[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52571-52572]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14670]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-040-06-1310-DB, CO-100-06-1310-DB]


Notice of Intent (NOI) To Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement and Provide Notice of Public Meetings, Hiawatha Regional 
Energy Development Project, Sweetwater County, WY, and Moffat County, 
CO, and Notice of the Potential for an Amendment to the Green River 
Resource Management Plan

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: NOI to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and to 
conduct public scoping for the Hiawatha Regional Energy Development 
Project, Sweetwater County, Wyoming and Moffat County, Colorado, and 
notice of potential for an amendment to the Green River Resource 
Management Plan, Rock Springs Field Office.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of section 102(2)(C) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the BLM announces its intentions to 
prepare an EIS and to solicit public comments regarding issues and 
resource information for the proposed Hiawatha Regional Energy Project, 
a natural gas development project consisting of conventional natural 
gas well development in established, producing fields.

DATES: The BLM can best use public input if comments and resource 
information are submitted within 45 days from publication of this 
notice. To provide the public with an opportunity to review the 
proposal and project information, the BLM will host two public 
meetings; one in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and another in Craig, Colorado. 
The BLM will notify the public of the date, time, and location of each 
meeting at least 15 days before the event. The announcement will be 
made by a news release to the media in Wyoming and Colorado, individual 
mailing of a scoping notice, and posting on the Web sites listed below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or resource information can be mailed to 
the Field Office at: Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field 
Office, Attn: Hiawatha Regional Energy Project, 280 Hwy 191 North, Rock 
Springs, WY 82901; the public may submit comments electronically at 
[email protected]. Project information and documents will 
be available on the Web at http://www.blm.gov/eis/wy/hiawatha.
    All comments and submissions will be considered in the 
environmental analysis process. If you do comment, we will keep you 
informed of decisions resulting from the analysis. Please note that 
public comments and information submitted in regard to this project, 
including names and street addresses of respondents, will be available 
for review and disclosure at the Field Office. Individual respondents 
may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name, e-mail, 
and street address from public review or from disclosure under the 
Freedom of Information Act, you must state this plainly at the 
beginning of your written comment. Such requests will be honored to the 
extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations or 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be 
made available for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding the project, 
please contact Susan Davis, Project Lead, at 307-352-0346.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Hiawatha Regional Energy Project is 
generally located in Townships 11 through 14 North, Ranges 99 through 
102 West, 6th Principal Meridian, Sweetwater County, Wyoming and Moffat 
County, Colorado. The project is located south of Rock Springs, 
Wyoming, and northwest of Craig, Colorado. The project area contains 
approximately 157,335 acres of mixed Federal, State, and private lands. 
The BLM Rock Springs Field Office manages public lands in Sweetwater 
County, Wyoming, and the BLM Little Snake Field Office manages public 
lands in Moffat County, Colorado. The Rock Springs Field Office will 
serve as the lead for this project.
    Any authorizations and actions proposed for approval in the EIS 
will be evaluated to determine if they conform to the decisions in the 
1997 Green River RMP. Actions that result in a change in the scope of 
resource uses, terms and conditions, and decisions of the Green River 
RMP may require amendment of the RMP. If the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM) determines that a plan amendment is necessary, preparation of the 
Hiawatha Regional Energy Development EIS and the analysis necessary for 
the RMP amendment would occur simultaneously. Based on the information 
developed during the course of this analysis, the BLM may decide it is 
necessary to amend the 1997 Green River Resource Management Plan (RMP). 
The potential for amendment of the Green River RMP does not affect the 
Little Snake RMP.
    The ongoing (2006) Little Snake Field Office land use plan revision 
(NOI November 18, 2004) contains an updated RFD that provides a 
reasonable estimate of projected oil and gas exploration and 
development for the entire Field Office planning area for the next 20 
years. This reasonable foreseeable development (RFD) encompasses the 
project area to be analyzed and incorporates the level of development 
proposed in the Hiawatha Regional Energy Project EIS. The proposed 
action will be within the scope of the analysis for the ongoing Little 
Snake Field Office RMP revision and any land use planning decisions 
relating to the Hiawatha Project will be addressed as part of the 
ongoing Little Snake Field Office planning process. Further information 
of the status of this RMP revision may be obtained from the Little 
Snake Field Office's Web site at http://www.co.blm.gov/lsra/rmp.
    In March 2006, Questar Exploration & Production Company, Wexpro 
Company, and other natural gas development companies (hereinafter 
referred to as (``the Operators'') submitted to the BLM a proposal to 
expand natural gas exploration and

[[Page 52572]]

development operations in existing fields. The purpose of the proposal 
is to extract and recover natural gas for distribution to consumers. 
The Operators' proposal consists of development of up to 4,207 wells 
and associated facilities including but not limited to roads, well 
pads, pipelines, gas treatment and possible compression resulting in 
approximately 25,820 acres of short-term disturbance and 9,058 acres of 
life-of-project disturbance. Wells would be drilled using a combination 
of vertical and directional drilling techniques. The proposal calls for 
a 20- to 30-year construction and drilling period with another 30 years 
for the project operations.
    The Hiawatha Regional Energy Development Project is located in an 
area of existing oil and gas development known as Canyon Creek, Trail, 
and Kinney Fields (also known as the Vermillion Basin area) in 
Sweetwater County, Wyoming, and the East and West Hiawatha/Sugarloaf 
Fields in Moffat County, Colorado. This project would meet the goals 
and objectives of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the President's 
National Energy Policy.
    During the preparation of the EIS, development within the project 
area may be allowed in Wyoming as approved under the Modified Decision 
Record for the Vermillion Basin Natural Gas Exploration and Production 
Project. Other interim development will be subject to interim 
development guidelines on the Wyoming portion of the project.
    The EIS will analyze the environmental consequences of implementing 
the proposed action and alternatives to the proposed action including 
the No Action alternative. Other alternatives under consideration 
include a range of drilling surface densities and pace, mitigation 
measures, best management practices and phased development.
    Agency resource issues and concerns will be identified in the 
public scoping notice mailed to Federal, State and local governments, 
interested groups, individuals, and businesses under separate cover.

    Dated: June 30, 2006.
Robert A. Bennett,
State Director.
 [FR Doc. E6-14670 Filed 9-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P