[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 225 (Tuesday, November 21, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69954-69956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-29722]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY070-1310-EJ]


Notice of Intent To Invite Public Participation in the Amendment 
of the Buffalo and Platte River Resource Management Plans

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Amend the Buffalo and Platte River Resource 
Management Plans.

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SUMMARY: The Buffalo and Casper Field Offices of the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) in Wyoming are preparing an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for oil and gas development, including coalbed methane, 
in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. A Notice of Intent to prepare the 
EIS was published in the Federal Register on June 21, 2000, pages 
38571-38572. The scoping period was open from May 22, 2000 through July 
31, 2000. Scoping meetings were held in Sheridan, Gillette, Buffalo, 
and Douglas, Wyoming, in June, 2000. This EIS will provide additional 
analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act for decisions in 
the Buffalo and Platte River Resource Management Plans (RMPs) related 
to oil and gas development. A reasonably foreseeable oil and gas 
development scenario will be included to aid in analyzing impacts. Land 
use plan decisions that will be evaluated and may be amended include 
the following:

--Areas open (or closed) to oil and gas development.
--Lease stipulations or mitigation measures necessary for coalbed 
methane development.
--Other decisions as appropriate.

This Notice satisfies the requirements in the regulations at 43 CFR 
1610.2(c) for amending an RMP.

DATES: Meeting dates and other public participation activities will be 
announced in public notices, the local media, or in letters sent to 
interested and potentially affected parties. Persons wishing to 
participate in this amendment process and wishing to be placed on 
mailing lists must notify the Buffalo Field Office at the address and 
phone number below. If you wish to comment on the proposed planning 
criteria please submit your comments by January 10, 2001. The public 
may review the Buffalo and Platte River Resource Management Plans at 
the address below.

ADDRESSES: Please submit comments to: Buffalo Field Office, Bureau of 
Land Management, Attn: Paul Beels, 1425 Fort Street, Buffalo, WY 82834.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Beels, Powder River Oil and Gas 
EIS Project Leader, BLM Buffalo Field Office, at the above address or 
at (307) 684-1100.
    Freedom of Information Act Considerations: Public comments 
submitted for this planning amendment, including names and street 
addresses of respondents, will be available for public review and 
disclosure at the Buffalo Field Office during regular business hours 
(8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays. 
Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to 
withhold your name or address from public review or from disclosure 
under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this prominently 
at the beginning of your comments. 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The area analyzed is the Powder River Basin 
of Wyoming. The Buffalo Field Office area encompasses all of Campbell, 
Sheridan and Johnson Counties. The 1985 Buffalo Resource Management 
Plan (RMP) was revisited and evaluated from 1992 through 1997. This 
process included public participation. The evaluation resulted in 
determining that the RMP planning and management decisions were still 
valid. Environmental analyses were conducted and documented on a 
variety of coalbed methane (CBM) project proposals through the 1990s. 
These include the Pistol Point, Marquiss, Lighthouse, Gillette North, 
Gillette South, and Wyodak CBM project proposals. Each of these 
environmental analyses covered the effects of the proposed actions and 
alternatives, including the cumulative effects of the projects combined 
with other development and actions within the area. Based on the 
evaluation of these project proposals in regard to the scope and 
meaning of the Buffalo RMP decisions, it was determined that amendments 
to the RMP (i.e., changing, adding or deleting RMP decisions) were not 
necessary. Although specific amendments to the RMP decisions were not 
needed, each of the analyses for these project proposals served to 
supplement and update the analysis in the EIS for the Buffalo RMP.

[[Page 69955]]

    The portion of the Platte River Field Office area included in the 
analysis encompasses the northern portion of Converse County including 
Township 40 north through Township 35 north, approximately 1,279,450 
acres. The Platte RMP was approved in July 1985.
    An interdisciplinary team including disciplines and staff expertise 
appropriate to the issues identified will be utilized in the analysis. 
The State of Wyoming and the U.S. Forest Service are cooperating 
agencies in the EIS.
    Issues raised during preliminary scoping meetings that need to be 
addressed include:

--Aquifers: the quantity, quality, and distribution of surface water 
and the potential to affect current uses of water; and the potential to 
affect soils, geologic hazards, and the extraction of mineral resources 
other than conventional oil and gas and coalbed methane.
--Air quality and visibility.
--Wildlife and their habitats.
--Fisheries and aquatic habitats.
--Ecological integrity, public land health, and biological diversity.
--Species of special concern, particularly threatened, endangered and 
candidate, or sensitive species of plants and animals.
--Rangeland resources and grazing.
--Cultural resources, paleontological, natural history, and Native 
American concerns.
--Recreational opportunities and the recreational experiences.
--Aesthetics.
--Local economy.
--Human health and safety.
    The public is invited to identify other issues and concerns that 
should be addressed in the planning process and to comment on those 
identified above. These issues will be refined based on public comments 
and used in the development of the Powder River Basin Oil and Gas 
environmental impact statement (EIS), and any necessary amendments to 
the Buffalo and Platte River Resource Management Plans (RMPs).
    The following proposed ``Planning Criteria'' have been developed to 
assist in preparing the Powder River Basin Oil and Gas EIS and to 
comply with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) planning regulations in 
addressing any needed amendments to the Buffalo and Platte River RMPs. 
Those RMPs provide the general management direction for the BLM-
administered public lands and Federal mineral estate in the portions of 
Wyoming to be addressed in the Powder River Basin Oil and Gas EIS.
    The establishment of planning criteria (43CFR 1610.4-2) guides 
development of the RMP amendment to ensure that it is tailored to 
issues previously identified and to avoid unnecessary data collection 
and analyses. Planning criteria are based on applicable laws, 
regulations, and Director and State Director guidance, as well as the 
results of public participation and coordination with other State and 
local governments, Federal agencies, and Indian tribes. Planning 
criteria may be changed as the planning process proceeds, based on 
public input and the results of studies and assessments.
    BLM is proposing the following planning criteria for consideration 
in one or more of the alternatives:
    1. The plan amendment will set forth a framework for managing the 
drilling of coalbed methane wells in an environmentally responsible 
manner consistent with applicable laws and regulations.
    2. Management of coalbed methane produced water will be recognized 
in the plan.

Criteria for Analyzing Environmental Consequences

    The following potential environmental consequences will be 
addressed.

--The effects of oil and gas development and other uses of groundwater 
on aquifers.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other activities on the 
quality of surface water, and the potential to affect the current uses 
of those surface waters.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other activities on the 
quantity and distribution of surface water.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other activities on the 
areas geology, geologic hazards, and the extraction of other mineral 
resources.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other activities on air 
quality and visibility.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other activities on 
vegetative communities, including wetlands and riparian areas.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing 
and disruptive activities on wildlife and their habitats, particularly 
key species and habitats.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing 
and disruptive activities on fisheries and aquatic habitats.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing 
and disruptive activities on species of special concern, particularly 
threatened, endangered, candidate, or sensitive species of plants and 
animals.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other activities on the 
areas ecological integrity and biological diversity.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing 
activities on rangeland resources and grazing operations.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing 
and disruptive activities on cultural, historic, and paleontological 
resources, and Native Americans.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing 
activities on recreational opportunities and experiences.
--The effects of oil and gas development and other surface-disturbing 
and disruptive activities on scenic values and aesthetics.
--The effects of oil and gas development on the local economy.
--The effects of oil and gas development on human health and safety.

Criteria for Selecting the Preferred Alternative

    The following considerations will guide selection of the preferred 
alternative.

--The level of land use restrictions needed to protect resources and 
keep the public lands and resources available for public use.
--The potential for the occurrence and development of mineral 
resources, including conventional oil and gas and coalbed methane 
production, and coal mining.
--Consistency with the land use plans, programs, and policies of other 
Federal agencies, State and local governments, and Native American 
tribes.
--Compliance with the Standards for Healthy Rangelands and Guidelines 
for Livestock Grazing Management for the Public Lands Administered by 
the Bureau of Land Management in the State of Wyoming (August 12, 
1997).
    This notice also serves as a request for coal resource information, 
Pursuant to 43 CFR 3420.1-2, and a request to identify any 
substantiated interest in future leasing and development of Federal 
coal in the area to be addressed by the Powder River Basin Oil and Gas 
EIS. Specifically, information is requested on the location, quality 
and quantity of Federal coal with development potential, and on surface 
resource values related to the twenty coal unsuitability criteria 
described in 43 CFR 3481.1. This information will be used for any 
necessary update of the coal screening determinations (43 CFR

[[Page 69956]]

3420.1-4) in the area, for purposes of the environmental analysis for 
the Powder River Basin EIS, and for any necessary update or amendment 
of the Buffalo and Platte River RMPs. Information concerning areas of 
coal leasing interest, coal resource data, and other resource 
information related to the coal unsuitability criteria must be 
submitted to the Buffalo Field Office at the address above.

    Dated: November 14, 2000.
Alan L. Kesterke,
Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 00-29722 Filed 11-20-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P