[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 159 (Friday, October 8, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60418-60419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-22738]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[UT080-1310-00]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement on Inland Resources Inc., Castle Peak and Eight Mile Flat Oil 
& Gas Expansion Project, Uintah County, UT

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and 
implementing regulations, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces 
the availability of The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for 
the proposed Inland Resources Inc., Castle Peak and Eight Mile Flat Oil 
& Gas Expansion Project. The DEIS analyzes and discloses to the public 
direct, indirect and cumulative environmental impacts of proposed 
expansion of existing waterflood oil recovery operations in the 
Monument Butte production region. The proponent proposes to drill up to 
900 additional

[[Page 60419]]

wells by the year 2015. Two additional alternatives to the proposed 
action are also analyzed.

DATES: Written comments on the Inland Resources Inc., Castle Peak and 
Eight Mile Flat Oil & Gas Expansion Project DEIS will be accepted for 
45 days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
publishes this Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. Future 
public meetings and any other public involvement activities will be 
announced at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media 
news releases, the BLM Vernal Field Office Web site at http://www.blm.gov/utah/vernal and/or mailings.
    The BLM asks that those submitting comments on the DEIS make them 
as specific as possible with references to page numbers and chapters of 
the document. Comments that contain only opinions or preferences will 
not receive a formal response, but will be considered and included as 
part of the BLM decision-making process.

ADDRESSES: Please address questions, comments or concerns to the Vernal 
Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, Attn: Jean Nitschke-Sinclear, 
170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078, fax them to (435) 781-4410, or 
send e-mail comments to the attention of Jean Nitschke-Sinclear at 
[email protected]. A copy of the DEIS has been sent to 
affected Federal, State, and local government agencies; and persons and 
entities who indicated to the BLM that they wished to receive a copy of 
the DEIS.
    Written comments, including names and addresses of respondents, 
will be available for public review at the BLM, Vernal Field Office 
during normal business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). Responses to the 
comments will be published as part of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS). Individuals may request confidentiality. If you wish 
to withhold your name or address from public review or from disclosure 
under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this prominently 
at the beginning of your 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.
    Copies of the Inland Resources Inc., Castle Peak and Eight Mile 
Flat Oil & Gas Expansion Project DEIS are available at the BLM Vernal 
Field Office at the address above. The DEIS may also be viewed and 
downloaded in PDF format at the BLM Vernal Field Office Web site at 
http://www.blm.gov/utah/vernal.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Nitschke-Sinclear, or Veronica 
Herkshan, Planning Specialist, at BLM's Vernal Field Office listed 
above or telephone (435-781-4400).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DEIS analyzes proposed expanded 
waterflood oil recovery on about 65,500 total acres in the Monument 
Butte region, approximately 25 miles southwest of Roosevelt, in 
Township 8 South, Ranges 17-19 East, SLBM; and, Township 9 South, 
Ranges 16-19 East, SLBM. The proposed project is located primarily on 
BLM-administered lands (59,757 acres, or 91% of the project area) and 
includes 5,777 acres (or about 9%) of State of Utah administered lands; 
and, 41 acres (less than 1%) of private lands. The proponent 
anticipates drilling up to 900 additional wells at a rate of 70 to 130 
a year or until the resource base is fully developed. The total number 
of wells drilled would depend largely on factors out of the Company's 
control such as geology, economic factors, and lease restrictions. The 
wells would be drilled on a 40-acre spacing pattern to recovery oil and 
gas reserves from the Green River Formation (involving depths of 4,500 
to 6,500 feet). Inland would drill approximately 50 percent of the 
wells as producing wells, and 50 percent as water injection wells. The 
water injection wells would allow reservoir pressure to be managed and 
oil recovery to be maximized. Water would be supplied from existing 
Water District contracts and from various oil and water bearing 
reservoirs within the Green River Formation underlying the oil field. 
At its peak water usage, the project would require about 1,400 acre 
feet per year. Other project-related activities would include the 
construction and operation of roads, gas pipelines, well pads (with 
pumping units and oil storage tanks), and water pipelines. Inland 
Resources, Inc., also proposes to construct a new water filtration/
injection plant with injection capacities of 2,500 to 4,000 barrels of 
water per day as well as a pump house. Produced oil from new wells 
would be transported from 400-barrel well site storage tanks by tanker 
truck to refineries near Salt Lake City, Utah. Gas would be transported 
via pipeline to one of Inland's existing compression facilities. 
Produced water would be trucked to one of several existing Inland water 
injection plants where it would be filtered and mixed with culinary 
fresh water before being re-injected into the oil reservoir via a 
water-pipeline and injection well system. No new compressor stations 
are anticipated.
    Existing producing wells within the project area were drilled 
between 1980 and 1996. By the late 1980's, most of these wells were 
reaching the end of their economically useful life using conventional 
recovery methods. In 1995 Inland received approval from BLM to drill 
296 over a 5-year period as part of a research effort to try commercial 
use of waterflood technology for oil recovery. In 1997 BLM approved an 
additional 300 wells for Inland to drill 300 wells using the waterflood 
technology.
    The Notice of Intent for preparation of the Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement on the Inland Resources Inc., Castle Peak and Eight 
Mile Flat Oil & Gas Expansion Project was published in the Federal 
Register on May 8, 2002. Public participation was sought through 
scoping, public meetings and ``stakeholder'' meetings conducted with 
interested agencies and organizations. Specifically, BLM conducted a 
public scoping and information open house in Roosevelt and Vernal, Utah 
on June 11 and 12, 2002, respectively; and a stakeholders meeting on 
May 23, 2002. Through the scoping process several issues have been 
identified including potential impacts on socio-economics; cultural 
resources; paleontological resources; wildlife and listed and special 
status wildlife and plant species habitats; soils and water resources; 
Pariette Wetlands Complex Area of Critical Environmental Concern; and 
cumulative impacts.
    The BLM has developed two alternatives in addition to the proposed 
action for analysis in the DEIS. Alternative A discusses the effects of 
the Proposed Action as modified by the application of stipulations 
identified in the Diamond Mountain Resource Management Plan and 
mitigation measures recommended to reduce environmental effects. At 
this time Alternative A is the BLM's preferred alternative. The No 
Action Alternative considers the operation of existing wells and 
drilling of additional wells authorized and granted with conditions of 
approval developed from previous NEPA documents, the 1994 Diamond 
Mountain Resource Management Plan and existing lease rights. The 
proposed action and alternative being considered in the DEIS are in 
conformance with the 1994 Diamond Mountain Resource Management Plan.

    Dated: September 9, 2004.
William Stringer,
Vernal Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 04-22738 Filed 10-7-04; 8:45 am]
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