Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 52 / Friday, March 16, 2012 / Notices 15795 

facility on the reservation. The BLM’s 

purpose and need for the proposed 

Federal action also would be to respond 

to KRoad’s application for an up to 500 

kV transmission line and access road 

ROWs within an existing utility 

corridor, of which 5 miles are located on 

the reservation and 0.5 miles is located 

on BLM land just south of the 

reservation boundary, pursuant to the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act and BLM’s ROWs regulations. The 

BIA and BLM will adopt the EIS to 

make decisions on the land lease and 

ROW application under their 

jurisdiction while the EPA and USACE 

may adopt the document to make 

decisions under their authorities. The 

Tribe may also use the EIS to make 

decisions under their Tribal 

Environmental Policy Ordinance and 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may 

use the EIS to support its decision under 

the Endangered Species Act. 

Authority: This notice is published 

pursuant to 40 CFR 1506.10(a) of the Council 

of Environmental Quality Regulations (40 

CFR part 1500 et seq.) and 43 CFR 46.305 of 

the Department of Interior Regulations (43 

CFR part 46), the procedural requirements of 

the National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.), 

and is in accordance with the exercise of 

authority delegated to the Assistant 

Secretary—Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8. 

Dated: March 9, 2012. 

Larry Echo Hawk, 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6203 Filed 3–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–W7–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLUTG01100–12–L13110000–EJ0000] 

Notice of Availability of a Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Gasco Energy Inc. Uinta Basin 

Natural Gas Development Project, 

Uintah County, UT 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability. 

SUMMARY: Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act of 1976, and 

associated regulations, the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) has prepared 

a Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) that evaluates, analyzes, and 

discloses to the public anticipated 

impacts of the Gasco Energy Inc. 

proposal to develop natural gas leases in 

Uintah and Duchesne Counties, Utah. 

This notice announces a 30-day 

availability period prior to preparation 

of a Record of Decision (ROD). 

DATES: A ROD may be issued 30 

calendar days following the date on 

which the Environmental Protection 

Agency publishes its Notice of 

Availability of the Final EIS in the 

Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final EIS have 

been sent to affected Federal, state, and 

local government agencies and other 

stakeholders. Copies of the Final EIS are 

available for public inspection at the 

BLM Vernal Field Office, 170 South 500 

East, Vernal, Utah, and at the following 

Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/ 

fo/vernal/planning/nepa_.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stephanie Howard, Environmental 

Coordinator; 435–781–4400; 170 South 

500 East, Vernal, Utah, 84078; email: 

BLM_UT_Vernal_Comments@blm.gov. 

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. You will receive a reply 

during normal business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM 

prepared the Final EIS in response to 

Gasco’s proposal to explore and develop 

their Federal oil and gas leases. The 

Final EIS analysis allows the BLM to 

choose a course of action that fulfills its 

responsibilities under Federal laws 

when future plans and applications 

related to this proposal or in the project 

area are received. The Gasco Project 

Area encompasses 206,826 acres in 

Uintah and Duchesne Counties within 

the following townships. 

Salt Lake Meridian, Utah 

T. 9 S., R. 15–19 E. 

T. 10 S., R. 14–19 E. 

T. 11 S., R. 15–18 E. 

Under the Proposed Action 

(Alternative A), Gasco Energy Inc. 

would develop their existing oil and gas 

leases by drilling 1,491 wells from the 

same number of well pads over a period 

of 15 years, and by constructing 143 

acres of evaporative ponds to dispose of 

produced water. The Proposed Action 

would result in approximately 7,584 

acres of surface disturbance (about 4 

percent of the total project area). 

In response to the Proposed Action 

(Alternative A), the BLM published a 

Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS in the 

Federal Register on February 10, 2006 

[71 FR 7059]. The BLM used the 

resulting scoping comments to help 

identify impacts expected as a result of 

the proposed action, and to develop 

Alternatives B through E. 

The BLM held a 90-day public 

comment period for the Draft EIS from 

October 1, 2010 through December 30, 

2010, as announced through the Federal 

Register.Public comments focused on 

impacts to cultural resources within 

Nine Mile Canyon, the Green River and 

associated recreation activities, 100-year 

floodplains and endangered fish critical 

habitat, water quality (surface and 

ground), air quality, lands with 

wilderness characteristics, and valid 

existing lease rights. No single 

alternative in the Draft EIS (Alternatives 

A through E) adequately addressed the 

concerns raised, so the BLM, in close 

coordination with the Fish and Wildlife 

Service (FWS) and Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA), used 

attributes of all five alternatives to 

create a new alternative, Alternative F. 

All aspects of Alternative F are 

contained entirely within the range of 

alternatives analyzed in the Draft EIS, so 

a determination was made that 

preparation of a Supplement to the Draft 

EIS was not necessary. 

Under Alternative F, the Agency 

Preferred Alternative, up to 1,298 new 

gas wells would be drilled from 575 

well pads over a period of 15 years, 

resulting in approximately 3,604 acres 

of disturbance (about 2 percent of the 

total project area). Water evaporation 

facilities were reduced to 78 acres. This 

is adequate for the first 5 years of the 

project while other disposal options are 

developed and implemented. The BLM 

also incorporated the measures to 

minimize impacts to resources, while 

allowing for the development of valid 

existing rights. No surface disturbance 

would occur below the rim of Nine Mile 

Canyon, within one-half mile of the 

Green River, in 100-year floodplains, or 

endangered fish critical habitat. A 

Programmatic Agreement (PA) was 

prepared in accordance with Section 

106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act to address potential 

cultural resource impacts. A water 

monitoring plan was developed to 

address water quality impacts. 

