[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 96 (Wednesday, May 18, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31252-31254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11726]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[16X LLUT920000 L13100000.DN0000 LXSSJ0540000 24 1A]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Master Leasing Plan, Amend the
Resource Management Plans for the Price and Richfield Field Offices,
and Prepare an Associated Environmental Assessment, Utah
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Price and
Richfield Field Offices intend to prepare a Master Leasing Plan (MLP)
and Resource Management Plan (RMP) amendments with a single
Environmental Assessment (EA). The BLM will consider resource
management plan decisions related to oil and gas leasing and post-
leasing oil and gas development on approximately 525,000 acres of
public land in the San Rafael Desert, located in Emery and
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Wayne Counties, Utah. By this notice, the BLM is announcing the
beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and
identify issues.
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the San
Rafael Desert MLP, RMP amendments, and associated EA. Comments on
issues may be submitted in writing until the end of the scoping period,
which is June 17, 2016. The date(s) and location(s) of any scoping
meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through local
news media, newspapers and the BLM Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en.html. In order to be included in the analysis, all comments must
be received prior to the close of the 30-day scoping period or 15 days
after the last public meeting, whichever is later. We will provide
additional opportunities for public participation as appropriate.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted on issues and planning criteria
related to the San Rafael Desert MLP and RMP amendments/EA by any of
the following methods:
Email: [email protected]
Fax: (435) 636-3657
Mail: BLM Price Field Office, 125 South 600 West, Price,
UT 84501; Attention: Jake Palma
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tyler Ashcroft, National Project
Manager; telephone (801) 539-4068; email [email protected]. Contact Mr.
Ashcroft to have your name added to our mailing list. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above
individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with the above
individual. Replies are provided during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM
Price and Richfield Field Offices in Utah intend to prepare an MLP and
RMP amendments with a single EA for the San Rafael Desert, announces
the beginning of the scoping process, and seeks public input on issues
and planning criteria.
The planning area is located in Emery and Wayne counties in Utah
and encompasses approximately 525,000 acres of public land that are
primarily located south of Interstate 70 and east of Highway 24. The
eastern boundary of the MLP planning area is generally the Green River.
A small portion of the MLP area is located north of Interstate 70, west
of the City of Green River, UT, and East of the San Rafael Swell. U.S.
Highway 6 bisects this part of the planning area.
The BLM will prepare the MLP in accordance with Washington Office
Instruction Memorandum No. 2010-117, Oil and Gas Leasing Reform--Land
Use Planning and Lease Parcel Reviews, May 17, 2010, which has been
incorporated and supplemented in various BLM handbooks, including H-
1624-1, Planning for Fluid Mineral Resources. The MLP process will
provide additional planning and analysis for areas prior to new leasing
of oil and gas resources. The MLP process will enable the Price and
Richfield Field Offices to: (1) Resolve long-standing lease protests
relating to parcels of land for which BLM received lease offers subject
to protest, but for which BLM has not issued leases in the planning
area; (2) Determine whether the BLM should cancel, modify, or lift the
suspensions on suspended leases in the planning area; (3) Evaluate
potential development scenarios; (4) Identify and address potential
resource conflicts and environmental impacts from development; (5)
Create oil and gas development mitigation strategies; and (6) Consider
a range of new conditions, including prohibiting surface occupancy or
closing certain areas to leasing.
The MLP process could result in new oil and gas leasing
stipulations and development scenarios which would require amendments
to the Price and Richfield RMPs completed in 2008. The EA will analyze
likely oil and gas development scenarios and land use plan alternatives
with varying mitigation levels for leasing.
The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant
issues, identify alternatives, and guide the planning process.
Preliminary issues for the plan amendment area have been identified by
BLM personnel; Federal, State, and local agencies; and other
stakeholders. The potential issues include: Air quality, climate
change, cultural resources, paleontological resources, recreation,
visual resources, night skies, riparian resources, soil and water
resources, vegetation, wildlife resources, special status species,
special designations, and wilderness characteristics.
The BLM established preliminary planning criteria for this effort.
As part of those criteria, the BLM will: (1) Limit the scope to
resource management plan decisions pertaining to oil and gas leasing
and post-leasing development of the area; (2) resolve long-standing
lease protests and decide whether to cancel, modify, or lift the
suspension on suspended leases in the planning area; (3) recognize
valid existing rights; (4) only address management of public lands
(including federal mineral estate under non-federal surface in a
``split estate'' situation); (5) use a collaborative, multi-
jurisdictional approach to determine how mineral leasing will be
managed; (6) ensure that its management decisions are as consistent as
possible with local, State, and other Federal agency plans; (7) prepare
development scenarios for oil and gas resources based on historical,
existing, and projected levels of development; (8) consider a range of
alternatives that focus on mitigating the impacts of development on
resources that are of concern; (9) address the socioeconomic impacts of
the alternatives; and, (10) use the best available scientific
information and inventory and monitoring information to determine
appropriate decisions for oil and gas leasing.
You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria in writing
to the BLM at any public scoping meeting, or you may submit them to the
BLM using one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section above. To
be most helpful, you should submit comments by the close of the 30-day
scoping period or within 15 days after the last public meeting,
whichever is later.
The BLM will utilize the NEPA scoping process to help fulfill the
public involvement requirements under the National Historic
Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108), as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3).
The information about historic and cultural resources within the area
potentially affected by the proposed action will assist the BLM in
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources.
The BLM will consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due
consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies, along with tribes
and other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the
proposed action that the BLM is evaluating, are invited to participate
in the scoping process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by
the BLM to participate in the development of the EA as a cooperating
agency.
The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan
amendment in order to consider the variety of resource issues and
concerns identified. Specialists with expertise in the following
disciplines will be involved in the planning process: Minerals and
geology, outdoor
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recreation, visual resources management, Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern (ACEC) and National Conservation Lands
management, archaeology, paleontology, wildlife and fisheries, special
status species, hydrology, soils, rangeland management, air quality,
and sociology and economics.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you may
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2
Jenna Whitlock,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-11726 Filed 5-17-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P