77352 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 216 / Thursday, November 9, 2023 / Notices 

potential would be closed to new 

Federal oil and gas leasing. 

The BLM further considered five 

additional alternatives but dismissed 

these alternatives from detailed analysis 

as explained in the Draft RMP 

Amendment/EIS. 

The State Director has identified 

Alternative B as the preferred 

alternative because it conserves big 

game high priority habitat while 

balancing other resource uses. 

Mitigation 

Across all action alternatives, the 

BLM considers potential mitigation in 

compliance with Council on 

Environmental Quality, Department of 

the Interior, and BLM guidance. 

Mitigation can help provide a 

conservation benefit to big game species 

when impacts from oil and gas 

development activity are not avoidable. 

Consistent with valid existing rights and 

applicable law, when oil and gas 

development results in habitat loss or 

degradation within big game high 

priority habitat, the BLM will require 

and ensure mitigation that provides a 

conservation benefit to the species, 

including accounting for any 

uncertainty associated with the 

effectiveness of such mitigation. 

The action alternatives call for the 

BLM to consider alternative locations 

for oil and gas operations that either 

avoid big game high priority habitat 

altogether, or, where avoidance is not 

feasible, minimize adverse impacts to 

the maximum extent possible. The 

action alternatives include surface 

density limitations, as well as a density 

trigger that would require the operator 

to address indirect impacts through 

compensatory mitigation. The action 

alternatives call for the BLM to include 

avoidance, minimization, and 

mitigation strategies in subsequent 

implementation-level NEPA analyses for 

proposed actions that may result in big 

game high priority habitat loss and 

degradation. 

Subsequent implementation-level 

mitigation could limit the duration and 

extent of development activities in big 

game high priority habitat through all 

phases of development by avoiding 

activities in high priority habitat, 

applying a surface density limitation, 

and mitigating impacts. Mitigation plans 

would address cumulative effects of oil 

and gas activities across a given 

landscape. 

The BLM may also require 

compensatory mitigation to offset 

disturbance or density limitation 

exceedances and direct and unavoidable 

adverse indirect impacts that result in 

the functional loss of habitat from oil 

and gas development in big game high 

priority habitat. Direct impacts to big 

game occur from disturbance or habitat 

fragmentation during construction, 

drilling, and/or completion activities 

and habitat conversion to oil and gas 

facilities. Indirect impacts to big game 

occur over time from big game 

avoidance of disturbance and the 

cumulative functional habitat loss from 

fragmentation and modified habitat use 

as development density increases. 

Indirect impacts may be avoided or 

minimized through the application of 

alternative siting and operating 

requirements. The BLM, after 

coordination with CPW, will determine 

whether compensatory mitigation 

proposed by the operator is sufficient to 

protect big game high priority habitat 

from direct and unavoidable adverse 

indirect impacts. 

The BLM has the discretion to require 

an operator to modify surface operations 

to change or add specific mitigation 

measures when supported by scientific 

analysis and consistent with existing 

rights. Potential mitigation/conservation 

measures not already required as 

stipulations would be analyzed in a sitespecific NEPA document, and 

incorporated, as appropriate, as 

conditions of approval of the permit, 

plan of development, or other use 

authorization. In discussing surface use 

rights, 43 CFR 3101.1–2 states that the 

lessee has the right, ‘‘to use so much of 

the leased lands as is necessary to 

explore for, drill for, mine, extract, 

remove and dispose of all the leased 

resource.’’ However, lessees are subject 

to lease stipulations, nondiscretionary 

statutes, and as identified in 43 CFR 

3101.1–2, ‘‘such reasonable measures as 

may be required by the authorized 

officer to minimize adverse impacts to 

other resource values, land uses or users 

not addressed in the lease stipulations 

at the time operations are proposed.’’ 

Schedule for the Decision-Making 

Process 

The BLM will provide additional 

opportunities for public participation 

consistent with the NEPA and land use 

planning processes, including a 30-day 

public protest period and a 60-day 

Governor’s consistency review on the 

Proposed RMP. The Proposed RMP 

Amendment/Final EIS is anticipated to 

be available for public protest starting 

August 2024, with an Approved RMP 

and Record of Decision in November 

2024. 

The BLM will be holding public 

meetings on the Draft RMP 

Amendment/EIS. The specific date(s) 

and location(s) of these meetings will be 

announced at least 15 days in advance 

through local media and the ePlanning 

project page (see ADDRESSES). 

The BLM will continue to consult 

with Indian Tribal Nations on a 

government-to-government basis in 

accordance with Executive Order 13175, 

BLM Manual 1780, and other 

Departmental policies. Tribal concerns, 

including impacts on Indian trust assets 

and potential impacts to cultural 

resources, will be given due 

consideration. 

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 can 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 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 

43 CFR 1610.2) 

Douglas J. Vilsack, 

State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24552 Filed 11–8–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_UT_FRN_MO4500170480] 

Notice of Proposed Class II 

Reinstatement of Terminated Oil and 

Gas Leases UTU88835 and UTU88838, 

San Juan County, Utah 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as 

amended, ST Oil Company, LLC, Moore 

Energy LLC, Shoreline Company LLC, 

and Leaf River Resources LLC, filed a 

timely petition for reinstatement of oil 

and gas leases UTU88835 and 

UTU88838 for lands in San Juan 

County, Utah. The petition was 

accompanied by all required rentals and 

royalties accruing from April 1, 2018, 

the date of termination. No leases were 

issued that affect these lands. The 

Bureau of Land Management proposes 

to reinstate these leases. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Angela Wadman, Branch Chief, Fluid 

Minerals, Utah State Office, Bureau of 

Land Management, 440 West 200 South, 

Suite 500, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84101, 

phone: 801–539–4052, email: 

awadman@blm.gov. Individuals in the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 216 / Thursday, November 9, 2023 / Notices 77353 

United States who are deaf, deafblind, 

hard of hearing, or have a speech 

disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 

TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. The FRS is 

available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 

to leave a message or question with the 

above individual. You will receive a 

reply during normal business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

lessees have agreed to the new lease 

terms: 

• Original term and additional 

conditions of the lease; 

• Increased rental of $20 per acre; 

• Increased royalty of 20-2⁄3 percent; 

• $151 cost of publishing this Notice; 

and 

• $500 cost of administrative fee. 

