[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 225 (Tuesday, November 21, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69954-69956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-29722]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WY070-1310-EJ]
Notice of Intent To Invite Public Participation in the Amendment
of the Buffalo and Platte River Resource Management Plans
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent To Amend the Buffalo and Platte River Resource
Management Plans.
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SUMMARY: The Buffalo and Casper Field Offices of the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) in Wyoming are preparing an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for oil and gas development, including coalbed methane,
in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. A Notice of Intent to prepare the
EIS was published in the Federal Register on June 21, 2000, pages
38571-38572. The scoping period was open from May 22, 2000 through July
31, 2000. Scoping meetings were held in Sheridan, Gillette, Buffalo,
and Douglas, Wyoming, in June, 2000. This EIS will provide additional
analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act for decisions in
the Buffalo and Platte River Resource Management Plans (RMPs) related
to oil and gas development. A reasonably foreseeable oil and gas
development scenario will be included to aid in analyzing impacts. Land
use plan decisions that will be evaluated and may be amended include
the following:
--Areas open (or closed) to oil and gas development.
--Lease stipulations or mitigation measures necessary for coalbed
methane development.
--Other decisions as appropriate.
This Notice satisfies the requirements in the regulations at 43 CFR
1610.2(c) for amending an RMP.
DATES: Meeting dates and other public participation activities will be
announced in public notices, the local media, or in letters sent to
interested and potentially affected parties. Persons wishing to
participate in this amendment process and wishing to be placed on
mailing lists must notify the Buffalo Field Office at the address and
phone number below. If you wish to comment on the proposed planning
criteria please submit your comments by January 10, 2001. The public
may review the Buffalo and Platte River Resource Management Plans at
the address below.
ADDRESSES: Please submit comments to: Buffalo Field Office, Bureau of
Land Management, Attn: Paul Beels, 1425 Fort Street, Buffalo, WY 82834.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Beels, Powder River Oil and Gas
EIS Project Leader, BLM Buffalo Field Office, at the above address or
at (307) 684-1100.
Freedom of Information Act Considerations: Public comments
submitted for this planning amendment, including names and street
addresses of respondents, will be available for public review and
disclosure at the Buffalo Field Office during regular business hours
(8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to
withhold your name or address from public review or from disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this prominently
at the beginning of your comments. Such requests will be honored to the
extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be
made available for public inspection in their entirety.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The area analyzed is the Powder River Basin
of Wyoming. The Buffalo Field Office area encompasses all of Campbell,
Sheridan and Johnson Counties. The 1985 Buffalo Resource Management
Plan (RMP) was revisited and evaluated from 1992 through 1997. This
process included public participation. The evaluation resulted in
determining that the RMP planning and management decisions were still
valid. Environmental analyses were conducted and documented on a
variety of coalbed methane (CBM) project proposals through the 1990s.
These include the Pistol Point, Marquiss, Lighthouse, Gillette North,
Gillette South, and Wyodak CBM project proposals. Each of these
environmental analyses covered the effects of the proposed actions and
alternatives, including the cumulative effects of the projects combined
with other development and actions within the area. Based on the
evaluation of these project proposals in regard to the scope and
meaning of the Buffalo RMP decisions, it was determined that amendments
to the RMP (i.e., changing, adding or deleting RMP decisions) were not
necessary. Although specific amendments to the RMP decisions were not
needed, each of the analyses for these project proposals served to
supplement and update the analysis in the EIS for the Buffalo RMP.
[[Page 69955]]
The portion of the Platte River Field Office area included in the
analysis encompasses the northern portion of Converse County including
Township 40 north through Township 35 north, approximately 1,279,450
acres. The Platte RMP was approved in July 1985.
An interdisciplinary team including disciplines and staff expertise
appropriate to the issues identified will be utilized in the analysis.
The State of Wyoming and the U.S. Forest Service are cooperating
agencies in the EIS.
Issues raised during preliminary scoping meetings that need to be
addressed include:
--Aquifers: the quantity, quality, and distribution of surface water
and the potential to affect current uses of water; and the potential to
affect soils, geologic hazards, and the extraction of mineral resources
other than conventional oil and gas and coalbed methane.
--Air quality and visibility.
--Wildlife and their habitats.
--Fisheries and aquatic habitats.
--Ecological integrity, public land health, and biological diversity.
--Species of special concern, particularly threatened, endangered and
candidate, or sensitive species of plants and animals.
