Preliminary Oages
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RECORD OF DECISION for Newfield Exploration Company Monument Butte Oil and Gas Development Project in Uintah and Duchesne Counties, Utah UT-G010-2009-0217 DOI-BLM-UT-G010-2016-0065 U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management Vernal Field Office 170 South 500 East Vernal, Utah 84078 2016 This Page Intentionally Left Blank Newfield Exploration Company Monument Butte Oil and Gas Development Project .................. 1 1. Approval ..................................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 3 3.0 The Decision ............................................................................................................................. 5 3.1 What the Decision Includes .................................................................................................. 5 3.1.1 The Selected Alternative ................................................................................................ 5 3.1.2 Big Wash Lands with Wilderness Characteristics Submission ..................................... 7 3.2 What the Decision Does Not Include .................................................................................... 7 3.2.1 Decisions on Lands or Minerals other than BLM-Administered................................... 8 3.2.2 Site-Specific Permits ...................................................................................................... 8 3.2.3 Acquired Land in the Pariette ACEC............................................................................. 8 3.2.5 FEIS Mitigation Measures Not Carried Forward as ROD COAs .................................. 8 4.0 Management Considerations ................................................................................................... 11 4.1 Purpose and Need ............................................................................................................... 11 4.2 Conformance with BLM Land Use Plans, Laws, and Policy ............................................. 11 4.3 Consistency with Other Plans, Statutes, and Objectives..................................................... 12 4.4 Alternatives ......................................................................................................................... 13 4.4.1 Alternative A: Proposed Action ................................................................................... 13 4.4.2 Alternative B: No Action (Environmentally Preferable Alternative) .......................... 14 4.4.3 Alternative C: Field-Wide Electrification .................................................................... 14 4.4.4 DEIS Alternative D: Original Resource Protection (Agency Preferred Alternative) .. 15 4.4.5 FEIS Alternative D: Resource Protection (Agency Preferred Alternative) ................. 16 4.5 Consultation and Coordination ........................................................................................... 17 4.5.1 Cooperating Agencies .................................................................................................. 17 4.5.2 Air Resource Coordination .......................................................................................... 18 4.5.3 NHPA Section 106 Consultation and Government to Government Consultation ....... 18 4.5.4 ESA Section 7 Consultation......................................................................................... 19 4.6 Public Involvement ............................................................................................................. 20 4.6.1 Public Scoping ............................................................................................................. 20 4.6.2 Draft EIS ...................................................................................................................... 21 1 4.6.3 Final EIS ...................................................................................................................... 22 5.0 Appeal Process ........................................................................................................................ 25 6.0 Literature Cited ....................................................................................................................... 27 Attachment 1: Maps and Figures .................................................................................................. 29 Attachment 2: Data Collection and Reporting Requirements and Conditions of Approval ......... 37 Attachment 3: Air Mitigation Strategy – Applicant Committed Environmental Protection Measures ....................................................................................................................................... 89 Attachment 4: Final Cactus Conservation and Mitigation Strategy ............................................. 95 Attachment 5: Biological Opinion .............................................................................................. 117 Attachment 6: Comment Responses ........................................................................................... 131 Attachment 7: Errata ................................................................................................................... 159 Attachment 8: Appeals Form 1842-1 .......................................................................................... 167 2 1. Approval I approve the Monument Butte Oil and Gas Development Project as described in the Decision section of this document (Section 3) and the maps and figures in Attachment 1, subject to the Data Collection and Reporting Requirements and Conditions of Approval contained in Attachment 2, which are formed from the FEIS, the Air Quality Strategy (Attachment 3), the Final Cactus Strategy (Attachment 4), and the Biological Opinion (Attachment 5). Approved By: Jenna Whitlock Date Acting State Director 1 This Page Intentionally Left Blank 2 2.0 Summary Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the United States (U.S.) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Vernal Field Office has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement on the impacts of proposed oil and natural gas development within the Greater Monument Butte Project Area (MBPA) (Attachment 1). The MBPA is located in southeastern Duchesne County and southwestern Uintah County. The MBPA consists of approximately 119,743 acres of Federal, State, and private lands. The Bureau of Land Management Utah State Director is the Authorized Officer for this decision. Implementation of the Decision has been delegated to the Vernal Field Office and/or the Green River District. Newfield Exploration Company (Newfield) notified the BLM Vernal Field Office on January 14, 2009 of its need and plan to expand their ongoing oil and natural gas development within the MBPA. This Record of Decision (ROD) documents the BLM’s final decision regarding Newfield’s plan (Section 3) as well as the BLM’s management considerations (Section 4) in making the decision including: purpose and need of the project, conformance of the project with existing Land Use Plans, the potential impacts of the proposed oil and natural gas development under the four alternatives as documented in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), outcomes of the consultations undertaken for the project, and responses to public comments on the FEIS (Attachment 6) and the resulting FEIS errata (Attachment 7). The form to be completed by any party adversely affected by and wishing to appeal the Decision is included as Attachment 8. 3 This Page Intentionally Left Blank 4 3.0 The Decision BLM has determined that the analysis contained in the FEIS is adequate for the purposes of reaching an informed decision regarding implementation of Newfield’s plan on BLM- administered lands or minerals. However, all components of the selected alternative as described below are subject to further site-specific permitting and NEPA requirements. Newfield must obtain federal, state, and local permits, along with right-of-way (ROW)1 grants, licenses, easement agreements, and other authorizing actions to proceed with all project-related development. 3.1 What the Decision Includes The decision is hereby made to allow oil and natural gas drilling on leased federal lands as described in the FEIS Section 2.6 Alternative D – Agency Preferred Alternative subject to the attached Conditions of Approval (hereafter referred to as the Selected Alternative). The Selected Alternative is programmatically depicted in Map 2-4 included in Attachment 1 of this ROD. The Conditions of Approval are listed in Attachment 2: Data Collection and Reporting Requirements and Conditions of Approval, and formed from the FEIS, the Air Quality Strategy in Attachment 3, the Final Cactus Strategy in Attachment 4, and the Biological Opinion in Attachment 5. 3.1.1 The Selected Alternative The Selected Alternative includes the following primary components. 1) Wells and facility development and construction in the project area as described in FEIS Section 2.6 including: a. Development of up to 750 new Green River vertical oil wells to be drilled from a combination of new, small and large well pads, all of which would eventually be converted into waterflood injection wells; b. Development of up to 2,500 new deep gas wells that would be vertically or directionally drilled from a combination of new and existing, large well pads; c.