[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 245 (Friday, December 21, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72751-72753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24811]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WO-320-1310-DS-OSHL]


Notice of Availability of Draft Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resource 
Management Plan Amendments To Address Land Use Allocations in Colorado, 
Utah, and Wyoming and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) has prepared the Draft Oil Shale and Tar Sands 
Resource Management Plan Amendments To Address Land Use Allocations in 
Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement (PEIS). By this notice, the BLM is announcing the opening of 
a 90-day public review and comment period for the PEIS. The planning 
area lies within the Green River Formation in Colorado, Utah, and 
Wyoming.

DATES: Please submit written comments on the PEIS within 90 days 
following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes their 
Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce 
future meetings and/or hearings and any other public participation 
activities at least 15 days in advance on the internet and through 
public notices, media news releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the PEIS will be sent to affected Federal, state, 
and local government agencies and other interested parties. Copies of 
the PEIS are available for public inspection via the internet at http://ostseis.anl.gov, electronic media (on CD-ROM), and paper. Paper and 
electronic (CD-ROM) copies of the PEIS are available at BLM locations 
listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
    You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Web Site: http://ostseis.anl.gov.
     Mail: BLM Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources Draft 
Programmatic EIS Comments, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sherri Thompson, BLM Project Manager, 
at (303) 239-3758, ([email protected]), Bureau of Land 
Management, 2850 Youngfield Street, Lakewood, Colorado 80215 or 
Mitchell Leverette, BLM Acting Division Chief, Solid Minerals, at (202) 
452-0351, ([email protected]), Bureau of Land Management, 
1620 L Street NW., Washington, DC 20036.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Draft Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources 
PEIS is being prepared to meet the requirements established by Congress 
in Section 369 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and to meet the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. It will 
evaluate the amendment of 12 resource management plans to designate 
public lands in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming managed by the U.S. 
Department of the Interior (DOI), BLM as available for application for 
commercial leasing for oil shale and tar sands development. The PEIS 
evaluates the amendment of nine land use plans to designate lands as 
available for commercial oil shale leasing and amendment of six land 
use plans to designate lands as available for commercial tar sands 
leasing. Three of the plans that could be amended contain both oil 
shale and tar sands resources, so a total of 12 plans will be amended.
    The Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement (PEIS) and Plan Amendments for Oil Shale and Tar Sands 
Resources Leasing on Lands Administered by the BLM in Colorado, Utah, 
and Wyoming was published in the Federal Register on December 13, 2005 
(70 Fed. Reg. 73791-73792). As originally stated in the NOI, this PEIS 
is to evaluate the potential impacts associated with commercial leasing 
of oil shale and tar sands resources that are located on public lands 
in the three states. The scope of the analysis was to include an 
assessment of the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental, 
cultural, and socio-economic impacts associated with commercial leasing 
of these resources under a range of alternatives. Since the NOI was 
published, however, initial environmental analysis and input from 
cooperating agencies has led BLM to

[[Page 72752]]

