[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 245 (Friday, December 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77165-77166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30225]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLUTG01100-14-L13100000-EJ0000]


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Monument Butte Area Oil and Gas Development Project, Duchesne 
and Uintah Counties, UT

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 
Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, and associated regulations, 
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) that evaluates, analyzes, and discloses to the 
public the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of a 
proposal to develop oil and natural gas in Duchesne and Uintah 
Counties, Utah. This notice announces a 45-day public comment period to 
meet the requirements of NEPA and Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act.

DATES: The Draft EIS will be available for public review for 45 
calendar days following the date that the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. 
The BLM can best use comments and resource information submitted within 
this 45-day review period. Three public meetings will be held during 
the 45-day public comment period in Roosevelt, Salt Lake City, and 
Vernal, Utah. The dates, times, and places will be announced at least 
15 days prior to the meeting dates through the local news media and the 
BLM Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/info/newsroom.html.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the Draft EIS may be submitted by any of the 
following methods:
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Attn: Stephanie Howard, 
Vernal Field Office, 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 435-781-4410.
    Please reference the ``Monument Butte EIS'' when submitting 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Howard, Project Manager, 
BLM, Vernal Field Office, 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078. Ms. 
Howard may also be reached at 435-781-4400. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message 
or question for the above individual. The FIRS is available 24 hours a 
day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business 
hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft EIS is located online at http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/vernal/planning/nepa_.html. In response to a 
proposal submitted by Newfield Exploration Company (Newfield), the BLM 
published in the August 25, 2010, Federal Register a Notice of Intent 
to prepare an EIS (75 FR 52362). The Monument Butte Project Area (MBPA) 
encompasses approximately 119,743 acres in an existing oil and gas 
producing area located primarily on BLM-administered land south of 
Myton in Duchesne and Uintah Counties, Utah. Of the 119,743 acres 
within the MBPA, approximately 87 percent is on Federal lands 
administered by the BLM; 11 percent is owned by the State of Utah and 
administered by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands 
Administration; and 2 percent is privately owned.
    The Draft EIS analyzes a proposal by Newfield to further develop 
Federal oil and natural gas resources on its leases. This proposal is 
located within a highly developed field that currently contains 
approximately 3,395 producing oil and gas wells. The Proposed Action 
includes drilling up to 5,750 new oil and gas wells over a 16-year 
period, and constructing and operating associated ancillary 
transportation, transmission, processing, and treatment facilities 
within the MBPA. The productive life of each well is estimated to be 
approximately 20-30 years. The wells would be drilled to productive 
formations, including but not limited to, the Green River, Wasatch, 
Mesaverde, Blackhawk/Mancos, and/or Frontier/Dakota formations. Target 
depths would range from approximately 4,500-18,000 feet. Infill 
drilling would be performed on 40-acre surface spacing throughout the 
MBPA, which is equivalent to a density of 16 two- to five-acre well 
pads per square mile. The Proposed Action and alternatives incorporate 
best management practices for oil and gas development and other 
measures necessary to adequately address impacts to transportation, 
public safety, cultural resources, recreational opportunities, 
wildlife, threatened and endangered species, visual resources, air 
quality, and other relevant issues.
    The Draft EIS describes and analyzes the impacts of Newfield's 
Proposed Action and three alternatives, including the No Action 
Alternative. The following is a summary of the alternatives:
    1. Proposed Action--Up to 5,750 new oil or gas wells would be 
drilled over a period of 16 years. Additionally, approximately 243 
miles of new roads and pipelines would be constructed within the same 
corridor; 21 new compressor stations would be constructed; 3 existing 
compressor stations would be expanded; 1 gas processing plant would be 
constructed; 7 new water treatment and injection facilities would be 
built; 6 existing water treatment and injection facilities would be 
expanded; 12 gas and oil separation plants would be constructed; 1 
freshwater collector well would be drilled; and 6 water pump stations 
would be built. Total new surface disturbance under the proposed action 
would be approximately 16,129 acres.
    2. No Action Alternative--Drilling and completion of development 
wells and infrastructure would continue as previously analyzed in other 
NEPA decision documents and the proposed natural gas development on BLM 
lands as described in the Proposed Action would not be implemented. 
Based on the foregoing documents and a review of information from the 
Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining, the BLM has estimated that, as 
of December 31, 2012, 788 wells remain to be drilled. Total new surface 
disturbance under the No Action Alternative would be 870 acres of new 
disturbance, including construction of roads, pipelines, and additional 
support facilities.
    3. Field-Wide Electrification Alternative--This alternative is 
identical to the Proposed Action, in that it would allow the drilling 
of up to 5,750 new wells in addition to the existing producing wells, 
with associated facilities. However, this alternative also incorporates 
a phased field-wide electrification component which consists of 
construction of 34 miles of overhead cross-country 69kV transmission 
lines, 156 miles of distribution lines, and 11 substations. Total new 
surface disturbance under this alternative would be approximately 
16,308 acres.
    4. Agency Preferred (Resource Protection) Alternative--This 
alternative

[[Page 77166]]

is designed to avoid new surface disturbance within the Pariette Area 
of Critical Environmental Concern, adopt U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
management guidelines for two threatened Sclerocactus species and their 
core conservation areas, and maximize directional drilling throughout 
the rest of the project area. Up to 5,058 new wells would be drilled in 
addition to the existing producing wells. Additionally, approximately 
73 miles of new roads and pipelines would be constructed within the 
same corridor; 17 new compressor stations would be constructed; 1 gas 
processing plant would be constructed; 5 new water treatment and 
injection facilities would be built; 5 existing water treatment and 
injection facilities would be expanded; 8 gas and oil separation plants 
would be constructed; 1 freshwater collector well would be drilled; 
and, 4 water pump stations would be built. Total new surface 
disturbance under the Agency Preferred Alternative would be 
approximately 9,805 acres.
    The public is encouraged to comment on any of the alternatives. 
Comments and information submitted on the Draft EIS for the Monument 
Butte project, including names, email addresses, and street addresses 
of respondents, will be available for public review at the Vernal Field 
Office. The BLM will not accept anonymous comments. Before including an 
address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying 
information in any comments, please be aware that the entire comment--
including personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. Requests to withhold personal identifying 
information from public review can be submitted, but the BLM cannot 
guarantee that it will be able to do so.
    The BLM asks that those submitting comments make them as specific 
as possible with reference to chapters, page numbers, and paragraphs in 
the Draft EIS document. Comments that contain only opinions or 
preferences will not receive a formal response; however, they will be 
considered, and included, as part of the BLM decision-making process. 
The most useful comments will contain new technical or scientific 
information, identify data gaps in the impact analysis, or provide 
technical or scientific rationale for opinions or preferences.

    Authority:  Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, and 40 CFR 
1506.6

Megan M. Crandall,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-30225 Filed 12-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P