[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 97 (Friday, May 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23299-23300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10573]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[17XL5017AP LLUTG01100 L51010000.ER0000.LVRWJ17J8060]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Enefit American Oil Utility Corridor Project, Uintah 
County, Utah

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has 
prepared a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Enefit 
American Oil Utility Corridor Project (Utility Corridor Project) and is 
announcing a 45-day wait period before making any final decisions.

DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision on the proposal for a 
minimum of 45 days after the date on which the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of Availability (NOA) of the final 
EIS in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Enefit American Oil Utility Corridor Project 
final EIS are available for public inspection in the BLM Vernal Field 
Office at 170 South 500 East Vernal, Utah 84078. Interested persons may 
also review the final EIS on the internet at http://go.usa.gov/csa9j.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Howard, NEPA Coordinator; 
telephone 435-781-4469; address 170 South 500 East Vernal, Utah 84078; 
email [email protected]. Persons who use a 
Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay 
Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during 
normal business hours. The FRS 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: Enefit American Oil (Enefit) submitted five 
right-of-way applications to the BLM which are collectively known as 
the Utility Corridor Project. The Project Area is located in the 
southern portion of Townships 8-10 South, Ranges 24-25 East, Salt Lake 
Meridian, in Uintah County, Utah, approximately 40 miles south of 
Vernal, Utah. The entire project area is located within the original 
extent of the Uinta and Ouray Reservation.
    The purpose of this Federal action is to respond to the applicant's 
right-of-way applications for construction, operation, and maintenance 
of the Utility Corridor Project infrastructure across Federal land. 
FLPMA provides the BLM with discretionary authority to grant use of 
public lands, including rights-of-way, taking into consideration 
impacts on natural, cultural, and historical resources.
    The BLM is the lead Federal agency for this EIS as defined at 40 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1501.5. Cooperating agencies 
include the U.S. EPA Region 8, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Utah 
Regulatory Office, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Utah 
Field Office, the State of Utah's Public Lands Policy and Coordination 
Office, and Uintah County. In accordance with NEPA, the BLM prepared an 
EIS analyzing the right-of-way applications using an interdisciplinary 
approach in order to consider a variety of resource issues and concerns 
identified during internal, interagency, and public scoping. On April 
8, 2016, the BLM published in the Federal Register (81 FR 20671) a NOA 
of the Draft EIS for public review and comment. The EPA published in 
the Federal Register (81 FR 22263) a NOA of the draft EIS for public 
review and comment on April 15, 2016, which initiated the 60-day public 
comment period. To allow the public an opportunity to review 
information associated with the utility corridor project and comment on 
the draft EIS, the BLM conducted three open-house meetings in May 2016 
in Vernal and Salt Lake City, Utah and in Rangely, Colorado. During the 
comment period,

[[Page 23300]]

the BLM received 69 comment letters on the draft EIS from Federal, 
State, and local agencies; public and private organizations; and 
individuals. In addition, approximately 15,500 form letters were sent 
to the BLM from various organizations. Additional comments from a 
special interest group were submitted after the comment period closed, 
but were included in the comment response effort, bringing the total of 
unique comment submittals to 70. The 70 comment submittals contained 
241 substantive comments. Principal issues identified in the comments 
received by BLM included: Utility corridor project description, 
alternatives considered, air quality, and impacts on sensitive plant 
species.
    The BLM responded to comments received on the draft EIS in the 
final EIS. As a result of the comments, the presentation order of the 
EIS has been changed to clarify the project description and resulting 
impacts. No significant new information was identified that 
necessitated a supplemental draft EIS.
    The final EIS describes and analyzes the impacts of the utility 
corridor project and the No Action Alternative. The following is a 
summary of the alternatives:
    Proposed Action--The proposed action consists of five right-of-way 
applications: 19 Miles of water supply line (116 acres); 8.8 miles of 
buried natural gas supply line (52.6 acres); 11.2 miles of buried oil 
product line (68.3 acres); 5.7 miles of Dragon Road upgrade and 
pavement (41.7 acres); and 30 miles of 138-kV power lines (501.4 
acres). The proposed action also includes the utilization of some 
temporary lay-down areas during construction of the pipelines (31.2 
acres).
    No Action Alternative--Under the No Action Alternative, the right-
of-way applications listed in the Proposed Action Alternative would be 
denied.
    The final EIS contains detailed analysis of direct and indirect 
impacts from the Proposed Action to: Air quality including greenhouse 
gases, soils including biological soils, vegetation including weeds, 
minerals, surface waters, wildlife, special status plants and animals, 
cultural, paleontological, and visual resources as well as lands and 
access, recreation and travel management, and local social and economic 
resources.
    After the final waiting period, and based on the environmental 
analysis in the final EIS, the BLM will prepare a Record of Decision 
(ROD) documenting the BLM Authorized Officer's decision whether to 
authorize, authorize with modifications, or deny the applications.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.

Edwin L. Roberson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2018-10573 Filed 5-17-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P