conclude that critical information on which to assess potential 
impacts, define required mitigation and approve commercial leasing, is 
not available at this time. Therefore, BLM has limited the purpose and 
need for the PEIS. The purpose and need for the PEIS now is to:
    (1) Identify the most geologically prospective areas where oil 
shale and tar sands resources are present on public lands and that 
could be open to application for commercial leasing, exploration, and 
development; and
    (2) Evaluate the environmental effects associated with amendments 
of 12 land use plans to allow for application for commercial oil shale 
or tar sands leasing.
In the NOI, the BLM identified planning criteria, initiated the public 
scoping process, and invited the public to provide comments on the 
scope and objectives of the PEIS and to identify issues to be addressed 
in the planning process. During the scoping process, public meetings 
were held in Salt Lake City, Vernal, and Price, Utah; Rock Springs and 
Cheyenne, Wyoming; and Rifle and Denver, Colorado. About 5,000 people 
participated in the scoping process by attending public meetings or 
submitting comments. The BLM published a scoping report in March 2006, 
summarizing and categorizing issues, concerns, and comments received. 
These comments were considered in developing the alternatives in this 
PEIS.
    The study area for the oil shale resources includes the most 
geologically prospective resources of the Green River Formation located 
in the Green River, Piceance, Uinta, and Washakie Basins and 
encompasses approximately 3,540,000 acres. The BLM has identified the 
most geologically prospective areas for oil shale development on the 
basis of the grade and thickness of the oil shale deposits. For the 
purposes of this PEIS, the most geologically prospective oil shale 
resources in Colorado and Utah are those deposits that yield 25 gallons 
or more of shale oil per ton of rock (gal/ton) and are 25 feet thick or 
greater. In Wyoming, where the oil shale resource is not as high 
quality as in Colorado and Utah, the most geologically prospective oil 
shale resources are those deposits that yield 15 gallon/ton or more of 
shale oil and are 15 feet thick or greater.
    For the tar sands resources, the study area includes those 
locations designated as Special Tar Sand Areas (STSAs) by Congress in 
the Combined Hydrocarbon Leasing Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-78). Eleven STSAs 
were identified in Utah: Argyle Canyon-Willow Creek (hereafter referred 
to as Argyle Canyon), Asphalt Ridge-Whiterocks and Vicinity (hereafter 
referred to as Asphalt Ridge), Circle Cliffs East and West Flanks 
(hereafter referred to as Circle Cliffs), Hill Creek, Pariette, P.R. 
Spring, Raven Ridge-Rim Rock and Vicinity (hereafter referred to as 
Raven Ridge), San Rafael Swell, Sunnyside and Vicinity (hereafter 
referred to as Sunnyside), Tar Sand Triangle, and White Canyon. The 
total acreage of the study area is approximately 1,026,000 acres.
    The oil shale and tar sands resources within the defined study 
areas are located within the jurisdiction of 12 separate BLM 
administrative units. These units include the Glenwood Springs, Grand 
Junction, and White River Field Offices in Colorado; the Moab, 
Monticello, Price, Richfield, and Vernal Field Offices and the Grand 
Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah; and the Kemmerer, 
Rawlins, and Rock Springs Field Offices in Wyoming. With the exception 
of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, the final Record of 
Decision for this PEIS would amend existing land use plans in affected 
BLM administrative units to designate the lands available for 
application for commercial leasing, exploration, and development for 
oil shale and tar sands resources.
    Within the above-listed administrative units, and within the 
defined boundaries of the most geologically prospective resources of 
the Green River formation and the designated STSAs, public lands 
managed by the BLM where the Federal Government owns both the surface 
estate and subsurface mineral rights are included in the scope of the 
PEIS analysis. Lands where the surface estate is owned by Tribes, 
States, or private parties but where the federal government owns the 
subsurface mineral estate (i.e., split estate lands) are also included 
in the scope of this analysis. Tribal lands on which both the surface 
estate and subsurface mineral estate are owned by the Tribe are not 
included in the scope of analysis.
    This PEIS examines alternatives for designation of lands as 
available for application for commercial leasing of oil shale and tar 
sands resources. For both oil shale and tar sands resources, there are 
three alternatives: Alternatives A (the no action alternative), B, and 
C. The alternatives vary in the amount of area available for 
application for leasing. The BLM has identified Alternative B for oil 
shale leasing and Alternative B for tar sands leasing as the preferred 
alternatives in the PEIS.
    For oil shale resources, Alternative A, the ``no action'' 
alternative, continues existing management. Under this alternative, it 
is assumed that the six existing oil shale Research, Demonstration, and 
Development (RD&D) projects will proceed on their current 160-acre 
lease parcels. Alternative A only includes the RD&D activities at these 
160-acre sites; it does not evaluate future commercial leasing at these 
or any other locations. Each of these six projects has an associated 
preference right lease area for future potential commercial 
development. Under Alternative A, the RD&D leases require additional 
land use planning and site-specific NEPA analysis prior to granting the 
RD&D lessees use of the preference right lease area for commercial 
development.
    Under Alternative A, current BLM land use plans within the study 
area would not be amended to allow for application for leasing for 
commercial development of oil shale. Further, the ROD for the PEIS 
would not identify the most geologically prospective resources, 
specific exclusion areas, land available for application for lease, and 
so forth. For commercial oil shale development to occur in the future, 
specific land use plans would need to be amended to identify areas 
available for lease. Such leasing would be subject to additional NEPA 
analyses and the oil shale regulations to be promulgated by the BLM.
    The BLM has developed two programmatic alternatives for identifying 
lands available for application for commercial leasing and for 
establishing a commercial oil shale leasing program. Programmatic 
Alternatives B and C apply different approaches to designating lands 
available for application for commercial oil shale leasing. Under both 
programmatic oil shale alternatives, nine land use plans would be 
amended to:
    (1) Identify the most geologically prospective oil shale resources 
within each field office;
    (2) Make certain lands within these most geologically prospective 
areas available for application to lease;
    (3) Identify any technology restrictions;
    (4) Stipulate requirements for future NEPA analyses and 
consultation activities; and
    (5) Specify that priority will be given to the use of land 
exchanges to facilitate commercial oil shale development pursuant to 
Section 369(n) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
    Under Alternative B, about 2 million acres would be available for 
application for lease and under Alternative C, about 830,000 acres 
would be available for

