Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 203 / Friday, October 21, 2005 / Notices 61301 

inspection at the Service’s Regional Web 

site at http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov. 

All comments received from individuals 

become part of the official public 

record. Requests for such comments will 

be handled in accordance with the 

Freedom of Information Act and the 

Council on Environmental Quality’s 

National Environmental Protection Act 

regulations [40 CFR 1506.6(f)]. Our 

practice is to make comments, including 

names and home addresses of 

respondents, available for public review 

during regular business hours. 

Individual respondents may request that 

we withhold their home address from 

the record, which we will honor to the 

extent allowable by law. If a respondent 

wishes us to withhold his/her name 

and/or address, this must be stated 

prominently at the beginning of the 

comment. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1539(c). 

Dated: September 22, 2005. 

Mary G. Henry, 

Regional Director, Denver, Colorado. 

[FR Doc. 05–21055 Filed 10–20–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[UT–080–05–1310–DB] 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Record of Decision for the Castle Peak 

and Eight Mile Flat Oil and Gas 

Expansion Project, Newfield Rocky 

Mountains, Inc. 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Final 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Record of Decision for the Castle Peak 

and Eight Mile Flat Oil and Gas 

Expansion Project, Newfield Rocky 

Mountains, Inc., Uintah and Duchesne 

Counties, Utah, and Notice of 30-day 

appeal period for the Record of 

Decision. 

SUMMARY: Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and associated 

regulations, the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) announces the 

availability of a Final Environmental 

Impact Statement (FEIS) and Record of 

Decision (ROD) for the Castle Peak and 

Eight Mile Flat oil and gas expansion 

project proposed by Newfield Rocky 

Mountains, Inc., formerly Inland 

Resources, Inc. This FEIS and ROD are 

being announced concurrently per 40 

CFR part 1506 (b) (2). 

DATES: Vernal Field Manager William 

Stringer signed the ROD on August 24, 

2005. The Decision will become final 

within 30 days after the Environmental 

Protection Agency publishes the filing 

notice for this FEIS and ROD in the 

Federal Register, pending any appeals 

to the Interior Board of Land Appeals as 

per 43 CFR 4.21. 

ADDRESSES: A copy of the FEIS and ROD 

has been sent to the affected Federal, 

State, and local government agencies, 

Native American Tribes and to 

interested parties. Copies of the FEIS 

and ROD are available for public 

inspection at the following BLM office 

locations: Bureau of Land Management, 

Utah State Office Public Room, 440 

West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake 

City, Utah 84101–1345 and the Bureau 

of Land Management, Vernal Field 

Office, 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 

84078. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean 

Nitschke-Sinclear, Project Manager, 

BLM Vernal Field Office, 170 South 500 

East, Vernal, UT 84078. Ms. NitschkeSinclear may also be reached at 435–

781–4400. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 8, 

2002 the BLM published a Notice of 

Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register 

announcing the preparation of an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

in response to a proposal submitted by 

Inland Resources, Inc. Inland Resources 

proposed to expand its existing 

waterflood oil recovery in the project 

area, located about 25 miles southwest 

of Vernal, Utah. The expansion would 

involve about 64,000 acres in Uintah 

and Duchesne counties. As proposed, 

drilling would involve about 973 

additional wells to fully develop the 

resource base. The proposed wells 

would be drilled on 40-acre spacing, 

drilling about 50% of the wells as 

producing wells and 50% as water 

injection wells. 

The Draft EIS (DEIS) was made 

available to the public for a 45-day 

review period during October-November 

2004. The BLM held a public meeting to 

receive oral comments on November 4, 

2004. A total of 94 written comments on 

the DEIS were received during the 

comment period. 

