[Federal Register: March 5, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 42)]
[Notices]
[Page 9725-9726]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05mr07-21]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Bridger-Teton National Forest--Big Piney Ranger District, WY;
Eagle Prospect
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Revised Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement.
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SUMMARY: This notice revises an earlier Notice of Intent (NOI) to
prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on an exploratory oil
and gas drilling proposal submitted by Plains Exploration & Production
Company (PXP). The Forest Service is providing this Revised Notice of
Intent because the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) has been designated as a cooperating agency and the
BLM Wyoming State Director has been added as an additional responsible
official for the ongoing EIS for the Eagle Prospect Exploratory Wells
Project, Sublette County, Wyoming. The State of Wyoming also has been
designated as a cooperating agency.
DATES: The Draft EIS (DEIS) is expected to be filed with the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and be available for public
comment in March 2007 and the Final EIS (FEIS) is expected to be
available in August 2007.
[[Page 9726]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Clark, District Ranger, at the
Big Piney Ranger District at 307-276-3375.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This revised notice updates the original
NOI, which appeared Wednesday January 11, 2006, in the Federal Register
(71 FR pages 1731-1732). There will be no additional scoping on this
revised NOI. The next opportunity to comment will be on the DEIS (see
discussion below).
Comments on the DEIS will be requested during the 45 day comment
period following the Notice of Availability (NOA), anticipated to be
published in the Federal Register in March 2007. The publication date
of the NOA in the Federal Register is the exclusive means for
calculating the comment period for a proposed action documented in a
DEIS. Those wishing to comment should not rely on dates or timeframe
information provided by any other source.
Reviewers should provide the Forest Service with their comments
during the review period of the DEIS. This will enable the Forest
Service to analyze and respond to the comments at one time and to use
information acquired in the preparation of the FEIS, thus avoiding
undue delay in the decisionmaking process. Reviewers have an obligation
to structure their participation in the National Environmental Policy
Act process so that it is meaningful and alerts the agency to the
reviewers' position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp.
v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 533 (1978). Environmental objections that could
have been raised at the draft stage may be waived if not raised until
after completion of the FEIS. City of Angoon v. Hodel (9th Circuit,
1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338
(E.D. Wis. 1980). Comments on the DEIS should be specific and should
address the adequacy of the Statement and the merits of the
alternatives discussed (40 CFR 1503.3).
Responsible Officials
Greg Clark, District Ranger; Big Piney Ranger District; P.O. Box
218; Big Piney, Wyoming 83113.
Robert A. Bennett, State Director, BLM--Wyoming State Office 5353
Yellowstone (P.O. Box 1828), Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The decisions, which will be based on the EIS analysis, will be to
make the final decisions on the Applications for Permits to Drill
(APDs) and Surface Use Plans of Operation (SUPOs) submitted by PXP for
the Eagle 1-8, Eagle 2-8, and Eagle 3-8
wells, and to specify the access route, project design criteria, best
management practices, and agency requirements that will be included as
conditions of approval for these wells. The decisions made will include
reasonable measures identified as being needed during the EIS analysis
in addition to any prescribed in the Forest Plan for the Bridger-Teton
National Forest.
Dated: February 26, 2007.
Greg W. Clark,
District Ranger, Big Piney Ranger District, Bridger-Teton National
Forest.
[FR Doc. 07-987 Filed 3-2-07; 8:45am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M