Continental Divide/Wamsutter II Natural Gas Project

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-030-1310-DB]

Continental Divide/Wamsutter II Natural Gas Project

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of final environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and

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implementing regulations, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces

the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for

the proposed Continental Divide/Wamsutter II (CD/WII) Natural Gas

Project located in Carbon and Sweetwater Counties, Wyoming. This FEIS

analyzes the potential impacts from natural gas exploration and

development proposed by Amoco Production Company, Union Pacific

Resources Company, Yates Petroleum Corporation, Snyder Oil Corporation,

and other natural gas operators within the CD/WII project area and

alternatives to that proposed development. The BLM preferred

alternative for this project is the Proposed Action, with additional

mitigation measures which would reduce environmental impacts.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) prepared for this

project was made available to the public on April 30, 1999 (64 FR

23349). The FEIS contains corrected and new material which supplements

the DEIS. The DEIS and this FEIS comprise the complete document. Please

refer to the DEIS for more detailed analyses and descriptions of the

proposed action and alternatives.

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

prepared and made available to the public after the public comment

period expires.

DATES: BLM will accept comments on the FEIS for a period of 30 days

from the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes their

Notice of Availability (NOA) of this FEIS in the Federal Register. We

anticipate that EPA will publish its NOA on December 10, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Clare Miller, Bureau of Land

Management, Rawlins Field Office, 1300 North Third Street, P.O. Box

2407, Rawlins, WY 82301.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clare Miller, Team Leader, Telephone:

307-328-4245, or Teresa Deakins, Telephone: 307-352-0211. Copies of the

FEIS may be obtained from the BLM Rawlins Field Office (307-324-4200),

1300 North Third Street, P.O. Box 2407, Rawlins, WY 82301 or from the

BLM Rock Springs Field Office, (307-352-0256) 280 Highway 191 North,

Rock Springs, WY 82901.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FEIS contains corrected and new material

which supplements the DEIS issued April 30, 1999. The DEIS air quality

impact assessment was revised in order to address the following items:

(a) The CD/WII near-field particulate matter emission assumptions and

impact analyses were revised using Rock Springs, WY, meteorological

data; (b) potential well blowdown emissions were included and the

hazardous air pollutant (HAP) and ozone impact analyses were revised;

(c) potential oxides of nitrogen (NOX) emissions for the CD/

WII wells were corrected; (d) potential NOX and sulfur

dioxide (SO2) emissions from the Lost Cabin Gas Plant were

corrected for seasonal operation; (e) potential particulate matter

emissions from the Seneca Coal facility (Colorado Permit No. 82R0258F)

were corrected; (f) potential particulate matter, NOX and

SO2 emissions from the SF Phosphates facility (Wyoming

Permit No. CT-550A4) were added to the emissions inventory; (g) several

other Colorado emission sources were correctly analyzed as potential

NOX emissions, rather than as SO2 emissions

reported in the DEIS; and (h) hourly scaling factors were applied to

several Wyoming portable emission sources. Based on these revisions,

potential air quality impacts were reanalyzed and reported in both the

FEIS and the Revised Technical Support Document text.

In addition to air quality updates, some revisions to the DEIS were

made in sections of the document dealing with wildlife resources,

mineral resources, and aesthetics and visual resources.

Upon recommendation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS),

the BLM has initiated formal consultation and conferring with the USFWS

on issues dealing with the listed Threatened and Endangered species of

Black-footed Ferret and with the proposed listed species of Mountain

Plover. Some additional mitigation measures to protect these species

are expected from this process. The results of the consultation/

conferring will be addressed in the Record of Decision for this EIS.

Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will

be available for public review at the BLM offices listed above during

regular business hours (7:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday,

except holidays. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If

you wish to withhold your name 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 of officials of organizations or

businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their

entirety.

Dated: December 3, 1999.

Alan L. Kesterke,

Associate State Director.

[FR Doc. 99-31881 Filed 12-8-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-22-P