[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 97 (Thursday, May 18, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31595-31596]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12496]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-030-2000-1310-DB]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement; 
Desolation Flats Natural Gas Development Project, Carbon and Sweetwater 
Counties, Wyoming, To Conduct a Planning Review of the Proposed Project 
Area, and if Necessary, Amend Either or Both the Great Divide and Green 
River Resource Management Plans

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) and to conduct scoping for the Desolation Flats Natural 
Gas

[[Page 31596]]

Development Project, Carbon and Sweetwater Counties, Wyoming.

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SUMMARY: Under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), 
Rawlins Field Office, will direct the preparation of an EIS on the 
potential impacts of a proposed natural gas field development project. 
Approximately 385 gas wells and associated facilities could be 
constructed on approximately 229,781 acres of primarily Federal land 
(some private and State included), over a 20-year development period. 
The project area is located in southwestern Carbon County and 
southeastern Sweetwater County, Wyoming. The proposed action may be 
modified, as a result of comments received during scoping or anytime 
during the preparation of the draft EIS, to include actions that may, 
upon review, require a plan amendment to the Green River and Great 
Divide Resource Management Plans. A planning review of existing land-
use decisions would be conducted. Additionally an evaluation of 
potential relevant and important resource values in the Desolation 
Flats project area portion of the Monument Valley Management Area of 
the Rock Springs Field Office would be done. Any needed changes in 
existing management or any new management actions to be prescribed for 
the area will be identified and, if necessary, the Green River RMP 
amended. In accordance with 43 CFR 3420.1-2, this notice also serves as 
a call for coal and other resource information to solicit indications 
of interest and information on coal resource development potential in 
the proposed project area and on other resources which may be affected 
by the proposed project. Affected Federal lands are administered by the 
BLM Rawlins and Rock Springs Field Offices. The EIS will be prepared by 
a third-party contractor.

DATES: Comments on the project proposal will be accepted through June 
23, 2000. Public scoping meetings will be held at 7 p.m. on the 
following dates, at the following locations:

--June 7, 2000, in Rock Springs, Wyoming, Bureau of Land Management, 
Rock Springs Field Office, 280 Highway 191 North.
--June 8, 2000, in Rawlins, Wyoming, Bureau of Land Management, Rawlins 
Field Office, 1300 North Third Street.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Bureau of Land Management, 
Rawlins Field Office, John Spehar, Team Leader, 1300 North Third 
Street, P.O. Box 2407, Rawlins, Wyoming 82301, phone (307) 328-4200, or 
e-mailed to [email protected]. Additionally, the Scoping Notice 
will be posted on the Wyoming BLM homepage at www.wy.blm.gov. Your 
response is important and will be considered in the environmental 
analysis process. If you do respond, we shall keep you informed of 
decisions resulting from the analysis. Please note that public comments 
submitted for this scoping review, including names, e-mail addresses, 
and street addresses of the respondents will be available for public 
review and disclosure at the above address during regular business 
hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) Monday through Friday, except holidays. 
Individual respondents may request confidentially. If you wish to 
withhold your name, e-mail address, or street address from public 
review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you 
must state this plainly 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bureau of Land Management, John 
Spehar, Project Manager, 1300 North Third Street, P.O. Box 2407, 
Rawlins, Wyoming 82301, phone 307-328-4264, e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Marathon Oil Company (Marathon) has notified 
the Bureau of Land Management that Marathon and other operators propose 
a 20-year field development project. The proposed project area, 
referred to as the Desolation Flats area, is generally located in 
Townships 13-16 North, Ranges 94-96 West, Sixth Principal meridian, 
Carbon and Sweetwater Counties, Wyoming.
    The project area is located approximately 14 miles west and north 
of Baggs, Wyoming. The project area is approximately 229,781 acres in 
size. The vast majority of land and mineral ownership is Federal. The 
Federal land surface and Federally owned minerals are managed by the 
Rawlins and Rock Springs BLM Field Offices.
    Marathon and other operators propose to drill 385 wells on 361 
locations and construct associated facilities, including roads, well 
pads, pipelines, and compressor stations. Drilling of exploratory or 
confirmation/delineation wells on existing Federal leases will be 
permitted on a case-by-case basis during the preparation of the EIS. A 
site-specific environmental assessment (EA) will be prepared for each 
individual drilling proposal.
    The Desolation Flats project area contains lands covered by two 
existing natural gas development project EISs. The Mulligan Draw Unit 
EIS and the Dripping Rock/Cedar Breaks Area EA were approved for 
spacing of one well per section and for drilling in the Almond 
Formation. The intent of including the Mulligan Draw EIS area and the 
Dripping Rock/Cedar Breaks EA area within the Desolation Flats project 
area, as described by the operators, is to determine the feasibility 
and environmental impacts of a well-spacing density greater than the 
authorized one-well per 640-acre spacing.
    This EIS will address cumulative impacts and will include 
consideration of affects of other oil and gas projects addressed in 
recently completed EISs for the Mulligan Draw Gas Field Project, the 
Creston/Blue Gap Natural Gas Project, the soon to be completed 
Continental Divide/Wamsutter II Natural Gas Project, and the recently 
proposed Atlantic Rim Coalbed Methane Project EA. Potential issues to 
be addressed in the EIS include, but are not limited to: impacts to 
wildlife populations and their habitats, access road development and 
transportation management, surface and ground water resources, impacts 
from additional drilling and production activities, reclamation, 
noxious weed control, conflicts with livestock grazing operations, 
protection of cultural and paleontological resources, threatened and 
endangered species, and cumulative impacts.

    Dated: May 12, 2000.
Alan R. Pierson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 00-12496 Filed 5-17-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P