[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 140 (Monday, July 22, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47762-47764]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-17949]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


North Fork of Pound Natural Gas Development Project, Clinch 
Ranger District, Wise County, VA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The federal government proposes to approve exploration and 
development of a federal oil and gas lease on Pine Mountain above North 
Fork of Pound Lake in Wise County, Virginia. This proposed action is in 
response to the Notice of Staking (NOS) the federal government has 
received from the lessee, Equitable Production Company. The proposed 
gas wells and associated roads and pipelines are to be located on the 
Clinch Ranger District of the George Washington and Jefferson National 
Forests.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by August 19, 2002. The draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) is 
expected in September 2003 and the final environmental impact statement 
(FEIS) is expected in March 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to District Ranger Sten Olsen, Clinch 
Ranger District, 9416 Darden Drive, Wise Virginia 24293.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: District Ranger Sten Olsen, Clinch 
Ranger District, 9416 Darden Drive, Wise, Virginia 24293/(276)-328-
2931.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Congress established the federal oil and 
gas-leasing program under which oil and gas leases are issued to, and 
developed by, private enterprise. In 1984, the federal government 
issued federal oil and gas lease VAES-32510 covering 4,836 acres of 
federal land in the North Fork Pound area of Wise County, Virginia. The 
federal lease was issued for the purpose of exploration and development 
of oil and gas on the Clinch Ranger District of the George Washington 
and Jefferson National Forests. The holder of the lease (lessee) has 
the right to access the area, and occupy as much of the surface as is 
reasonable and necessary in order to explore and develop the mineral 
resource.
    The lessee, Equitable Production Company, has filed with the USDA, 
Forest Service; and the Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM), a NOS to drill multiple gas wells, thereby 
fulfilling the purpose of federal lease, VAES-32510. The NOS is a 
preliminary step, which facilitates the selection of acceptable 
drilling locations by the lessee, the Forest Service, and the BLM prior 
to the submission of the Application for Permit to Drill (APD). The 
federal government must approve an APD before a lessee could build 
roads, drill wells, or otherwise occupy the surface of the lease. Both 
the Forest Service and the BLM have specific authority related to the 
APD approval. The federal government is required to make a timely 
decision on approving and issuing an APD to construct roads and well 
pads, drill wells, and install pipelines.
    Since 1990, production from a private well located adjacent to the 
leased lands has been allocated to a small portion of federal lease. 
VAES-32510. While the federal lease has been held by production from 
this private well, the lessee now plans to develop natural gas field on 
the much larger, remaining portion of the leased tract.
    The proposed gas well development is an energy project requiring an 
expedited review by the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture in 
accordance with Executive Order 13212. In addition, the Energy Security 
Act of 1980 directs the Secretary of Agriculture to process 
applications fro leases and permits to explore, drill and develop 
resources on National Forest System lands, notwithstanding of the 
current status of the Land and Resource

[[Page 47763]]

