[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 86 (Friday, May 3, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22391-22392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-10464]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Manti-La Sal National Forest; Prima Oil and Gas Company Gas 
Exploration Well, Carbon County, UT; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service (FS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
will jointly prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to 
document the analysis and disclose the environmental and human effects 
of authorizing a gas exploration well and associated road access on the 
Manti-La Sal National Forest. The proposed well, designated the East 
Clear Creek Federal #22-42, was proposed by Prima Oil and Gas Company 
(Prima).

Agency Decisions

    The BLM is responsible for administration of oil and gas leases 
under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, and Federal 
Regulations in 43 CFR part 3100. The BLM Moab Field Office Manager must 
decide whether or not to approve the Application for Permit to Drill 
(APD). The Regional Forester, Intermountain Region, must decide whether 
or not to approve the Surface-Use Plan of Operations and what 
conditions to require for the protection of non-mineral resources. 
Forest Service authority is provided under the Federal Onshore Oil and 
Gas Leasing Reform Act of 1987 and Federal Regulations in 36 CFR part 
228, sub-part E.

DATES: Written comments concerning issues and alternatives to be 
considered and the scope of the analysis described in this notice 
should be received within 30 days from the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Forest Supervisor, Manti-La Sal 
National Forest, 599 West Price River Drive, Price, Utah, 84501, ATTN: 
Karl Boyer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the proposed 
action and EIS should be addressed to Karl Boyer or Carter Reed, Manti-
La Sal National Forest, phone (435) 637-2817.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Prima has submitted an APD in order to 
obtain approval to conduct gas exploration and reclamation activities 
in the summer of 2003. All exploration activities would take place on 
Federal Oil and Gas Lease UTU-77087. One exploration well and

[[Page 22392]]

associated road construction is proposed. The site would be located 
approximately 4 miles south-southeast of the town of Clear Creek, via 
FSR50110, in Section 22, T.14S., R.7E, SLM, Carbon County, UT on Castle 
Valley Ridge within an Inventoried Roadless Area.

Purpose and Need

    The purpose of the exploration program is to assess the economic 
recoverability of potential gas reserves in the Ferron Sandstone. The 
exploration drilling program would provide the structural, 
stratigraphic, and reservoir data necessary for the development of a 
suitable plan which would allow the company to economically and 
efficiently recover the gas reserves within Federal Oil and Gas Lease 
UTU-77087.

Proposed Action

    The BLM is proposing to approve the APD. The Forest Service is 
proposing to approve the Surface Use Plan of Operations (SUPO) with 
conditions for mitigation of effects to non-mineral resources.

Public Participation

    The Forest Service is seeking information and comments from 
Federal, State, and local agencies as well as individuals and 
organizations that may be interested in, or affected by, the proposed 
action. The agency invites written comments regarding potential issues 
and alternatives related to the proposed action and the area being 
analyzed. Information received will be used to prepare the Draft and 
Final EIS and considered in making agency decisions.
    The EIS and Record of Decision (ROD) will tier to the Final EIS and 
ROD for the Manti-La Sal National Forest Land and Resource Management 
Plan (Forest Plan) 1986, as amended, by the 1994 Record of Decision for 
Oil and Gas Leasing on Lands Administered by the Manti-La Sal National 
Forest.
    Draft preliminary issues include effects to wildlife, visual 
quality, roadless character, and dispersed recreation use along the 
Castle Valley Ridge Trail System.
    Agency representatives and other interested people are invited to 
visit with Forest Service and BLM officials at any time during the EIS 
process. Two specific time periods are identified for the receipt of 
formal comments on the analysis. The two comment periods are, (1) 
during the scoping process, the next 30 days following publication of 
this Notice in the Federal Register, and (2) during the formal review 
period of the Draft EIS.
    The Draft EIS is estimated to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review in October 
2002. At that time the EPA will publish an availability notice in the 
Federal Register. The comment period on the Draft EIS will be 45 days 
from the date that EPA's notice of availability appears in the Federal 
Register. The Final EIS is expected to be released in March 2003.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
draft environmental impact statements must structure their 
participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that it is 
meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and 
contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 
533 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the 
draft environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may 
be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 
1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 
F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, 
it is very important that those interested in this proposed action 
participate by the close of the 45-day comment period so that 
substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest 
Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond to 
them in the final environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft 
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is 
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the 
draft statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft 
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives 
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer 
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing 
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at 
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.

    Authority: (Mineral Leasing Act of February 25, 1920 (Pub. L. 
66-146, 41 Stat. 437, as amended; 30 U.S.C. 181-287))

    Dated: April 19, 2002.
Elaine J. Zieroth,
Forest Supervisor, Mant-La Sal National Forest.
[FR Doc. 02-10464 Filed 5-2-02; 8:45 am]
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