Extensive applicant-committed 

measures, including an adaptive 

management strategy, were developed 

or refined to minimize air quality 

impacts. Directional drilling was also 

incorporated to the maximum extent 

possible. 

The BLM prepared the Final EIS in 

coordination with the FWS and EPA as 

described above, and in coordination 

with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and 

Uintah and Duchesne Counties, who 

participated as cooperating agencies 

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15796 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 52 / Friday, March 16, 2012 / Notices 

during the EIS process. The Final EIS 

tracks the changes made between the 

Draft EIS and Final EIS, and includes 

responses to all substantive comments 

received during the Draft EIS public 

comment period. 

This Final EIS is not a decision 

document. Following conclusion of the 

30-day availability period, a ROD will 

be signed to disclose the BLM’s final 

decision and any project Conditions of 

Approval. Availability of the ROD will 

be announced through local media, the 

Vernal BLM Web site, and Utah BLM’s 

Environmental Notification Bulletin 

Board. 

Juan Palma, 

State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6324 Filed 3–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–DQ–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLOR957000–L63100000–HD0000: HAG12– 

0112] 

Filing of Plats of Survey: Oregon/ 

Washington 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The plats of survey of the 

following described lands are scheduled 

to be officially filed in the Bureau of 

Land Management Oregon/Washington 

State Office, Portland, Oregon, 30 days 

from the date of this publication. 

Willamette Meridian, Oregon 

T. 18 S., R 6 W., accepted February 24, 2012 

T. 27 S., R. 10 W., accepted March 2, 2012 

T. 21 S., R. 29 E., accepted March 2, 2012 

T. 20 S., R. 29 E., accepted March 2, 2012 

T. 23 S., R. 6 W., accepted March 2, 2012 

T. 33 S., R. 5 W., accepted March 2, 2012 

ADDRESSES: A copy of the plats may be 

obtained from the Land Office at the 

Bureau of Land Management, Oregon/ 

Washington State Office, 333 SW. 1st 

Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204, upon 

required payment. A person or party 

who wishes to protest against a survey 

must file a notice that they wish to 

protest (at the above address) with the 

Oregon/Washington State Director, 

Bureau of Land Management, Portland, 

Oregon. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kyle 

Hensley, (503) 808–6124, Branch of 

Geographic Sciences, Bureau of Land 

Management, 333 SW. 1st Avenue, 

Portland, Oregon 97204. 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. 

You will receive a reply during normal 

business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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. 

Mary J.M. Hartel, 

Chief, Cadastral Surveyor of Oregon/ 

Washington. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6471 Filed 3–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–33–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[2253–665] 

Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural 

Items: U.S. Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington, 

DC, and the Arizona State Museum, 

University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the 

Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and 

the Arizona State Museum, University 

of Arizona, in consultation with the 

appropriate Indian tribes, have 

determined that the cultural items meet 

the definition of unassociated funerary 

objects and repatriation to the Indian 

tribes stated below may occur if no 

additional claimants come forward. 

Representatives of any Indian tribe that 

believes itself to be culturally affiliated 

with the cultural items may contact the 

Arizona State Museum, University of 

Arizona. 

DATES: Representatives of any Indian 

tribe that believes it has a cultural 

affiliation with the cultural items 

should contact the Arizona State 

Museum, University of Arizona, at the 

address below by April 16, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: John McClelland, NAGPRA 

Coordinator, P.O. Box 210026, Arizona 

State Museum, University of Arizona, 

Tucson, AZ 85721, telephone (520) 626– 

2950. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

here given in accordance with the 

Native American Graves Protection and 

Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 

3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural 

items under the control of the U.S. 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of 

Indian Affairs, Washington, DC, and in 

the physical custody of the Arizona 

State Museum, University of Arizona, 

Tucson, AZ, that meet the definition of 

unassociated funerary objects under 25 

U.S.C. 3001. 

This notice is published as part of the 

National Park Service’s administrative 

responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 

U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The determinations in 

this notice are the sole responsibility of 

the museum, institution or Federal 

agency that has control of the Native 

American cultural items. The National 

Park Service is not responsible for the 

determinations in this notice. 

History and Description of the Cultural 

Items 

In 1979, cultural items were removed 

from the Pinnacle Site, site AZ 

P:14:71(ASM), in Navajo County, AZ, 

during a legally authorized survey 

conducted by the University of Arizona 

Archaeological Field School under the 

direction of Madeleine Hinkes. A report 

prepared by Hinkes describes the 

presence of five unauthorized 

excavation pits at this site. The items 

listed below were found with human 

burials, but the human remains are not 

present in the collection. There is no 

record in Arizona State Museum files 

regarding the accession of these cultural 

items. However, the collection likely 

entered the museum in the same year as 

other collections from the summer field 

school. The eight unassociated funerary 

objects are 2 animal bone fragments, 1 

ceramic sherd, 4 pieces of chipped stone 

and 1 chert scraper. 

The Pinnacle Site consists of a pueblo 

of about 10 rooms and dates from A.D. 

1275–1400, based on the ceramic 

assemblage. The ceramic and 

architectural forms are consistent with 

the archeologically described Upland 

Mogollon or prehistoric Western Pueblo 

traditions. 

In 1979, cultural items were removed 

from an unnamed site, site AZ 

P:14:281(ASM), in Navajo County, AZ, 

during a legally authorized survey 

conducted by the University of Arizona 

Archaeological Field School under the 

direction of Madeleine Hinkes. A report 

prepared by Hinkes describes the 

presence of at least 70 unauthorized 

excavation pits at this site. The items 

were found with human burials, but the 

human remains are not present in the 

collection. There is no record in Arizona 

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