[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 249 (Thursday, December 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78130-78132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-9906]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Caribou-Targhee National Forest, ID, WY and UT, Caribou Oil and 
Gas Leasing EIS

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 Caribou-Targhee National Forest gives notice of the intent 
to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to document the 
analysis and disclose the anticipated environmental and human effects 
of oil and gas leasing on the Caribou administrative unit of the Forest 
and the Curlew National Grassland in southeast Idaho, with minor 
amounts of land in northern Utah and western Wyoming. The Federal 
Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act of 1987 (FOOGLRA) requires the 
Forest Service to evaluate National Forest System (NFS) 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 
within 45 days from the date of this notice to be most helpful. The 
draft environmental impact statement is expected by November, 2007 and 
the comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will be 
45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the 
notice of availability in the Federal Register. The final environmental 
impact statement is expected in April, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Steve Robison, Oil and Gas Team 
Leader, Caribou-Targhee National Forest, 1405 Hollipark Drive, Idaho 
Falls, ID 83401. Electronic comments can be submitted in rich text 
format (.rtf), or Word (.doc) to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Ballard, Public Affairs Officer, 
Caribou-Targhee National Forest, 1405 Hollipark Drive, Idaho Falls, ID 
83401; phone (208) 557-5765. For technical information contact: Steve 
Robison, Oil and Gas Team Leader, (208) 557-5799.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action

    FOOGLRA requires the Forest Service to evaluate National Forest 
System (NFS) lands that are legally open to leasing for potential oil 
and gas leasing

[[Page 78131]]

and development, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969. FOOGLRA also establishes Forest Service consent authority 
for leasing prior to the BLM offering NFS lands for lease. Leasing on 
NFS lands is done under the authority of the Mineral Leasing Act of 
1920 (MLA), as amended, and implementing regulations at 36 CFR 228, 
subpart E, and 43 CFR 3100. The MLA provides that all public lands are 
open to oil and gas leasing unless they have been closed by a specific 
land order. The Caribou administrative unit portion of the Caribou-
Targhee NF and the Curlew National Grassland (herein referred to as 
``the Caribou'') do not have Land and Resource Management Plan 
direction or decisions that determine which NFS lands are 
administratively available for oil/gas leasing or the conditions 
(stipulations) necessary to lease those specific lands. Since the 
FOOGLRA was signed into law, there has been little industry interest in 
oil and gas leasing on the Caribou, and no leases have been issued in 
the past 15 years. The BLM Idaho State Office has received Expressions 
of Interest for leasing portions of the Caribou for oil/gas.
    The intent of the applicable laws and regulations (see summary) is 
to lease appropriate NFS 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 surface resources and interests not 
compatible with such activities.

Proposed Action

    The Forest Service and BLM propose to conduct the analysis and 
decide which NFS lands on the Caribou will be made available for oil 
and gas leasing and under what terms and conditions (stipulations) 
these specific lands may be leased. As part of the analysis, the Forest 
Service will identify those areas that would be administratively 
available for leasing subject to the terms and conditions of the 
standard oil and gas lease form, and subject to constraints that would 
require the use of lease stipulations such as limiting surface use, 
timing restrictions, and/or prohibiting surface occupancy in accordance 
with the Caribou Land and Resource Management Plan (Caribou Plan, 
revised 2003) and the Curlew National Grassland Land and Resource 
Management Plan (Curlew Plan, 2002).
    To comply with the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, no road 
construction or reconstruction would be allowed in Inventoried Roadless 
Areas (see attached Inventoried Roadless Area map for a delineation of 
the IRAs on the Caribou). Leasing will be considered in some Roadless 
areas with no surface occupancy stipulations. The analysis will also: 
(1) Identify alternatives to the proposed action; (2) project the type/
amount of post-leasing activity that is reasonably foreseeable; and (3) 
analyze the reasonable 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 Caribou and Curlew Plans. Law requires the evaluation of a 
``no action alternative''. Under the No Action/No Lease alternative, no 
NFS lands on the Caribou would be made available for oil/gas leasing at 
this time.
    The other identified preliminary alternative would allow leasing on 
some NFS lands consistent with the Caribou and Curlew Plans. This 
alternative would be similar to the proposed action but would consider 
road construction or reconstruction in some of the inventoried roadless 
areas in the event of a future change in inventoried roadless area 
direction. Other alternatives which would involve making some lands 
unavailable for leasing and other lands available for leasing with 
lease stipulations for the protection of surface resources and other 
interests may be developed based on public input.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    The Forest Service is the Lead Agency. The Bureau of Land 
Management will participate as a Cooperating Agency.

