Final oil and gas amendment : Billings-Powder River-South Dakota resource management plans/ environmental impact statements

305 Pages·1992·73.8 MB·English

by  United States. Bureau of Land Management. Montana State Office

BLM LIBRARY
United States Department of the Interior Fina
Bureau of Land Management
Miles City District December 1992
GAS RMP AMENDMENT
OIL and EIS
/
The BureauofLand Managementisresponsibleforthestewardshipofourpubliclands. It iscommittedtomanage, protect, and improvethese
landsinamannertoservetheneedsoftheAmericanpeopleforalltimes. Managementisbasedontheprinciplesofmultipleuseandsustained
yieldofournation'sresourceswithinaframeworkofenvironmental responsibilityandscientifictechnology. Theseresourcesinclude recreation;
rangelands; timber; minerals; watershed; fish and wildlife; wilderness; air; andscenic, scientific, and culturalvalues.
BLM-MT-ES-93-002-4110
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United States Department of the Interior' H TAKE'.
PRIDEINI
/Vj£-5^AMERICAi
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT l*n&
MONTANA STATE OFFICE
222 NORTH 32ND STREET IN REPLYTO:
P.O. BOX 36800
MONTANA
BILLINGS, 59107-6800
DearReader:
Enclosed is acopy ofthe Final Oil andGas Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement Amendment forthe Billings,
PowderRiver,andSouthDakotaResourceAreasoftheMilesCityDistrict. Thedocumentpresentsfouralternativesregardingtheleasing
ofFederaloilandgasresourcesinthethreeResourceAreas,theplanningarea. AlternativeDisthePreferredAlternativewhichrepresents
the proposeddecisionofthe State Director.
Thedocumentaddressestheissuesandimpacts,includingcumulativeeffects,associatedwiththeleasingoftheFederaloilandgasresources
intheplanningarea. Eachalternative identifiesareasclosedtoleasing,areasopentoleasing with leaseterms,andareasopento leasing
with stipulations.
TherespectiveRMP/EISsandthisamendmentwillbeusedasapartialbasisformakingfuturesite-specificdecisions. Additionalanalysis,
suchasculturalresourceinventoriesanddocumentation,willbecompletedatthetimedevelopmentactivitiesareproposed. Suchanalysis
willevaluatethesite-specificimpactsassociatedwithwellsites,roads,pipelines,andrelatedfacilities,andwillassurefullcompliancewith
allapplicablelaws,regulations,andguidelines. Anyadditionalenvironmentalanalysisanddocumentationwillbetieredtothe respective
RMP/EIS and this amendment.
Anumberofcorrectionsandmodificationshavebeenmadebetweenthedraftandfinalamendmentdocuments,largelyinresponsetopublic
comments. Correctionsandmodificationsarehighlightedinthefinalusingshadedtext. Insomecases,entiresectionshavebeenrevised.
Readersare urged torefertoboth thedraft and final when reviewing these actions.
Anypersonwhoparticipatedintheplanamendmentprocessandhasaninterestwhichisormaybeadverselyaffectedmayprotestapproval
oftheproposedplanamendment. ProtestsmustbeinwritingandsenttotheDirector(760),BureauofLandManagement,U.S.Department
ofthe Interior, 18thandC Streets NW, Washington, D.C. 20240. Protests arerequiredtobepostmarked within 30daysofthedate that
theEnvironmentalProtectionAgencypublishedthenoticeofreceiptofthefinalEISintheFederalRegister. Proteststatementsshallinclude
the following information:
The name,mailing address, telephone numberand interestofthe personfilingtheprotest."
A statementofthe issueorissuesbeing protested.
A statementofthe part orpartsofthe plan beingprotested.
Acopyofalldocumentsaddressingthe issueorissuesthatweresubmittedduringtheplanningprocessbytheprotestingparty,
oran indication ofthe date the issue orissues werediscussed forthe record.
Aconcise statementexplaining why the proposeddecision is believedtobe wrong.
Attheendofthe30-dayprotestperiod,theproposedplan,excludinganyportionunderprotest,willbecomefinal. Approvalwillbewithheld
onanyportionoftheplanunderprotestuntilfinalactionhasbeencompleted. Anysignificantchangestotheproposedplanmadeasaresult
ofaprotestwill be made available forpublicreview andcomment priortofinal approval and implementation.
TheBureauofLandManagementwouldliketothankeveryonewhoprovidedsuggestionsandcommentsonthedraftdocument. ARecord
ofDecision (ROD) will bepreparedafterapprovaloftheproposedplan. CopiesoftheRecordofDecisionwill beprovidedtoeveryone
onthe Final Amendment mailing list.*
Weappreciateyourtimeandeffortregardingthisprojectandwelookforwardtoyourcontinuedinterestinthemanagementofyourpublic
landresources.
^^^^J^^^
r
(
Robert H. Lawton
State Director

