[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 76 (Monday, April 21, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19349-19350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-10185]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[CO-078-97-1990-00]


Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Oil and Gas 
Development

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) on Oil and Gas Development in the Glenwood Springs 
Resource Area, Colorado.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to sec. 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 and sec. 202 and sec. 303 of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976, the Bureau of Land

[[Page 19350]]

Management will be preparing a supplemental EIS on the impacts of oil 
and gas development in the Glenwood Springs Resource Area.

DATES: Comments will be accepted until May 21, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Area Manager, Glenwood 
Springs Resource Area, Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 1009, 
Glenwood Springs, CO 81602, ATTN: Oil and Gas EIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Moore, (970) 947-2813.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Oil and gas leasing and development in the 
Glenwood Springs Resource Area (GSRA) was considered in the Colorado 
Oil and Gas Leasing and Development EIS (COGEIS, January, 1991). The 
assumptions about the level of development made in the original EIS are 
no longer valid and a modification is required to reflect new 
information about the level of development. The original EIS assumed 
construction of 90 wells over 20 years, at an average spacing of 160 to 
320 acres per well; since publication of the EIS it has become apparent 
that actual development in the GSRA will exceed the level evaluated in 
that document and that, in some locales, the density will be greater 
than 160 acres per well. The supplemental document will evaluate a 
higher level of development and higher densities.
    Mitigation measures for oil and gas development were developed in 
the GSRA Resource Management Plan (RMP) and in the COGEIS. The 
supplement will evaluate expanded development in the context of those 
measures and will also consider new mitigation measures. Other areas of 
evaluation will include: the effectiveness of additional lease 
stipulations in mitigating impacts; the success achieved in reclaiming 
areas disturbed by development; the impacts on wildlife.
    Additionally, the GSRA may acquire all or portions of Naval Oil 
Shale Reserves (NOSR) 1 and 3 during the supplemental EIS process. The 
transfer of these lands from the Department of Energy to the Bureau of 
Land Managment is currently being considered by Congress. Should the 
transfer occur during preparation of the supplemental EIS, the GSRA 
will consider the possibility of including in the analysis up to 6,000 
acres of NOSR 3 which is already experiencing oil and gas development. 
This portion of NOSR 3 is immediately adjacent to those BLM lands being 
developed for oil and gas, is similar in character to the BLM lands and 
would likely be subject to the same types of stipulations.
    The supplemental EIS process will take place during the spring and 
summer, 1997. A draft EIS is planned for August, 1997.
    Scoping will include a news release announcing the beginning of the 
supplemental process and letters to all participants in the original 
EIS process and additional interested parties. A question and answer 
sheet which further describes the reasons for the supplement and some 
of the issues to be addressed is available upon request.
Michael S. Mottice,
Area Manager.
[FR Doc. 97-10185 Filed 4-18-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JB-P