[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40496-40497]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16129]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNV930000 L51010000.ER0000 241A; 13-08807; MO 4500051040; 
TAS: 14X5017]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Ruby Pipeline Project, NV

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, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Ruby 
Pipeline Project and by this notice is announcing the opening of the 
comment period.

DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Ruby Pipeline Project Draft Supplemental EIS 
within 45 days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency 
publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM 
will announce any future meetings or hearings and any other public 
involvement activities at least 15 days in advance through public 
notices, media releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Ruby Pipeline Project 
Draft Supplemental EIS by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/info/nepa/ruby_pipeline_project.html.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Ruby SEIS, c/o Bureau of Land Management Price Field 
Office, 125 South 600 West, Price, Utah 84501.
    Locations where copies of the Ruby Pipeline Project Draft 
Supplemental EIS are available are listed under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Mackiewicz, PMP, Project Manager 
at 435-636-3616, Bureau of

[[Page 40497]]

Land Management Price Field Office, 125 South 600 West, Price, Utah 
84501; or by email at [email protected]. You may contact Mr. Mackiewicz 
to have your name added to our mailing list.
    Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to 
contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is 
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question 
with the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal 
business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM has prepared a Draft Supplemental 
EIS to correct the deficiencies in the Ruby Pipeline Final EIS 
identified by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Draft 
Supplemental EIS includes supplemental information about the original 
and present condition of the sagebrush steppe habitat and analyzes the 
cumulative impacts of the Ruby Pipeline Project based on the 
supplemental information. The Draft Supplemental EIS will serve as the 
foundation for the BLM's decision on whether to reissue the right-of-
way (ROW) granted to Ruby for the project and, if so, to determine what 
terms and conditions would be required.
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is responsible for 
authorizing construction and operation of interstate natural gas 
pipelines. Accordingly, the FERC served as the lead agency for Ruby 
Pipeline LLC's (Ruby) application for the Ruby Pipeline Project. The 
FERC used the Final EIS it prepared (January 28, 2010) to issue its 
Certificate for the Ruby Pipeline Project on April 5, 2010. The 
Certificate authorized Ruby to construct an approximately 678-mile 
long, 42-inch diameter interstate natural gas pipeline that crosses 368 
miles of Federal land beginning near Opal, Wyoming, extending through 
northern Utah and northern Nevada, and terminating near Malin, Oregon.
    The BLM has primary responsibility for issuing right-of-way ROW 
grants and temporary use permits for natural gas pipelines across most 
Federal lands pursuant to Section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act of 
1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. 185 et seq.). Ruby applied to the BLM for a 
ROW grant for the Ruby Pipeline Project on December 3, 2007. The 
Federal lands crossed or used as access for the project include lands 
managed by the BLM; Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation); the United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Sheldon National Wildlife 
Refuge; and the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service 
(USFS), specifically the Fremont-Winema National Forests, the Uinta-
Wasatch-Cache National Forest, and the Modoc National Forest. Based on 
the Final EIS issued by the FERC, the BLM issued a Ruby Pipeline 
Project Record of Decision (ROD) and ROW grant for the use of lands 
under the administration of the BLM, Reclamation, USFWS, and the USFS 
on July 12, 2010.
    The project has been constructed and is currently in operation. 
However, the BLM Ruby Pipeline Project ROD and ROW grant were appealed 
to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2011, and, on October 22, 
2012, the court found that the Ruby Pipeline Final EIS does not provide 
sufficient quantified or detailed data about the cumulative loss of 
sagebrush steppe vegetation and habitat. Consistent with an April 29, 
2013, order staying an earlier opinion vacating the BLM's original ROD, 
the Ninth Circuit directed the BLM to prepare a revised ROD by November 
21, 2013, that addresses the identified deficiencies in the NEPA 
analysis. The Supplemental EIS is part of the process of responding to 
that order.
    To the extent applicable, the BLM will use the NEPA commenting 
process to satisfy the public involvement process for Section 106 of 
the National Historic Preservation Act as provided for in 36 CFR 
800.2(d)(3) and Secretarial Order 3317. Native American tribal 
consultations will be conducted in accordance with policy, and tribal 
concerns will be given due consideration, including impacts on Indian 
trust assets.
    Please note that public comments and information submitted 
including names, street addresses, and email addresses of persons who 
submit comments will be available for public review and disclosure at 
the above address during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), 
Monday through Friday, except holidays.
    Copies of the Ruby Pipeline Project Draft Supplemental EIS are 
available at the following BLM offices:
     Kemmerer Field Office, 312 Hwy 189 North, Kemmerer, 
Wyoming
     Salt Lake Field Office, 2370 South 2300 West, Salt Lake 
City, Utah
     Elko District Office, 3900 East Idaho Street, Elko, Nevada
     Winnemucca District Office, 5100 East Winnemucca 
Boulevard, Winnemucca, Nevada
     Lakeview District Office, 1301 S. G Street, Lakeview, 
Oregon
     Klamath Falls Resource Area Office, 2795 Anderson Avenue, 
Suite 25, Klamath Falls, Oregon
     Surprise Field Office, 602 Cressler Street, Cedarville, 
California
     Additional locations where hard copies of the Draft 
Supplemental EIS can be viewed can be found on the project Web site or 
by contacting the project manager.
    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 in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1502.9, 43 CFR 2880.

Amy Lueders,
Nevada State Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-16129 Filed 7-3-13; 8:45 am]
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