[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11311-11312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-4467]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[UT-070-99-5101-00; J-608; UTU-77149, UTU-77164, UTU-78301, FERC Doc. 
No. CP00-68-000]


San Juan County, NM; La Plata, Montezuma, Dolores, and San Miguel 
Counties, CO; and San Juan, Grand, Emery, Carbon, Sanpete, Utah, Juab 
and Salt Lake Counties, UT; Draft EIS for a Refined Petroleum Products 
Pipeline, Natural Gas Pipelines and Utility Corridor Analysis and Plan 
Amendments

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS) has been prepared by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Utah 
State Office. The DEIS was prepared to analyze the impacts of proposed 
transportation of refined petroleum products and natural gas through 
pipelines located on public lands administered by BLM, National Forest 
System lands and State and private lands in northwest New Mexico, 
southwest Colorado, and southeast to north-central Utah. In addition, 
the draft EIS analyzes utility corridors across the Manti-LaSal and 
Uinta National Forests which may or may not expand the existing 
designated corridors and/or identify other corridors. This analysis may 
result in Forest Plan amendments to the Manti-LaSal and Uinta National 
Forest Land and Resource Management Plans. The Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (FERC) and United States Forest Service, Manti-
LaSal, San Juan and Uinta National Forests, are Cooperating Agencies in 
accordance with Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1501.6. 
Public reading copies of the DEIS will be available for review at the 
following locations:
     Salt Lake City, Utah--209 East 500 South
     West Valley City, Utah--2880 West 3650 South
     Payson, Utah--439 West Utah Ave
     Nephi, Utah--22 East 100 North
     Price, Utah--159 East Main
     Moab, Utah--Grand Co. Library, 25 South 100 East
     Durango, Colorado--Durango Public Library, 1188 Second 
Avenue
     Dolores, Colorado--Dolores Public Library, PO Box 847, 
Dolores, CO
     Farmington, New Mexico--Farmington Public Library, 100 
West Broadway.
    In addition, a limited number of copies of the document will be 
available at the following BLM and Forest Service Offices:
     Bureau of Land Management, Utah State Office, 324 South 
State, Salt Lake City, Utah
     Uinta National Forest, 88 West 100 North, Provo, Utah
     Filmore Field Office, 35 East 500 North, Filmore, Utah
     Bureau of Land Management, Price Field Office, 125 South, 
600 West, Price, Utah
     Manti La-Sal National Forest, 599 West Price River Drive, 
Price, Utah
     Bureau of Land Management, Moab Field Office, 82 East 
Dogwood Road, Moab, Utah
     Bureau of Land Management, Monticello Field Office, 435 
North Main Street, Monticello, Utah
     Bureau of Land Management, Durango Field Office, 15 
Burnett Court, Durango, Colorado
     San Juan National Forest, 100 North Sixth Street, Dolores, 
Colorado
     Bureau of Land Management, Farmington Field Office, 1235 
La Plata Highway.

DATES: Written comments must be post marked on or before April 16, 
2001, or 45 days after date of publication in the Federal Register, 
whichever is later.
    Public meetings will be held at the following locations and dates:
     March 14, 2001, West Valley City, Family Fitness Center, 
Community Room A, 5415 West, 3100 South, West Valley City, Utah
     March 19, 2001, Senior Citizens Center, 450 East, 100 
North, Moab, Utah
     March 20, 2001, Double Tree Inn, 501 Camino Del Rio, 
Durango, Colorado, and Anasazi Heritage Center, 27501 Highway 184, 
Delores, Colorado
     March 22, 2001, Farmington Civic Center, (Room B) 200 West 
Arrington, Farmington, New Mexico
     March 27, 2001, Juab County High School, 802 North 650 
East, Nephi, Utah
     March 28, 2001, Payson City Hall, 439 West Utah Ave, 
Payson, Utah
     March 29, 2001, Association of Governments and Small 
Business Development Center, 375 South Carbon Ave., Price, Utah
    All meetings will begin at 7:00 pm. BLM reserves the right to limit 
presentations based on public attendance. Only written comments will be 
made part of the official record. Written comments may be submitted at 
the meetings or may be mailed to the address below prior to the end of 
the comment period.
    Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents will 
be available for public review at the BLM Utah State Office and will be 
subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). They 
may be published as part of the final EIS and other related documents. 
Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to 
withhold your name or street address from public review and disclosure 
under the FOIA, 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, will 
be made available for public inspection in their entirety.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to LaVerne Steah, Project 
Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Utah State Office, P.O. Box 45155, 
Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0155 or at the project website: QWK-EIS.ORG. 
Copies of the DEIS can be obtained through the project web site, or by 
written request to the above address (hard copy or CD). An executive 
summary including maps will be mailed to all individuals and 
organizations on the project mailing list.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Please contact Ms. LaVerne Steah at the above 
address or phone: (801) 539-4114 or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Three proponents (Williams Pipeline Company, 
Questar Pipeline Company and Kerne River Gas Transmission Company) 
filed right-of-way

[[Page 11312]]

applications with the Bureau of Land Management in 1998 and 1999 to 
construct and operate petroleum products and natural gas pipelines and 
ancillary facilities on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land 
Management, National Forest System Lands administered by the United 
States Forest Service (USFS), and private and state owned lands in the 
states of New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. The three projects are 
independent of each other (each project could be constructed and 
operated regardless of whether the other two projects are approved). 
The three projects were analyzed together because they would share 
common utility corridors across the Manti-LaSal and Uinta National 
Forests and would cause cumulative impacts.
    The BLM and the USFS examined alternative natural gas and petroleum 
transportation methods and several alternative pipeline route segments 
to address concerns about (1) potential petroleum products leaks and 
spill effects on natural resources, water and people; (2) natural gas 
leaks and failure effects on natural resources and people, and; (3) 
effects on the character of USFS inventoried roadless and unroaded 
areas. Two major (30 miles or longer) route alternatives, and two short 
(5 miles or less) route variations were carried forward in the analysis 
in addition to the proposed action and the no action alternative. Also, 
as part of the proposed action is a proposal to amend one or more 
forest plans following the 1982 regulations (36 CFR, part 219). Public 
scoping for these projects was completed in two phases. An Initial 
Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for these projects was published in 
the Federal Register on April 28, 1999. Nine public meetings were held 
in Colorado and Utah. An amended Notice of Intent was published on 
April 19, 2000, as a result of a change in the project scope. This 
established a new public scoping period between April 19, 2000 and June 
9, 2000, during which two additional scoping meetings were held in 
Utah.

    Dated: February 12, 2001.
Sally Wisely,
Utah State Director.
[FR Doc. 01-4467 Filed 2-22-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P