[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 191 (Monday, October 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 53690]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-25687]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR


Bureau of Land Management

[WY-060-1310-00]
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 
implementing regulations, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces 
the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for 
the Wyodak Coalbed Methane Development Project. The FEIS analyzes the 
potential impacts and cumulative effects of proposed coalbed methane 
(CBM) development on Federal and non-Federal lands in Campbell, 
Johnson, and Converse Counties, Wyoming.
    The FEIS is published in abbreviated format. Reviewers will need 
the ``Wyodak Coalbed Methane Project Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement'' (DEIS), BLM, May 1999, for review of the complete EIS. 
Additional analysis and/or specific changes (errata) to the text of the 
DEIS are found in each chapter of this FEIS.

DATES: BLM will accept comments on the FEIS for a period of 30 days 
from the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes their 
Notice of Availability (NOA) of the FEIS in the Federal Register. We 
anticipate that EPA will publish its NOA on October 1, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Field Manager, Bureau of Land 
Management, Buffalo Field Office, 1425 Fort Street, Buffalo, WY 82834.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Zander, phone: (307) 684-1100. 
Copies of the FEIS may be obtained from the following BLM offices: 
Buffalo Field Office, 1425 Fort Street, Buffalo, Wyoming 82834, (307) 
684-1100; Casper Field Office, 1701 East E Street, Casper, Wyoming 
82601 (307) 261-7600; and Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, 
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009, (307) 775-6256.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BLM received fifty-two comment letters on 
the DEIS addressing six basic topics: groundwater (the water model and 
monitoring); surface water (amounts produced, water management plans, 
and wetlands); air quality (modeling, authorizing actions, emissions, 
and air quality related values); geology (development conflicts, coal 
fires, methane seepage, and subsidence); wildlife and fisheries 
(programmatic versus site specific analysis, unanticipated new 
development, and mitigation); and land use (wilderness study area 
impacts, access, on lease/off lease Federal authority, and 
reclamation). All comment letters received have been reproduced in the 
FEIS. All comments were considered and included as part of the BLM 
decisionmaking process.
    Based on new and additional information provided by commenters, the 
groundwater model was rerun. This yielded a better calibrated 
prediction of modeled drawdowns under the Proposed Action and under 
Alternative One.
    Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will 
be available for public review at the Bureau of Land Management, 
Buffalo Field Office, 1425 Fort Street, Buffalo, Wyoming, during 
regular business hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, 
except holidays, and may be published as part of the Record of 
Decision. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you 
wish to withhold your name or street address from public review or from 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests 
will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives of officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

    Dated: September 28, 1999.
Alan L. Kesterke,
Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 99-25687 Filed 10-1-99; 8:45 am]
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