Based on the information contained in 

the DEIS, public comments received on 

the DEIS, consultation with 13 Native 

American Tribes having historical and/ 

or ethnological ties to the Uinta Basin, 

and information received from the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Services, the BLM has 

approved the agency-preferred 

alternative (Alternative A). This 

alternative allows oil and gas wells and 

associated ancillary facilities located on 

BLM-administered public lands located 

outside the existing Pariette Wetlands 

Area of Critical Environmental Concern 

(ACEC). The BLM has decided to defer 

approval of new wells and ancillary 

facilities located on BLM-administered 

public lands within the Pariette 

Wetlands ACEC until a comprehensive 

population inventory has been 

completed for the federally listed Uinta 

Basin hookless cactus (Sclerocactus 

glaucus) within suitable habitat on BLM 

lands within the Pariette Wash 

watershed. Future authorization of all or 

a portion of the wells on BLMadministered public lands within the 

ACEC will depend upon the location 

and size of cactus populations within 

the ACEC, and the results of sitespecific NEPA analysis on oil and gas 

development proposals within the 

ACEC boundary, including consultation 

with the Service. 

The decision to approve the agencypreferred alternative, with 

modifications, recognizes that oil and 

gas development has been ongoing 

within the area for over 50 years, and 

that nearly the entire project area has 

been leased. These leases represent 

valid existing rights. The decision also 

acknowledges that there are important 

natural and cultural resources within 

the area, including listed threatened 

species, and existing BLM Areas of 

Critical Environmental Concern 

(Pariette Wetlands, Lower Green River). 

This decision balances the rights to 

develop oil and gas, while protecting 

surface resources over the long term. It 

also acknowledges an unresolved 

conflict between oil and gas 

development, and protection and 

recovery of the Uinta Basin hookless 

cactus, a listed threatened species. By 

acquiring additional information about 

the location and condition of 

populations of this species within the 

ACEC and adjacent areas, the BLM will 

make better-informed decisions about 

where and how to place future oil and 

gas facilities. 

The decision provides the BLM 

approval to permit the following project 

components on BLM-administered 

lands within the Castle Peak and Eight 

Mile Flat Expansion Area: 778 oil and 

gas well locations; 261 miles of new and 

existing access roads, with adjacent 

parallel utility corridors for buried 

water and buried and/or surface natural 

gas gathering pipelines; 2 water 

filtration/injection plants and an 

associated 6.9 mile 12 kV electrical 

powerline; 3 to 5 new water wells 

installed in the Green River alluvium, 

connected to a centralized pump 

station; and 7.5 miles of buried water 

pipeline connecting the Green River 

61302 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 203 / Friday, October 21, 2005 / Notices 

water supply pump station with the 

water filtration/injection plants. 

The BLM consulted with the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service about potential 

effects on listed threatened and 

endangered species from project 

construction and operation. The Service 

reviewed the DEIS and provided 

comments. In March 2005, the BLM 

submitted a Biological Assessment to 

the Service, concluding that the project 

may adversely affect the Uintah Basin 

hookless cactus; may adversely affect 

the Colorado pikeminnow, humpback 

chub, bonytail and razorback sucker; 

and may adversely modify designated 

Critical Habitat for the four fish species 

through depletions from the Upper 

Colorado River System. In its Biological 

Opinion, the Service concurred with the 

BLM’s conclusions for these species. 

The Biological Opinion contains 

recommended conservation measures to 

protect and recover the Uinta Basin 

hookless cactus and the four Colorado 

River native fish. The BLM has adopted 

nearly all these conservation measures 

(with minor modifications), and has 

included these measures in the 

conditions of approval. One exception is 

the Service’s recommendation that no 

further surface occupancy by oil and gas 

facilities be approved in the Pariette 

ACEC. Due to valid existing lease rights, 

the BLM cannot stipulate a blanket ‘‘no 

surface occupancy’’ requirement for oil 

and gas development within this ACEC. 

However, BLM has decided to defer 

authorization of new wells and access 

roads within the ACEC boundaries until 

the needed inventories are completed. 

