83 FR 29135 - Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Normally Pressured Lance (NPL) Natural Gas Development Project

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 121 (June 22, 2018)

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 the NPL Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for the NPL project in the BLM Pinedale and Rock Springs Field Offices.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 121 (Friday, June 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29135-29136]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13273]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWYD0100000 L13140000.NB0000 18X]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Normally Pressured Lance (NPL) 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 the 
NPL Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for the NPL 
project in the BLM Pinedale and Rock Springs Field Offices.

DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision on the proposal for a 
minimum of 30 days after the date that the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes its Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal 
Register.

ADDRESSES: The NPL Final EIS is available for public review at the BLM 
Pinedale Field Office, 1625 West Pine Street, Pinedale, Wyoming; the 
BLM High Desert District Office, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, 
Wyoming; and the BLM Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, 
Cheyenne, Wyoming. The document may also be reviewed online at http://tinyurl.com/hloulms.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kellie Roadifer, NPL EIS Project 
Manager, BLM Pinedale Field Office, PO Box 768, Pinedale, WY 82941, 
(307) 367-5309, [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 (HDD) 
and spans the Pinedale Field Office (PFO) in the north and 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 
BLM-administered public lands. Within the NPL project area, there are 
both unitized and non-unitized development areas.
    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. Under Jonah Energy's proposal, most wells 
would be co-located on multi-well pads, with no more than four well 
pads per 640 acres in areas outside of Greater Sage-grouse Priority 
Habitat Management Areas (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 utilized 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.
    There are approximately 48,036 acres of PHMA, 27,292 acres of 
Greater Sage-grouse Winter Concentration Area (WCA), and 1,259 acres of 
Sagebrush Focal Areas (SFAs) within the NPL project area. All of the 
SFA is within the Rock Springs Field Office.
    Cooperating agencies for this EIS include the State of Wyoming, 
with active participation from many state agencies including the 
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, State Historic Preservation Office, 
the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the Wyoming 
Department of Agriculture. Local cooperating agencies include 
Sweetwater, Lincoln and Sublette Counties, and the Sublette County 
Conservation District.
    The Notice of Intent to prepare the EIS was published on April 12, 
2011 (70 FR 20370), initiating a 30-day formal public scoping period. 
Public scoping meetings were held in Pinedale, Rock Springs, and 
Marbleton, WY. Public scoping comments were used to identify issues 
that informed the formulation of alternatives and framed the scope of 
analysis for the NPL EIS.
    A total of 1,238 scoping comments were received, with 29 resource 
issues identified. Key issues identified during scoping informed the 
formulation of alternatives and framed the scope of analysis for the 
NPL Final EIS. The issues include:
    [ssquf] Air Quality: Potential project and cumulative impacts on 
air quality, including air quality-related values.
    [ssquf] Regulatory Setting: Permits, authorization, conformance 
with other plans, laws, policies and guidance.

[[Page 29136]]

    [ssquf] Social and Economic impacts: Jobs, housing, Federal mineral 
royalties, and quality of life.
    [ssquf] Mitigation (including Compensatory Mitigation): When and 
how it applies to individual resource protection measures.
    [ssquf] Reclamation and Monitoring: The effect of currently used 
practices including seed mixes, revegetation, use of reference sites 
including ecological site descriptions.
    [ssquf] Wildlife Habitat, particularly Greater sage-grouse and 
pronghorn antelope: The project's potential to further fragment 
wildlife habitats and diminish the value of those habitats for many 
species.
    In response to the scoping comments received, the BLM developed 
three alternatives to the Proposed Action: The No Action Alternative, 
utilizing existing standard stipulations and examining the project area 
under the historical rate of development of around three wells per 
year; Alternative A, utilizing a phased approach moving through 
existing leased oil and gas units and responding to identified wildlife 
issues; and Alternative B, which addressed a broad range 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 
between one to four 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 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 to return the landscape to its previous condition in 
conformance with the NPL Reclamation Plan and the relevant Resource 
Management Plans (RMP).
    All alternatives conform to the Pinedale Field Office Resource 
Management Plan Record of Decision (2008) and the Rock Springs Field 
Office Green River Resource Management Plan Record of Decision (1997), 
as amended by 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).
    The Draft EIS Notice of Availability was published on July 7, 2017 
(129 FR 31628), opening a 45-day public comment period. Public meetings 
were held on July 25, 2017 in Pinedale, and July 26, 2017 in Rock 
Springs. Over 1,000 individual comment letters were received. Comments 
included identified issues associated with each alternative, including 
feasibility and sufficiency of the analysis and impacts to specific 
resources as a result of each alternative. Comments were considered and 
incorporated as appropriate into the Final EIS; however, the analysis 
of the alternatives and the identified impacts did not significantly 
change.
    The Final EIS is consistent with the BLM's obligations under the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 and 40 CFR 1506.10.

Mary Jo Rugwell,
BLM Wyoming State Director.
[FR Doc. 2018-13273 Filed 6-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-22-P