31596 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 97 / Thursday, May 18, 2000 / Notices

Development Project, Carbon and

Sweetwater Counties, Wyoming.

SUMMARY: Under section 102(2)(C) of the

National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Bureau

of Land Management (BLM), Rawlins

Field Office, will direct the preparation

of an EIS on the potential impacts of a

proposed natural gas field development

project. Approximately 385 gas wells

and associated facilities could be

constructed on approximately 229,781

acres of primarily Federal land (some

private and State included), over a 20-

year development period. The project

area is located in southwestern Carbon

County and southeastern Sweetwater

County, Wyoming. The proposed action

may be modified, as a result of

comments received during scoping or

anytime during the preparation of the

draft EIS, to include actions that may,

upon review, require a plan amendment

to the Green River and Great Divide

Resource Management Plans. A

planning review of existing land-use

decisions would be conducted.

Additionally an evaluation of potential

relevant and important resource values

in the Desolation Flats project area

portion of the Monument Valley

Management Area of the Rock Springs

Field Office would be done. Any needed

changes in existing management or any

new management actions to be

prescribed for the area will be identified

and, if necessary, the Green River RMP

amended. In accordance with 43 CFR

3420.1–2, this notice also serves as a

call for coal and other resource

information to solicit indications of

interest and information on coal

resource development potential in the

proposed project area and on other

resources which may be affected by the

proposed project. Affected Federal lands

are administered by the BLM Rawlins

and Rock Springs Field Offices. The EIS

will be prepared by a third-party

contractor.

DATES: Comments on the project

proposal will be accepted through June

23, 2000. Public scoping meetings will

be held at 7 p.m. on the following dates,

at the following locations:

—June 7, 2000, in Rock Springs,

Wyoming, Bureau of Land

Management, Rock Springs Field

Office, 280 Highway 191 North.

—June 8, 2000, in Rawlins, Wyoming,

Bureau of Land Management, Rawlins

Field Office, 1300 North Third Street.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to

Bureau of Land Management, Rawlins

Field Office, John Spehar, Team Leader,

1300 North Third Street, P.O. Box 2407,

Rawlins, Wyoming 82301, phone (307)

328–4200, or e-mailed to

rawlinslwymail@blm.gov.

Additionally, the Scoping Notice will be

posted on the Wyoming BLM homepage

at www.wy.blm.gov. Your response is

important and will be considered in the

environmental analysis process. If you

do respond, we shall keep you informed

of decisions resulting from the analysis.

Please note that public comments

submitted for this scoping review,

including names, e-mail addresses, and

street addresses of the respondents will

be available for public review and

disclosure at the above address during

regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30

p.m.) Monday through Friday, except

holidays. Individual respondents may

request confidentially. If you wish to

withhold your name, e-mail address, or

street address from public review or

from disclosure under the Freedom of

Information Act, you must state this

plainly 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bureau of Land Management, John

Spehar, Project Manager, 1300 North

Third Street, P.O. Box 2407, Rawlins,

Wyoming 82301, phone 307–328–4264,

e-mail: John_Spehar@blm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Marathon

Oil Company (Marathon) has notified

the Bureau of Land Management that

Marathon and other operators propose a

20-year field development project. The

proposed project area, referred to as the

Desolation Flats area, is generally

located in Townships 13–16 North,

Ranges 94–96 West, Sixth Principal

meridian, Carbon and Sweetwater

Counties, Wyoming.

The project area is located

approximately 14 miles west and north

of Baggs, Wyoming. The project area is

approximately 229,781 acres in size.

The vast majority of land and mineral

ownership is Federal. The Federal land

surface and Federally owned minerals

are managed by the Rawlins and Rock

Springs BLM Field Offices.

Marathon and other operators propose

to drill 385 wells on 361 locations and

construct associated facilities, including

roads, well pads, pipelines, and

compressor stations. Drilling of

exploratory or confirmation/delineation

wells on existing Federal leases will be

permitted on a case-by-case basis during

the preparation of the EIS. A sitespecific environmental assessment (EA)

will be prepared for each individual

drilling proposal.

The Desolation Flats project area

contains lands covered by two existing

natural gas development project EISs.

The Mulligan Draw Unit EIS and the

Dripping Rock/Cedar Breaks Area EA

were approved for spacing of one well

per section and for drilling in the

Almond Formation. The intent of

including the Mulligan Draw EIS area

and the Dripping Rock/Cedar Breaks EA

area within the Desolation Flats project

area, as described by the operators, is to

determine the feasibility and

environmental impacts of a well-spacing

density greater than the authorized onewell per 640-acre spacing.

This EIS will address cumulative

impacts and will include consideration

of affects of other oil and gas projects

addressed in recently completed EISs

for the Mulligan Draw Gas Field Project,

the Creston/Blue Gap Natural Gas

Project, the soon to be completed

Continental Divide/Wamsutter II

Natural Gas Project, and the recently

proposed Atlantic Rim Coalbed

Methane Project EA. Potential issues to

be addressed in the EIS include, but are

not limited to: impacts to wildlife

populations and their habitats, access

road development and transportation

management, surface and ground water

resources, impacts from additional

drilling and production activities,

reclamation, noxious weed control,

conflicts with livestock grazing

operations, protection of cultural and

paleontological resources, threatened

and endangered species, and cumulative

impacts.

Dated: May 12, 2000.

Alan R. Pierson,

State Director.

[FR Doc. 00–12496 Filed 5–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[ID–010–0777–XQ]

Notice of Meeting

AGENCY: Lower Snake River District,

Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Meeting notice.

