[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 238 (Monday, December 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72214-72215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-27240]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Oil and Gas Management Plan, Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Oil and Gas Management Plan/Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement for Big Thicket National Preserve.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 
U.S.C. 4332(C), the National Park Service announces the availability of 
an Oil and Gas Management Plan/Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(OGMP/DEIS) for Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas.
    When the Preserve was created, surface ownership within the area 
was acquired by the U.S. Government. Private entities or the State of 
Texas retained the subsurface mineral interests in these lands. Thus, 
the federal government does not own any of the subsurface oil and gas 
rights in the Preserve, yet the National Park Service is required by 
its laws, policies and regulations to protect the Preserve from any 
actions, including oil and gas operations that may adversely impact or 
impair Preserve resources and values.
    The OGMP/DEIS analyzes three alternatives that could be implemented 
over the next 15-20 years. Each alternative defines a direction for 
long-term management of existing and anticipated oil and gas operations 
associated with the exercise of nonfederal oil and gas interests 
underlying the Preserve, and existing transpark oil and gas pipelines 
and activities in their associated rights-of-way, while protecting 
Preserve resources, visitor use and experience, and human health and 
safety, and preventing impairment to Preserve resources and values. 
This is a programmatic management plan. No ground-disturbing operations 
would result directly from the management decisions made in this 
document. Prior to approving individual projects, further environmental 
analysis, in accordance with NEPA, would be completed.
    Alternative A, No Action, is required under the National 
Environmental Policy Act and establishes a baseline for comparison with 
the two action alternatives, B and C. No Action is based on Current 
Legal and Policy Requirements (CLPR) and is a continuation of current 
oil and gas management direction in the Preserve. Performance standards 
and specific resource protection goals would continue to be applied on 
a case-by-case basis under the No Action alternative. Geophysical 
exploration operations may be permitted on 80,670 acres (91 percent of 
the Preserve) of which 52,272 acres (59 percent of the Preserve) would 
have timing stipulations; and drilling and production operations may be 
permitted on 80,639 acres (91 percent of the Preserve). No operations 
would be permitted within 500 feet of waterways.
    Alternative B, the agency Preferred Alternative, defines Preserve-
wide resource-specific performance standards that would be applied to 
all existing and new oil and gas operations. In this alternative, 
Special Management Areas (SMAs) would be formally designated for areas 
where Preserve resources and values are particularly susceptible to 
adverse impacts from oil and gas operations, and operating stipulations 
specific to each SMA would be applied. Nonfederal oil and gas 
operations could be permitted under CLPR in all other areas of the 
Preserve that are not designated as SMAs. Geophysical exploration 
operations may be permitted on 76,620 acres (87 percent of the 
Preserve) of which 52,272 acres (59 percent of the Preserve) would have 
timing stipulations; and drilling and production operations may be 
permitted on up to 41,859 acres (47 percent of the Preserve). No 
operations would be permitted within 500 feet of waterways.
    Alternative C, the Environmentally Preferred Alternative, also 
defines park-wide resource-specific performance standards that would be 
applied to all current and new oil and gas operations. Similar to 
Alternative B, SMAs would be designated with specific operating 
stipulations for oil and gas operations. Geophysical exploration may be 
permitted on 48,475 acres (55 percent of the Preserve) and with a 
timing stipulation on 52,272 acres (59 percent of the Preserve); and 
drilling and production operations may be permitted on 41,859 acres (47 
percent of the Preserve). No operations would be permitted within 500 
feet of waterways.
    Impacts are analyzed on the following topics: nonfederal oil and 
gas development, air quality, geologic resources, water resources, 
floodplains, vegetation, wetlands, fish and wildlife, species of 
special concern, cultural resources, visitor use and experience, and 
adjacent land uses and resources.

DATES: The National Park Service will accept comments from the public 
on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a minimum of 60 days 
after publication of this notice.

ADDRESSES: The OGMP/DEIS will be available for public review and 
comment at the following locations:

Office of the Superintendent, Big Thicket National Preserve 
Headquarters, 3785 Milam Street, Beaumont, Texas 77701-4724, Telephone: 
409-839-2690, ext. 223.
Office of Minerals/Oil and Gas Support, Intermountain Region, National 
Park Service, 1100 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, 
Telephone: 505-988-6095.
Planning and Environmental Quality, Intermountain Region, National Park 
Service, 12795 W. Alameda Parkway, Lakewood, Colorado 80228, Telephone: 
303-969-2377.
Office of Public Affairs, Department of the Interior, 18th and C 
Streets NW., Washington, DC 20240, Telephone: 202-208-6843, http://www.nps.gov/bith/pphtml/documents.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Dansby, EIS Project Manager, 
Office of Minerals/Oil and Gas Support, Intermountain Region, Santa Fe, 
New Mexico 87504-0728, telephone 505-988-6095.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment, you may submit your 
comments by any one of the following methods: You may mail comments to 
Linda Dansby, EIS Project Manager, Office of Minerals/Oil and Gas 
Support, Intermountain Region, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504-0728, 
telephone 505-988-6095. You may also comment via the Internet to [email protected]. Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII file avoiding 
the use of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also 
include ``Attn: Big Thicket National Preserve DEIS/O&GMP'' and your 
name and return address in your Internet message. If you do not receive 
a confirmation from the system that we have received your Internet 
message, contact us directly at 505-988-6095. You may also go to the 
Planning, Environment and Public Comment website at http://parkplanning.nps.gov

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for further information regarding the comment due date, and to submit 
comments. Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to the Project Manager 
at 1100 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Our practice is to 
make comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, 
available for public review during regular business hours. Individual 
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from the 
record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also 
may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the record a 
respondent'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.

    Dated: November 12, 2004.
John T. Crowley,
Acting Director, Intermountain Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 04-27240 Filed 12-10-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-CB-P