FINAL
OIL AND GAS AMENDMENT
— —
Billings Powder River South Dakota
Resource Management Plans/
Environmental Impact Statements
DECEMBER
1992
Prepared by
United States Department ofthe Interior
Bureau ofLand Management
Montana State Office
Miles City District
State Director
OIL AND GAS
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
AMENDMENT
Draft Final (X)
( )
LEAD AGENCY: MILES CITY DISTRICT OFFICE
MILES CITY, MONTANA
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Type ofAction
Administrative (X) Legislative
( )
ABSTRACT
The Final Oil and Gas Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement Amendment addresses the future
management options for oil and gas leasing on approximately 1.7 million surface acres and approximately 4.6 million
subsurface acres ofpublic domain and acquired lands administered by the Bureau ofLand Management. These lands are
managed by the Billings, PowderRiverand South DakotaResource Areas within the Miles City District. The amendment
focuseson alternative approaches tomanagementand lease stipulations necessarytoprotecttheenvironment as well as the
resources. The final preferred alternative and three other alternatives have been presented to provide options forresolving
the issues. Included are Alternative A (No Action), Alternatives B and C, and Alternative D, the Preferred Alternative.
PREFACE
Thefollowingdiscussion is intendedtoassist the readerin planningarea. Itisadiscussionofthenaturalresourcesand
locating specific information found in this document. A the economic and social conditions as they are presently
briefdescriptionofwhattypeofmaterialisprovidedineach found inthe Billings, PowderRiver, andtheSouth Dakota
section of the Oil and Gas RMP/EIS Amendment is fur- Resource Areas. Thischapterdeals with all aspectsofthe
nished. Itiscriticaltothecomprehensionofthisdocument environmentthatwouldbeaffectedbythefouralternatives.
to realize the interdependence ofeach ofthe sections. To
thoroughly understand the intent of the amendment, the In ChapterFourtheenvironmental impactsresulting from
document should be read in its entirety. management decisions common to all alternatives and
decisions specific to each ofthe four alternatives are dis-
This document contains a summary of the information cussed. Bothbeneficial andadverse impactsaredescribed
contained in the Management Situation Analysis (MSA). andforeachalternativebothdirectandindirectimpactsare
TheMSAisonfileattheBillingsResourceAreaofficeand given. The discussion underconclusion foreach resource
is accessible to the public. Anyone wishing more detail includescumulativeimpacts,unavoidableadverseimpacts,
than is contained in the amendment should consult the short-term impacts and long-term impacts.
MSA.
ChapterFivecontainsalistingofallpersonnel involvedin
The summary contains the introduction to the need and the preparation ofthe document and alisting ofthe public
purpose ofthe document and what its application will be. who participated through scoping meetings and letters.
Theissueschosentobeaddressedandthereasonswhythey Comments from the public in the form of letters or tran-
were selected are given. An overview ofthe fouralterna- scripts of public meetings are printed along with the re-
tives is also provided. sponses from the subject specialists.
ChapterOnegoesintomoredetailonthepurposeandneed The appendices contain material that is considered too
fortheamendmentandwhatitsapplicationwouldbe. The detailed and analytical for the general discussions in the
legal authoritymandatingthewritingofthisamendmentis chapters. This data is used to substantiate analysis that is
listed. The geographic area covered by the document is doneinthebodyofthedocument. ThisRMP/EIScontains
defined and areas to be excluded and the reasons why are sixappendiceslistedunderthefollowingheadings: Oiland
discussed. The lands affected by this document and lands GasOperations,LeaseFormsandStipulationsforAlterna-
the amendment would not apply to are given. Table 1.2 tives, Oil and Gas Development Potential, Air Quality,
contains information on the ownership of surface and EISsforProposedACECs,andtheBiologicalAssessment.
subsurfaceestatewithintheplanningarea. Ashortdiscus-
sion ofthe issues tobe consideredandthosechosen not to TheGlossarylistsdefinitionsoftechnicaltermsusedinthe
be analyzed in the document is included in this chapter. amendment. The Bibliography includes the references
citedinthedocument,andtheIndexisalistingofkeywords
ChapterTwopresentsthefouralternativesindetailandthe and where they are discussed within the document.
rationalforalternativesconsideredbutsubsequentlyelimi-
natedfromconsideration. Managementcommontoallfour The large maps included with the amendment illustrate, in
alternatives is discussed. Tables provided in this chapter a general way, the stipulations applied to lands within the
comparethefouralternativeswithrespecttotheamountof planning area. The stipulations, as shown on the map, do
lands available for oil and gas development. A detailed notnecessarilyapplytotheentiresection. Thestipulations
tableisincludedcomparingimpactsresultingfromeachof could apply to either a portion of the section or in some
the four alternatives. A general discussion on the leasing casestheentiresection(seemapforfurtherexplanation). It
and stipulation procedures is included in this chapter. should be noted that these stipulations can be revised,
withdrawn, oraddedtoa specific lot, tract, aliquotpart, or
ChapterThreecontains alistingofresources tobeconsid- parcel of land if new data or changing environmental
ered and a description of each as it occurs within the conditions warrant.