SUMMARY: The Lower Snake River

District Resource Advisory Council will

meet in Boise. Potential agenda topics

are the Interior Columbia Basin

Ecosystem Management Plan, the

Integrated Natural Resources

Management Plan for the U.S. Air Force

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 97 / Thursday, May 18, 2000 / Notices 31597

Enhanced Training in Idaho project,

sage grouse habitat management,

implementation of rangeland standards

and guidelines, off-highway vehicle

management and other land

management issues.

DATES: June 22, 2000. The meeting will

begin at 9 a.m. Public comment periods

will be held at 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Lower Snake River District Office,

located at 3948 Development Avenue,

Boise, Idaho.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Barry Rose, Lower Snake River District

Office (208–384–3393).

Dated: May 12, 2000.

Howard Hendrick,

District Manager.

[FR Doc. 00–12490 Filed 5–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–84–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR–958–1430–ET; GP0–0014; OR–54087]

Public Land Order No. 7446;

Withdrawal of Public Lands for the

Desert Springs Seed Orchard; Oregon

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Public Land Order.

SUMMARY: This order withdraws 80 acres

of public land from surface entry and

mining for a period of 50 years and

transfers administrative jurisdiction to

the Forest Service to protect its

investment in the development of a seed

orchard. The land has been and will

remain open to mineral leasing.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 18, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Charles R. Roy, BLM Oregon/

Washington State Office, P.O. Box 2965,

Portland, Oregon 97208–2965, 503–952–

6189.

By virtue of the authority vested in

the Secretary of the Interior by section

204 of the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C.

1714 (1994), it is ordered as follows:

1. Subject to valid existing rights, the

following described public land is

hereby withdrawn from settlement, sale,

location, or entry under the general land

laws, including the United States

mining laws (30 U.S.C. Ch. 2 (1994)), to

protect the proposed investment of

Federal funds and related facilities for

the Forest Service’s Desert Springs Seed

Orchard:

Willamette Meridian

T. 33 S., R. 18 E.,

Sec. 11, E1⁄2SE1⁄4.

The area described contains 80 acres in

Lake County.

2. Administrative jurisdiction of the

land described in Paragraph 2 is hereby

transferred to the Forest Service.

3. The withdrawal made by this order

does not alter the applicability of those

public land laws governing the use of

the land under lease, license, or permit,

or governing the disposal of its mineral

or vegetative resources other than under

the mining laws.

4. This withdrawal will expire 50

years from the effective date of this

order unless, as a result of a review

conducted before the expiration date

pursuant to Section 204(f) of the Federal

Land Policy and Management Act of

1976, 43 U.S.C. 1714(f) (1994), the

Secretary determines that the

withdrawal shall be extended.

Dated: May 4, 2000.

Sylvia V. Baca,

Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

[FR Doc. 00–12478 Filed 5–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–33–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY–100–1430–EU; WYW–146697]

Notice of Realty Action; Recreation

and Public Purposes (R&PP) Act

Classification; Wyoming

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The following public lands

located near Pinedale, Wyoming, have

been examined and found suitable for

classification for conveyance to Sublette

County under the provisions of the

Recreation and Public Purposes Act, as

amended (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.).

Sublette County intends to use the land

as a shooting sports complex.

Sixth Principal Meridian

T. 33 N., R. 109 W.,

Section 7, Lots 1 and 2.

T. 33 N., R. 110 W.

Section 12, S1⁄2NE1⁄4NE1⁄4, SE1⁄4NE1⁄4.

The land described above contains 132.67

acres.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Detailed information concerning this

action is available for review at the

Pinedale Field Office, Bureau of Land

Management, 432 East Mill Street, P.O.

Box 768, Pinedale, Wyoming 82941, or

contact Bill Wadsworth at (307) 367–

5341.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The lands

are not needed for Federal purposes.

Conveyance is consistent with current

BLM land use planning and would be in

the public interest. The conveyances,

when completed, will be subject to the

following terms, conditions and

reservations:

1. Provisions of the Recreation and

Public Purposes Act and to all

applicable regulations of the Secretary

of the Interior.

2. All valid existing rights

documented on the official public land

records at the time of patent issuance.

3. All minerals shall be reserved to

the United States, together with the

right to prospect for, mine, and remove

the minerals.

4. A right-of-way for ditches and

canals constructed by the authority of

the United States. Upon publication of

this notice in the Federal Register, the

lands will be segregated from all other

forms of appropriation under the public

land laws, including the general mining

laws, except for conveyance under the

Recreation and Public Purposes Act and

leasing under the mineral leasing laws.

For a period of 45 days from the date

of publication of this notice in the

Federal Register, interested parties may

submit comments regarding the

proposed conveyance or classification of

the lands to the Field Manager, Bureau

of Land Management, Pinedale Field

Office, P.O. Box 768, Pinedale,

Wyoming 82941.

The analysis may identify that an

amendment to the Pinedale RMP is

needed. If a plan amendment is needed,

other notices, mailings, or media

releases will announce a 30-day protest

period on the proposed amendment.

Classification Comments

Interested parties may submit

comments involving the suitability of

the lands for a shooting sports complex.

Comments on the classification should

only address whether the land is

physically suited for a shooting sports

complex (as appropriate), whether the

use will maximize the future use or uses

of the land, whether the use is

consistent with local planning and

zoning, or if the use is consistent with

State and Federal programs.

Application Comments

Interested parties may submit

comments regarding the specific uses

proposed in the conveyance

applications and plans of development,

whether the BLM followed proper

administrative procedures in reaching

the decisions, or any other factor not

directly related to the suitability of the

land for a shooting sports complex. Any

adverse comments will be reviewed by

the State Director. In the absence of any