The leases include the following 

described lands in San Juan County, 

Utah: 

UTU–88835 

Salt Lake Meridian, Utah 

T. 30 S., R. 23 E., 

Secs. 24 and 25; 

Sec. 26, lots 1 thru 4, W1⁄2NE1⁄4, E1⁄2NW1⁄4, 

and W1⁄2SE1⁄4; 

Sec. 35, lots 1 thru 4, W1⁄2NE1⁄4, and 

W1⁄2SE1⁄4. 

The area described contains 2007.56 

acres, according to the official plats of 

the surveys of the said land, on file with 

the BLM. 

UTU–88838 

Salt Lake Meridian, Utah 

T. 30 S., R. 24 E., 

Sec. 30; 

Sec. 31, lots 1 and 2, and S1⁄2SE1⁄4. 

The areas described aggregate 797.38 

acres, according to the official plat of 

the survey of the said lands, on file with 

the BLM. 

The lessees have met all the 

requirements for reinstatement of the 

leases per Section 31(d) and (e) of the 

Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 as 

Amended. The BLM is proposing to 

reinstate the leases 30 days following 

publication of this notice, with the 

effective date of April 1, 2018, subject 

to the increased rental and royalty rates 

cited above. 

Authority: 43 CFR 3108.2–3. 

Gregory Sheehan, 

BLM Utah State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24719 Filed 11–8–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–25–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_CO_FRN_MO4500174493] 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Resource Management Plan 

Amendment and Environmental Impact 

Statement for the Gunnison SageGrouse (Centrocercus minimus), 

Colorado and Utah 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

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) has prepared 

a draft Resource Management Plan 

(RMP) amendment and draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Gunnison Sage-Grouse 

(Centrocercus minimus) and by this 

notice is providing information 

announcing the opening of the comment 

period on the draft RMP amendment/ 

EIS and is announcing the comment 

period on the BLM’s proposed areas of 

critical environmental concern (ACECs). 

DATES: This notice announces the 

opening of a 90-day comment period for 

the draft RMP amendment/EIS 

beginning with the date following the 

Environmental Protection Agency’s 

(EPA) publication of its Notice of 

Availability (NOA) in the Federal 

Register. The EPA usually publishes its 

NOAs on Fridays. 

To afford the BLM the opportunity to 

consider comments in the proposed 

RMP amendment/final EIS, please 

ensure your comments are received 

prior to the close of the 90-day comment 

period or 15 days after the last public 

meeting, whichever is later. 

In addition, this notice also 

announces the opening of a 60-day 

comment period for ACECs. The BLM 

must receive your ACEC-related 

comments by January 8, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: The draft RMP amendment/ 

EIS is available for review on the BLM 

ePlanning project website at https://

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2019031/510. 

Written comments related to the 

Gunnison Sage-Grouse RMP amendment 

may be submitted by any of the 

following methods: 

• Website: electronically via the BLM 

ePlanning website at https://

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2019031/510. 

• Mail: BLM Southwest District 

Office, ATTN: GUSG RMPA, 2465 South 

Townsend Ave., Montrose, CO 81401. 

Documents pertinent to this proposal 

may be examined online at https://

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2019031/510 and at the Grand 

Junction, Uncompahgre, Tres Rios, 

Gunnison, San Luis Valley, Moab, and 

Monticello Field Offices. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gina 

Phillips, Project Manager, telephone 

970–240–5381; BLM Southwest District 

Office, 2465 South Townsend Ave., 

Montrose, CO 81401; email BLM_CO_

GUSG_RMPA@blm.gov. Individuals in 

the United States who are deaf, 

deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a 

speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, 

TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services for 

contacting Ms. Phillips. Individuals 

outside the United States should use the 

relay services offered within their 

country to make international calls to 

the point-of-contact in the United 

States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document provides notice that the BLM 

Colorado and Utah State Directors have 

prepared a draft RMP amendment/EIS, 

provides information announcing the 

opening of the comment period on the 

draft RMP amendment/EIS, and is 

announcing the comment period on the 

BLM’s proposed ACECs. The RMP 

amendment is being considered to allow 

the BLM to evaluate protections for 

Gunnison sage-grouse consistent with 

the latest measures in the recently 

completed U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS) recovery plan, which 

would require amending the following 

existing plans: 

Colorado 

• Canyons of the Ancients National 

Monument RMP (2010) 

• Dominguez-Escalante National 

Conservation Area RMP (2017) 

• Grand Junction Field Office RMP 

(2015) 

• Gunnison Gorge National 

Conservation Area RMP (2004) 

• Gunnison Resource Area RMP (1993) 

• McInnis Canyons National 

Conservation Area RMP (2004) 

• San Luis Resource Area RMP (1991) 

• Tres Rios Field Office RMP (2015) 

• Uncompahgre Field Office RMP 

(2020) 

Utah 

• Moab Field Office RMP (2008) 

• Monticello Field Office RMP (2008) 

The planning area is located in 

portions of 19 Colorado counties: 

Alamosa, Archuleta, Conejos, Costilla, 


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