[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 38 (Monday, February 26, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7118-7119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4237]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WY-930-5101-00-K012, WYW-128830]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Express Pipeline

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AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

SUMMARY: A Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Express 
Pipeline, Inc., to construct, operate, and maintain a 24-inch pipeline 
on public lands to transport crude oil between Wild Horse, Alberta, and 
Casper, Wyoming. A right-of-way grant for the pipeline to cross public 
lands in Montana, and Wyoming, would be issued by the Bureau of Land 
Management, Worland District, in accordance with Section 501 of the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
    The Bureau of Land Management and the Montana Department of 
Environmental Quality (DEQ) are co-leads for the EIS. Other cooperating 
agencies for the EIS include the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau 
of Reclamation. The final EIS document was prepared by Greystone, a 
third-party contractor, under the provisions of Section 102(2)(C) of 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. The 
EIS has been prepared in an abbreviated format; that is, the 
alternatives considered in the draft EIS and the environmental effects 
of those alternatives, have not been reprinted in the EIS. It is 
necessary, therefore, to use both the draft and final documents for a 
complete review. Copies of the draft EIS and the final EIS can be 
obtained from the BLM's Worland District Office or the Montana 
Department of Environmental Quality at the addresses listed below.

 
[[Page 7119]]

DATES: Written comments on the EIS will be accepted for 30 days 
following the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes 
the notice of filing of the final EIS in the Federal Register, which is 
expected to be between February 23, 1996, and March 1, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the final EIS may be reviewed at the following 
locations: Lewistown District BLM Office, 80 Airport Road, (contact 
Robert Padilla, Realty Specialist), Lewistown, Montana; Worland 
District BLM Office, 101 South 23rd Street, (Don Ogaard, BLM Project 
Manager), Worland, Wyoming; Casper District BLM Office, 1701 East ``E'' 
Street, (Pat Moore, Realty Specialist), Casper, Wyoming; Montana State 
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) (Art Compton), 1520 East 6th 
Avenue, Helena, Montana, and county and city libraries along the 
proposed pipeline route.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don Ogaard, BLM Project Manager, 
Bureau of Land Management, Worland District Office, P.O. Box 119, 101 
South 23rd Street, Worland, Wyoming 82401-0119, telephone 307-347-9871; 
or Art Compton, Chief, Energy Division, Montana Department of 
Environmental Quality, 1520 East 6th Avenue, Helena, Montana, telephone 
406-444-6791.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Express Pipeline, Inc., proposes to 
construct, operate, and maintain a 24-inch pipeline from Wild Horse 
(located on the border between Montana and Canada) to Casper, Wyoming, 
to transport Canadian crude oil. Nationwide, the demand for and 
consumption of petroleum in the United States has exceeded production 
for more than 20 years. In recent years, this gap has been widening as 
the demand for crude oil increases while domestic production declines.
    Because of this, the United States needs to locate additional, 
dependable sources of crude oil. The overall purpose of the proposed 
pipeline is to address the needs of refineries in the United States, 
particularly in the Rocky Mountain Region, and the producers of Western 
Canada. The Express Pipeline, Inc., would provide a new source of crude 
oil to refineries located throughout the Rocky Mountain Region and 
other parts of the United States through the existing network of 
pipelines. Before Express Pipeline can construct the pipeline, it must 
obtain numerous Federal, State, county, and local permits. Because the 
route crosses public land administered by the BLM and the Bureau of 
Reclamation, Express Pipeline must obtain a right-of-way grant from the 
Federal Government. As part of the process for granting the permits, 
these agencies must consider Express's proposal under NEPA. Regulations 
implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1500) encourage agencies to incorporate any 
previous NEPA analyses by reference to eliminate repetitive discussions 
of the same issues and to focus on specific issues of the proposal. The 
proposed pipeline would follow the routes of two other pipelines for 
which EIS's were previously issued by Federal agencies. Accordingly, 
this final EIS incorporates by reference the PGT/PG&E and Altamont 
Natural Gas Pipeline Projects Final EIS (FERC 1991) and the Amoco 
Carbon Dioxide Projects Final EIS (BLM 1989).
    The final EIS is a supplement to the draft EIS, published on August 
18, 1995, and contains the following material:
     Incorporates by reference most of the material presented 
in the draft EIS and identifies the changes to the draft EIS required 
as a result of additional information.
     Public comments subsequent to publishing of the draft 
EIS.
     The corrections and additions to the draft EIS.
     Comments received on the draft EIS.
     Responses to the comments.
    The BLM and Montana DEQ received 161 comments on the draft EIS. Ten 
supported the project, six provided information and did not state a 
position on the project, and 145 either opposed the project, suggested 
alternative routes, or expressed various concerns with the draft EIS. 
Of the latter 145 comments, all but 12 were concerned with the adequacy 
of the socio-economic impact analysis. Three express primarily 
environmental concerns and nine were from landowners concerned with 
effects on private lands. The Environmental Protection Agency, based on 
procedures they use to evaluate the adequacy of the information in an 
EIS, gave the draft EIS a rating of EC-2 (Environmental Concern, 
Insufficient Information).
    No substantive changes were made to the proposed action. The BLM 
has agreed to evaluate all subsequent phases under complete NEPA 
procedures. This final EIS is not a decision document.
    A Record of Decision will be prepared and made available to the 
public following the 30 day comment period provided above.

    Dated: February 20, 1996.
Alan L. Kesterke,
Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 96-4237 Filed 2-23-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P