Notice2022-13394
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Colorado River Valley Field Office and Grand Junction Field Office Resource Management Plans, Colorado
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Published
June 23, 2022
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado River Valley Field Office (CRVFO), Silt, Colorado, and Grand Junction Field Office (GJFO), Grand Junction, Colorado, intend to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) for the CRVFO and GJFO Resource Management Plans (RMPs). This notice announces the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public involvement and identify issues.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 120 (Thursday, June 23, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 120 (Thursday, June 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37524-37526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13394]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCO933000.L16100000. LXSILITI0000.DO0000.22X]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for the Colorado River Valley Field Office and Grand Junction
Field Office Resource Management Plans, Colorado
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Colorado River Valley Field Office (CRVFO), Silt, Colorado, and Grand
Junction Field Office (GJFO), Grand Junction, Colorado, intend to
prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) for the
CRVFO and GJFO Resource Management Plans (RMPs). This notice announces
the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public involvement and
identify issues.
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the
supplemental
[[Page 37525]]
EIS. Comments concerning the scope of analysis, potential alternatives,
and identification of relevant issues may be submitted in writing until
July 25, 2022. All comments must be received by July 25, 2022. Scoping
meetings will be held virtually and will be announced at least 15 days
in advance through local media, newspapers and the BLM website at:
<a href="https://go.usa.gov/xtrgf">https://go.usa.gov/xtrgf</a>.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to this planning effort
electronically via the ePlanning website at <a href="https://go.usa.gov/xtrgf">https://go.usa.gov/xtrgf</a>.
Comments may also be sent to BLM Upper Colorado River District, Attn:
Supplemental EIS, 2518 H Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506. Documents
pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at <a href="https://go.usa.gov/xtrgf">https://go.usa.gov/xtrgf</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce Krickbaum, Project Manager,
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#40352332246d3325293300222c2d6e272f36"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="691c0a1b0d441a0c001a290b0504470e061f">[email protected]</span></a>, telephone 970-240-5399; or at the mailing
address shown earlier (see ADDRESSES). Persons in the United States who
are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may
dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay
services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay
services offered within their country to make international calls to
the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM
CRVFO and GJFO intend to prepare a joint supplemental EIS for their
respective RMPs. The planning area is in Garfield, Mesa, Eagle, Pitkin,
Routt, Rio Blanco and Montrose counties, Colorado, and encompasses
approximately 1.56 million acres of public land and 1.95 million acres
of Federal mineral estate.
Purpose and Need
The purpose of the supplemental EIS is to supplement the EISs
completed in 2014 for the CRVFO RMP and 2015 for the GJFO RMP by
considering one or more additional alternatives with respect to the
lands that are allocated as open or closed to oil and gas leasing in
the planning decision areas, and to provide additional analysis of
greenhouse gas emissions associated with the fluid mineral management
alternatives considered in the final EISs and the supplemental EIS.
The need for this supplemental EIS is to address the issues
identified by the court in litigation involving the Colorado River
Valley RMP (Wilderness Workshop v. BLM, 16-cv-01822), as described in
settlement agreements in that case and a related oil and gas leasing
case (Wilderness Workshop v. BLM, 18-cv-00987), and to revisit the
Grand Junction RMP, as described in BLM's motion for voluntary remand
in litigation involving that RMP (Center for Biological Diversity v.
BLM, 19-cv-02869).
Preliminary Alternatives
The BLM has identified the following preliminary issues that may
arise in the consideration of alternatives with different acreages
potentially eligible for oil and gas leasing and is accepting public
input during the scoping period consistent with 43 CFR 1610.4-1:
environmental consequences of downstream combustion of the oil and gas
resources; economic impacts; impacts to affected biological, physical,
and heritage resources, resource uses, and special designations; and
impacts to recreation. A potential new alternative for each RMP would
have no future oil and gas leasing in areas with no-known, low, and
moderate fluid mineral potential. Under the potential new alternative,
high and very high fluid mineral potential areas would remain open for
oil and gas leasing, except for areas that were considered for closure
in the conservation alternative (alternative C) from the proposed RMP/
final EISs. Apart from oil and gas management planning, this potential
alternative would retain existing management as described in the 2015
CRVFO and GJFO RMP Records of Decision and applicable amendments. The
supplemental EIS will include an updated analysis of greenhouse gas
emissions associated with fluid mineral management planning decisions.
The BLM welcomes comments on the potential new alternative as well as
suggestions for additional alternatives.
