Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[Docket No. WY-040-08-1310-00]

Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement

SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Final

Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Jonah Field II Natural

Gas Project. McMurry Oil Company, Snyder Oil Corporation, Amoco

Production Company, Western Gas Resources, et al., propose to develop

the Jonah II natural gas field in Sublette County by drilling up to 450

wells and constructing roads, pipelines, compressor stations, and other

necessary facilities for producing and transporting natural gas. The

FEIS analyzes the anticipated impacts of the proposed natural gas

project.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the lead agency for the EIS.

The FEIS was prepared for BLM by TRC Mariah Associates, Inc., a third-

party contractor, under the provisions of Section 102(2)(C) of the

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA).

The FEIS has been prepared in an abbreviated format. Alternatives

considered in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and the

environmental effects of those alternatives have not been reprinted in

the FEIS. However, sections dealing with air quality have been revised

and are included in their entirety in the FEIS. You will therefore need

both the DEIS and the FEIS for reviewing the complete document. Copies

of the DEIS and the FEIS can be obtained from the BLM's Rock Springs

District Office.

DATES: Written comments on the FEIS will be accepted for 30 days

following the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes

a notice of filing of the FEIS in the Federal Register. We expect that

notice will be published February 27, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send all written comments to the Bureau of Land Management,

Rock Springs District Office, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs,

Wyoming 82901 (Phone 307-352-0256).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Arlan Hiner, Team Leader, BLM Rock Springs District Office, Telephone

No. 307-352-0206.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Jonah Field encompasses about 59,600

acres of land between Pinedale and Farson, Wyoming, within Townships 28

and 29 North, Ranges 107, 108, and 109 West, Sixth Principal Meridian.

The Jonah Field has 49 producing natural gas wells. The Operators

propose to explore, define, and develop the Jonah natural gas field by

drilling up to 450 additional wells over the next 15 years contingent

upon natural gas prices and markets.

The Jonah Field II EIS analyzes the impacts of the Proposed Action,

a Sensitive Resource Protection Alternative, a Maximum Well Location

Density of 4 per Section, and the No Action Alternative. Key issues

include socioeconomic effects to people and communities near the

project area and in the State as a whole; effects to antelope and

antelope habitat, sage grouse, and raptor breeding and nesting;

potential reductions in air quality and visibility; potential

reductions in water quality; surface disturbance; and transportation

planning.

The FEIS is a supplement to the DEIS published on July 25, 1997. It

incorporates by reference most of the material presented in the DEIS

and identifies the changes to the DEIS, and contains:

The corrections and additions to the DEIS.

Comments received on the DEIS and responses to the

comments.

The complete Air Quality Section in Chapter 4 and a

revised Air Quality Technical Support Document.

EPA assigned the DEIS an EU-2 rating (Environmentally

Unsatisfactory, Insufficient Information) contending that implementing

the proposed action would cause adverse environmental impacts of

sufficient magnitude to be unsatisfactory to environmental quality and

represent a serious conflict with the national goals of the Clean Air

Act. EPA believes that there are reasonably available alternatives to

the proposed action which could reduce the predicted environmental

impacts of the proposed action. Based upon EPA's comments, BLM made

several changes in the Air Quality Section in Chapter 4 and in the Air

Quality Technical Support Document. These sections are included in

their entirety in the FEIS. No substantive changes were made to the

proposed action.

This FEIS is not a decision document. A Record of Decision will be

prepared and made available to the public following the 30-day comment

period provided for the FEIS.

[[Page 10238]]

Dated: February 23, 1998.

Alan R. Pierson,

State Director.

[FR Doc. 98-5196 Filed 2-27-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-22-M