[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 2, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18576-18577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07478]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCON04000 L16100000.DP000]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Previously Issued Oil and Gas Leases in the White River National 
Forest; Silt, Colorado

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado 
River Valley Field Office (CRVFO), Silt, Colorado, intends to prepare 
an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to undertake NEPA analysis 
addressing previous decisions to issue 65 leases underlying White River 
National Forest (WRNF) lands. In 2007, the Interior Board of Land 
Appeals (IBLA) ruled that before including WRNF parcels in an oil and 
gas lease sale, the BLM must either formally adopt NEPA analysis 
completed by the WRNF or conduct a NEPA analysis of its own (see Board 
of Commissioners of Pitkin County, 173 IBLA 173 (2007)). Because the 
BLM has determined that the WRNF NEPA analysis conducted is no longer 
adequate, the BLM will conduct its own NEPA analysis through this EIS 
regarding these previous decisions to lease WRNF lands for oil and gas 
development. The BLM will determine whether these 65 leases should be 
voided, reaffirmed, modified with additional or different terms, or 
subject to additional mitigation measures for site-specific development 
proposals. By this notice, the CRVFO is announcing the beginning of the 
scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the EIS. 
Comments on issues may be submitted in writing until May 2, 2014. The 
date(s) and location(s) of any scoping meetings will be announced at 
least 15 days in advance through local media, newspapers and the BLM 
Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/crvfo.html. All comments 
must be received prior to the close of the 30-day scoping period or 15 
days after the last public meeting (whichever is later) to be included 
in the Draft EIS. The BLM will provide additional opportunities for 
public participation upon publication of the Draft EIS.

[[Page 18577]]


ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Previously Issued Oil 
and Gas Leases in the White River National Forest EIS by any of the 
following methods:
     Web site: http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/crvfo.html.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 970-876-9090.
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Colorado River Valley 
Field Office, 2300 River Frontage Road, Silt, CO 81652.

Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the CRVFO at 
the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Bennett, Colorado River Valley 
Field Manager, at the address above, by telephone at 970-876-9000, or 
by email at [email protected]. You may also use the above contact 
information to have your name added to the 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 intends to develop an EIS to address 
the NEPA defect identified by the IBLA related to the issuance of the 
oil and gas leases underlying WRNF lands.
    The most recent decision making these lands available for oil and 
gas leasing was made through the 1993 WRNF Oil and Gas Leasing EIS, a 
decision that was reaffirmed in the 2002 White River National Forest 
Plan. Before offering the nominated parcels in an oil and gas lease 
sale, the BLM obtained concurrence from the U.S. Forest Service and 
subsequently issued the leases. However, the BLM did not conduct any 
additional NEPA analysis or formally adopt the U.S. Forest Service 
NEPA. The 2007 ruling from the IBLA (see Board of Commissioners of 
Pitkin County, 173 IBLA 173 (2007)), determined that the BLM must 
either do its own NEPA analysis or formally adopt the U.S. Forest 
Service NEPA analysis before offering the U.S. Forest Service parcels 
for lease. The BLM has determined that analysis in the 1993 WRNF Oil 
and Gas Leasing EIS is no longer adequate to support the BLM's leasing 
decisions. As a result, the BLM has determined that it needs to conduct 
additional NEPA analysis on these decisions. The BLM has considered the 
potential context and intensity of the proposed action's impacts and 
determined an EIS is needed to analyze the impacts of its leasing 
decisions within the WRNF. The BLM will use an interdisciplinary 
approach to develop a proposed EIS that will consider the variety of 
resource issues and concerns identified. The purpose of the public 
scoping process is to determine relevant issues that will influence the 
scope of the environmental analysis, including alternatives, and guide 
the process for developing the EIS.
    The BLM identified 65 existing leases with effective dates ranging 
from 1995 to 2012 that were leased under the 1993 EIS. The BLM's EIS 
will include additional analysis concerning the decisions about these 
leases and will address the deficiency noted by the IBLA. The decision 
of whether forest system lands are available or unavailable for oil and 
gas leasing remains with the U.S. Forest Service, although the BLM 
retains the ultimate discretion whether to issue a lease (43 CFR 
3101.7-2). In light of this, the BLM will only consider the 65 
currently leased parcels and not future leasing availability. Under a 
separate effort unrelated to the IBLA case, the WRNF is updating its 
1993 Oil and Gas Leasing EIS to address future oil and gas leasing 
availability on the WRNF. The Draft of updated Oil and Gas Leasing EIS 
was released by the Forest Service for public comment from August 2012 
until November 2012.
    The BLM will incorporate as much of the U.S. Forest Service's new 
NEPA analysis of future oil and gas leasing on the WRNF as possible 
into its analysis of existing leases. In addition, the BLM's EIS would 
not be directly tied to any pending or proposed Applications for Permit 
to Drill because of the U.S. Forest Service's authority to address on 
the surface use Plan of Operations and related analysis.
    The BLM has identified new information that has become available 
since the 1993 WRNF Oil and Gas leasing Final EIS decision that will 
need to be addressed in the BLM's EIS. The BLM has identified the 
following preliminary issues:

    (1) The level of oil and gas leasing, drilling and production 
activity within the WRNF has increased dramatically since the 1993 
Oil and Gas leasing Final EIS decision. The number of acres leased 
has nearly tripled since 1993. The increased level of oil and gas 
leasing, drilling and production activity indicates a need to update 
the Reasonable Foreseeable Development scenario for oil and gas 
activities on the WRNF lands.
    (2) Oil and gas exploration and production technology have 
improved since 1993. The BLM will consider and analyze these 
advancements in the impact analysis.
    (3) An increased level of oil and gas activity has created an 
increased level of public interest in oil and gas related activities 
on public lands.
    (4) Since 1993, the BLM has new information related to air 
resources management, including air quality modeling.
    (5) The BLM will address lands in WRNF inventoried as Roadless 
areas in the updated EIS.
    (6) The EIS will address changes since 1993 to BLM sensitive 
species and to species listed as threatened or endangered under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973.

    Input received under public processes provided under NEPA will 
assist in satisfying the public involvement requirements under Section 
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)(16 USC 470f) 
pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about historic and 
cultural resources within the area potentially affected by the proposed 
EIS will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating impacts to such 
resources in the context of both NEPA and Section 106 of the NHPA.
    The BLM will consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other 
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and 
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due 
consideration. Federal, State and local agencies, along with tribes 
that may be interested in or affected by the proposed decisions the BLM 
is evaluating in this EIS, are invited to participate in the scoping 
process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by the BLM to 
participate in the development of the environmental analysis as a 
cooperating agency.
    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 1501.7.

Ruth Welch,
BLM Colorado Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-07478 Filed 4-1-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JB-P