[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 147 (Tuesday, July 31, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39529-39531]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-19197]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AK-990-5101-NH-FL07]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for Renewal of the Federal Agreement and Grant of Right-of-Way 
for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS)

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for renewal of the federal agreement and grant of 
right-of-way for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) and notice of 
scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701), as amended; the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321), as amended; the Council on 
Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508); and 
the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. 185), as amended, including 
Title II--the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act (TAPAA; 43 U.S.C. 
1651), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), through its office in the 
Joint Pipeline Office (JPO), will prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) on renewing the right-of-way for the Trans-Alaska 
Pipeline System (TAPS). Assisting the BLM in preparation of the EIS 
will be Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois.
    The BLM will hold public scoping meetings to obtain comments for 
the EIS at the following locations on the dates specified (specific 
meeting times and places will be announced through local media and 
project web sites):

Barrow, Alaska: Wednesday, September 12, 2001

[[Page 39530]]

Fairbanks, Alaska: Thursday, September 13, 2001
Copper Center/Glennallen, Alaska: Monday, September 17, 2001
Valdez, Alaska: Tuesday, September 18, 2001
Delta Junction, Alaska: Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Anchorage, Alaska: Thursday, September 20, 2001


DATES: The BLM will also accept written comments on the EIS scope 
postmarked by September 29, 2001; and electronic, faxed, and voice 
comments received by September 29, 2001. Written comments may also be 
hand-delivered to the Joint Pipeline Office in Anchorage, Alaska, by 4 
p.m. (Alaska Standard Time) on September 28, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed to BLM TAPS Renewal 
Scoping, Argonne National Laboratory EAD/900, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, 
Argonne, IL 60439. As an alternative, written comments can be hand-
delivered to BLM TAPS Renewal Scoping, 411 W. 4th Avenue, Suite 2, 
Anchorage, AK. [Do not mail comments to this address.] Comments also 
can be e-mailed to [email protected], submitted through the ``Public 
Comment Form'' feature on the TAPS Renewal EIS Web site at 
tapseis.anl.gov, by fax toll free to 866-386-7350, or by voice message 
toll free at 886-386-7331.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Rob McWhorter, 907-271-3664, Joint 
Pipeline Office, 411 W 4th Avenue, Suite 2, Anchorage, AK 99501, 
[email protected], or visit the TAPS Right-of-Way Renewal Web site 
at tapsrenewal.jpo.doi.gov or the TAPS Renewal EIS Web site at 
tapseis.anl.gov.
    Withholding of Personal Information: It is the BLM's practice to 
make comments, including names and addresses of commenters, available 
for public review during regular business hours. Individual commenters 
may request that we withhold their home address from the scoping 
record, and we will honor such requests to the extent allowable by law. 
Circumstances may also arise in which we would withhold from the 
scoping record a commenter's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish 
us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your comment. However, we will not 
consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 23, 1974, the Federal Agreement 
and Grant of Right-of-Way (Federal Grant) for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline 
was authorized and issued pursuant to Section 28 of the Mineral Leasing 
Act, as amended by the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act of 1973 
(43 U.S.C. 1651). That agreement and grant will expire in 2004. Under 
Section 28(n) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185(n)), the BLM 
shall renew a right-of-way upon request of an applicant in accordance 
with this section of the Act. Section 7(C) of the Federal Grant states 
that the ``the Right-of-Way shall be renewed, subject to and in 
accordance with the provision of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline 
Authorization Act.'' On May 2, 2001, the owner companies of the Trans-
Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) [Amerada Hess Pipeline Corporation; BP 
Pipelines (Alaska), Inc.; ExxonMobil Pipeline Company; Phillips 
Transportation Alaska, Inc.; Unocal Pipeline Company; and Williams 
Alaska Pipeline Company, LLC] submitted an application to renew the 
Federal Grant for the TAPS for 30 years. The BLM has determined that 
this renewal would be a major federal action as defined by the NEPA, 
and, thus, the BLM will prepare an EIS according to the requirements of 
the CEQ's implementing regulations. This NOI provides public notice of 
preparation of the EIS and announces the opportunity for the public to 
provide comments relating to the preparation, scope, and content of the 
EIS.
    The proposed action to be addressed in the EIS is the renewal for 
30 years of the Federal Grant that governs the right-of-way for the 
TAPS. The Federal Grant expires on January 22, 2004. At the same time 
the EIS is being prepared, the State of Alaska will consider an action 
to renew the State Right-of-Way Lease (State Lease), which expires on 
May 2, 2004. The scope of the EIS will address the operation of the 
TAPS along its entire right-of-way from Pump Station #1 at Prudhoe Bay 
to the Marine Terminal at the Port of Valdez. The proposal to be 
addressed in the EIS does not extend to authorizing new Federal or 
State oil and gas leasing, management of lands adjacent to the Federal 
or State right-of-way, or regulation of State of Alaska highways 
paralleling the pipeline. In addition to evaluating the applicants' 
proposal, the EIS will address the no-action alternative of not 
renewing the Federal Grant. Other alternatives may be developed as a 
result of scoping.
    The TAPS begins on Alaska's North Slope in the Prudhoe Bay oil 
field. It extends southward over the Brooks Range via Atigun Pass, 
crosses the Yukon River 30 miles downstream from Stevens Village, 
passes to the east of Fairbanks, and generally parallels the Richardson 
Highway south, passing over the Alaska Range via Thompson Pass, to 
Valdez on Prince William Sound. Maps depicting the route of the TAPS 
and adjacent land status are available at the TAPS Right-of-Way Renewal 
Web site at tapsrenewal.jpo.doi.gov, or the TAPS Renewal EIS Web site 
at tapseis.anl.gov.
    The BLM anticipates that the preparation of the TAPS EIS and Record 
of Decision will require 17 months to complete and will include public 
and agency scoping; coordination and consultation with Federal, State, 
and local agencies and Native governments; publication of a draft EIS; 
public review and public hearings on the draft EIS, and publication of 
a final EIS and Record of Decision. As currently envisioned, the EIS 
will address impacts for the following topical areas:

1. Physical environment
    a. Air quality
    b. Soils and permafrost
    c. Geology
    i. Mineral resources
    ii. Paleontological resources
    d. Water resources and quality
2. Biological environment
    a. Terrestrial habitats
    i. Vegetation
    ii. Animals
    b. Freshwater habitats
    i. Resident fish
    ii. Anadromous fish
    c. Marine habitats
    i. Fish and shellfish
    ii. Mammals
    d. Threatened and endangered species
    e. Floodplains and wetlands
    f. Invasive species
3. Human/social environment
    a. Land use
    i. Ownership
    ii. Wilderness
    iii. Parks
    iv. Planning
    v. Coastal management
    b. Transportation
    c. Visual environment
    d. Noise
    e. Recreation
    f. Subsistence
    g. Socio-cultural systems
    h. Cultural resources
    i. Archaeological resources
    ii. Historical resources
    i. Economy
    i. Income
    ii. Employment
    iii. Taxes and revenues
    iv. Community services
    j. Human health and safety

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    i. Occupational
    ii. Public
    k. Environmental justice.
4. Cumulative impacts
    a. Other hydrocarbon-based development and transportation
    b. Other non-hydrocarbon-based development and transportation
5. Other
    a. Irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources
    b. Short-term use versus long-term impacts
    c. Unavoidable adverse impacts

    The EIS will describe the TAPS design features, mechanisms of 
impact, emissions and effluents, pollution prevention and waste 
management, monitoring (including surveillance and maintenance 
programs), spill prevention and response, and mitigation measures. The 
EIS will also address the indirect and cumulative impacts associated 
with oil and gas production, including future development on Alaska's 
North Slope, and shipment of those products to market. The EIS will 
include a statement of the purpose and need for the proposed action, 
including the contribution that the continued use of the TAPS to 
support North Slope oil production makes to the nation's oil supply, 
economy, balance of payments, and energy security. Applicable Federal, 
State, and local statutes and regulations, with international 
agreements, and required Federal and State permits, consultations, and 
notifications will be presented.
    The public is encouraged to contact the BLM with information and 
comments on specific issues they believe should be addressed in the 
EIS. The agency requests information and comments on wildlife, 
subsistence, and other resources along the pipeline route and in areas 
indirectly impacted by the pipeline both on the North Slope and along 
marine transport routes associated with oil and gas development on 
Alaska's North Slope. The BLM seeks information and comments on the 
current and past operation of the TAPS and ideas for enhanced operation 
and maintenance.
    Comments are also sought on potential conflicts with approved 
coastal management plans (CMPs) and other land use plans that may 
result from the BLM's decision on the renewal of the TAPS right-of-way. 
These comments should identify specific policies of concern as listed 
in CMPs or other plans, the nature of the conflicts foreseen, and steps 
that the BLM could take to avoid or mitigate the potential conflicts. 
Comments may be in terms of broad areas or restricted to specific areas 
of concern.

    Dated: July 18, 2001.
Jerry Brossia,
Authorized Officer, Joint Pipeline Office.
[FR Doc. 01-19197 Filed 7-30-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P