29134 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 121 / Friday, June 22, 2018 / Notices 

Authority: The HSA of 2013 (Pub. L. 113– 

40) codified to various sections in 50 U.S.C. 

167–167q. 

Aden L. Seidlitz, 

Bureau of Land Management, Acting State 

Director, New Mexico. 

[FR Doc. 2018–13469 Filed 6–21–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–FB–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[16X.LLUT920000.L71220

0000.ER0000.LVTFJX496770.241A; AZA– 

34941] 

Notice of Intent To Amend a Portion of 

the Arizona Strip Field Office Resource 

Management Plan Related to the 

Kanab Creek Area of Critical 

Environmental Concern, Arizona 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM), 

Arizona Strip Field Office, St. George, 

Utah, intends to amend a portion of the 

Arizona Strip Field Office (ASFO) 

Resource Management Plan (RMP) 

related to the Kanab Creek Area of 

Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). 

The BLM will incorporate the analysis 

for the RMP amendment into a Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Lake Powell Pipeline Project. 

FERC is the lead agency and the BLM 

is a cooperating agency. FERC’s EIS will 

analyze the proposed Lake Powell 

Pipeline Project and the proposed RMP 

amendment to consider allowing 

development of the Lake Powell 

Pipeline within the Kanab Creek ACEC. 

By this notice the BLM is announcing 

the beginning of the scoping process to 

solicit public comments and identify 

issues pursuant to BLM’s land use 

planning regulations. 

DATES: This notice initiates the public 

scoping process for the RMP 

amendment with an associated EIS. 

Comments on issues may be submitted 

in writing until July 23, 2018. The 

date(s) and location(s) of any scoping 

meetings will be announced at least 15 

days in advance through local media, 

newspapers, and the BLM website at: 

http://www.blm.gov/arizona. In order to 

be included in the analysis, all 

comments must be received prior to the 

close of the 30-day public scoping 

period or 15 days after the last public 

meeting, whichever is later. The BLM 

will provide additional opportunities 

for public participation as appropriate. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on issues and planning criteria related 

to the Kanab Creek ACEC RMP 

amendment by any of the following 

methods: 

• Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/ 

epl-front-office/eplanning/nepa/nepa_

register.do. 

• Email: BLM_AZ_ASFO_comments@

blm.gov. 

• Fax: 435–688–3258. 

• Mail: BLM, Arizona Strip Field 

Office, Attention: Lorraine Christian/ 

Kanab Creek ACEC RMP Amendment, 

345 East Riverside Drive, St. George, 

Utah 84790–6714. 

Documents pertinent to this proposal 

may be examined at the Arizona Strip 

Field Office at the address above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lorraine Christian, BLM Arizona Strip 

Field Manager, telephone: 435–688– 

3200; email: lmchrist@blm.gov. Contact 

Ms. Christian to have your name added 

to our mailing list. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to 

contact the above individual during 

normal business hours. 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 

planning area is located in Coconino 

and Mohave Counties, Arizona. Only a 

small portion (900 acres) of the Kanab 

Creek ACEC would be affected by the 

proposed Lake Powell Pipeline route, 

but an RMP amendment is required in 

order to address inconsistencies 

between the management direction in 

the current RMP, the proposed route for 

the pipeline, and an existing utility 

corridor designated under the Energy 

Policy Act of 2005. 

Approximately 1 mile of the proposed 

pipeline would run within an existing 

utility corridor, designated by the BLM 

pursuant to Section 368 of the Energy 

Policy Act of 2005, which overlaps a 

portion of the ACEC. Approximately 0.5 

mile of the proposed pipeline would 

run inside the ACEC, but outside the 

existing utility corridor; this pipeline 

route is proposed due to steep rugged 

terrain which could be avoided by 

routing the pipeline outside of the 

utility corridor. The ASFO RMP 

encourages new utility rights-of-way 

(ROW) to be located within the utility 

corridor to the greatest extent possible. 

However, the ASFO RMP also 

established ACECs as ‘‘avoidance areas’’ 

for new ROWs. The BLM proposes to 

amend the ASFO RMP to: (1) Resolve 

the conflict between the designated 

Section 368 utility corridor and the 

ACEC decisions; and (2) Determine 

whether to allow the proposed Lake 

Powell Pipeline outside of the utility 

corridor, and if so, change the visual 

resource management class for that 

portion of the ACEC from Class II 

(where changes to the landscape should 

be low) to either Class III or Class IV in 

order to be compatible with utility 

development. 

The purpose of the public scoping 

process is to determine relevant issues 

that will influence the scope of the 

environmental analysis, including 

alternatives, and guide the planning 

process. Preliminary issues for the RMP 

amendment area have been identified by 

BLM personnel; Federal, State, and local 

agencies; and other stakeholders. These 

issues include: Cultural resources, 

specifically tribal resources and values; 

special status species; riparian habitat; 

visual resources; special designations 

(i.e., Kanab Creek ACEC); and lands and 

realty, specifically the existing 

designated utility corridor—Corridor 

No. 113–116. The analysis will also 

consider mitigation. 

Preliminary planning criteria include: 

(1) The BLM will continue to manage 

the Kanab Creek ACEC in accordance 

with FLPMA and other applicable laws 

and regulations; (2) The BLM will 

continue to manage Utility Corridor No. 

113–116 in accordance with FLPMA 

and other applicable laws and 

regulations; and (3) The amendment 

process will follow the FLPMA 

planning process. 

You may submit comments on issues 

and planning criteria in writing to the 

BLM at any ASFO RMP amendment 

public-scoping meeting, or you may 

submit them to the BLM using one of 

the methods listed in the ADDRESSES

section above. 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 coordinate the 

processes of fulfilling requirements of 

NEPA and Section 106 of the National 

Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 

306108), as provided in 36 CFR 

800.2(d)(3). 

