82 FR 31628 - Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Normally Pressured Lance Natural Gas Development Project

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 129 (July 7, 2017)

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the proposed Normally Pressured Lance (NPL) natural gas development project within the BLM Pinedale and Rock Springs Field Offices and by this notice is announcing the opening of the comment period.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 129 (Friday, July 7, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31628-31629]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14130]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWYD01000 L13140000.NB0000 17X]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Normally Pressured Lance Natural Gas Development 
Project

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the proposed 
Normally Pressured Lance (NPL) natural gas development project within 
the BLM Pinedale and Rock Springs Field Offices and by this notice is 
announcing the opening of the comment period.

DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the NPL Draft EIS within 45 days following the date 
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of 
availability of the NPL Draft EIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will 
announce future meetings or any other public participation activities 
at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases, 
and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the NPL Draft EIS by any 
of the following methods:

 Email: [email protected]
 Mail: NPL EIS Project Manager, BLM Pinedale Field Office, P.O. 
Box 768, Pinedale, WY 82941

    Copies of the NPL Draft EIS are available at the Pinedale Field 
Office at the following locations:

BLM Pinedale Field Office, 1625 West Pine Street, Pinedale, WY 82941

or

BLM Rock Springs Field Office, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, WY 
82901

or on the project Web site at: http://tinyurl.com/hloulms.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan (Liz) Dailey--NPL EIS Project 
Manager, BLM Pinedale Field Office, P.O. Box 768, Pinedale, WY 82941, 
307-367-5310, [email protected]. Persons who use 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: The NPL project is located immediately south 
and west of the existing Jonah Gas Field in Sublette County, Wyoming. 
The project area lies within the BLM Wyoming High Desert District and 
spans the Pinedale Field Office (PFO) in the north and the Rock Springs 
Field Office (RSFO) to the south. The project encompasses approximately 
141,000 acres of public, state, and private lands. Approximately 96% of 
the project area is on public lands. Within the NPL project area, there 
are both unitized and non-unitized development areas.
    There are approximately 48,036 acres of Greater sage-grouse 
Priority Habitat Management Area (PHMA) within the NPL project area 
(405 acres within the PFO and 47,631 acres within the RSFO). There are 
approximately 92,825 acres of General Habitat Management Area in the 
NPL project area (78,228 within the PFO and 14,597 within the RSFO). 
There are 27,292 acres (26,392 on BLM-administered lands) of Greater 
sage-grouse Winter Concentration Area (WCA) within the NPL. These are 
divided into two distinct WCAs: Alkali Creek, consisting of 20,132 
acres (19,232 on BLM-administered lands), and Alkali Draw, consisting 
of 7,160 acres (all on BLM-administered lands). These WCAs are found in 
the western and northern portions of the project area, respectively. 
There are approximately 1,259 acres of Sagebrush Focal Areas (SFAs) 
within the NPL project area. All of the SFAs are within the RSFO.
    Jonah Energy LLC, the current operator after purchasing Encana Oil 
and Gas Inc.'s leasehold interest in the project, is proposing up to 
3,500 directionally drilled wells (depth range from 6,500 to 13,500 
feet) over a 10-year period (Proposed Action). Under Jonah Energy's 
proposal, most wells would be co-located on a single pad, with no more 
than four well pads per 640 acres in areas outside of PHMA. There would 
be only one disturbance per 640 acres inside PHMA. On average, each 
well pad would be 18 acres in size. Regional gathering facilities would 
be used instead of placing compressors at each well pad. Associated 
access roads, pipelines, and other ancillary facilities would be co-
located where possible to further minimize surface disturbance.
    In addition to the Proposed Action, the BLM analyzed three other 
alternatives: The No Action Alternative, using existing standard 
stipulations and examining the project area under the historical rate 
of development of around three wells per year; Alternative A, using a 
phased approach moving through existing leased oil and gas units and 
responding to identified wildlife issues; and Alternative B, which 
addressed a broadrange of resource concerns in response to issues 
identified during scoping.
    Alternatives A and B each analyzed the same rate of development as 
the Proposed Action as well as the use of regional gathering 
facilities. However, in addition to varying resource protection 
measures, each alternative analyzed differing densities of 
development--from one to four multi-well pads per 640 acres, depending 
on the resource considerations of the project area. Additionally, 
Alternative A analyzed the merits of developing the project area in 
phases. Phased development across the project area analyzed development 
in three geographically defined phases, occurring sequentially, and 
taking into consideration existing oil and gas units.
    Interim and final reclamation activities would be implemented under 
all alternatives so as to return the landscape to proper biological and 
ecological function in conformance with the NPL Reclamation Plan and 
the relevant Resource Management Plans.
    Formal public scoping for the NPL project began on April 12, 2011, 
with the publication of the Notice of Intent in the Federal Register 
(76 FR 20370). Public scoping comments were used to identify issues 
that informed the formulation of alternatives and framed

[[Page 31629]]

the scope of analysis for the NPL Draft EIS.
    All alternatives conform to the PFO Resource Management Plan Record 
of Decision (2008) and the RSFO Green River Resource Management Plan 
Record of Decision (1997) as well as the Record of Decision and 
Approved Resource Management Plan Amendments for the Rocky Mountain 
Region, Including the Greater Sage-Grouse Sub-Region of Wyoming (2015).
    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 1506.6 and 40 CFR 1506.10

Mary Jo Rugwell,
BLM Wyoming State Director.
[FR Doc. 2017-14130 Filed 7-6-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-22-P