[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 248 (Thursday, December 26, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78768-78769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-32509]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Equity 23-21 and 32-4 Oil and Gas Wells, Dakota Prairie 
Grassland, Billings County, North Dakota

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement to document the analysis and disclose the environmental 
impacts of the construction of the well pads, access roads, production 
facilities, utilites, and pipelines proposed under the Surface Use Plan 
of Operations (SUPO's) for the Equity 23-21 and 32-4 oil and gas wells 
located in the Bell Lake Inventoried Roadless Area (IRA).
    The purpose and need of these oil and gas well projects is to honor 
valid existing lease rights which grant the exclusive right to drill 
for, mine, extract, remove and dispose of all oil and gas (except 
helium) in the lands described within the lease, together with the 
right to build and maintain necessary improvements thereupon.
    This proposal is consistent with the provisions of the Dakota 
Prairie Grasslands (DPG) Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP), 
specifically Goal 2c, Objective 1, which focuses on providing 
opportunities for oil and gas exploration consistent with the DPG LRMP. 
This proposal is consistent with key energy legislation including the 
Energy Security Act of 1980, the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management 
Act of 1982, the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act of 
1987, Executive Order 13212, and the Forest Services's Energy 
Implementation Plan.
    Decisions to be made under this proposal include: whether to 
approve, deny, or modify the Surface Use Plan of Operations as 
submitted and whether to allow the use of herbicides for control of 
vegetation and noxious weeds on the well pads and access roads.
    Preliminary issues include the fact that the proposed projects are 
located within the Bell Lake Inventoried Roadless Area (IRA). Honoring 
the oil and gas lease will mean that access roads and well pads will be 
constructed in the Bell Lake IRA.

ADDRESSES: The responsible official is David M. Pieper, Dakota Prairie 
Grasslands Supervisor. Please send written comments to Ronald W. 
Jablonski, Jr., District Ranger, Medora Ranger District, 161 21st 
Street West, Dickinson ND 58601. Comments may also be electronically 
submitted to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Adams, ID Team Leader, Medora 
Ranger District, 161 21st Street West, Dickinson ND 58601 or by e-mail 
to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service proposes to approve the 
SUPO's for the Equity 23-21 and 32-4 oil and gas well sites located in 
the NESW of Section 21, T143N, R103W, and the SWNE of Section 4, T143N, 
R103W, Billings County, North Dakota. This proposal would occur on 
National Forest System lands. The SUPO includes construction, 
maintenance, and reclamation proposals for the well pads, access roads, 
and needed oil production facilities, pipelines, and electric lines.
    The Equity 23-21 and 32-4 proposals would include constructing 
approximately 4,475 and 2,501 feet of new access road, respectively. 
Each well pad would disturb an area, approximately 2.5 acres in size. 
Pipelines and electric utilities would be buried along the access 
roads. Production facilities (i.e., tanks, heater treater, and well 
pump) would be located on each well pad.
    The entire 11,270 acre Bell Lake IRA is leased for oil and gas 
exploration and development. There are 320 acres of private mineral 
rights within the IRA. Under the recently signed DPG LRMP, the area 
within the IRA is to be managed as Management Area (MA) 6.1 ``Rangeland 
with Broad Resource Emphasis''. This MA directs that valid leases will 
be honored.
    Public participation is important to this analysis. Part of the 
goal of public involvement is to identify additional issues and to 
refine general issues. Scoping notices will be mailed to the public on 
or before January 10, 2003.
    People may visit with Forest Service officials at any time during 
the analysis and prior to the decision. Two periods are specifically 
designated for comments on the analysis: (1) During the scoping 
process, and (2) during the draft EIS period.
    Durin the scoping process, the Forest Service seeks additional 
information and comments from individuals, organizations, and federal, 
state, and local agencies that may be interested in or affected by the 
proposed action. The Forest Service invites written comments and 
suggestions on this action, particularly in terms of issues and 
alternative development.
    The draft EIS is anticipated to be available for review in May of 
2003. The final EIS is planned for completion in August of 2003.
    The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will 
be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The Forest Service 
will also publish a legal notice of its availability in the Bismarck 
Tribune Newspaper, Bismarck, North Dakota. The 45-day comment period 
will begin the day after the legal notice is published.
    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. 
519,553 (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 environment 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

[[Page 78769]]

Quality Regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the 
National Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these 
points.
    The responsible official will make the decision on this proposal 
after considering comments and responses, environmental consequences 
discussed in the final EIS, applicable laws, regulations, and policies. 
The decision and reasons for the decision will be documented in a 
Record of Decision.

    Dated: December 19, 2002.
David M. Pieper,
Dakota Prairie Grasslands Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 02-32509 Filed 12-24-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M