[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 95632-95639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31270]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-GRD-22583; GPO Deposit Account 4311-H2]
Notice of Proposed Addition of Thermal Features Within Valles
Caldera National Preserve to the Geothermal Steam Act List of
Significant Thermal Features Within Units of the National Park System
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of proposal.
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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) is publishing for public
review and comment a proposal that the Department of the Interior
(Department) designate the thermal features within Valles Caldera
National Preserve (Preserve), New Mexico, as ``significant thermal
features,'' and that they be added to the list of significant thermal
features within units of the National Park System, in accordance with
the Geothermal Steam Act (the Act), as amended. The Act requires that
those thermal features in units of the National Park System that are
determined to be significant, and included in or added to the list at
30 U.S.C. 1026, must be protected from any geothermal leasing,
exploration, development or utilization that might adversely affect
those features.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 27, 2017 to be
assured of receiving consideration. After considering all comments
received, the NPS will issue a final notice of the Department's
determination in the Federal Register. Copies of public comments
received in response to this Notice will be available for public review
according to the specifications of the final notice.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments to the PEPC Web site at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/vallego.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Julia F. Brunner, Policy and
Regulatory Specialist, Geologic Resources Division, National Park
Service, P.O. Box 25287, Lakewood CO 80225-0287; telephone 303-969-
2012.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Geothermal Steam Act (the Act), as
amended, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to issue
geothermal leases for exploration, development and utilization of
geothermal resources on available public lands administered by the
Department of the Interior, as well as on federal lands administered by
the Department of Agriculture, and on lands that have been conveyed by
the United States subject to a reservation to the United States of the
geothermal resources in those lands. 30 U.S.C. 1002. The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) administers the geothermal program pursuant to its
regulations at 43 CFR parts 3000, 3200, and 3280. On federal lands
managed by the Agriculture Department or used for a federal water power
project, the BLM must first obtain the consent of the Secretary of
Agriculture or Secretary of Energy, respectively, before it may issue
any leases for geothermal resources underlying those lands. See 30
U.S.C. 1014(b).
The Act does not make lands administered by the NPS subject to
geothermal leasing, thereby prohibiting geothermal leasing in park
units (30 U.S.C. 1002, 1014(c)). In addition, the Valles Caldera
National Preserve has been expressly withdrawn from the operation of
the geothermal leasing laws. 16 U.S.C. 698v-11(b)(9).
The Act requires the Secretary to maintain a list of significant
thermal features within units of the National Park System (30 U.S.C.
1026(a)). For those listed significant thermal features, the Act
requires:
(1) The Secretary to maintain a monitoring program, including a
research program carried out by NPS in cooperation with the U.S.
Geological Survey (30 U.S.C. 1026(b));
(2) the Secretary to determine, on the basis of scientific
evidence, and subject to notice and public comment, whether
exploration, development, or utilization of the land subject to a lease
application would be reasonably likely to result in a significant
adverse effect on any listed feature and, if so, not to issue the lease
(30 U.S.C. 1026(c));
(3) the Secretary to determine, on the basis of scientific
evidence, whether the exploration, development, or utilization of the
land subject to a lease or drilling permit is reasonably likely to
adversely affect any listed features and, if so, to include
stipulations in the lease or drilling permit to protect those features
(30 U.S.C. 1026(d));
(4) the Secretary of Agriculture to consider the effects on
significant thermal features within units of the National Park System
in determining whether to consent to leasing on national forest lands
or other lands administered by the Department of Agriculture (30 U.S.C.
1026(e)).
The Act lists sixteen park units as having significant thermal
features, and the Act also authorizes the Secretary to add significant
thermal features within park units to the list after notice and public
comment (see 30 U.S.C. 1026(a)).
[[Page 95633]]
With regard to the proposed designation of the thermal features within
Valles Caldera, it is instructive to briefly review the earlier law and
Federal Register notices on which the provisions of the Act, which are
described above, were based.
