[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 4, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71822-71824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-29389]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWO100000, L18200000.XX0000]


Notice of Availability of the BLM's Responses to Public Comments 
and of the BLM's Environmental Assessment on the Proposed Order of the 
Secretary on Oil, Gas, and Potash Leasing and Development Within the 
Designated Potash Area of Eddy and Lea Counties, NM

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Under the authority of the Mineral Leasing Act, as amended, on 
December 3, 2012 the Secretary of the Interior issued Order 3324 (2012 
Secretary's Order) to address oil, gas, and potash leasing and 
development within the Designated Potash Area in Eddy and Lea counties 
in New Mexico. The 2012 Secretary's Order supersedes a previous Order 
issued in 1986 and corrected in 1987 that addresses these issues. In 
developing the 2012 Secretary's Order, a draft Order was released for a 
public comment period that began on July 13, 2012 and ended

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on August 31, 2012, 77 FR 41442. This Notice announces the availability 
of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) responses to the comments that 
were received during the comment period and the availability of the 
Environmental Assessment that was prepared by the BLM in developing the 
2012 Secretary's Order.

DATES: Secretary's Order 3324 was published in the Federal Register on 
December 4, 2012.

ADDRESSES: The comments that were received, the comment responses, and 
the Environmental Assessment are available for review at the following 
Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/info/potash.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tony Herrell; telephone 505-954-2222; 
301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87508; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    An area near the town of Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico 
contains large deposits of potash, oil, and gas. Oil and gas have been 
produced from this area since the early twentieth century. In 1925, 
potash (potassium-bearing salts primarily used for fertilizer) was 
discovered in this area and has been mined since 1930.
    The Secretary issued the first Potash Order in 1939 (4 FR 1012, 
February 25, 1939). That Order withdrew approximately 43,000 acres of 
public land from oil and gas leasing to protect potash deposits. In 
1951, the Secretary revoked the 1939 Order and issued a new Order 
authorizing concurrent development of oil and gas and potash reserves 
within an area comprising 298,345 acres under reciprocal lease 
stipulations to ensure that the development of either mineral would not 
interfere with development of the other (16 FR 10669, October 18, 
1951). The Order was amended in 1965 (30 FR 6692, May 15, 1965), 1975 
(40 FR 51486, November 5, 1975), and 1986 (51 FR 39425, October 28, 
1986). A correction to the 1986 Order was issued in 1987 (52 FR 32171, 
August 26, 1987). The potash area designated by the corrected 1986 
Order comprises approximately 497,000 acres, and the 2012 Secretary's 
Order, published on December 4, 2012, does not alter the boundaries of 
the area.
    The potash deposits in this area occur from 800 feet to over 2,000 
feet beneath the surface and are mined by both conventional and 
solution mining methods; conventional methods require miners to be 
underground. The oil and gas in the area is found in formations below 
the potash-bearing formations, so oil and gas wells must extend through 
potash formations. If potash mining were to breach a well casing, or if 
a well casing near a potash mine failed for other reasons, gas could 
migrate into the mine workings, thus endangering the miners. 
Additionally, the potential for such a breach could raise the costs of 
potash mining due to the need to utilize enhanced ventilation 
techniques and specialized equipment needed to mine in a gas-filled 
environment. Given these safety risks, it has been a challenge to 
produce potash and oil and gas at the same time in the same area. This 
challenge has led to a long history of conflict between the potash and 
the oil and gas industries.
    This conflict has resulted in a great deal of litigation regarding 
decisions made by the BLM on a variety of potash or oil and gas 
development applications. Nevertheless, leading members of the two 
industries have initiated efforts to work together over the past 2 
years. A number of productive meetings and discussions have occurred 
among many of the parties involved in these previous disputes. 
Additionally, there have been significant advances in the technology of 
oil and gas drilling that could be used to reduce the conflict between 
such drilling and the extraction of potash. Further, the economic 
outlook for both the oil and gas industry and the potash industry has 
recently improved. The BLM has also worked with Sandia National 
Laboratories to investigate well-logging technology, gas migration in 
the potash formations, and standards to use for estimating the 
mineability of potash and potash cutoff grades. These circumstances led 
to review of the 1986 Secretary's Order.

The 2012 Secretary's Order

    The 2012 Secretary's Order differs from the 1986 Order as described 
below.
    The 2012 Secretary's Order authorizes the BLM to establish 
``Development Areas'' where oil and gas wells can be drilled from one 
or more ``Drilling Islands.'' The Drilling Island concept was first 
introduced in the 1975 Secretary's Order. In most cases, a single 
Drilling Island will be established for each Development Area, but if 
circumstances dictate, the BLM may establish additional Drilling 
Islands. Drilling Islands will be situated in such a manner that 
extended reach horizontal wells could access oil and gas within the 
associated Development Area. Unless there is a compelling reason for 
not operating under a unitization or communitization agreement, the 
2012 Secretary's Order envisions that the oil and gas leases in a 
Development Area will be unitized under the regulations found at 43 CFR 
subpart 3180 and developed by a unit operator, or operated under a 
communitization agreement as authorized under 43 CFR subpart 3105. 
These oil and gas reservoir management tools should lead to more 
orderly development of the oil and gas resources in the Development 
Area and minimize impacts to surface resources due to a reduction in 
the number of drill pads and associated roads, power lines, and other 
ancillary facilities. Moreover, the resulting reduction in the number 
and spacing of oil and gas drilling locations where wells penetrate the 
potash formation is expected to minimize impacts to potash resources 
and enhance the safety of underground potash miners.
    The BLM envisions that a substantial portion of the Designated 
Potash Area will eventually be divided into Development Areas designed 
to minimize the impacts to potash mining while allowing for the 
development of oil and gas resources. The BLM expects that the oil and 
gas in Development Areas will largely be developed with extended-reach 
horizontal wells using the most current technology, consistent with 
applicable laws and regulations.
    The 2012 Secretary's Order retains several important features of 
the 1986 Order, including the boundaries of the Designated Potash Area 
established in the 1986 Order, as corrected in 1987. The Secretary's 
Order also retains language of the 1986 Order for stipulations for oil 
and gas leases and potash leases issued, reinstated, renewed, or 
readjusted in the Designated Potash Area.
    The formatting is modified to be consistent with the Department of 
the Interior's (Department) style requirements for Secretary's Orders. 
These requirements were changed in 1992 and are recorded in Section 012 
DM 1 of the Departmental Manual.

Comments on the Draft Order

    The BLM received 28 comment letters during the comment period, 
including 41 distinct comments. These comments and the BLM's responses 
to them are available for review at the following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/info/potash.html.

Environmental Assessment

    Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq., and BLM's implementing regulations, the BLM prepared an 
Environmental Assessment (EA) in conjunction with the development of 
the 2012 Secretary's Order. Based on the EA, a Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI) was made.

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The EA/FONSI is available for review at the following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/info/potash.html.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR 3164.1, 43 CFR 3590.2.

Mike Pool,
Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 2012-29389 Filed 12-3-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-VC-P