SUMMARY
Thisdocument is an amendment tothe Resource Manage- agement; Alternative Bemphasizesthe protectionofnatu-
ment Plans (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statements ral and cultural resources; and Alternative C emphasizes
(EIS)forthreeresourceareasintheMilesCityDistrict. The theavailabilityofpubliclandforoilandgasexplorationand
planning area for this amendment includes the Billings, development. Alternative D, the preferred, proposes a
Powder River, and South Dakota Resource Areas with balance between the demands of oil and gas resource
more than 4.6 million acres ofFederal oil and gas estate. developmentandtheprotectionofsensitiveareasandother
ThethreeRMPsarebeingamendedtocomplywith Supple- resources.
mentalProgramGuidance(SPG)forfluidmineralresource
planning. Management decisions, in the form of stipula- Majorissuesthatwereidentifiedduringthepublicscoping
tions and closures, have been developed to portray avail- period are the following:
ability oflands for oil and gas leasing. The SPG requires —
BLM
thatthe developaleasing strategy basedonresource conflicts with otherresource values
—
valuesandtheestimateofoilandgasdevelopmentpotential what impacts will be allowed
—
in the planning area. AReasonably Foreseeable Develop- areas open orclosed to leasing
—
ment (RFD) scenario has been developed as the basis for method ofdetermining the RFD forthe planning area
—
analysis of cumulative environmental impacts to the re- identification ofmitigation measures
—
sources managed by the BLM. This amendment also oil and gas in multiple use management decisions
—
proposes the classification oftwo Areas ofCritical Envi- hazardous materials
ronmentalConcern (ACEC)forMeeteetse Spiresareaand
Weatherman Draw Rock Art Complex. TheleasestipulationschosenforthePreferredAlternative,
along with43 CFR 3101.1-2 and lease terms, will provide
The Preferred Alternative (Alternative D) allocates lands sufficient protection for the resources. Lease Notices are
for leasing orno leasing in the following categories: used forsome resources toprovide additional information
— to the operatorwhen a stipulation is not needed.
Opentoleasing,subjecttoLeaseTermsonly(2,840,000
acres) Stipulations are identified for resources that require a
greaterlevelofprotectionthan regulationsorLeaseTerms
—
Open to leasing, subject to Seasonal or other minor canprovide. Thesearespecificmitigationmeasuresthatset
constraints (2,162,000 acres) guidelinesforoilandgasoperations. The termsforWaiv-
ers, Exceptions, and Modifications (WEMs) give circum-
—
Open to leasing, subject to No Surface Occupancy and stancesunderwhichoperatorscanapplytobereleasedfrom
Similar MajorConstraints (108,000 acres) theconstraints ofastipulation. TheWEMs areused when
local conditions change from the usual patterns such as
—
Closed to Leasing (60,000 acres) variable winter weather conditions, changes in the use of
resources by wildlife, or new information from resource
Note: Stipulations designed to protect different resources inventories.
overlap in some locations, so the total acres ofthe catego-
riesabovemayexceedtheactualtotalacresofFederallands Additional protection forsurface resources is provided by
administered by the BLM in the planning area. Conditions of Approval (COA) which are attached to all
approved permits for drilling and other field operations.
Both nondiscretionary closures (areas closed by law or TheCOAsaresite-specific,designedtoprotectthe unique
regulation) and discretionary closures (areas closed by characteristics of the area at each proposed oil and gas
BLM
choice ofthe responsible official) are described. In location.
this planning area these include Wilderness Study Areas,
Fort Meade Recreation Area, PryorMountain Wild Horse Theotherthreealternativesevaluatedifferentmanagement
Range,andMeeteetseSpiresproposedACEC. Includedin objectives for some ofthe resources. Alternative A (No
the Preferred Alternative is the No Surface Occupancy Action)analyzesthecurrentmanagementoftheoilandgas
protection ofthe Weatherman Draw proposed ACEC. •' program. Standard and special stipulations are used to
mitigate impacts to the other resources. Management
Upon approval, this oil andgas amendment will serve asa decisions from the RMP/EISs being amended are carried
revisiontothethreeRMPs,andFederallandswillbemade forward in this alternative. Alternative B emphasizes the
availableforleaseasdescribedintheamendment. TheNo protection of natural and cultural resources. For several
ActionAlternative (A) isthecontinuationofpresent man- resources carried forward from the RMP/EISs, more re-
in
strictivc stipulations are being analyzed in thisalternative. Alternative D, the preferred, is shown as having the least
AlternativeCemphasizestheavailabilityofpublic landfor restrictivestipulationsthatprovidemitigationmeasuresfor
oil and gas exploration. Regulations, Lease Terms and protecting the other resources while allowing oil and gas
COAs, rather than use of a stipulation, would provide leases to be issued and developed,
protection for soils. High development potential areas
would have no stipulations applied except forThreatened
and Endangered Species and Cultural Resources, both
protected by law.
IV