Salt Lake City, Utah — In continuing efforts to promote America’s energy independence, the Bureau of Land Management today began a 15-day public comment period on environmental assessments evaluating 33 parcels nominated by the oil and gas industry totaling 45,228 acres located in north-west Utah.
The BLM is also beginning preparation of an environmental assessment that includes 76 nominated parcels comprising 158,944 acres. The assessment also includes 18 pending or suspended leases comprising 45,278 acres to determine if these previously offered leases should be withdrawn, issued with certain stipulations, or the suspensions lifted. The parcels are located in Emery and Wayne counties. The BLM is seeking public input during a 15-day scoping period which closes on April 16, 2018, at 4:30 p.m.
Please refer to the BLM Utah State Office (USO) ePlanning NEPA Register project page which is at http://go.usa.gov/xQrVg for the specific descriptions of the proposed parcels and information on the sale and associated documents. To submit electronic comments on the new proposal or preliminary EAs through the ePlanning system, open the documents tab on the project page and click on the comment period link for the specific document. Or you may mail comments to the Utah State Office, 440 West 200 South Suite 500, Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1345. For more information, please refer to the USO Oil and Gas Leasing webpage at http://go.usa.gov/xXk8c or contact Sheri Wysong, Fluid Minerals Leasing Coordinator at (801) 539-4067.
Those who provide comments are advised that before including their address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information, they should be aware that the entire comment – including the personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While those commenting can ask in their comments to withhold personal identifying information from public review, the BLM cannot guarantee that they will be able to do so.
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to leave a message or question with the above individual. Replies are provided during normal business hours.
Oil and gas development on BLM-managed lands in Utah contributed $1.7 billion to the economy and supported 9,171 jobs in Fiscal Year 2016.