reviewers provide their comments before the
Forest Service begins preparing the EIS; therefore, comments should be
provided before the scoping period closes, and commenters should
clearly articulate their concerns about the alternatives and potential
impacts. Comments received in response to this solicitation, 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, anonymous comments will not provide
the respondent with eligiblity to participate in subsequent
administrative review or judicial review.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
The Forest Service, NFGT, is the lead agency and the BLM, New
Mexico State Office, is a cooperating agency in this analysis.
Responsible Official
The responsible official is William E. Taylor, Jr., Forest
Supervisor, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, 2221 N. Raguet
Street, Lufkin, Texas 75904.
Dated: July 25, 2019.
Frank R. Beum,
Acting Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2019-18357 Filed 8-26-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P
