[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2060-2061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-251]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[UT-080-05-1310-DB]


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Chapita Wells-Stagecoach Area Natural Gas Development 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 (NEPA), the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and associated 
regulations, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the 
availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that 
evaluates, analyzes, and discloses to the public direct, indirect, and 
cumulative environmental impacts of a proposal to develop natural gas 
in Uintah County, Utah.

DATES: The DEIS will be available for review for 45 calendar days 
following the date that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
its NOA in the Federal Register. The BLM can best use comments and 
resource information submitted within this 45-day review period.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be mailed directly or delivered to the 
BLM at: CWSA DEIS, Bureau of Land Management, Vernal Field Office, 170 
South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078. Comments may be submitted by 
facsimile to the Vernal Field Office at 435-781-4410. At this time BLM 
is unable to accept electronic comments. A copy of the DEIS has been 
sent to the affected Federal, State, and local government agencies, 
Native American Tribes and to interested parties. Copies of the DEIS 
are available for public inspection at the address listed above and the 
Bureau of Land Management Utah State Office, 440 West 200 South, Suite 
500, Salt Lake City, UT 84101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Howard, Project Manager, BLM 
Vernal Field Office, 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078. Ms. Howard 
may also be reached at 435-781-4400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In response to a proposal submitted by EOG 
Resources, Inc., (EOG), the BLM published in the October 1, 2004, 
Federal Register a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS).
    The Chapita Wells-Stagecoach Area (CWSA) involves approximately 
31,870 acres located in Townships 8 through 10 South, Ranges 22 and 23 
East, Salt Lake Base Meridian, about 30 miles south of Vernal, Uintah 
County, Utah. The DEIS analyzes a proposal by EOG to fully develop 
Federal natural gas resources in the Chapita Wells and the Stagecoach 
Units, in addition to non-unitized lands in the project area. The 
Company's proposal includes drilling a total of up to 627 new wells and 
constructing associated ancillary transportation and transmission 
facilities within the project area. Of the planned wells, 473 wells 
would be new locations and 154 wells would be twinned, drilled from 
existing locations. Of the 31,870 acres within the project area, about 
71% is Federal lands administered by the BLM; 21% is owned by the Ute 
Tribe and/or its allottees and administered by the BIA; 6% is owned by 
the State of Utah and administered by the Utah State School and 
Institutional Trust Lands Administration; and 2% is privately owned. 
The proposed life of the project is 40 years, with the majority of the 
drilling and development activities to occur within the first 7 years 
following approval of the BLM's Record of Decision.
    As set out in the NOI, EOG proposes to fully develop its existing 
leases within the Chapita Wells-Stagecoach Area. As of March 2004, the 
CWSA contained 325 gas-producing wells, about 121 miles of roads and 
115 miles of pipeline. An additional 100 wells, 12 miles of access 
road, and 18.5 miles of pipelines were approved by EA No. UT-080-1999-
32, Environmental Assessment, Chapita Wells Unit Infill Development, 
Uintah County, Utah. Currently no oil wells or produced water disposal 
wells occur in the CWSA. The new gas wells would be

[[Page 2061]]

drilled to the Green River, Wasatch, Mesaverde, Mancos ``B'', and 
possibly, other formations. EOG's proposal is based on 40-acre spacing; 
although some pilot 20-acre locations may be drilled to the Mesaverde 
Group to help in determining whether development on 40-acre spacing can 
reasonably provide for optimum recovery. The Proposed Action 
incorporates standard operating procedures and applicant-committed best 
management practices currently employed on BLM-administered public 
lands in the Uintah Basin that mitigate impacts to the environment.
    The DEIS describes in detail and analyzes the impacts of EOG's 
Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative. Seven additional 
alternatives were considered but eliminated from detailed analysis. The 
following is a summary of the alternatives:
    1. Proposed Action--Up to 627 new gas wells at 40-acre spacing, 
including up to 66 new locations drilled on 20-acre spacing, would be 
drilled to the Green River, Wasatch, Mesaverde Group (including the 
Blackhawk), Mancos Shale, and possibly, other formations. About 99 
miles of new roads and 104.5 miles of pipelines would be constructed to 
support this proposed development. At this time the Proposed Action is 
the BLM's preferred alternative.
    2. No Action Alternative--The proposed natural gas development on 
Federal lands would not be implemented; however, natural gas 
development would continue to occur under the authority of the 1985 
Book Cliffs RMP, the 1999 Chapita Wells EA, and on non-Federal lands 
within the project area.
    3. Alternatives Considered, but Eliminated from Further Analysis--
    a. One pad per well.
    b. No new development.
    c. Directional drilling.
    d. No new development in the White River Corridor and floodplains.
    e. White River Protection.
    f. Decreased density.
    g. Best Management Practices (BMP).
    The public is encouraged to comment on any of these alternatives.
    The BLM welcomes your comments on the Chapita Wells-Stagecoach Area 
DEIS. The BLM asks that those submitting comments make them as specific 
as possible with reference to chapters, page numbers, and paragraphs in 
the DEIS document. Comments that contain only opinions or preferences 
will not receive a formal response; however, they will be considered, 
and included, as part of the BLM decision-making process. The most 
useful comments will contain new technical or scientific information, 
identify data gaps in the impact analysis, or will provide technical or 
scientific rationale for opinions or preferences. It is BLM's practice 
to make 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. 
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.

William Stringer,
Vernal Field Manager.
[FR Doc. E6-251 Filed 1-11-06; 8:45 am]
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