[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 96 (Thursday, May 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29358-29359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-11942]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R7-R-2012-N084; FF07R06000 FXRS12650700000Z2]


Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Soldotna, AK; Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Shadura Natural Gas Development Project

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received an application for a proposed right-of-way within the Kenai 
National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) under the Alaska National Interest 
Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). We received the application from 
Nordaq Energy, Inc. for the Shadura Natural Gas Development Project 
(Project), which would involve construction and operation of facilities 
associated with the exploration and production of natural gas from the 
subsurface estate within the Refuge. We intend to gather information 
necessary to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) under the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its implementation 
regulations for the application. We are publishing this notice in 
compliance with NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1501.7) to advise other 
agencies and the public of our intentions and to obtain suggestions and 
information on the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS.

DATES: Meetings: We will locally announce any future meeting dates, 
times, and locations, at least 10 days prior to each meeting.
    Comments: Please provide any written comments, information, or 
suggestions on the scope of issues to address in the EIS by June 18, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: Additional information concerning the Project can be found 
at:
     http://kenai.fws.gov/current.htm
     http://alaska.fws.gov/nwr/planning/nepa.htm
    Refuge information may be found at:
     http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=74525.
    Send your comments or requests for information by any of the 
following methods to:
     Email: [email protected];
     Fax: Attn: Peter Wikoff, (907) 786-3976;
     U.S. Mail: Peter Wikoff, Natural Resource Planner, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 East Tudor Rd., MS-231, Anchorage, AK 
99503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Wikoff, Natural Resource 
Planner, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at (907) 786-3357, or at the 
address above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application for, and 
intend to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for, a 
proposed right-of-way within the Refuge. The right-of-way would be in 
compliance with Section 1110(b) of ANILCA, regarding access to 
inholdings, for the construction and operation of facilities associated 
with the exploration and production of natural gas from the subsurface 
estate within the Refuge. The Service owns the surface estate, and Cook 
Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI) owns the subsurface estate of coal, oil, and 
gas in the project area. The Project would be in the northwestern 
portion of the Kenai Peninsula, approximately 4 miles southeast of the 
end of the road in Captain Cook State Recreation Area in T8N, R10W. The 
application is being made by NordAq Energy, Inc., the holder of the 
lease from CIRI for the area.
    This notice advises the public that we have started preliminary 
scoping and intend to gather information necessary to develop an EIS. A 
third-party contractor will prepare the EIS and evaluate the various 
alternatives associated with the Project pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; NEPA) and its 
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500 et seq.). The EIS will describe 
and evaluate a range of reasonable alternatives and the anticipated 
impacts of each. We are publishing this notice in compliance with the 
NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1501.7) to advise other agencies and the 
public of our intentions and to obtain suggestions and information on 
the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS.

Public Input and Meetings

    Special mailings, newspaper advertisements, and other media 
announcements will inform the public of opportunities to provide 
written input throughout the planning process. Public meetings were 
held on March 20, 2012, in, Kenai, Alaska, and on March 22, 2012, in 
Anchorage. In local media, we will announce additional public meetings 
to be held in the cities of Kenai and Anchorage. Information pertaining 
to the right-of-way application for the project is available for 
viewing and downloading at http://kenai.fws.gov/current.htm or http://alaska.fws.gov/nwr/planning/nepa.htm.

Refuge Information

    The Refuge covers approximately two million acres on the Kenai 
Peninsula in

[[Page 29359]]

south-central Alaska. It is readily accessible by road from the city of 
Anchorage, which is home to 41.5 percent of Alaska's population. The 
Refuge consists of the western slopes of the Kenai Mountains and 
forested lowlands bordering Cook Inlet. The Kenai Mountains, with their 
glaciers, rise to more than 6,500 feet. Treeless alpine and subalpine 
habitats are home to mountain goats, Dall sheep, caribou, wolverine, 
marmots, and ptarmigan. Boreal forests extend from sea level to 1,800 
feet and are composed of spruce and birch forests, which on the Refuge 
are intermingled with hundreds of lakes. Boreal forests are home to 
moose, wolves, black and brown bears, lynx, snowshoe hares, and 
numerous species of Neotropical birds, such as olive-sided flycatchers, 
myrtle warblers, and ruby crowned kinglets. At sea level, the Refuge 
encompasses the last remaining pristine major saltwater estuary on the 
Kenai Peninsula, the Chickaloon River Flats. The Flats provide a major 
migratory staging area and nesting habitat for shorebirds and waterfowl 
throughout the spring, summer, and fall. The Flats are also used as a 
haul-out area by harbor seals. Thousands of salmon migrate up the 
Chickaloon River system each year to spawn.
    While the Service owns the land surface within the Refuge, portions 
of the subsurface estate have been transferred to CIRI. CIRI was 
established by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA; 
43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). Under authority of ANCSA, Congress granted 
CIRI the subsurface oil, gas, and coal estate to nearly 200,000 acres 
within the Refuge. The State of Alaska also owns lands adjacent to the 
Refuge (Captain Cook State Recreation Area). ANILCA Section 1110 (b) 
requires that the Service provide for reasonable access to the 
subsurface estate. CIRI has previously leased other portions of its 
subsurface estate within the Refuge. Oil and gas are currently being 
produced from other production units within the Refuge.
    The Alaska National Interests Land Conservation Act of 1980 
(Section 303[4]) established the Refuge from the Kenai Moose Range and 
other lands and set forth the following major purposes for which the 
Refuge was to be managed:
    (i) To conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their 
natural diversity, including, but not limited to, moose, bear, mountain 
goats, Dall sheep, wolves, and other furbearers; salmonoids and other 
fish; waterfowl and other migratory and nonmigratory birds;
    (ii) To fulfill the international treaty obligations of the United 
States with respect to fish and wildlife and their habitats;
    (iii) To ensure, to the maximum extent practicable and in a manner 
consistent with the purposes set forth in paragraph (i), water quality 
and necessary water quantity within the Refuge;
    (iv) To provide in a manner consistent with subparagraphs (i) and 
(ii), opportunities for scientific research, interpretation, 
environmental education, and land management training; and
    (v) To provide, in a manner compatible with these purposes, 
opportunities for fish and wildlife-oriented recreation.

Public Availability of Comments

    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 publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us to withhold it from public view, we cannot guarantee we will be 
able to do so.

    Dated: May 11, 2012.
Geoffrey L. Haskett,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 2012-11942 Filed 5-16-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P