Planning Criteria
The BLM has identified the following preliminary planning criteria
and is accepting public input during the scoping period consistent with
43 CFR 1610.4-2(c):
<bullet> The supplemental EIS will comply with NEPA, FLPMA, and
other applicable laws, executive orders, regulations, and policy;
<bullet> Lands covered in the supplemental EIS will be Federal
lands where BLM makes mineral leasing eligibility decisions and split-
estate lands with Federal minerals;
<bullet> The supplemental EIS will address the issues identified by
the court in Wilderness Workshop v. BLM, 16-cv-01822, by considering
whether lands will be open or closed to Federal fluid mineral leasing
(``reasonable alternatives to oil and gas leasing'') and analyzing the
effects that combustion of oil and gas produced in the planning
decision area may have on greenhouse gas emissions, as well as related
mitigation;
<bullet> The scope of analysis will be appropriate to the planning
scale and in accordance with Bureau-wide standards and program
guidance; and
<bullet> The BLM will consider Tribal, State, and local plans that
are germane in the development of land use plans for public lands, and
specifically, the planning decisions considered in the supplemental
EIS, to the extent the plans are consistent with the purposes,
policies, and programs of Federal laws and regulations applicable to
public lands.
Summary of Expected Impacts
The supplemental EIS will evaluate impacts from potential oil and
gas leasing and future development to the extent they are reasonably
foreseeable at the planning stage. Impacts are not known at this time
except as described in the 2014 and 2015 final EISs. The analysis in
the supplemental EIS may consider potential effects on wildlife,
threatened and endangered species habitat, recreation, visual
resources, water resources, air quality, cultural resources, special
designations, social and economic conditions, fluid minerals, and other
resources and uses. The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach that
incorporates the expertise of specialists in the relevant resource
fields.
Schedule for the Decision-Making Process
The BLM will provide additional opportunities for public
participation consistent with the NEPA and land use planning processes,
including a 90-day comment period on the draft supplemental EIS and a
30-day public protest period and a 60-day Governor's consistency review
on the final supplemental EIS. The draft supplemental EIS is
anticipated to be available for public review in Spring 2023 and the
final supplemental EIS is anticipated to be available for public
protest in Winter 2023/2024 with a Record of Decision in Spring 2024.
Public Scoping Process
The BLM encourages comments concerning the scope of the analysis in
the supplemental EIS, the potential new alternative, other potential
alternatives, identification of issues for analysis, and any other
information relevant to this project. You may submit comments by using
one of the methods listed in the
[[Page 37526]]
ADDRESSES section of this Notice. Public scoping meetings will be
conducted virtually to explain project details. Representatives from
BLM will be available to answer questions. All comments must be
received by the date shown in the DATES section.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
The BLM is the lead Federal agency for the supplemental EIS. The
BLM has invited the following to participate as cooperating agencies:
the seven counties that are entirely or partially in the planning area,
municipalities that participated as cooperating agencies during the
RMPs/EISs, Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Colorado Parks and
Wildlife, Colorado River Water Conservation District, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Responsible Official
The Colorado State Director is the deciding official for this
planning effort.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The nature of the decision to be made will be the State Director's
selection of land use planning decisions for managing BLM-administered
lands under the principles of multiple use and sustained yield in a
manner that best addresses the purpose and need. The decision resulting
from this supplemental EIS will specify which areas are allocated as
open or closed to oil and gas leasing in the decision area.
Additional Information
The BLM will identify, analyze, and consider mitigation to address
the reasonably foreseeable impacts to resources from all reasonable
alternatives and, in accordance with 40 CFR 1502.14(f), include
appropriate mitigation measures not already included in the
alternatives. Mitigation may include avoidance, minimization,
rectification, reduction, or elimination over time, and compensation;
and may be considered at multiple scales, including the landscape
scale.
The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA and land use planning
processes for this planning effort to help support procedural
requirements under the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1536) and
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C.
306108) as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3), including public involvement
requirements of Section 106. The information about historic and
cultural resources and threatened and endangered species within the
area potentially affected by the proposed plan will assist the BLM in
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources.
The BLM will consult with Indian Tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175, BLM Manual
section 1780, and other Departmental policies. Tribal concerns,
including impacts on Indian trust assets and potential impacts to
cultural resources, will be given due consideration. Federal, State,
and local agencies, along with Tribes and stakeholders that may be
interested in or affected by the supplemental EIS 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 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.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2)
Stephanie Connolly,
Acting BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2022-13394 Filed 6-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JB-P
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