[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 130 (Friday, July 7, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38602-38604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-5950]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Fishlake National Forest, Utah, EIS for Oil and Gas Leasing

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA and Bureau of Land Management, USDI.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service of the Fishlake National Forest gives 
notice of the intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) 
to document the analysis and disclose the environmental and human 
effects of oil and gas leasing on lands administered by the Fishlake 
National Forest. The Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act of 
1987 (FOOGLRA) requires the Forest Service to evaluate National Forest 
System lands for potential oil and gas leasing.
    As the agency responsible for lease issuance and administration, 
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will participate as a cooperating 
agency.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received 
by August 10, 2006 to be most helpful. The draft environmental impact 
statement is scheduled for completion by the winter of 2006, and the 
final environmental impact statement is expected before summer of 2007.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Carter Reed, Oil and Gas Team 
Leader, Fishlake National Forest, 115 East 900 North, Richfield, UT 
84701; phone: (435) 636-3547; fax: (435) 896-0347; e-mail [email protected]. Please include ``Oil and Gas Leasing 
Analysis Project'' on the subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Davida Carnahan, Public Affairs 
Officer, 115 East 900 North, Richfield, UT 84701; phone: (435) 896-
1070.
    For technical information contact: Carter Reed, Oil and Gas Team 
Leader, (435) 636-3547.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action

    FOOGLRA requires the Forest Service to evaluate National Forest 
System

[[Page 38603]]

(NFS) lands for potential oil and gas leasing and establishes Forest 
Service consent authority for leasing prior to the BLM offering NFS 
lands for lease. Since the FOOGLRA was signed into law, there has been 
little industry interest in leasing the lands administered by the 
Fishlake National Forest, and no leasing has been authorized by the 
Fishlake National Forest; however, interest has recently escalated due 
to the increased demand for oil and gas, high prices, and discoveries 
of oil and gas reserves in other areas with similar geologic 
conditions. The BLM Utah State Office has received numerous Expressions 
of Interest for leasing portions of the Fishlake National Forest.

Proposed Action

    The Forest Supervisor of the Fishlake National Forest and Utah 
State Director, Bureau of Land Management propose to conduct the 
analysis and decide which lands to make available for oil and gas 
leasing. The analysis area includes lands administered by the Fishlake 
National Forest. As part of the analysis, the Forest Service will 
identify those areas that would be available for leasing subject to the 
terms and conditions of the standard oil and gas lease form, or subject 
to constraints that would require the use of lease stipulations such as 
those prohibiting surface occupancy. The analysis will also: (1) 
Identify alternatives to the proposed action, including that of not 
allowing leasing (no action), (2) project the type/amount of post-
leasing activity that is reasonably foreseeable, and (3) analyze the 
reasonably foreseeable impacts of projected post-leasing activity [36 
CFR 228.102(c)].

Possible Alternatives

    All alternatives studied in detail must fall within the scope of 
the purpose and need for action and will generally tier to and comply 
with the Fishlake forest plan. Law requires evaluation of a ``no-action 
alternative''. Under the No Action/No Lease alternative, no oil and gas 
leasing would occur. Alternatives to be evaluated would range from the 
No Action/No Lease alternative (most restrictive) to the Standard Lease 
Terms alternative (least restrictive) where all lands legally open to 
leasing would be made administratively available for leasing with only 
the standard BLM terms and conditions contained on BLM Lease Form 3100-
11. Other alternatives which fall somewhere between the No Action/No 
Leasing alternative and Lease with Standard Terms alternative would 
also be developed and evaluated, which would involve making some lands 
unavailable for leasing and other lands available for leasing with 
lease stipulations for the protection of other resources and interests.
    The Forest is expecting that the public input will generate either 
thematic concerns or area-specific issues that may be addressed by 
modifying the proposed action to create a new alternative or 
alternatives.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    The Forest Service is the lead agency. The Bureau of Land 
Management will participate as a cooperating agency.