In 1986, the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, Pub. L. 99-591, Section 115 paragraph 2(a) (the
1986 Act) directed the Secretary to collect and publish in the Federal
Register, within 120 days, a proposed list of significant thermal
features within park units, and provided a preliminary list of 22 park
units. The 1986 Act required four criteria to be applied to each
thermal feature when making an overall determination of significance.
These four criteria were:
(1) Size, extent, and uniqueness,
(2) Scientific and geologic significance,
(3) The extent to which such features remain in a natural,
undisturbed condition, and
(4) Significance of thermal features to the authorized purposes for
which the park unit was created.
The Department designated the NPS as the lead agency to prepare and
publish the list. On February 13, 1987, as directed by the 1986 Act,
the NPS published a Notice of the Proposed List of Significant Thermal
Features within Units of the National Park System (52 FR 4700). After
receiving 23 comments on the February 1987 notice, the NPS published
the final list on August 3, 1987 (52 FR 28790), concluding that 13 park
units contained significant thermal features. The 1988 Act subsequently
listed these 13 park units, as well as three additional park units, as
containing significant thermal features (30 U.S.C. 1001(f)).
In the process of designating the significant thermal features
pursuant to the 1986 Act, the NPS defined a ``thermal feature'' broadly
as ``surface manifestations of a subsurface heat source'' (see 52 FR
29890, 28792 (Aug. 3, 1987)) or ``subsurface thermal activity'' (see 52
FR 4700, 4702 (Feb. 13, 1987)). The NPS's 1987 definition of ``thermal
feature'' encompassed not only the surface manifestations of underlying
hydrothermal systems, but also surface manifestations of volcanic
processes (see 52 FR 29890, 28792). When listing various thermal
features, the NPS categorized them as ``hydrothermal'' or ``volcanic''
to indicate the surface manifestation resulting from differing types of
subsurface thermal activity, systems or features, although this
description did not affect the significance of any particular feature
(see id.; 53 FR 4700, 4702).
More recently, the NPS has defined ``thermal resources'' as
comprising a subsurface heat source, heat conduit rock formations, and
air and/or water that circulates through the formation and may
discharge at the surface; such resources create features such as
geysers, hot springs, mudpots, fumaroles, unique/rare mineral
precipitates and formations, and hydrophilic biotic communities (NPS
Management Policies Sec. 4.8.2.3)(2006)). To be consistent with both
the 1987 and the 2006 definitions, the NPS proposes in this notice to
define ``thermal feature'' as the surface manifestation of subsurface
thermal resources, systems, or activity, and to use the words
``hydrothermal'' and ``volcanic'' as a simple description of the type
of underlying thermal activity that resulted in how the feature appears
on the earth's surface.
For the purpose of this notice, the NPS also proposes to remain
consistent with both of its 1987 interpretations of the four
significance criteria as follows:
(1) Size, extent, and uniqueness--NPS does not establish lower or
upper limits on the size or extent of a feature. Each feature is
identified according to its existing surface dimensions. For a feature
to be considered significant under this criterion, it is identified as
unique to the region, the nation, or, in some cases, the world.
(2) Scientific and geologic significance--NPS considers the feature
``significant'' when the feature has been identified as contributing to
geologic, biological, or other scientific knowledge compared with
similar features in other areas or makes a significant contribution to
the understanding of similar systems.
(3) The extent to which such features remain in a natural,
undisturbed condition--Under this criterion, no limits are established
for amount or degree of development. The feature may be significant if
it remains in a natural, relatively undisturbed condition.
Modifications or improvements may be acceptable if: The alterations
were necessary to preserve a developed feature; modifications intended
to accommodate or improve public enjoyment of the feature are judged to
be consistent or compatible with the intent of the enabling
legislation; and so long as disturbances or developments, if any, have
not affected the subsurface thermal regime.
(4) Significance of thermal features to the authorized purposes for
which the park unit was created--NPS considers features significant if
they were the basis for establishment of the unit (i.e., the feature
was specifically identified in the enabling legislation) or if they are
consistent with the statutory purposes for which the area was set aside
(see 52 FR at 28793).