[[Page 72753]]

application. Under Alternative C, additional lands would be excluded 
from the potential area available for leasing. The lands that would be 
available under Alternative C include some of the lands that are 
available under Alternative B, but exclude lands that are identified as 
requiring special management or resource protection in existing land 
use plans. Site-specific NEPA analyses would be required under both 
alternatives prior to leasing and approval of plans of operations 
during the project development phase. These site-specific analyses will 
identify potential project-specific impacts and define appropriate 
lease stipulations and required mitigation measures. Included in this 
PEIS are potentially applicable mitigation measures that would be 
applied following the site-specific analyses, as appropriate. In 
addition, conservation measures agreed upon with the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service (USFWS) and documented in the PEIS would be applicable 
to all future commercial leases.
    For tar sands resources, Alternative A also is the no action 
alternative. Under this alternative, land use plans would not be 
amended to allow for leasing for commercial tar sands development, but 
current plans authorize leasing under the existing Combined Hydrocarbon 
Leasing (CHL) program. The BLM has assumed no development of tar sands 
resources on public lands since there has been no tar sands development 
under the existing CHL in the last 20 years or more. At the time this 
PEIS was drafted, no commercial tar sands project proposals have been 
submitted to the BLM on existing CHL leases. On this basis, the BLM has 
determined that it is unlikely that commercial tar sands development 
will occur under the CHL program.
    The BLM has developed two programmatic alternatives for identifying 
lands available for application for commercial leasing and for 
establishing a commercial tar sands leasing program. Programmatic 
Alternatives B and C consist of different approaches to designating 
lands available for application for commercial tar sands leasing. Under 
both alternatives, six land use plans in Utah would be amended to:
    (1) Make certain lands within the STSAs available for application 
to lease;
    (2) Stipulate requirements for future NEPA analyses and 
consultation activities; and
    (3) Specify that priority will be given to the use of land 
exchanges to facilitate commercial tar sands development pursuant to 
Section 369(n) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
    Under Alternative B, about 430,000 acres would be available for 
application for lease and under Alternative C, about 230,000 acres 
would be available for application. Site-specific NEPA analyses will be 
required under both alternatives prior to leasing and approval of plans 
of operations during the project development phase. These site-specific 
analyses would identify potential project-specific impacts and define 
appropriate lease stipulations and required mitigation measures. 
Included in this PEIS are potentially applicable mitigation measures 
that would be applied following the site-specific analyses, as 
appropriate. In addition, conservation measures agreed upon with the 
USFWS and documented in the PEIS would be applicable to all future 
commercial leases.
    The Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources PEIS is of interest to 
numerous Federal, Tribal, state, and local governments. The BLM 
initially invited about 50 agencies to participate in preparation of 
the PEIS as cooperating agencies. Fourteen agencies expressed an 
interest, and memorandums of understanding between these agencies and 
the BLM were executed to set forth the parameters of cooperating agency 
relationships with these agencies. The following are participating 
cooperating agencies in the preparation of this PEIS:
     National Park Service
     Bureau of Reclamation
     U.S. Forest Service
     U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
     State of Colorado, Department of Natural Resources and 
Department of Public Health and the Environment
     State of Utah
     State of Wyoming
     Garfield County, Colorado
     Mesa County, Colorado
     Rio Blanco County, Colorado
     Duchesne County, Utah
     Uintah County, Utah
     City of Rifle, Colorado
     Town of Rangely, Colorado.
    Paper and electronic (CD-ROM) copies of the PEIS are available at 
the following BLM locations:
     Colorado State Office, 2850 Youngfield Street, Lakewood, 
CO 80215
     Utah State Office, 440 West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt 
Lake City, UT 84101
     Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone, Cheyenne, WY 82009
     Vernal Field Office, 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078
     Price Field Office, 125 South 600 West, Price, UT 84501
     Richfield Field Office, 150 East 900 North, Richfield, UT 
84701
     Monticello Field Office, 435 North Main, P.O. Box 7, 
Monticello, UT 84535
     White River Field Office, 220 E. Market Street, Meeker, CO 
81641
     Glenwood Springs Field Office, 2425 S. Grand Ave., Suite 
101, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
     Grand Junction Field Office, 2815 H Road, Grand Junction, 
CO 81506
     Kemmerer Field Office, 312 Highway 189 North, Kemmerer, WY 
83101
     Rawlins Field Office, at 1300 North Third, PO Box 2407, 
Rawlins, WY 82301
     Rock Springs Field Office, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock 
Springs, WY 82901.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other 
personal identifying information, you should be aware that your entire 
comment--including your personal identifying information--may be made 
publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to 
withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we 
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Michael Nedd,
Assistant Director, Minerals, Realty, and Resource Protection.
 [FR Doc. E7-24811 Filed 12-20-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-84-P