[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 226 (Friday, November 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71169-71170]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23064]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-030-1310-DB]


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Seminoe Road Gas Development Project

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability 
of the Seminoe Road Gas Development Project DEIS that analyzes the 
environmental consequences of a proposed coalbed natural gas 
development and production operation in south central Wyoming.

DATES: The DEIS will be available for review and comment for 60 
calendar days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
publishes its NOA in the Federal Register. The BLM can best use 
comments and resource information if they are submitted by or before 
close of business the day of the end of the comment and review period. 
If you are uncertain as to what constitutes acceptable comment format 
or when comments are due, please contact the Project Leader or the 
Rawlins Field Office at the address below.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the DEIS was sent to affected Federal, State, and 
local government agencies and to interested parties. The document may 
also be available electronically on the following Web site: http://www.wy.blm.gov/nepa/nepadocs.htm. Copies of the DEIS will be available 
for public inspection at the following locations:
     Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, 5353 
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003.
     Bureau of Land Management, Rawlins Field Office, 1300 N. 
Third Street, Rawlins, Wyoming 82301.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Simons, Project Leader, BLM 
Rawlins Field Office, 1300 N. Third Street, Rawlins, WY 82301. Requests 
for information may be sent electronically to: [email protected] 
with ``Attention: Seminoe Road DEIS Information Request'' in the 
subject line. Mr. Simons may also be reached at (307) 328-4328.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Dudley & Associates, LLC (the Operators) 
propose to explore and develop natural gas resources from coal beds 
within their existing leases within the Seminoe Road Project Area. The 
project is located approximately 20 miles northeast of Rawlins, Wyoming 
near Seminoe Reservoir, Townships 21-24 North, Ranges 84-86 West, Sixth 
Principal Meridian, Carbon County.
    The Operators will drill up to 1,240 wells on up to 785 well pad 
sites over the next 30 to 40 years. Depending on geologic conditions, 
well density would range from two wells per 640 acres to four wells per 
640 acres.
    Forty-nine percent of the approximately 137,000 surface acre area 
is public land administered primarily by the BLM. Of the remaining 
project area surface, 49 percent is privately owned and less than 2 
percent is owned and administered by the State of Wyoming. The Federal 
mineral estate ownership pattern is the same as the surface ownership 
pattern. Currently, approximately 18 gas wells operate within the 
Seminoe Road Project Area from a pilot project drilled in 2001. The 
Operators propose to drill up to 1,240 additional wells over the next 
30 to 40 years.
    The BLM published its Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Seminoe Road Gas Development Project in 
the Federal Register on March 13, 2003. Based upon issues and concerns 
identified during scoping and during the development of National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis, the Seminoe Road DEIS focuses 
on individual and cumulative impacts to air quality, biological and 
physical resources, transportation, and socio-economics factors. In 
compliance with section 7(c) of the Endangered Species Act, as amended, 
the DEIS includes a biological assessment that identifies endangered or 
threatened species which may be affected by the Proposed Action.
    This DEIS assesses the effects of implementing the proposed action 
at the scale presented by the project proponent. Subsequent site-
specific development proposals would be submitted to the BLM in the 
form of Applications to Drill (APD). A NEPA analysis of the, APDs would 
be conducted and analyzed to address site specific effects using best 
management practices. These site-specific environmental analyses would 
be tiered to this EIS.
    The Seminoe Road DEIS analyzes four alternatives in detail:
    1. Alternative A, the No Action alternative. This means the project 
as proposed would not be approved;
    2. Alternative B, the proposed action, with produced water from 
coalbed natural gas drilling and production discharged into ephemeral 
stream courses;
    3. Alternative C, the proposed action, modified to provide for 
produced water discharge in the North Platte River system using 
pipelines, aqueducts, or other water transportation features; and
    4. Alternative D, the proposed action, with produced water re-
injected into underground aquifers.
    Agency Preferred Alternative: BLM's preferred alternative is 
Alternative C.
    The proposed action is to proceed with field development through 
establishing 785 well pad sites, drilling up to 1,240 natural gas 
wells, developing access roads and siting pipelines and other ancillary 
facilities (gas processing plant, compressor stations, water disposal 
sites, etc.). The proposed action identifies the drilling of multiple 
wells from a single pad and well completion in multiple coal 
formations. Produced water would be released into surface drainages 
running into the North Platte River.

How To Submit Comments

    Comments must be submitted using one of the following methods:
    1. Comments may be electronically mailed to [email protected] 
with ``Attention: Seminoe Road Project Manager'' in the subject line, 
and avoiding the use of special characters or any form of encryption. 
If you do not receive a confirmation from our system that your comment 
has been received, please contact David Simons, Project Manager, 
Rawlins Field Office, (307) 328-4328;
    2. Written comments may be mailed directly or delivered to the BLM 
at: Seminoe Road DEIS, Project Manager, Bureau of Land Management 
Rawlins Field Office, 1300 N. Third Street, P.O. Box 2407, Rawlins, WY 
82301; and
    3. Comments may be sent via telefax to the BLM, Attn: David Simons, 
at (307) 328-4224.
    To be given consideration by BLM, all DEIS comments must include 
the commenter's name and street address.
    BLM's practice is to make all comments, including the names and 
street addresses of each respondent, available for public review at the 
BLM office listed above during business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), 
Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays. Your comments may 
be published as part of the EIS process. Individual respondents may 
request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or street 
address or both from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom 
of Information Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of 
your written comments.

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Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. BLM will 
not consider anonymous comments. All submissions from organizations or 
businesses will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

    Dated: November 15, 2005.
Martin G. Griffith,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 05-23064 Filed 11-23-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P