--Rangeland resources and grazing.
--Cultural resources, paleontological, natural history, and Native
American concerns.
--Recreational opportunities and the recreational experiences.
--Aesthetics.
--Local economy.
--Human health and safety.
The public is invited to identify other issues and concerns that
should be addressed in the planning process and to comment on those
identified above. These issues will be refined based on public comments
and used in the development of the Powder River Basin Oil and Gas
environmental impact statement (EIS), and any necessary amendments to
the Buffalo and Platte River Resource Management Plans (RMPs).
The following proposed ``Planning Criteria'' have been developed to
assist in preparing the Powder River Basin Oil and Gas EIS and to
comply with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) planning regulations in
addressing any needed amendments to the Buffalo and Platte River RMPs.
Those RMPs provide the general management direction for the BLM-
administered public lands and Federal mineral estate in the portions of
Wyoming to be addressed in the Powder River Basin Oil and Gas EIS.
The establishment of planning criteria (43CFR 1610.4-2) guides
development of the RMP amendment to ensure that it is tailored to
issues previously identified and to avoid unnecessary data collection
and analyses. Planning criteria are based on applicable laws,
regulations, and Director and State Director guidance, as well as the
results of public participation and coordination with other State and
local governments, Federal agencies, and Indian tribes. Planning
criteria may be changed as the planning process proceeds, based on
public input and the results of studies and assessments.
BLM is proposing the following planning criteria for consideration
in one or more of the alternatives:
1. The plan amendment will set forth a framework for managing the
drilling of coalbed methane wells in an environmentally responsible
manner consistent with applicable laws and regulations.
2. Management of coalbed methane produced water will be recognized
in the plan.
Criteria for Analyzing Environmental Consequences
The following potential environmental consequences will be
addressed.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other uses of groundwater
on aquifers.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other activities on the
quality of surface water, and the potential to affect the current uses
of those surface waters.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other activities on the
quantity and distribution of surface water.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other activities on the
areas geology, geologic hazards, and the extraction of other mineral
resources.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other activities on air
quality and visibility.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other activities on
vegetative communities, including wetlands and riparian areas.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing
and disruptive activities on wildlife and their habitats, particularly
key species and habitats.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing
and disruptive activities on fisheries and aquatic habitats.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing
and disruptive activities on species of special concern, particularly
threatened, endangered, candidate, or sensitive species of plants and
animals.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other activities on the
areas ecological integrity and biological diversity.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing
activities on rangeland resources and grazing operations.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing
and disruptive activities on cultural, historic, and paleontological
resources, and Native Americans.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing
activities on recreational opportunities and experiences.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing
and disruptive activities on scenic values and aesthetics.
--The effects of oil and gas development on the local economy.
--The effects of oil and gas development on human health and safety.
Criteria for Selecting the Preferred Alternative
The following considerations will guide selection of the preferred
alternative.
--The level of land use restrictions needed to protect resources and
keep the public lands and resources available for public use.
--The potential for the occurrence and development of mineral
resources, including conventional oil and gas and coalbed methane
production, and coal mining.
--Consistency with the land use plans, programs, and policies of other
Federal agencies, State and local governments, and Native American
tribes.
--Compliance with the Standards for Healthy Rangelands and Guidelines
for Livestock Grazing Management for the Public Lands Administered by
the Bureau of Land Management in the State of Wyoming (August 12,
1997).
This notice also serves as a request for coal resource information,
Pursuant to 43 CFR 3420.1-2, and a request to identify any
substantiated interest in future leasing and development of Federal
coal in the area to be addressed by the Powder River Basin Oil and Gas
EIS. Specifically, information is requested on the location, quality
and quantity of Federal coal with development potential, and on surface
resource values related to the twenty coal unsuitability criteria
described in 43 CFR 3481.1. This information will be used for any
necessary update of the coal screening determinations (43 CFR
[[Page 69956]]
3420.1-4) in the area, for purposes of the environmental analysis for
the Powder River Basin EIS, and for any necessary update or amendment
of the Buffalo and Platte River RMPs. Information concerning areas of
coal leasing interest, coal resource data, and other resource
information related to the coal unsuitability criteria must be
submitted to the Buffalo Field Office at the address above.
Dated: November 14, 2000.
Alan L. Kesterke,
Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 00-29722 Filed 11-20-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P