Management Plan (Forest Plan). This means that the Forest Service must 
process the applications for these permits regardless of the current 
status of the Revision of the Jefferson Forest Plan.
    The proposed action is the approval of multiple APDs to drill 21 
wells, construct 11 miles of road, and install 12 miles of pipeline. 
Most of the pipeline corridors will be located along the 11 miles of 
road corridor. About one mile of pipeline corridor would not be along 
the road corridor, but would be within the boundary of the lands within 
the lease. Each well pad will initially require a 1.5-acre clearing. 
Once production is obtained, each well pad will be reduced in size to 
one-half acre, and the remainder of the original well pad will be 
reclaimed. When natural gas production ceases, wells will be plugged 
and the well pads and any unnecessary facilities will be reclaimed.
    The following permits or licenses would be required to implement 
the proposed action: Application for Permit to Drill; DOI Bureau of 
Land Management, and Permit to Drill; Virginia Department of Mines, 
Minerals & Energy.
    No significant ground-disturbing management activities have 
occurred in the vicinity since coming under Forest Service management 
in 1983. Nearly all of the proposed gas development occurs within the 
North Fork of Pound Roadless Area (NFPRA). The NFPRA was identified as 
a roadless area in 1997 as part of the roadless inventory for the 
Jefferson Forest Plan revision process. The Roadless Area Conservation 
Initiative recognizes existing rights, and provides for development of 
current leases, along with associated roads necessary for access.
    The preliminary alternatives to be considered include the proposed 
action and the no-action alternative. The cumulative effects section of 
the EIS for the subject 21 well projects will also consider the 
cumulative effects from a separate proposal involving the exercise of 
private oil and gas rights under the federal surface of U.S. tract J-
1352d. This tract is located just west of the lands covered by federal 
oil and gas lease VAES-32510. The exercise of these private oil and gas 
rights, which were reserved at the time the United States acquired the 
lands, are subject to 1963 Secretary of Agriculture's Rules and 
Regulations. Development of the private rights would result in the 
drilling of 4 wells and the construction of about 13,500 feet of access 
roads and pipelines. A portion of the proposed road construction would 
occur in the western part of the NFPRA in an area where the federal 
government does not own the oil and gas rights.
    Public comments received during a previous analysis of the North 
Fork of Pound Opportunity Area tentatively identified the following 
preliminary issues:
    Issue 1. The roads, pipelines and well pads associated with this 
project may negatively impact the North Fork of Pound Roadless Area's 
qualifications for Congressional Wilderness designation.
    Issue 2. The roads, pipelines and well pads associated with this 
project may increase sedimentation in North Fork of Pound Lake, a 
municipal water supply for the town of Pound.
    Issue 3. The roads, pipelines and well pads associated with this 
project may negatively impact the visual quality of the area, 
especially in Forest Service developed recreation sites at North Fork 
of Pound Lake.
    This notice is to inform the public of the proposed action and 
invite the public to participate by providing any comments or 
information they may have concerning the proposal. This information 
will be used to identify important issues and determine the extent of 
the analysis necessary to make an informed decision on the proposal. 
Such issues will assist in the formulation of additional alternatives 
and the development of mitigation measures necessary to reduce impacts. 
To allow us to better consider comments, please make them as specific 
as possible to the proposed action.
    A DEIS will be prepared for comment. The comment period on the DEIS 
will be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency 
publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
    At this early stage, the Forest Service believes it is important to 
give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
DEISs 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 Corp. v. 
NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 533 (1978). Also, environmental objections that 
could be raised at the DEIS stage but that are not raised until after 
completion of the FEIS 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 FEIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the DEIS 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 DEIS 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.
    The Forest Service is the lead agency for managing surface use of 
the project vicinity during and after development. The Forest Service 
is the lead agency for the environmental analysis. The BLM will be a 
cooperating agency.
    Federal oil and gas lease VAES-32510 was issued in 1984. The 
federal decision now ripe is now to implement the lease through 
approval of APDs for oil and gas lease operations. The federal decision 
includes decisions about proposed locations of roads, oil and gas 
wells, and other facilities, as well as about Conditions of Approval to 
mitigate or reduce environmental impacts. The decision to be made by 
the Forest Service is whether to approve the surface use plan of 
operations (SUPO) part of the APD's. The BLM decision is whether to 
approve the drilling plans. Once the BLM has received the Forest 
Service approval of the SUPO's, and the Conditions of Approval, they 
will issue the actual APD's.
    The Regional Forester will decide which mitigation measures and 
monitoring requirements to include with the surface use plan of 
operations in the APD's.
    The Responsible Official for Forest Service is Robert T. Jacobs, 
Regional Forester--Southern Region; 1720 Peachtree Road NW., Atlanta, 
GA 30309. The Responsible Official for the BLM is Bruce E. Dawson, 
Field Manager, Jackson Field Office, 411 Briarwood Drive, Suite 404, 
Jackson, MS 39206.

Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21.


[[Page 47764]]


    Dated: July 10, 2002.
Eurial Turner,
Deputy Regional Forester for Operations.
[FR Doc. 02-17949 Filed 7-19-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M