[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 121 (Friday, June 23, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36135-36136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9941]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[UT-080-06-1310-EJ]


Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Resource Development Group Uinta Basin Natural Gas Project, 
Uintah County, UT

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Department of 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 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the 
Resource Development Group Uinta Basin Natural Gas Project proposed by 
the Resource Development Group (RDG).

DATES: A decision on the proposed action will not be made until 30 days 
after the date EPA publishes this notice in the Federal Register (FR). 
Written comments may be submitted during this 30-day period.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the FEIS are available for public inspection at 
the following BLM office locations: Bureau of Land Management, Utah 
State Office 440 West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, UT 84101 
and the Bureau of Land Management, Vernal Field Office, 150 South 500 
East, Vernal, UT 84078.

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 435-781-4469.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An Environmental Assessment (EA) was 
originally published in February 1999. A Decision Record (DR)/Finding 
of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was signed by the BLM on January 29, 
1999. Subsequent to its decision, the BLM received 12 requests for a 
State Director Review and one request for a stay of the DR/FONSI. A 
stay was issued until April 16, 1999 and subsequently extended, pending 
a thorough review of the requests received. Those requesting the review 
and stay questioned the nature and extent of impacts disclosed in the 
EA and the validity of the DR/FONSI. On May 21, 1999, the DR/FONSI was 
vacated and the proposal was remanded to the BLM, Vernal Field Office 
(VFO) for the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS). 
RDG operators submitted their Proposed Action to the BLM on September 
10, 1999, and the Notice of Intent was published in the Federal 
Register on October 22, 1999 (64 FR 57122). A notice of availability of 
the Draft EIS (DEIS) and a 45-day comment period was published in the 
FR on August 8, 2003.
    The BLM prepared the FEIS to assess the environmental and economic 
impacts associated with natural gas development in the Uinta Basin, 
Utah. The FEIS is a complete document. It includes Section 7 
consultation and Biological Opinion from the FWS, plus a presentation 
of substantive comments received on the DEIS. The FEIS also includes 
the BLM's responses to these comments and changes to the text in 
response to the comments. Changes were made to clarify, correct and/or 
expand information to aid the public's understanding of the proposed 
project, reasonable alternatives and their effects of the environment.
    The FEIS analyzes four alternatives for managing natural gas 
development on private, State of Utah, and BLM-administered lands.
    Alternative 1--The Proposed Action--consists of the development of 
423 natural gas wells, access roads, support facilities, a transmission 
pipeline, and a compressor station within the 79,914 acres project 
area. Alternative 2--Additional Wildlife Considerations--would 
incorporate the same construction, operational, decommissioning, and 
reclamation components as the Proposed Action, with the addition of 
environmental considerations that could require the relocation of well 
pads, roads, and ancillary facilities within the lease, or restrict 
development during certain periods of the year, or require special 
construction, operational, and reclamation methods to reduce potential 
environmental impacts. Alternative 3--Additional Environmental 
Considerations--would incorporate the same operational components as 
the Alternative 1 and the same environmental considerations as 
Alternative 2 as well as the expansion of the mule deer winter range 
protection boundary and the application of United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service recommended guidelines for raptor protection. Under 
this alternative, 50 fewer wells would be drilled over the life of the 
project when compared to the Alternatives 1 and 2 (i.e., only 373 
wells). Alternative 4--No Action--would allow current land use 
practices including existing oil and gas production to continue. It was 
assumed that 55 wells would be drilled over the 20 year life of the 
project, under the No

[[Page 36136]]

Action Alternative. The wells would be drilled under the Authority of 
the Book Cliffs Resource Management Plan and the terms and conditions 
of oil and gas leases already held by RDG.
    The 45-day comment period for the DEIS ended on September 22, 2003, 
although agency comment letters were accepted after that date. Comments 
were received from 21 individuals and/or organizations during public 
comment process.
    Public comments addressed a broad range of issues. The issues, with 
the number of comments for each item in parentheses, are as follows: 
NEPA process (15), purpose and need (9), and alternatives (21) 
mitigation (39), geology/minerals (1), water resources (10), air 
quality (14), soils/watershed/floodplains (3), vegetation (1), 
riparian/wetland areas (2), wildlife (14), special status species (7), 
cultural resources (7), paleontological resources (1), recreation (4), 
wilderness characteristics (7), socio-economics (5), and miscellaneous 
(6). Public comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text, but 
did not significantly change the analysis of the FEIS.
    Consistent with NEPA regulations, (40 CFR 1503.4(b)), all 
substantive comments on the Draft EIS received a response. Substantive 
comments includes those that challenge the information in the Draft EIS 
as being inaccurate or inadequate, or which offer specific information 
that may have a bearing on the decision. Comments that merely expressed 
an opinion for or against the project were not identified as a comment 
requiring a response. In cases where the comment was not substantive, 
but appeared to indicate that information in the EIS was either 
misunderstood or unclear, a response was prepared to clarify the 
information. Comments received on the Draft EIS and the responses to 
those comments are found in Appendix A of the Final EIS.
    Based on the information contained in the FEIS, consultation with 
13 Native American Tribes having historical and/or ethnological ties to 
the Uinta Basin, and the information received from the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Services, the BLM has identified Alternative 2--Additional 
Wildlife Considerations, as the Preferred Alternative.

    Dated: April 20, 2006.
William Stringer,
Vernal Field Manager.
[FR Doc. E6-9941 Filed 6-22-06; 8:45 am]
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