[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 241 (Thursday, December 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75336-75338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-27579]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-070-05-1310-EJ]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment and 
Possible Plan Amendment Concerning Oil and Gas Leasing in the Buffalo 
Field Office, Wyoming

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to 
evaluate the continued implementation of the oil and gas leasing 
decisions in the 1985 Buffalo Resource Management Plan (RMP), as 
amended in 2003. This may lead to further amendment of the RMP for the 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Buffalo Field Office in Campbell, 
Sheridan, and Johnson Counties, Wyoming.

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SUMMARY: This Notice is intended to satisfy the requirements at 43 CFR 
1610.2(c) for amending an RMP (if deemed necessary) pursuant to the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and initiates scoping 
under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
    The purpose of this EA is to examine land use allocations for oil 
and gas leasing and lease stipulations in light of new information, 
including new development scenarios since 1985, in the Buffalo Field 
Office (BFO). This action has been prompted by recent rulings of the 
Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) and the Tenth Circuit Court of 
Appeals (the Court) which upheld the IBLA's April 26, 2002, 
determination that the 1985 Buffalo RMP/EIS and the Wyodak EIS were 
insufficient to support certain leasing decisions because the RMP did 
not discuss the impacts to air and water of coal bed natural gas (CBNG) 
extraction and production. See Pennaco Energy v. DOI, 377 F.3d 1147 
(10th Cir., August 10, 2004).

DATES: The public is invited to comment on this proposed action, the 
scope of the EA, alternatives to be considered, and planning criteria. 
The BLM can best use comments and resource information that are 
submitted within 30 days of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register. BLM does not plan to hold scoping meetings at this time.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments or questions to the BLM Buffalo 
Field Office, 1425 Fort Street, Buffalo, Wyoming 82834. Written 
comments must have the Environmental Assessment number 070-05-070 
written

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on the front page of the comments. Written comments, or resource 
information, may also be hand-delivered to the BLM Buffalo Field 
Office. Comments or questions may also be sent electronically to 
[email protected]. The scoping notice and other information 
regarding this project are posted on the Wyoming BLM Web site at http://www.wy.blm.gov/nepa/bfo/. Members of the public may examine documents 
pertinent to this proposal by visiting the BFO during business hours (8 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays.
    Your response is important and will be considered in the 
environmental analysis process. If you do respond, we will keep you 
informed of the availability of environmental documents that address 
impacts that occur from this proposal. Please note that comments and 
information submitted regarding this project, including names, e-mail 
addresses, and street addresses of the respondents, will be available 
for public review and disclosure at the above address. Individual 
respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your 
name, e-mail address, or street address from public view or from 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests 
will be honored to the extent allowed by the law. All submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Beels, Project Manager, Buffalo 
Field Office, 1425 Fort Street, Buffalo, Wyoming 82401. Mr. Beels may 
also be reached by telephone at (307) 684-1168.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action has been prompted by recent 
rulings of the IBLA and the Court concerning the adequacy of the 1985 
Buffalo RMP EIS to support leasing in areas with CBNG potential. The 
ruling also considered the adequacy of developmental NEPA documents, 
such as the Wyodak EIS, to support leasing decisions since they do not 
consider ``not issuing the leases at all'' as leasing alternatives. The 
Powder River Basin Oil and Gas EIS Resource Management Plan Amendment 
Record of Decision (ROD) was signed on April 30, 2003. That ROD amended 
the 1985 Buffalo RMP to expand the anticipated level of use of the 
resource area for oil and gas and to develop appropriate resource use 
restrictions to mitigate impacts to other resources. These restrictions 
were designed to be implemented at the development stage through site-
specific Conditions of Approval (COA) on permits. The PRB EIS analyzed 
the effects on air, water and other resources of the potential for 
development of 51,000 CBNG wells. This EA will substantially 
incorporate by reference the impact analysis from the PRB EIS.
    This document will also analyze any other new information 
pertaining to oil and gas leasing in the BFO area. This analysis will 
tier to the 1985 BFO RMP EIS and may amend the current BFO RMP. Should 
BLM at any time during the process determine that it will be unable to 
make a finding of no significant impact, it will commence preparation 
of an environmental impact statement.
    During the preparation of this EA, BLM does not intend to offer 
parcels in coal bearing areas (generally considered the Fort Union 
Formation) for oil and gas leasing, these being the areas currently 
productive for CBNG.
    In response to the Court's decision, the BLM is initiating a 
separate EA to examine its leasing decisions between February 2000 and 
August 2004 in the coal bearing areas of the BFO area.
    In the PRB EIS, BLM carefully reviewed the 1985 land use objectives 
for the BFO and determined that with the leasing stipulations in the 
1985 Buffalo RMP and new mitigation measures approved in the PRB EIS, 
the 51,000 wells would not result in any social, environmental or 
economic effects that would preclude accomplishment of one or more of 
the Buffalo RMP objectives, as long as appropriate mitigation measures 
are required and applied in site-specific authorizations.
    Given the extensive analyses of development stage impacts that have 
already been prepared to support the increase in the level of use for 
CBNG and establish the necessary protective measures to be applied at 
the project level, the purpose of this document will be to take a hard 
look at oil and gas land use allocations and lease stipulations. This 
EA will consider options open to the BLM prior to lease issuance and 
identify those practices that should be applied to leases as 
stipulations. The options include closing an area to leasing or 
applying lease stipulations beyond the standard lease stipulations 
applicable to every lease. Any new restrictions would be applied to the 
extent lawful and appropriate through the use of Conditions of Approval 
(COAs) on future development for new leases. An interdisciplinary team 
approach will be used to develop the EA. At a minimum, the following 
key disciplines will be represented: air quality, hydrology and ground 
water, and fluid minerals specialist or petroleum engineer (or both).
    Existing land use plan decisions that will be evaluated, and may be 
amended, include the following:
     Areas to be open, closed, or ``open subject to protective 
stipulations or restrictions to future oil and gas leasing.''
     The necessary level of program constraints, management 
intensity, and management practices (such as lease stipulations) 
sufficient to mitigate the impacts of CBNG development and ensure that 
other resource programs will continue to meet the goals and objectives 
in the RMP.
     Other decisions as appropriate.
    Potential Alternatives: The BLM invites scoping comments on seven 
potential alternatives:
    1. The No Action alternative: Maintain existing land use 
allocations and leasing decisions based on the 1985 RMP, as amended in 
2003.
    2. Open the entire Field Office area to leasing while applying 
standard lease terms and conditions; i.e., standard environmental and 
resource protections.
    3. Maintain existing land use allocations for areas to be open or 
closed to consideration for leasing. Develop and consider a new mix of 
management constraints such as protective stipulations (see the 
examples below) to be attached as terms of use at lease issuance based 
on new information, current development scenarios (i.e., PRB Reasonably 
Foreseeable Development scenario) and new technologies. For example:

--Develop stipulations that can be attached to new leases for some 
management practices adopted in the 2003 EIS that are currently applied 
only on a site-specific basis as COAs on development, such as water 
management practices and best available control technology for air 
emissions.
--No surface occupancy stipulations on slopes greater than 10 percent 
and on highly erosive soils.
--No surface occupancy in six areas proposed as Areas of Critical 
Environmental Concern (ACEC) as described in Appendix R to the PRB EIS.
--New stipulations that provide additional protection for greater sage-
grouse from development-related threats, including practices favorable 
to the spread of West Nile virus.

    4. Modify areas currently designated as open to leasing with a 
special lease

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stipulation that precludes development of CBNG until the planned 
Buffalo RMP revision, scheduled to begin in FY 2008, is completed. Upon 
revision of the Buffalo RMP, lessees subject to this restriction may 
seek modification or waiver pursuant to the terms of the revised RMP 
following a 30-day public review period.
    5. Maintain existing land use allocations and leasing decisions, 
but close to leasing areas within the six proposed ACECs.
    6. Adopt a moratorium on lease sales until completion of the 
Buffalo RMP revision.
    7. Close the BFO to oil and gas leasing.
    Planning Criteria: Criteria proposed will include:
--Balancing the level of land use restrictions or other management 
practices needed at the leasing stage to protect resources, while 
keeping the public lands and resources available for public use under 
FLPMA principles of multiple use and sustained yield.
--The potential for the occurrence and development of mineral 
resources, including conventional oil and gas and coalbed natural gas 
production.
--Consistency with the land use plans, programs, and policies of other 
Federal agencies, State and local governments, and Native American 
tribes.
--Compliance with all Federal laws including the Clean Air Act, Clean 
Water Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and the Endangered 
Species Act.
--Balancing the requirements of FLPMA and the Mineral Leasing Act.
--Because this effort focuses on planning-level use restrictions such 
as stipulations that are applied at the lease issuance stage, the re-
examination of site-specific development stage conditions of approval 
for CBNG development and production is beyond the scope of this EA. 
Those site-specific mitigation issues were examined in detail in the 
PRB EIS which resulted in the 2003 BFO plan amendment.
--Those ACECs proposed for designation in the PRB EIS will not be 
designated through this analysis. Only the measures necessary to 
protect their eligibility will be considered. Designation will be 
deferred until the planned Buffalo RMP revision. BLM projects that this 
revision will commence in FY 2008.

    Dated: November 30, 2004.
Alan L. Kesterke,
Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 04-27579 Filed 12-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P