Bennett-Cottonwood Oil and Gas Development EIS Custer National Forest, McKenzie County, North Dakota

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Bennett-Cottonwood Oil and Gas Development EIS Custer National

Forest, McKenzie County, North Dakota

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) to disclose the environmental effects of further oil

and gas development in the Bennett-Cottonwood area, approximately 22

air miles south of Watford City, North Dakota. The lands involved

include portions of the McKenzie Ranger District, Little Missouri

National Grasslands, Custer National Forest.

DATES: Written comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be

received by February 21, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning the analysis should be sent to

District Ranger, McKenzie Ranger District, Little Missouri National

Grasslands, Custer National Forest, HCO 2, Box 8, Watford City, North

Dakota, 58854.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: [[Page 1766]]

Questions about the proposed action and EIS should be directed to

Lesley W. Thompson, District Ranger, McKenzie Ranger District. Phone

(701) 842-2393.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Until recently, there has been only one

productive oil well in the Bennett-Cottonwood area. The lease for this

well was issued in 1970 and has been held in production since 1980 by

Apache Corporation. It's establishment and maintenance has had little

impact on the area.

The high potential for oil and the development of leased mineral

rights, as well as, private mineral rights, has resulted in the

establishment of eight new oil wells within the area since 1991 (four

Federal minerals and four private minerals). Successful oil production

from these well has resulted in additional applications to drill on

existing leases within the area.

Since 1970, the year of the oldest lease in the area, several

resource management plans were prepared that inventoried and analyzed

the area. They are: the Badlands Unit Plan (1974/75); Roadless Area

Resource Inventory (RARE II, 1979); the Custer National Forest Land and

Resource Management Plan, EIS, and Record of Decision (June 10, 1987);

and the Oil and Gas Leasing EIS and ROD for the Northern Little

Missouri National Grasslands (1991).

In addition to the noted plans, the North Dakota Game and Fish, re-

introduced bighorn sheep (California subspecies) into the Sheep Creek

area in 1987. Bighorn sheep are a sensitive species in the Northern

Region (R-1) of the Forest Service.

The McKenzie Ranger District intends on preparing an EIS because

further development in this area may significantly affect bighorn sheep

and/or the Bennett-Cottonwood inventoried roadless area (L1DAY).

There are a total of thirteen (13) new oil wells proposed to be

developed within the Bennett-Cottonwood area. Of the thirteen proposed

wells, five (5) will sit on Federal surface accessing Federal minerals,

two (2) will sit on Federal surface accessing private minerals, two (2)

will sit on private surface accessing Federal minerals, one (1) will

sit on private surface accessing private minerals, two (2) will sit on

North Dakota state surface accessing Federal minerals, and one (1) will

sit on North Dakota state surface accessing state leased minerals. Of

the wells noted above, three that will sit on the same parcel of

private property will require new road construction, across the Federal

surface, for access. This will require approval of a special use permit

by the Forest Service.

Forest Service decision authority is limited to the lands the

Forest Service administers. Thus, in this instance, the Forest Service

proposes to approve the surface use and operations plans for the

construction of five (5) new oil wells, associated roads, and

production facilities in the Bennett-Cottonwood area. As well as,

consider approving a special use permit for a road to access private

property surrounded by Federal lands within the same area. Production

facilities includes the connection of proposed wells to an oil and gas

pipeline system. The Forest Service will not make any decision(s)

regarding the use of private or state lands, but must, pursuant to the

National Environmental Policy Act, consider the cumulative effects of

actions ``regardless of what agency (Federal or non-Federal) or person

undertakes such other actions'' (40 CFR 1508.7).

This is a project level decision. The project area is located in

the following Townships, Ranges, and Sections: T146N, R100W, S(s) 3, 4,

5, 8, 9, and 10; and T147N R100W, S(s) 22, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33, and 34.

This is approximately 7,360 acres. The analysis area will be larger and

will include the Bennett-Cottonwood Inventoried Roadless area and

suitable bighorn sheep habitat for the Sheep Creek herd.

The decision(s) to be made are to approve or deny for

implementation, in part or whole, as submitted or modified, individual

development actions.

Additional Resource Information

Lands within the analysis area include portions of the following

Townships and Ranges: T147N, R100 and 101W; T146N, R99, 100, and 101W,

5th PM. There are approximately 28,500 acres of land within the

analysis area boundary, including 5,440 acres of privately owned lands,

and 1,280 acres of North Dakota state lands. There are approximately

thirty-one (31) leases within the analysis area. The scope and area of

the decision will include National Forest System lands or those

administered by the U.S. Forest Service only.

Roadless Resource

Part of the project area falls within the Bennett-Cottonwood

inventoried roadless area. There are 13,760 acres of National Forest

System lands within this roadless area. Its potential for wilderness

recommendation was considered in the Forest Planning effort. In the

Forest Plan Record of Decision, none of this area was recommended for

wilderness consideration. Rather, approximately 4,600 acres was

allocated to Management Area B (intensive range management), 2,900

acres to Management Area C (key wildlife habitat area, in this case,

bighorn sheep), and the rest to Management Area J (low development

area).