[[Page 95634]]
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Proposal
Valles Caldera National Preserve was added as a unit of the
National Park System on December 19, 2014. This unit includes the vast
majority of the caldera itself, which is hereby proposed for addition
to the list of significant thermal features as a single volcanic
feature. Excepted from this proposal is the portion of the caldera (10-
15%) which lies outside the Preserve's western and southern boundaries
(see Figure 1). The subsurface heat that remains of this volcanic
activity allows meteoric waters percolating down from the surface to
become heated, which is expressed at the surface in several places
within and in the vicinity of the caldera in the form of hydrologic hot
springs or, in dry seasons, fumaroles or steam vents. The Preserve
contains numerous thermal features (single or grouped contiguous
features such as hot spring pools) in four geographic areas containing
surface waters (Redondo Creek, Alamo Canyon, Sulphur Creek Canyon, and
San Antonio Creek), as well as seasonal fumaroles and acid ponds or
springs. These thermal features are also separately proposed for
inclusion to the list as significant thermal (hydrothermal) features.
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN28DE16.012
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN28DE16.013
[[Page 95636]]
Caldera Thermal Feature
The Department proposes to list the entirety of the caldera that
lies within Valles Caldera National Preserve as one significant thermal
feature. The Preserve's thermal feature is part of a geothermal
landscape that extends beyond the Preserve's perimeter boundary;
thermal features located outside the Preserve's perimeter boundary are
not included in this proposed designation (Fig. 2). The magma chamber
beneath the Preserve is located under the southwest portion of the
caldera (Fig. 3), with surface expressions of thermal features
primarily in the vicinity of Redondo Canyon, Sulphur Creek Canyon, and
Alamo Canyon. A total of 29 geothermal fumaroles have been mapped in
these canyons (Fig. 4), and others may exist in other areas of the
Preserve that have not yet been surveyed (Goff and Goff, 2017).
Currently, approximately \1/3\ of the Preserve has been surveyed. In
addition, a detailed geologic and hydrologic GIS map has been
developed. See http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/repository/data/2011/20110002/GM-79_mapsheet.pdf. (Fig. 5).
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN28DE16.014
[[Page 95637]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN28DE16.015
The following significance criteria have been analyzed and are
applicable to every component of the caldera feature and volcanic
system within the Preserve.
(1) Size, extent, and uniqueness:
The approximately 89,000-acre Preserve encompasses a 1.25 million
year-old dormant volcanic caldera (13.7 miles in diameter) that lies in
the center of the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico. The youngest
post-caldera volcanic eruption (Banco Bonito Rhyolite lava flow)
occurred about 68 thousand years ago. The Valles Caldera that formed
1.25 million years ago is the younger of two calderas within the
Preserve, and lies to the southwest of the comparably sized but now
nearly imperceptible Toledo Caldera (1.62 Ma; Fig. 6). Each caldera
produced about 95 mi\3\ (400 km\3\) of ash flow tuff collectively known
as the Bandelier Tuff. Numerous geothermal features occur throughout
the Jemez Mountains. The Preserve does not encompass the entirety of
the Valles Caldera depression itself--a portion of the northwestern
caldera lies outside the boundary of the park unit to the west and
south of the Preserve, in the Santa Fe National Forest. The subsurface
volcanic heat anomaly or thermal system similarly extends outside of
the park unit to the west.
(2) Scientific and geologic significance:
Water, steam, and soil samples from these sites have been and
continue to be collected by scientists conducting geothermal and
planetary research, and by scientists searching for living organisms in
extreme environments. Because of its geologic uniqueness, NPS staff
will use this area for public education, as the site illustrates the
exceptional geologic values of the Jemez Mountains--sulfuric acid
fumaroles and mud pots, and chloride-bicarbonate hot springs and cold
springs--all characteristics of geologically active volcanic
formations.
(3) The extent to which the feature remains in a natural,
undisturbed condition:
The San Antonio Warm Springs and the Sulphur Springs-Alamo Canyon
areas have been moderately to significantly disturbed by development
(recreational structures, containment ponds, and other improvements as
well as several geothermal exploration wells (drilled between 1970-
1984), most of which have been permanently capped and reclaimed) that
occurred prior to federal acquisition of the Preserve in 2000; however,
such alterations have not changed the thermal regime. Other features,
such as acid ponds and fumaroles, are undisturbed in natural habitats.
