[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 68 (Friday, April 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20668-20669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08024]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[15X LLUTG01100 L13110000.EJ0000 24 1A]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Crescent Point Energy Utah Federal-Tribal Well Development Project, 
Duchesne and Uintah Counties, Utah

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), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Vernal Field 
Office, Vernal, Utah, intends to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Utah Federal-Tribal Well Development proposal 
submitted by Crescent Point Energy. By this notice the BLM is also 
announcing the beginning of the scoping process and is soliciting 
public comments on the issues to be analyzed in the EIS.

DATES: This notice initiates a public scoping process for the EIS. 
Comments on issues may be submitted in writing for 30 days following 
the publication of this notice. The date(s) and location(s) of any 
public scoping meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance 
through local news media, a project newsletter, and the BLM Web site 
at: http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/info/newsroom.2.html. In order to be 
included in the draft EIS, 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. Additional opportunities for public 
participation will be provided upon publication of the Draft EIS.

ADDRESSES: Comments on issues related to the Crescent Point Energy Utah 
Federal-Tribal Well Development Project may be submitted by any of the 
following methods:
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: (435) 781-4410.
     Mail: 170 South 500 East, Vernal, Utah 84078.
     BLM NEPA Register: https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/nepa/nepa_register.do (go to the ``text'' tab, enter 
the following search criteria ``Utah,'' ``UT--Vernal FO,'' and 
``EIS'').
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Vernal 
Field Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Howard, BLM Project Manager; 
telephone at 435-781-4469; email [email protected]. Contact Stephanie 
Howard 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 leave a message 
or question for the above individual. The FIRS is available 24 hours a 
day, 7 days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant, Crescent Point Energy U.S. 
Corp, has filed a plan of development for their Federal, State, 
private, and tribal trust leases. Crescent Point proposes to drill up 
to 3,925 new oil and gas wells and build 863 miles of roads; 693 miles 
of pipelines co-located with the proposed roads; 170 miles of cross-
country pipelines; 400 miles of trunk pipelines; 5 salt water disposal 
wells; 5 produced water treatment facilities; 20 central tank 
batteries; 4 gas processing plants; 8 oil storage areas; and, 4 
equipment storage areas. These activities would occur on Federal-, 
tribal trust-, allottee-, State-, and privately-owned or administered 
lands. The project area is located within Duchesne and Uintah counties. 
It encompasses lands from 1 mile east of Myton, Utah, to 1 mile west of 
Highway 45. It is directly south of Roosevelt and Ballard cities, Utah, 
and north of the Ouray Wildlife Refuge. It encompasses:

Salt Lake Meridian, Utah

T. 5 S., R. 19 E.,
Tps. 6 and 7 S., Rs. 19 thru 22 E.,
T. 8 S., R. 20 E.

Uintah Special Meridian, Utah

T. 3 S., R. 1 W.,
Tps. 3 S., Rs. 1 and 2 E.,
Tps. 4 S., Rs. 2 and 3 E.

    The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, 
including alternatives and mitigation, and to guide the process for 
developing the EIS. At present, the BLM has identified the following 
resources as potentially being impacted by the project: Air quality and 
air-related values; surface water and groundwater resources including 
floodplains, wetlands, the Dry Gulch Creek, Pelican Lake, and the 
Green, Uinta, and Duchesne Rivers; cultural and paleontological 
resources; soils; special status plant and animal species; greater 
sage-grouse habitat; livestock grazing; recreation; the Pelican Lake 
Special Recreation Management Area; residences and residential areas; 
local

[[Page 20669]]

and regional social programs and economics; and environmental justice 
considerations.
    Alternatives identified at this time include the proposed action 
and the no action alternatives. Additional alternatives and mitigation 
will be developed as a result of issues and concerns identified through 
the scoping process. The BLM will identify and analyze impacts to 
resources that could be expected to occur from the approval of this 
project, and the BLM will consider potential mitigation measures to 
address those impacts, where available. Mitigation may include 
avoidance, minimization, rectification, reduction or elimination over 
time, and compensatory mitigation; and may be considered at multiple 
scales, including the landscape scale.
    The BLM-Vernal Field Office Record of Decision and Approved 
Resource Management Plan (RMP) (October 2008), as amended (September 
2015), directs management of the BLM-administered public lands within 
the project area. The RMP provides for development of valid existing 
oil and gas leases. An amendment of the RMP is not required in 
connection with this project.
    The BLM is the designated lead Federal agency for preparation of 
the EIS as defined in 40 CFR 1501.5. Agencies with legal jurisdiction 
or special expertise have been invited to participate as cooperating 
agencies in preparation of the EIS. These include: Ballard City; Myton 
City; Roosevelt City; Duchesne County; Uintah County; Utah School and 
Institutional Trust Lands Administration; Utah Public Lands Policy and 
Coordination Office; Ute Indian Tribe; United States (U.S.) 
Environmental Protection Agency Region 8; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service Utah Field Office; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Utah/Nevada 
Regulatory Office; Bureau of Reclamation Provo Area Office; Bureau of 
Indian Affairs Uintah and Ouray Agency; Utah Reclamation Mitigation and 
Conservation Commission; and, the Ouray Wildlife Refuge.
    The BLM will use and coordinate the NEPA commenting process to 
satisfy the public involvement process for Section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f) as provided for in 36 CFR 
800.2(d)(3). 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.
    Comments regarding issues, alternatives, scope, mitigation, or 
other concerns or ideas may be submitted in writing to the BLM at any 
public scoping meeting, or you may submit them to the BLM using one of 
the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section above. To be most helpful, 
comments should be submitted by the end of the public scoping period 
(within 30 days from the BLM's publication in the Federal Register). 
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

Jenna Whitlock,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-08024 Filed 4-7-16; 8:45 am]
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