In the Forest Plan Record of Decision, it was recognized that

because of existing commitments (private mineral rights and existing

leases), it would be difficult to manage this area in an undeveloped

state. However, the designation of Management Area C and J was

considered the best attempt of managing for these values while still

recognizing existing rights (CNF ROD page 20).

The issue of oil and gas development on the roadless character of

the area surfaced again during the Oil and Gas Leasing FEIS for the

Northern Little Missouri National Grasslands. While the decision was to

lease the land within the Bennett-Cottonwood Management Area C with an

NSO stipulation, close to 60 percent of the management area was already

leased and held by production (NLM FEIS page 3-35). Some additional

development was envisioned in this area as a result of these existing

leases, as shown in the Reasonably Foreseeable Development Scenario

(RFD) that was a part of this leasing analysis (NLM FEIS page 4-6).

Managing these lands for low development has been compromised by the

need for access and development of existing leases and due to limited

control of privately owned minerals under Federal Surface ownership

(NLM ROD page 19).

Wildlife, Bighorn Sheep

Bighorn sheep (believed to be the Audubon subspecies), once a

native of the North Dakota badlands, disappeared from the state when

the last reported ram was killed in 1905. The North Dakota Game and

Fish Department began re-introducing California bighorn sheep into the

badlands of North Dakota in 1955. Since that time nearly 260 sheep

populate, through breeding and release, private, state, and Federal

lands throughout western North Dakota. The Sheep Creek herd was re-

introduced near the Sheep Creek/Bennett-Cottonwood area in 1987. The

Sheep Creek herd is comprised of approximately of 30-35 sheep and is a

component of the Sheep Creek-Magpie metapopulation which numbers

approximately 50 to 60 sheep.

The Forest Service in conjunction with the North Dakota Game and

Fish Department and some oil companies are engaged in a research study

of bighorn sheep on the National Grasslands. One of the anticipated

outcomes is to shed light on the effects of oil and gas

[[Page 1767]] activities on bighorn sheep. The information gained

through this study will be used in developing a conservation strategy

that addresses the long term management of California bighorn sheep on

the Little Missouri National Grasslands.

This EIS will tier to the Custer National Forest Land and Resource

Management Plan, EIS, and Record of Decision (1987), as amended, and

the Oil and Gas Leasing EIS for the Northern Little Missouri National

Grasslands and Record of Decision (1991). This is a project level

decision and the scope of the analysis will be confined to issues

associated with the proposed action.

Federal, state,and local agencies, lessees, permittees, and other

individuals or organizations interested in or potentially affected by

the decision are invited to participate in the scoping process. Input

to identify issues and alternatives to be addressed in this analysis

will be gathered from the public through mailing of scoping information

to all known interested publics.

Based on comments made by the public on past proposals, the

following list of preliminary environmental issues has been identified.

This list will be confirmed of modified based on further input from the

public.

1. Consider the effects of oil well and associated access road(s)

development, including Federally leased minerals and where private

minerals are overlain by Federal surface and/or are accessed across

Federal surface, on:

a. Sensitive plant and/or animal species, including bighorn sheep;

b. The Bennett-Cottonwood inventoried roadless area;

c. Canyon lands/complexes, including riparian areas;

d. Visual quality, especially as seen from the North Unit of

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and the Little Missouri Scenic River;

e. Grazing;

f. Private lands and access to these lands within the analysis

area;

g. The Maah-Daah-Hey Trail; and

h. The transportation system.

Alternatives to be considered in this analysis depend on the final

list of environmental issues. The following is a list of preliminary

alternatives.

1. No Action, deny, or defer to a later time, further development

within the area.

2. Approve as submitted, applications for permit to drill (Proposed

Action);

3. Approve but modify, applications for permit to drill.

Release of Draft and Final EIS

The draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) is expected to be

filed with the Evironmental Protection Agency (EPA) and available for

public review in May 1, 1995. At that time, the EPA will publish a

Notice of availability of the Draft EIS in the Federal Register. The

comment period on the Draft EIS will be 45 days from the date the EPA's

notice of availability appears in the Federal Register. It is very

important that those interested in management of the Bennett-Cottonwood

area participate at this time. To be most helpful, comments on the

Draft EIS should be as site-specific as possible. The Final EIS is

scheduled to be completed by July 1, 1995.

The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important

to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public

participants in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of

draft environmental impact statements must structure their

participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that it is

meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and

contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519,

553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the

draft environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised

until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may

be waived or dismissed by the courts. Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v.

Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these

court rulings, it is very important that those interested in this

proposed action participate by the close of the 45-day comment period

so that substantive comments and objections are made available to the

Forest Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and

respond to them in the final environmental impact statement.

To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering

tentative issues and proposed alternatives it is helpful if comments

are as specific as possible. Reviewers may wish to refer to the Council

on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing the procedural

provisions of the National Environmental Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in

addressing these points.

I am the responsible official for this decision and EIS. My address

is McKenzie Ranger District, Little Missouri National Grasslands,

Custer National Forest, HC02 Box 8, Watford City, North Dakota 58854.

Dated: December 29, 1994.

Lesley W. Thompson,

District Ranger.

[FR Doc. 95-197 Filed 1-4-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-11-M