[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1731-1732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-244]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 11, 2006 / 
Notices  

[[Page 1731]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Bridger-Teton National Forest--Big Piney Ranger District, 
Wyoming; Eagle Prospect

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service has received notification from Plains 
Exploration & Production Company (PXP) that the company proposes to 
drill three exploratory oil and gas wells on National Forest System 
(NFS) lands in the Noble Basin area, about seven miles southeast of 
Bondurant in Sublette County, Wyoming. The proposed wells would 
evaluate production potential within the Eagle Prospect. The proposed 
project would include improvements to existing roads and new road 
construction to provide access to the drill location, construction of a 
single drill pad from which three wells would be drilled, and road 
decommissioning and rehabilitation of an existing low standard road 
into the area. Design of the proposed project, including final access 
route selection and well facilities would be required for production 
testing, will also be considered in the Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS).

DATES: Comments concerning the proposed action should be received by 
February 13, 2006. Comments on issues that you feel should be evaluated 
as part of this analysis or are essential to this environmental 
analysis process should be submitted by the above date. Please direct 
any project related questions or comments to the following individuals. 
The Draft EIS (DEIS) is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public comment in 
September 2006 and the Final EIS (FEIS) is expected to be available in 
the May 2007.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Greg Clark, District Ranger, Big 
Piney Ranger District; PO Box 218; Big Piney, Wyoming 83113. Electronic 
comments may be sent to [email protected] with the 
subject line ``Eagle Prospect''.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Teresa Trulock, Project Manager, at 
the Big Piney Ranger District at 307-276-3375.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Project Area

    The Eagle Prospect is located in the Noble Basin area, south of 
Muddy Creek, within Township 36 North, Range 113 West, Sixth Principal 
Meridian. The project area consists of the South Rim Unit, an 
exploration unit previously by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to 
ensure that exploration will be orderly and environmental effects will 
be minimized. The South Rim Unit encompasses 19,427 acres of federal 
minerals in Township 36 North, Range 113 West, including portions of 
the Big Piney Ranger District, Bridger-Teton National Forest and 
federal minerals underlying the Hoback Ranches subdivision.

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of this proposal is for the Forest Service to analyze 
exploration and development of existing federal oil and gas leases 
within the South Rim Unit by PXP, the unit operator, which allows them 
to exercise the leaseholders' existing rights to drill for, extract, 
remove, and market oil and gas products. The National Energy Policy 
recognizes the need to develop federal energy resources to meet 
continuing national needs and economic demands so long as natural 
resource values and uses are sustained.

Proposed Action

    PXP proposes to conduct exploratory drilling to evaluate the Eagle 
Prospect by constructing an access road and a single drill pad from 
which three wells would be drilled. Access to the project area from 
Daniel Junction, north of Pinedale, is by State Highway 354 to Merna, 
and then along Sublette County Road 23-115 and forest 
development roads. PXP has submitted a Notice of Staking (NOS) and an 
Application for Permit to Drill (APD) to the BLM and Forest Service for 
each of three oil and gas wells, Eagle 1-8, Eagle 2-
8, and Eagle 3-8, that would be drilled in the NW\1/4\SW\1/4\ 
or Section 8 in Township 36 North, Range 113 West. The proposed project 
would include improvements to existing forest development roads over a 
distance of 7.3 miles. New road construction would occur over a 
distance of 4.2 miles, within portions of Sections 8, 16, 17, and 21 in 
Township 36 North, Range 113 West. Proposed surface disturbance would 
affect 2.6 acres for the drill pad and 15 acres for new road 
construction. Construction is anticipated to begin in mid-year 2007. 
After construction of the access road and drill pad is completed, well 
drilling is expected to occur over three to four months. The drill pad 
would be recontoured and revegetated if drilling is unsuccessful.
    The proposed well access route would also be used to provide public 
access to NFS lands. Road decommissioning and rehabilitation of an 
existing low standard road into the area would be accomplished in 
conjunction with the proposed project. This action would support 
current Forest Plan guidance based on a roads analysis previously 
conducted by the Forest Service.

Possible Alternatives

    The proposed access route has been identified. Possible 
alternatives to the proposed action include the selection of a 
different access route or route segment and modification of other 
project design features. PXP has designed the proposed project so that 
only one drill location would be used to drill three wells. The scoping 
process and environmental analysis will evaluate the feasibility of 
alternatives to the proposed action.

