[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 226 (Wednesday, November 24, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66194-66195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30589]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[WY-KP-00-1310-EJ]


Pinedale Anticline Natural Gas Exploration and Development 
Project, Sublette County, Wyoming

AGENCY: Lead Agency--Bureau of Land Management, Interior. Cooperating 
Agencies--US Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, US Army 
Corps Of Engineers, State of Wyoming.

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS).

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability 
of the Pinedale Anticline Natural Gas Exploration and Development 
Project DEIS which evaluates, analyzes, and discloses to the public 
direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts from continued 
exploration for, and development of, natural gas resources in the 
Pinedale Anticline Project Area (PAPA) in Sublette County, Wyoming. The 
DEIS analyzes a proposal by the Project operators to drill new 
exploration and development wells in their leased acreage within the 
PAPA (approximately 197,345 acres) in western Wyoming. The PAPA 
operators include Alpine Gas Company, Anschutz Exploration Corporation, 
B-P Amoco Production Company, HS Resources, Inc., Jonah Gas Gathering 
Company, McMurry Oil Company, Questar Exploration & Production, Ultra 
Resources, Inc., Western Gas Resources, Inc., Yates Petroleum 
Corporation, and other companies (collectively referred to as the PAPA 
Operators). Lands associated with the new drilling program are located 
between the town of Pinedale, Wyoming, and the Jonah Natural Gas Field 
located 30 miles south of Pinedale, and between the Green River and 
Wyoming Highway 191.

DATES: Comments on the DEIS will be accepted for 60 days following the 
date that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes their 
Notice of Availability of this DEIS in the Federal Register. The EPA 
notice is anticipated to be published on November 26, 1999. The BLM 
asks that those submitting comments on the DEIS make them as specific 
as possible. Comments are more helpful if they include suggested 
changes, sources, or methodologies. Comments that contain only opinions 
or preferences will not receive a formal response. However, they will 
be considered and included as part of the BLM decision making process.
    A formal public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. on January 12, 2000, 
at the Pinedale High School Auditorium, 101 E. Hennick, Pinedale, 
Wyoming. The purpose of the hearing will be to afford the public the 
opportunity to comment on the proposed natural gas exploration and 
development DEIS.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the DEIS should be sent to: Bureau of Land 
Management, Bill McMahan (Project Coordinator), 280 Highway 191 North, 
Rock Springs, WY 82901, or they can be e-mailed to 
[email protected]
    A copy of the DEIS has been sent to affected Federal, State, and 
local government agencies and to those persons who responded to the BLM 
that they wished to receive a copy of the DEIS. Copies of the DEIS are 
available for public inspection at the following BLM office locations:

Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, 
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009
Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field Office, Highway 191 
North, Rock Springs, Wyoming 82901
Bureau of Land Management, Pinedale Field Office, 432 East Mill Street, 
Pinedale, Wyoming 82941

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DEIS analyzes a proposal by the PAPA 
Operators to drill new exploration and development wells in their 
leased acreage within the 197,345 acre PAPA. The PAPA is located within 
Townships 29 through 33 North, Ranges 107 through 110 West, 6th 
Principal Meridian. The area is accessed by U.S. Highway 191 and 
Wyoming Highway 351. Access to the interior of the PAPA is provided by 
an existing county and BLM road network developed to service homes and 
ranches located along the Green and New Fork Rivers, livestock 
operations, recreation use, and past and current drilling and 
production activities.
    Collectively, the Pinedale Anticline Operators' proposal would 
provide for the continued exploration for natural gas and, where 
discoveries occur, the development of the gas resource by drilling up 
to 900 new wells to achieve 700 producing locations over the next 10 to 
15 years. Drilling estimates were based on the operators', BLM's, and 
State of Wyoming's reasonable expectations that the ``tight-gas''

[[Page 66195]]

formation in this area could be developed at a spacing of one well 
every 40 acres or 16 wells per square mile. The DEIS analysis addresses 
three critical criteria bearing on how and to what extent development 
in the PAPA could proceed. The criteria include: three exploration/
development scenarios which define over what portion of the PAPA (none, 
all, or just a portion) development could occur; two levels of 
development which define the number of well pads which could be 
developed in the next 10 to 15 years; and two mitigation alternatives 
which define options for reducing impacts to the environment from 
future development activities. Mitigation alternatives are evaluated 
based on their application on just Federal lands and minerals, as well 
as on all lands and minerals in the PAPA (Federal, State and private). 
The PAPA surface ownership is approximately 80 percent Federal, 15 
percent private, and 5 percent State. A small infrastructure of roads 
and pipelines for natural gas production are already in place within 
the PAPA. Additional roads and pipelines would be necessary to link the 
new wells with the existing transportation systems.
    The PAPA Operators' plans and drilling schedules would be 
contingent upon an adequate price for the gas at the wellhead and 
anticipated increases in gas consumption in the United States. The 
American Gas Association estimates a 40 percent increase by the year 
2015.
    Potential impacts of concern from the proposed development (not in 
priority order) are: sensitive view sheds; economic, social, health, 
and safety effects to Pinedale and surrounding communities; livestock 
operations; recreation use associated with the Mesa; crucial big game 
winter range and antelope migrations; sage grouse and raptor breeding 
and nesting; special status plant and wildlife species; soil erosion 
and sediment increases to the New Fork and Green Rivers; groundwater 
draw down and contamination; Historic Lander Trail condition and view 
shed; and cumulative effects.
    This DEIS, in compliance with Section 7(c) of the Endangered 
Species Act (as amended), includes the Biological Assessment for the 
purpose of identifying any endangered, threatened, or proposed species 
which are likely to be affected by the proposed action.
    A Technical Report Document has also been prepared in conjunction 
with the DEIS. It contains detailed technical information regarding air 
quality modeling, wildlife habitat modeling, cultural resources, and 
potential well pad location adjustments due to surface resource 
restrictions. A limited number of the technical report documents are 
available upon request or they may be reviewed at the BLM offices 
listed above.
    Comments, including the names and street addresses of respondents, 
will be made available for review by the public at the addresses listed 
above during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday 
through Friday, except holidays, and will be published as part of the 
Final EIS. However, individual respondents may request confidentiality. 
If you wish to withhold your name and/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 or officials of organizations 
or businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

    Dated: November 18, 1999.
Alan R. Pierson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 99-30589 Filed 11-23-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P