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 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 121 / Friday, June 22, 2018 / Notices 29135 

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 environmental 

analysis as a cooperating agency. 

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 

personally identifying information— 

may be made publicly available at any 

time. While you can ask the BLM in 

your comment to withhold your 

personally-identifying information from 

public review, we cannot guarantee that 

we will be able to do so. 

The minutes and list of attendees for 

each scoping meeting will be available 

to the public and open for 30 days after 

the meeting to any participant who 

wishes to clarify the views he or she 

expressed. The BLM will evaluate all 

identified issues, and will place them 

into one of three categories: 

1. Issues to be resolved in the RMP 

amendment; 

2. Issues to be resolved through policy 

or administrative action; or 

3. Issues beyond the scope of this 

RMP amendment. 

An explanation will be provided in 

FERC’s Draft EIS as to why an issue was 

placed in category two or three. The 

public is also encouraged to help 

identify any issues that should be 

addressed in the RMP. The BLM will 

work collaboratively with interested 

parties to identify the management 

decisions that are best suited to local, 

regional, and national needs and 

concerns. 

The BLM will use an interdisciplinary 

approach to develop the RMP 

amendment in order to consider the 

variety of resource issues and concerns 

identified, as well as to develop 

alternatives to the proposed RMP 

amendment. Specialists with expertise 

in the following disciplines will be 

involved in the planning process: 

Archaeology and cultural resources, 

tribal issues, wildlife, visual resources, 

lands, realty, and special area 

designations. 

Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 

1610.2. 

Lorraine M. Christian, 

Arizona Strip Field Manager. 

[FR Doc. 2018–13432 Filed 6–21–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–32–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLWYD0100000 L13140000.NB0000 18X] 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Normally Pressured Lance (NPL) 

Natural Gas Development Project 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended, and the Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act of 1976, as 

amended, the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) has prepared the 

NPL Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (Final EIS) for the NPL 

project in the BLM Pinedale and Rock 

Springs Field Offices. 

DATES: The BLM will not issue a final 

decision on the proposal for a minimum 

of 30 days after the date that the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes its Notice of Availability 

(NOA) in the Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: The NPL Final EIS is 

available for public review at the BLM 

Pinedale Field Office, 1625 West Pine 

Street, Pinedale, Wyoming; the BLM 

High Desert District Office, 280 

Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, 

Wyoming; and the BLM Wyoming State 

Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, 

Cheyenne, Wyoming. The document 

may also be reviewed online at http:// 

tinyurl.com/hloulms. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kellie Roadifer, NPL EIS Project 

Manager, BLM Pinedale Field Office, PO 

Box 768, Pinedale, WY 82941, (307) 

367–5309, kroadife@blm.gov. Persons 

who use telecommunications device for 

the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Relay Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

to contact the above individual during 

normal business hours. 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 NPL 

project is located immediately south 

and west of the existing Jonah Gas Field 

in Sublette County, Wyoming. The 

project area lies within the BLM 

Wyoming High Desert District (HDD) 

and spans the Pinedale Field Office 

(PFO) in the north and Rock Springs 

Field Office (RSFO) to the south. 

The project encompasses 

approximately 141,000 acres of public, 

State, and private lands. Approximately 

96% of the project area is on BLMadministered public lands. Within the 

NPL project area, there are both unitized 

and non-unitized development areas. 

Jonah Energy LLC, the current 

operator after purchasing Encana Oil 

and Gas Inc.’s leasehold interest in the 

project, is proposing up to 3,500 

directionally drilled wells (depth range 

from 6,500 to 13,500 feet) over a 10-year 

period. Under Jonah Energy’s proposal, 

most wells would be co-located on 

multi-well pads, with no more than four 

well pads per 640 acres in areas outside 

of Greater Sage-grouse Priority Habitat 

Management Areas (PHMA). There 

would be only one disturbance per 640 

acres inside PHMA. On average, each 

well pad would be 18 acres in size. 

Regional gathering facilities would be 

utilized instead of placing compressors 

at each well pad. Associated access 

roads, pipelines, and other ancillary 

facilities would be co-located where 

possible to further minimize surface 

disturbance. 

There are approximately 48,036 acres 

of PHMA, 27,292 acres of Greater Sagegrouse Winter Concentration Area 

(WCA), and 1,259 acres of Sagebrush 

Focal Areas (SFAs) within the NPL 

project area. All of the SFA is within the 

Rock Springs Field Office. 

Cooperating agencies for this EIS 

include the State of Wyoming, with 

active participation from many state 

agencies including the Wyoming Game 

and Fish Department, State Historic 

Preservation Office, the Wyoming 

Department of Environmental Quality 

and the Wyoming Department of 

Agriculture. Local cooperating agencies 

include Sweetwater, Lincoln and 

Sublette Counties, and the Sublette 

County Conservation District. 

The Notice of Intent to prepare the 

EIS was published on April 12, 2011 (70 

FR 20370), initiating a 30-day formal 

public scoping period. Public scoping 

meetings were held in Pinedale, Rock 

Springs, and Marbleton, WY. Public 

scoping comments were used to identify 

issues that informed the formulation of 

alternatives and framed the scope of 

analysis for the NPL EIS. 

A total of 1,238 scoping comments 

were received, with 29 resource issues 

identified. Key issues identified during 

scoping informed the formulation of 

alternatives and framed the scope of 

analysis for the NPL Final EIS. The 

issues include: 

D Air Quality: Potential project and 

cumulative impacts on air quality, 

including air quality-related values. 

D Regulatory Setting: Permits, 

authorization, conformance with other 

plans, laws, policies and guidance. 


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