[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 69 (Monday, April 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21376-21377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08260]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[167 A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900]


Supplemental Notice of Intent To Revise the Osage County Oil and 
Gas Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Osage County, Oklahoma

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Supplemental Notice advises the public that the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs (BIA) as Lead Agency will be revising the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Osage County Oil and Gas 
program. The BIA will work with cooperating agencies and others to 
gather additional information and work to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS). This Supplemental Notice announces an 
additional public scoping meeting to identify potential issues and 
content for inclusion in the EIS. The BIA solicits written comments and 
oral comments at the public meeting on the range of reasonable 
alternatives for implementing the proposed action and issues to be 
addressed in the revised Draft EIS, such as information regarding the 
level of oil and gas development in Osage County or possible mitigation 
measures for environmental and socioeconomic impacts of that 
development.

DATES: Written comments on the scope and implementation of the proposal 
must arrive by Friday, May 8, 2016. A public scoping meeting will be 
held at the Wah Zha Zhi Cultural Center from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on April 
28, 2016. The date and location of the public meeting, including any 
changes, will be announced at least 15 days in advance through notices 
in the following local newspapers: Hominy News Progress, Pawhuska 
Journal Capital, Skiatook, and Tulsa World and will be posted on the 
following Internet location: http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/RegionalOffices/EasternOklahoma/WeAre/Osage/OSAGEOilGasEIS/index.htm.

ADDRESSES: You may mail, email, hand deliver, or fax written comments 
to Ms. Jeannine Hale, BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office, P.O. Box 
8002, Muskogee, Oklahoma 74402-8002; fax (918) 781-4667; email: 
[email protected].
    The April 28, 2016, public scoping meeting will be held at the Wah 
Zha Zhi Cultural Center, 1449 Main Street, Pawhuska, Oklahoma.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jeannine Hale, Division of 
Environmental and Cultural Resources, BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional 
Office, P.O. Box 8002, Muskogee, Oklahoma 74402-8002, (918) 781-4660.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BIA previously released a programmatic 
Osage County Oil and Gas DEIS in November 2015. After the public 
comment period, the BIA determined that the Osage DEIS should be 
revised in order to address comments received and take into 
consideration additional information. This Supplemental Notice advises 
interested parties that the proposed Federal action(s) is the BIA 
approval of leases and permits for oil and gas mining activities 
located in the Osage Mineral Estate. The Osage Mineral Estate is held 
in trust, and the BIA approves oil and gas leases, applications for 
permits to drill, and other site-specific permit applications under the 
authority of the 1906 Osage Allotment Act, as amended and 25 CFR part 
226.
    The BIA, under delegation of the Secretary of the Interior, is 
responsible for administering the development of oil and gas resources 
in Osage County for the benefit of the Osage. The Federal actions, 
including approvals of leases and issuance of permits, are needed for 
the BIA to fulfill a portion of its trust responsibility to the Osage 
and to facilitate the development of the mineral estate. The BIA may 
use the EIS to support a decision under the National Environmental 
Policy Act.
    Directions for Submitting Public Comments: Please include your 
name, return address, and the caption ``Osage County Oil and Gas 
Environmental Impact Statement'' on the first page of any written 
comments you submit. You may also submit comments at the public scoping 
meeting.
    Public Comment Availability: Written comments, including names and 
addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at the 
BIA, 813 Grandview, Pawhuska, Oklahoma, during regular business hours, 
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Before 
including your address, telephone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware 
that your entire

[[Page 21377]]

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:  This notice is published in accordance with Section 
1503.1 of the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR 
part 1500 et seq.) and the Department of the Interior Regulations 
(43 CFR part 46) implementing the procedural requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.), and in accordance with the authority delegated to the 
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs in Part 209 of the Department 
Manual.

    Dated: April 5, 2016.
Michael S. Black,
Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2016-08260 Filed 4-8-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4337-15-P