[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 42 (Monday, March 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9725-9726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-987]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Bridger-Teton National Forest--Big Piney Ranger District, WY; 
Eagle Prospect

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement.

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SUMMARY: This notice revises an earlier Notice of Intent (NOI) to 
prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on an exploratory oil 
and gas drilling proposal submitted by Plains Exploration & Production 
Company (PXP). The Forest Service is providing this Revised Notice of 
Intent because the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) has been designated as a cooperating agency and the 
BLM Wyoming State Director has been added as an additional responsible 
official for the ongoing EIS for the Eagle Prospect Exploratory Wells 
Project, Sublette County, Wyoming. The State of Wyoming also has been 
designated as a cooperating agency.

DATES: The Draft EIS (DEIS) is expected to be filed with the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and be available for public 
comment in March 2007 and the Final EIS (FEIS) is expected to be 
available in August 2007.

[[Page 9726]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Clark, District Ranger, at the 
Big Piney Ranger District at 307-276-3375.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This revised notice updates the original 
NOI, which appeared Wednesday January 11, 2006, in the Federal Register 
(71 FR pages 1731-1732). There will be no additional scoping on this 
revised NOI. The next opportunity to comment will be on the DEIS (see 
discussion below).
    Comments on the DEIS will be requested during the 45 day comment 
period following the Notice of Availability (NOA), anticipated to be 
published in the Federal Register in March 2007. The publication date 
of the NOA in the Federal Register is the exclusive means for 
calculating the comment period for a proposed action documented in a 
DEIS. Those wishing to comment should not rely on dates or timeframe 
information provided by any other source.
    Reviewers should provide the Forest Service with their comments 
during the review period of the DEIS. This will enable the Forest 
Service to analyze and respond to the comments at one time and to use 
information acquired in the preparation of the FEIS, thus avoiding 
undue delay in the decisionmaking process. Reviewers have an obligation 
to structure their participation in the National Environmental Policy 
Act process so that it is meaningful and alerts the agency to the 
reviewers' position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. 
v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 533 (1978). Environmental objections that could 
have been raised at the draft stage may be waived if not raised until 
after completion of the FEIS. City of Angoon v. Hodel (9th Circuit, 
1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 
(E.D. Wis. 1980). Comments on the DEIS should be specific and should 
address the adequacy of the Statement and the merits of the 
alternatives discussed (40 CFR 1503.3).

Responsible Officials

    Greg Clark, District Ranger; Big Piney Ranger District; P.O. Box 
218; Big Piney, Wyoming 83113.
    Robert A. Bennett, State Director, BLM--Wyoming State Office 5353 
Yellowstone (P.O. Box 1828), Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decisions, which will be based on the EIS analysis, will be to 
make the final decisions on the Applications for Permits to Drill 
(APDs) and Surface Use Plans of Operation (SUPOs) submitted by PXP for 
the Eagle  1-8, Eagle  2-8, and Eagle  3-8 
wells, and to specify the access route, project design criteria, best 
management practices, and agency requirements that will be included as 
conditions of approval for these wells. The decisions made will include 
reasonable measures identified as being needed during the EIS analysis 
in addition to any prescribed in the Forest Plan for the Bridger-Teton 
National Forest.

    Dated: February 26, 2007.
Greg W. Clark,
District Ranger, Big Piney Ranger District, Bridger-Teton National 
Forest.
[FR Doc. 07-987 Filed 3-2-07; 8:45am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M