Responsible Officials

    Mary Erickson, Forest Supervisor, Fishlake National Forest, 115 
East 900 North, Richfield, UT 84701, Acting Utah State Director, Bureau 
of Land Management.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The Forest Supervisor, Fishlake National Forest, will decide which 
lands administered by the Fishlake National Forest will be 
administratively available for oil and gas leasing, along with 
associated conditions or constraints for the protection of non-mineral 
interests [36 CFR 228.102(d)]. The Forest Supervisor will also 
authorize the BLM to offer specific lands for lease, subject to the 
Forest Service ensuring that the required stipulations are attached to 
the leases [36 CFR 228.102(e)].
    The BLM is responsible for issuing and administration of oil and 
gas leases under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, and 
Federal Regulations in 43 CFR 3101.7. The BLM Utah State Director must 
decide whether or not to offer for lease specific lands authorized for 
leasing by the Fishlake National Forest and with what stipulations.

Scoping Process

    The first formal opportunity to comment on the Fishlake National 
Forest Oil and Gas Leasing Analysis Project is during the scoping 
process (40 CFR 1501.7), which begins with the issuance of this Notice 
of Intent.
    Mail comments to: Carter Reed, Oil and Gas Team Leader, Fishlake 
National Forest, 115 East 900 North, Richfield, UT 84701.
    The Forest Service requests comments on the nature and scope of the 
environmental, social, and economic issues, and possible alternatives 
related to oil and gas leasing on lands administered by the Fishlake 
National Forest.
    A series of public opportunities are scheduled to describe the 
proposal and to provide an opportunity for public input. Six scoping 
meetings are planned.
    July 17: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Beaver Ranger District, 575 South Main, 
Beaver, Utah.
    July 18: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Piute Event Center, 180 W. 500 N., 
Junction, Utah.
    July 19: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Loa Civic Center, 95 W. Center, Loa, 
Utah.
    July 20: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Millard High School, 35 N. 200 W., 
Fillmore, Utah.
    August 1: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Snow College, Room 147C, Richfield, 
Utah.
    August 2: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., American Legion Hall, 50 S. State St., 
Salina, Utah.
    Written comments will be accepted at these meetings. The Forest 
Service will work with tribal governments to address issues that would 
significantly or uniquely affect them.

Preliminary Issues

    Important goals for the project are to meet the legal requirements 
for evaluating National Forest System lands and make the required 
decisions. The intent of the applicable laws and regulations (see 
Summary) are to lease appropriate National Forest System lands and 
provide a reasonable opportunity to explore for, discover, and produce 
economic oil and gas reserves from available Federal lands, while 
meeting the requirements of environmental laws and protecting other 
resources and interests not compatible with such activities. Issues are 
anticipated to involve potential effects to wildlife, water, 
vegetation, recreation, public safety, roadless character, visual 
resources, cultural and paleontological resources, and social and 
economic settings. Specific issues will be developed through review of 
public comments and internal review.

Comment Requested

    This Notice of Intent initiates the scoping process which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. The Forest has 
also received substantial input at public meetings held for the Forest 
Plan revision, including issues relative to mineral exploration and 
development. Through these efforts the Forest has an understanding of 
the broad range of perspectives on the resource issues and social 
values attributed to resource activities on the Fishlake National 
Forest. Consequently site-specific comments or concerns are the most 
important types of information needed for this EIS. Because the Oil and 
Gas Leasing EIS is a stand-alone document, only public comment letters 
which address relevant issues and concerns

[[Page 38604]]

will be considered and formally addressed in an appendix in the FEIS.

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    A draft environmental impact statement will be prepared for 
comment. The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement 
is expected to be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection 
Agency 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 
draft environmental impact statements 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, 
553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the 
draft environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement 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 providing comments during scoping comment period and 
during the comment period following the draft EIS 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 environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments should be as specific as 
possible. Reviewers may wish to refer to the Council on Environmental 
Quality Regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the 
National Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing their 
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: June 27, 2006.
Mary C. Erickson,
Fishlake Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 06-5950 Filed 7-6-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M