[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 109 (Thursday, June 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32048-32049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12620]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-050-1310-DB]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the GMI Natural Gas Development Project, Fremont and Natrona 
Counties, WY

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lander Field Office 
announces its intent to prepare an EIS for a proposed conventional 
natural gas field development near Lysite, Wyoming. The proposed 
development project is known as the Gun Barrel/Madden and Iron Horse 
(GMI) Natural Gas Development Project and is located in Fremont and 
Natrona Counties, Wyoming.

DATES: This NOI initiates the public scoping process for the EIS. The 
purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant issues 
that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis and EIS 
alternatives. To provide the public with an opportunity to review the 
proposed project and project information, the BLM will host a meeting 
in Lander and a meeting in Casper, Wyoming, within 30 days of the 
publication of this notice. The BLM will notify the public of these 
meetings and any other opportunities for the public to be involved in 
the environmental process for this proposal at least 15 days prior to 
the event. Meeting dates, locations, and times will be announced by 
news release to the media, individual mailings, and postings on the 
following BLM Web site: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/lfodocs/gmi.html. To be most helpful, you should submit formal scoping comments 
within 30 days after this NOI is published.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publically available at any time. While you 
can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal indentifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so. The minutes and list of attendees for each scoping 
meeting will be made available to the public and open for 30 days after 
the meeting to any participant who wished to clarify the views he or 
she expressed.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Web site: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/lfodocs/gmi.html
     E-mail: [email protected]">3[email protected]
     Fax: 307-332-8444
     Mail: Lander Field Office, 1335 Main Street, Lander, WY 
82520.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bureau of Land Management, Pam Olson, 
GMI Project Leader, Lander Field Office, 1335 Main Street, Lander, 
Wyoming 82520 or call (307) 332-8400, or send an electronic message to: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under Section 102(2)(C) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the BLM Lander Field Office announces 
its intent to prepare an EIS on the potential impacts of a proposed 
natural gas field development, ancillary facilities, pipelines and 
roads. The project area is located in Fremont and Natrona Counties, 
Wyoming, and encompasses approximately 146,000 acres of land, the 
majority of which is public land administered by the BLM Lander Field 
Office. A small portion of the project area is administered by the BLM 
Casper Field Office.
    In January 2008, oil and gas operators and proponents of the 
project, EnCana Oil & Gas (USA), Inc. (EnCana), Burlington Resources 
Oil and Gas Company LP (Burlington), and Noble Energy, Inc. (Noble) 
submitted a proposal to the BLM to develop approximately 1,470 wells 
near Lysite, Wyoming. The proposed project area consists of three units 
operated by three different companies: the Gun Barrel Federal 
Exploratory Unit (Encana), the Madden Deep Federal Exploratory Unit 
(Burlington), and the Iron Horse Federal Exploratory Unit (Noble).
    The purpose of the proposal is to continue extracting and 
developing natural gas within these three units during a ten to fifteen 
year period. The proponents estimate that within the Gun Barrel Unit, 
an additional 750 natural gas wells may be drilled; within the

[[Page 32049]]

Madden Deep Unit, approximately 300 wells may be drilled; and within 
the Iron Horse Unit, approximately 420 wells may be drilled.
    Infrastructure required to support gas production would include: 
Well pads; water wells; gathering, treating, processing and compression 
facilities; water injection and evaporation facilities; electric 
powerlines; roads; gas flow lines; and pipelines. Gas would be 
transported through pipelines to centralized compression and treatment 
facilities.
    Produced water would be reinjected in some instances, and disposed 
of through the use of surface facilities in other instances. Major 
issues identified at this time include: potential impacts to air 
quality; disposal of produced waste water; and potential effects of 
development and production on surface resources including vegetation 
and wildlife habitat.

Martin G. Griffith,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. E8-12620 Filed 6-4-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P