The FEIS is a complete document. It 

includes the Biological Opinion 

received from the Service, plus a 

presentation of substantive public 

comments received on the DEIS. The 

FEIS also includes BLM’s responses to 

these comments. The FEIS includes 

changes to the text in response to public 

comments on the DEIS. These changes 

were made to clarify, correct and/or 

expand information to aid the public’s 

understanding of the proposed project, 

reasonable alternatives and their effects 

on the environment. 

Dated: August 31, 2005. 

William Stringer, 

Field Manager, Vernal Field Office. 

[FR Doc. 05–21043 Filed 10–20–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

and Initiate the Public Scoping 

Process 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969 and the Federal Land Policy 

and Management Act of 1976, notice is 

hereby given that the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM), Challis Field 

Office, will be directing the preparation 

of an Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) that will analyze the mining 

impacts resulting from L&W Stone’s 

Amended Plan of Operations in Custer 

County, Idaho. 

DATES: The scoping comment period 

will commence with the publication of 

this notice and will end 45 days after 

publication of this notice. Two public 

meetings will be held during the 

scoping comment period. Comments on 

the scope of the EIS, including 

concerns, issues, or proposed 

alternatives that should be considered 

in the EIS should be submitted in 

writing to the address below. The dates 

of public meetings to be held in Challis 

and Boise, Idaho will be announced 

through the local media, newsletters, 

and BLM’s National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) mailing list. The 

draft EIS is expected to be available for 

public review and comment in June 

2006 and the final EIS is expected to be 

available in August 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be sent to Chuck Horsburgh, Project 

Leader, Idaho Falls District Office, 1405 

Hollipark Drive, Idaho Falls, Idaho 

83401. Faxes should be sent to 208–

524–7505. Comments received on this 

proposal, including names and 

addresses, will be considered part of the 

public record and will be available for 

public inspection during regular office 

hours, Monday–Friday, 8–4:30 p.m. 

Individual respondents may request 

confidentiality. If you wish to withhold 

your name and street address from 

public review or from disclosure under 

the Freedom of Information Act, you 

must state this prominently at the 

beginning of your written comment. 

Such requests will be honored to the 

extent allowed by law. All submissions 

from organizations and businesses, and 

from individuals identifying themselves 

as representatives or officials for 

organizations or businesses, will be 

available for public inspection in their 

entirety. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Chuck Horsburgh, Project Leader, Idaho 

Falls District Office, 1405 Hollipark 

Drive, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83401; or 

phone at (208) 524–7530. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: L&W 

Stone Corporation mines locatable 

flagstone on public lands administered 

by the BLM’s Challis Field Office in 

Custer County, Idaho. L&W Stone 

submitted an Amended Plan of 

Operations for their quarry under the 43 

CFR 3809 Regulations in December 

2002. The BLM completed an 

Environmental Assessment (EA) 

regarding the Amended Plan of 

Operations, signed a Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI), and 

approved the project. As a result of a 

lawsuit that was filed objecting to that 

approval, the BLM was ordered by a 

Federal District Court judge to prepare 

an EIS for the Amended Plan of 

Operations. The Amended Plan of 

Operations will serve as the basis for the 

EIS project description. The BLM will 

analyze a range of alternatives in the 

EIS. As proposed in the Amended Plan 

of Operations, the quarry would operate 

for up to 40 years. The main product 

that is mined is large-diameter sheets of 

rock called flagstone which is used in 

both indoor and outdoor decorative 

construction. 

Dated: August 30, 2005. 

David Rosenkrance, 

Challis Field Manager, BLM. 

[FR Doc. 05–21042 Filed 10–20–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–GG–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[WY–100–05–1310–DB] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement (SEIS) for the Pinedale 

Anticline Oil and Gas and Exploration 

and Development Project, Sublette 

County, Wyoming, and Possible 

Amendment to the Pinedale Resource 

Management Plan 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to 

conduct public scoping and prepare an 

SEIS to the Pinedale Anticline Oil and 

Gas, and Exploration and Development 

Project Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (FEIS) and Record of Decision 

(ROD), July 2000. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the