Pinedale Anticline Natural Gas Exploration and Development Project, Sublette County, Wyoming

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-KP-00-1310-EJ]

Pinedale Anticline Natural Gas Exploration and Development

Project, Sublette County, Wyoming

AGENCY: Lead Agency--Bureau of Land Management, Interior. Cooperating

Agencies--US Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, US Army

Corps Of Engineers, State of Wyoming.

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of Draft Environmental Impact

Statement (DEIS).

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability

of the Pinedale Anticline Natural Gas Exploration and Development

Project DEIS which evaluates, analyzes, and discloses to the public

direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts from continued

exploration for, and development of, natural gas resources in the

Pinedale Anticline Project Area (PAPA) in Sublette County, Wyoming. The

DEIS analyzes a proposal by the Project operators to drill new

exploration and development wells in their leased acreage within the

PAPA (approximately 197,345 acres) in western Wyoming. The PAPA

operators include Alpine Gas Company, Anschutz Exploration Corporation,

B-P Amoco Production Company, HS Resources, Inc., Jonah Gas Gathering

Company, McMurry Oil Company, Questar Exploration & Production, Ultra

Resources, Inc., Western Gas Resources, Inc., Yates Petroleum

Corporation, and other companies (collectively referred to as the PAPA

Operators). Lands associated with the new drilling program are located

between the town of Pinedale, Wyoming, and the Jonah Natural Gas Field

located 30 miles south of Pinedale, and between the Green River and

Wyoming Highway 191.

DATES: Comments on the DEIS will be accepted for 60 days following the

date that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes their

Notice of Availability of this DEIS in the Federal Register. The EPA

notice is anticipated to be published on November 26, 1999. The BLM

asks that those submitting comments on the DEIS make them as specific

as possible. Comments are more helpful if they include suggested

changes, sources, or methodologies. Comments that contain only opinions

or preferences will not receive a formal response. However, they will

be considered and included as part of the BLM decision making process.

A formal public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. on January 12, 2000,

at the Pinedale High School Auditorium, 101 E. Hennick, Pinedale,

Wyoming. The purpose of the hearing will be to afford the public the

opportunity to comment on the proposed natural gas exploration and

development DEIS.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the DEIS should be sent to: Bureau of Land

Management, Bill McMahan (Project Coordinator), 280 Highway 191 North,

Rock Springs, WY 82901, or they can be e-mailed to

[email protected]

A copy of the DEIS has been sent to affected Federal, State, and

local government agencies and to those persons who responded to the BLM

that they wished to receive a copy of the DEIS. Copies of the DEIS are

available for public inspection at the following BLM office locations:

Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road,

Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009

Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field Office, Highway 191

North, Rock Springs, Wyoming 82901

Bureau of Land Management, Pinedale Field Office, 432 East Mill Street,

Pinedale, Wyoming 82941

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DEIS analyzes a proposal by the PAPA

Operators to drill new exploration and development wells in their

leased acreage within the 197,345 acre PAPA. The PAPA is located within

Townships 29 through 33 North, Ranges 107 through 110 West, 6th

Principal Meridian. The area is accessed by U.S. Highway 191 and

Wyoming Highway 351. Access to the interior of the PAPA is provided by

an existing county and BLM road network developed to service homes and

ranches located along the Green and New Fork Rivers, livestock

operations, recreation use, and past and current drilling and

production activities.

Collectively, the Pinedale Anticline Operators' proposal would

provide for the continued exploration for natural gas and, where

discoveries occur, the development of the gas resource by drilling up

to 900 new wells to achieve 700 producing locations over the next 10 to

15 years. Drilling estimates were based on the operators', BLM's, and

State of Wyoming's reasonable expectations that the ``tight-gas''

[[Page 66195]]

formation in this area could be developed at a spacing of one well

every 40 acres or 16 wells per square mile. The DEIS analysis addresses

three critical criteria bearing on how and to what extent development

in the PAPA could proceed. The criteria include: three exploration/

development scenarios which define over what portion of the PAPA (none,

all, or just a portion) development could occur; two levels of

development which define the number of well pads which could be

developed in the next 10 to 15 years; and two mitigation alternatives

which define options for reducing impacts to the environment from

future development activities. Mitigation alternatives are evaluated

based on their application on just Federal lands and minerals, as well

as on all lands and minerals in the PAPA (Federal, State and private).

The PAPA surface ownership is approximately 80 percent Federal, 15

percent private, and 5 percent State. A small infrastructure of roads

and pipelines for natural gas production are already in place within

the PAPA. Additional roads and pipelines would be necessary to link the

new wells with the existing transportation systems.

The PAPA Operators' plans and drilling schedules would be

contingent upon an adequate price for the gas at the wellhead and

anticipated increases in gas consumption in the United States. The

American Gas Association estimates a 40 percent increase by the year

2015.

Potential impacts of concern from the proposed development (not in

priority order) are: sensitive view sheds; economic, social, health,

and safety effects to Pinedale and surrounding communities; livestock

operations; recreation use associated with the Mesa; crucial big game

winter range and antelope migrations; sage grouse and raptor breeding

and nesting; special status plant and wildlife species; soil erosion

and sediment increases to the New Fork and Green Rivers; groundwater

draw down and contamination; Historic Lander Trail condition and view

shed; and cumulative effects.

This DEIS, in compliance with Section 7(c) of the Endangered

Species Act (as amended), includes the Biological Assessment for the

purpose of identifying any endangered, threatened, or proposed species

which are likely to be affected by the proposed action.

A Technical Report Document has also been prepared in conjunction

with the DEIS. It contains detailed technical information regarding air

quality modeling, wildlife habitat modeling, cultural resources, and

potential well pad location adjustments due to surface resource

restrictions. A limited number of the technical report documents are

available upon request or they may be reviewed at the BLM offices

listed above.

Comments, including the names and street addresses of respondents,

will be made available for review by the public at the addresses listed

above during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday

through Friday, except holidays, and will be published as part of the

Final EIS. However, individual respondents may request confidentiality.

If you wish to withhold your name and/or street address from public

review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you

must state this prominently at the beginning of your written comment.

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.

Dated: November 18, 1999.

Alan R. Pierson,

State Director.

[FR Doc. 99-30589 Filed 11-23-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-22-P