[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 181 (Wednesday, September 17, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53898-53899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-21627]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-100-1310-DB]


Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Pinedale Anticline 
Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Project

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability 
of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Pinedale Anticline Oil and Gas 
Exploration and Development Project located in Sublette County, 
Wyoming. C. Stephen Allred, Assistant Secretary of the United States 
Department of the Interior signed the ROD on September 12, 2008, which 
constitutes the final decision of the BLM and makes the decisions 
effective immediately.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the ROD are available electronically on the 
following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/pfodocs/anticline/seis.html. Copies of the ROD are available for public 
inspection at the following BLM office locations:
     Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, 5353 
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003.
     Bureau of Land Management, Pinedale Field Office, 1625 
West Pine Street, Pinedale, Wyoming 82941.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chuck Otto, Pinedale Field Manager, 
1625 West Pine Street, Pinedale, Wyoming 82941. Mr. Otto may be 
contacted by telephone at (307) 367-5300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A copy of the ROD has been made available to 
affected Federal, State, and local government agencies and interested 
parties. This ROD addresses approximately 198,000 acres of land. Nearly 
80 percent administered by the BLM Pinedale Field Office, Sublette 
County, Wyoming. Approximately 83 percent of the mineral estate 
underlying the Pinedale Anticline Project Area is federally owned.
    Issues that were analyzed in the SEIS include direct, indirect and 
cumulative impacts of the project on big game, sage grouse, raptors, 
migratory birds and their habitat. Impacts to ground and surface water, 
air quality (both visibility and ozone), and socio-economic effects

[[Page 53899]]

of the project on State and local governments were also analyzed. 
Decisions in the SEIS ROD approve the concentrated phased development 
of the oil and gas resource, while providing protection and mitigation 
for wildlife, air, water and other project related impacts, including a 
monitoring and mitigation fund.
    The SEIS ROD resulted from a collaborative process that included 
the State of Wyoming, the Environmental Protection Agency, county and 
municipal governments, tribal governments, and other Federal agencies. 
Public comments from many individuals and organizations were also 
considered in the Draft and Final SEIS and contributed to the decisions 
in the ROD.
    The Notice of Intent to prepare a SEIS for the Pinedale Anticline 
Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Project was published in the 
Federal Register on October 21, 2005. A Notice of Availability (NOA) 
for the Draft SEIS was published on December 15, 2006. Based on public 
comments, the BLM determined that two additional alternatives needed to 
be analyzed and made available for public review. A NOA for a Revised 
Draft SEIS was published on December 28, 2007. The public comment 
period on the Revised Draft SEIS closed February 11, 2008.

Donald A. Simpson,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. E8-21627 Filed 9-16-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P