United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Colorado River Valley Field Office 2300 River Frontage Road Silt, Colorado 81652 970-876-9000 Environmental Assessment DOI-BLM-CO-N040-2015-0080-EA SourceGas LLC Eagle Pipeline Upgrade Project April 2016 It is the mission of the Bureau of Land Management to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. SourceGas Eagle Pipeline Upgrade DOI-BLM-CO-N040-2015-0080-EA CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Background ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Project Location and Legal Description ......................................................................................... 2 1.3. Purpose and Need ........................................................................................................................... 2 1.4. Plan Conformance Review ............................................................................................................. 2 1.5. Scoping ........................................................................................................................................... 6 1.6. Decision to be Made ....................................................................................................................... 6 2. PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES ................................................................................ 6 2.1. Proposed Action ............................................................................................................................. 6 Pre-Construction Civil Surveys .............................................................................................................. 7 Pipe Installation .................................................................................................................................... 12 Cathodic Protection ............................................................................................................................... 13 Lowering-in and Padding Pipeline ........................................................................................................ 13 Backfilling Pipeline .............................................................................................................................. 13 Hydrostatic Pipeline Testing ................................................................................................................. 13 Cleanup and Restoration ....................................................................................................................... 14 Livestock Barrier and Other Livestock Issues ...................................................................................... 14 Project-Related Surface Disturbances ................................................................................................... 14 2.2. Alternatives Considered but Not Carried forward ........................................................................ 15 2.3. No Action Alternative .................................................................................................................. 16 3. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES ........................ 18 3.1. Access and Transportation ............................................................................................................ 19 3.2. Air Quality .................................................................................................................................... 21 3.3. Cultural Resources ........................................................................................................................ 22 3.4. Fossil Resources ........................................................................................................................... 23 3.5. Geology and Minerals .................................................................................................................. 24 3.6. Grazing and Rangeland Management ........................................................................................... 25 3.7. Invasive Non-native Plants ........................................................................................................... 26 3.8. Land Tenure, Rights of Ways, and Other Uses ............................................................................ 28 3.9. Native American Concerns ........................................................................................................... 29 3.10. Noise ............................................................................................................................................. 30 3.11. Recreation ..................................................................................................................................... 32 3.12. Socioeconomics ............................................................................................................................ 34 3.13. Soils .............................................................................................................................................. 37 3.14. Special Designations ..................................................................................................................... 39 Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) .............................................................................. 39 3.15. Special Status Species .................................................................................................................. 40 Federally Listed, Proposed, or Candidate Plant Species ....................................................................... 40 BLM Sensitive Plant Species ................................................................................................................ 42 Federally Listed, Proposed, or Candidate Animal Species ................................................................... 44 BLM Sensitive Animal Species ............................................................................................................ 46 3.16. Surface Water Resources .............................................................................................................. 50 3.17. Vegetation ..................................................................................................................................... 52 3.18. Visual Resource Management ...................................................................................................... 55 3.19. Wastes – Hazardous or Solid ........................................................................................................ 56 3.20. Wildlife – Terrestrial and Aquatic ................................................................................................ 58 Aquatic Organisms ................................................................................................................................ 58 Migratory Birds ..................................................................................................................................... 59 Other Terrestrial Species ....................................................................................................................... 61 i SourceGas Eagle Pipeline Upgrade DOI-BLM-CO-N040-2015-0080-EA 4. CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ............................................................................................................... 63 5. PERSONS AND AGENCIES CONSULTED ................................................................................... 65 6. INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEW ................................................................................................... 65 7. REFERENCES CITED ...................................................................................................................... 66 APPENDIX A - CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL (COAS) FIGURES Figure 1. Project Location Map ................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2. BLM Section 1 ............................................................................................................................. 4 Figure 3. BLM Section 2 ............................................................................................................................. 5 Figure 4. Typical Pipeline Construction Sequence ...................................................................................... 8 Figure 5. BLM Section 2 Access from Private Land and the Town of Eagle ............................................ 10 Figure 6. BLM Section 2 Access from Spring Creek Road ....................................................................... 11 Figure 7. Alternatives Considered but not Carried Forward ...................................................................... 17 TABLES Table 1. BLM Section 1 and 2 ..................................................................................................................... 7 Table 2. Summary of Equipment Type and Days of Use ............................................................................ 9 Table 3. Summary of Proposed Action ...................................................................................................... 15 Table 4. Average Annual Daily