Responsible Official

    Larry Timchak, Forest Supervisor, Caribou -Targhee National Forest, 
1405 Hollipark Drive, Idaho Falls, ID 83401.
    Idaho State Director, Bureau of Land Management, 1387 South Vinnell 
Way, Boise, ID 83709.
    Wyoming State Director, Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 1828, 
Cheyenne, WY 82003.
    Utah State Director, Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 45155, 
Salt Lake City, UT 84101.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The Forest Supervisor, Caribou-Targhee National Forest, will decide 
which lands on the Caribou will be administratively available for oil 
and gas leasing, along with the associated conditions or constraints 
for the protection of non-mineral resources and interests [36 CFR 
228.102(d)]. The Forest Supervisor will also authorize the BLM to offer 
specific lands for lease, subject to Forest Service identified 
stipulations that will be attached to the lease [36 CFR 228.102(e)]. 
The Forest Supervisor will amend, if necessary, the Caribou and Curlew 
Land and Resource Management Plans.
    The BLM is responsible for issuing and administering oil and gas 
leases under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, and Federal 
regulations at 43 CFR 3101.7. The BLM State Director (Idaho, Utah, and/
or Wyoming) will decide whether or not to offer for lease specific 
lands, in their respective states, that have been authorized by the 
Caribou-Targhee Forest Supervisor for leasing with the Forest Service 
designated stipulations.

Scoping Process

    The first formal opportunity to comment on the Caribou 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: Steve Robison, Oil and Gas Team Leader, 1405 
Hollipark Dr., Idaho Falls, ID 83401.
    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 the Caribou administrative unit of 
the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and the Curlew National Grassland.
    A series of public meetings are scheduled to describe the proposal 
and to provide an opportunity for public input. Four scoping meetings 
are planned as follows:
    January 16: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Tribal Business Center, Pima Dr., 
Fort Hall, ID.
    January 16: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Westside Ranger District Office, 4350 
Cliffs Dr., Pocatello, ID.
    January 18: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Soda Springs Ranger District Office, 
410 E. Hooper Ave., Soda Springs, ID.
    January 18: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Montpelier Ranger District Office, 
322 N. 4th, Montpelier, ID.
    Written comments will be accepted at these meetings. The Forest 
Service will work with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal government to 
address issues that could significantly or uniquely affect them.
    The project will be listed in the Caribou-Targhee NF Quarterly 
Schedule of Proposed Actions and a scoping letter will be sent to local 
tribal interests, interested agencies, organizations, media-contacts 
and the Forest-wide mailing list.

[[Page 78132]]

Preliminary Issues

    Important goals for the project are to meet the legal requirements 
for evaluating National Forest System (NFS) lands and make the required 
decisions. Preliminary issues are anticipated to involve potential 
effects to wildlife, biological diversity (Management Indicator 
Species), water, soil resources, social and economic settings, cultural 
and paleontological resources, inventoried roadless area 
characteristics, visual resources, traditional cultural properties 
(including plant and mineral gathering areas and sacred sites), forest 
transportation system, noxious weeds, and air quality. 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. Specific 
comments or concerns are the most important types of information needed 
for this EIS. Only public comments which address relevant issues and 
concerns will be considered and formally addressed in an appendix to 
the EIS.
    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 will 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 the close of the 45 day comment period 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 on the draft 
environmental impact statement 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 draft 
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives 
formulated and discussed in the statement. 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 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: December 20, 2006.
Lawrence A. Timchak,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 06-9906 Filed 12-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P