Despite some past geothermal exploration and drilling, the caldera
itself as a volcanic feature remains unaffected in the operation of its
volcanic thermal regime, and thus remains in a natural, undisturbed
condition.
[[Page 95638]]
(4) Significance of thermal features to the authorized purposes for
which the park unit was created:
Valles Caldera National Preserve was established ``to protect,
preserve, and restore the fish, wildlife, watershed, natural,
scientific, scenic, geologic, historic, cultural, archaeological, and
recreational values of the area'' (Pub. L. 113-291, Sec. 3043(b)(1)).
The caldera is an important natural and geologic resource, contributes
to scientific understanding of the geology of the region, and also
contributes to the other values for which this NPS unit was
established.
Conclusion: Because the Valles Caldera appears to meet all four
criteria as a volcanic feature, the Department proposes to add it to
the list of significant thermal features within the National Park
System.
Hydrothermal Features
Like Yellowstone National Park, which is also a caldera, Valles
Caldera National Preserve contains multiple hydrothermal features that
are related to the magma source. In addition, the dynamic nature of
this area means that additional hydrothermal features may develop over
time. The NPS therefore proposes to list these hydrothermal features as
one significant thermal feature. The following significance criteria
have been analyzed for each feature listed and has been found to be
applicable to each feature within the system.
(1) Size, extent, and uniqueness:
Size--The hydrothermal features within the Preserve are located on
approximately 500 acres.
Extent--(a) San Antonio Warm Spring is a single spring discharging
potable hot water at 101[emsp14][deg]F, over which 20th-century
ranchers built an enclosed concrete bath adjacent to a nearby cabin.
This spring is located in the north-central portion of the Preserve
adjacent to the segment of the San Antonio Creek within the Valle San
Antonio.
(b) In addition, the Preserve has numerous hot and cold sulfuric
acid fumaroles, particularly in the Alamo Canyon and Redondo Canyon
regions. There are at least 29 fumaroles mapped in the Redondo and
Alamo canyon areas; see Fig 2 and the map at: http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/repository/data/2011/20110002/GM-79_mapsheet.pdf. Others may occur but
have not been sampled or surveyed.
(c) The 40-acre private inholding of Sulphur Springs contains the
highest temperature hot springs (189[emsp14] [deg]F) in the state of
New Mexico; the Sulphur Springs area includes at least 7 significant
named hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles, all of which are thermally
anomalous; several other acid springs and gas vents are cold. The
springs include such colorful descriptive names as Kidney and Stomach
Trouble Spring, Footbath Spring, Ladies' Bathhouse Spring, Laxitive
[sic] Spring, Turkey Spring, Lemonade Spring, and Electric Spring. Some
of these were historically referred to as Main Bathhouse Spring, Sour
Spring, and Alum Spring.
(d) Valle Grande spring: The easternmost named spring within the
Preserve is the Valle Grande Spring (14 [deg]C), although topographic
maps indicate numerous other surrounding unnamed springs.
Uniqueness--These springs and fumaroles (some of which take the
form of bubbling mudpots in wet seasons) are indicators of subsurface
thermal processes, are unique to the region, and are easily accessible
for study and research; there are no comparable features in the State
of New Mexico. The only other places in the United States that have
such systems are Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Montana, and
Idaho; Lassen Volcano, the Long Valley Caldera, and The Geysers in
California, the latter two having thermal regimes degraded by
geothermal production; and a very small system at Dixie Valley, Nevada.
(2) Scientific and geologic significance: Water, steam, and soil
samples from these sites have been and continue to be collected by
scientists conducting geothermal and planetary research, and by
scientists searching for living organisms in extreme environments.
Because of its geologic uniqueness, NPS staff will use this area for
public education, as the site illustrates the exceptional geologic
values of the Jemez Mountains--sulfuric acid fumaroles, mud pots, hot
springs, cold springs--all characteristics of geologically active
volcanic formations.