Responsible Official

    Greg Clark, District Ranger; Big Piney Ranger District; P.O. Box 
218; Big Piney, Wyoming 83113.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decision, which is based on this analysis, will be to decide 
whether to approve or modify the Surface Use Programs for the APDs 
submitted for the Eagle 1-8, Eagle 2-8, and Eagle 
3-8 wells, and to specify the access route and other project 
design criteria, best management practices, mitigating measures, and 
monitoring requirements that will be included in the drilling and 
surface use programs or as conditions of

[[Page 1732]]

approval for these wells. The decision will include reasonable measures 
identified as being needed during this analysis process in addition to 
any prescribed in the Forest Plan.

Scoping Process

    The Forest Service is seeking information, comments, and assistance 
from individuals, organizations and federal, state, and local agencies 
that may be interested in or affected by the proposed action (36 CFR 
219.6).
    Public comments will be used and disclosed in the environmental 
analysis documented in the Eagle Prospect EIS. Public participation 
will be solicited by notifying in person and/or by mail known 
interested and affected parties. A legal notice and news releases will 
be used to give the public general notice. Open houses will be held 
from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, January 30, 2006, at the Bondurant 
Elementary School in Bondurant and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, 
January 31, 2006 at the Public Library in Pinedale. Forest Service and 
PXP representatives will be available to explain the project and answer 
questions.
    A reasonable range of alternatives will be evaluated and reasons 
will be given for eliminating alternatives from detailed study. A ``no-
action alternative'' is required, meaning that the Surface Use Programs 
for the APDs under consideration by the BLM and Forest Service would 
not be approved. Alternatives will provide different access routes and 
project design criteria in response to public issues, management 
concerns, and resource opportunities identified during the scoping 
process. Scoping comments and existing condition reports will also be 
used to develop alternatives. It is possible that no other action 
alternative, other than the proposed action, will be determined to be 
feasible by the environmental analysis.

Preliminary Issues

    The Forest Service has identified the following potential issues. 
No determination has been made as to which issues will be examined in 
detail in the environmental analysis. Your input will help determine 
which of these issues merit detailed analysis and will also help 
identify additional issues related to the proposed action that may not 
be listed here.
     Effects of improved road access on inventoried roadless 
areas.
     Effects of improved road access on travel management and 
enforcement.
     Effects of drilling on groundwater resources and nearby 
water wells.
     Effects of project activities on streams and watersheds.
     Effects on wetlands and riparian areas.
     Effects of project activities on air quality.
     Effects on the scenic resources and the visual character 
of the project area.
     Effects on the Hoback Ranches subdivision.
     Rights-of-way across private lands.
     Effects on individuals, property, and highway traffic.
     Effects on local communities, including Bondurant and 
Pinedale.
     Public safety during project activities.
     Effects on areas with sensitive soils or potential slope 
sstability hazards.
     Effects on recreational uses, including hunting, fishing, 
and snowmobiling.
     Effects on wildlife and fisheries habitats and special 
status species (threatened and endangered species, sensitive species, 
and management indicator species).
     Potential for harassment or illegal hunting of wildlife 
during project activities.
     Potential for vehicle collisions with wildlife or 
livestock.
     Concern that newly discovered gas resources from the Eagle 
Prospect could be added to the Lower Valley Energy (LVE) pipeline 
currently being evaluated by the Forest Service. (Note: The proposed 
LVE pipeline is a transmission line that will only carry processed gas 
and will not function as a gathering line that could accommodate 
unprocessed gas from an exploratory well.)

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    The Draft EIS (DEIS) is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public comment in 
September 2006. At that time, the EPA will publish a notice of 
availability for the DEIS in the Federal Register. The comment period 
on the DEIS will be 45 days from the date the EPA publishes the notice 
of availability in the Federal Register.
    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 
the DEIS 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, 533 (1978). Also, environmental objections that 
could be raised at the DEIS stage but are not raised until after 
completion of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) 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 on the 
DEIS 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 EIS (FEIS).
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed actions, comments on the DEIS 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 DEIS or the merits of the alternatives formulated and 
discussed in the statements. Reviewers may wish to refer to the Council 
on Environmental Quality Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing 
these points.
    Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal 
and will be available for public inspection.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21)

    Dated: January 3, 2006.
Greg W. Clark,
District Ranger, Big Piney Ranger District, Bridger-Teton National 
Forest.
[FR Doc. 06-244 Filed 1-10-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M