(3) The extent to which the feature remains in a natural,
undisturbed condition: San Antonio Warm Spring has been slightly to
moderately disturbed by construction of recreational structures such as
a cabin and a containment ponds that occurred prior to federal
acquisition of the Preserve in 2000, but these were constructed to
support the recreational use of the feature. However, such alterations
have not changed the thermal regime. The overall hydrothermal system
activity and temperature thus remains unchanged and in a natural,
undisturbed state. The Sulphur Springs-Alamo Canyon areas were
moderately to significantly disturbed by development (recreational
structures, containment ponds, and other improvements as well as
several geothermal exploration wells (drilled between 1970-1984);
however, such alterations have not changed the thermal regime. Other
features, including the Redondo Creek fumaroles (steam vents in dry
season and mud pots or minor springs in wet seasons) are undisturbed in
natural habitats. The overall hydrothermal system remains unchanged
because it was never subjected to full-scale commercial development.
(4) Significance of the feature to the authorized purposes for
which the unit was created: Valles Caldera National Preserve was
established ``to protect, preserve, and restore the fish, wildlife,
watershed, natural, scientific, scenic, geologic, historic, cultural,
archaeological, and recreational values of the area'' (Pub. L. 113-291,
Sec. 3043(b)(1) (emphasis added)). While the Act does not specifically
refer to hydrothermal features or their use by the public among the
criteria for which the park unit was created, the presence and
preservation of such features as surface expressions of the subsurface
volcanic activity is consistent with the purposes and uses of which the
park was created. The hydrothermal features are important geologic
resources associated with the Preserve and the Jemez Mountains,
contribute to scientific understanding of the geology of the region,
and also contribute to the other values for which this system unit was
established.
Conclusion: Because the hydrothermal system at Valles Caldera
appears to meet all four criteria, the Department proposes to add it to
the list of significant thermal features within the National Park
System.
Once designated, the NPS will continue to work closely with the BLM
and the U.S. Forest Service to ensure that monitoring data and other
scientific information regarding the significant thermal features of
Valles Caldera National Preserve are incorporated into leasing and
permitting decisions.
References
Aprea, M., Hildebrande, S., Fehler, M., Steck, L., Baldridge, W.,
Roberts, P, Thurber, C., Lutter, W., (2002). Three-dimensional
Kirchhoff migration: Imaging of the Jemez volcanic field using
teleseismic data: Journal of Geophysical Research v. 107, p. 2247-
2262.
Gardner, J.N., Goff, F., Kelley, S., and Jacobs, E. (2010) Rhyolites
and associated deposits of the Valles-Toledo caldera complex. New
Mexico Geology, v. 32, p. 3-18.
Goff, F. (2009) Valles Caldera: A Geologic History. University of
New Mexico Press,
[[Page 95639]]
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Goff, F., and Goff, C.J., In Press (2016-17), Overview of the Valles
Caldera (Baca) geothermal system, New Mexico, in (McLemore, V.T. and
Timmons, S., eds.) Energy and Mineral Resources of New Mexico. New
Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Special Publication
13, 50 pages, with 5 tables, 1 appendix, and 40 figures.
Goff, F. (2002). ``Geothermal Potential of Valles Caldera, New
Mexico.'' GHC Bulletin, December 2002.
Goff, F. and Grigsby, C. (1982). Valles Caldera Geothermal Systems,
New Mexico, USA. Journal of Hydrology, 56 (1982) pp. 119-136.
Geologic Map of the Jemez mountains, Valles Caldera (2011). http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/repository/data/2011/20110002/GM-79_mapsheet.pdf.
http://en.openei.org/wiki/Valles_Caldera--Sulphur_Springs_Geothermal_Area/#Regional Setting.
Trainer, F.W.; Rogers, R.J., and M.L. Sorey, 2000. ``Geothermal
Hydrology of Valles Caldera and the Southwestern Jemez Mountains,
New Mexico.'' U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Investigation
report 00-4067, 115 pp. www.hotspringsenthusiast.com/newmexico.asp.
Dated: December 19, 2016.
Michael Bean,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 2016-31270 Filed 12-27-16; 8:45 am]
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