[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 96 (Thursday, May 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29358-29359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-11942]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R7-R-2012-N084; FF07R06000 FXRS12650700000Z2]
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Soldotna, AK; Environmental
Impact Statement for the Shadura Natural Gas Development Project
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have
received an application for a proposed right-of-way within the Kenai
National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) under the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). We received the application from
Nordaq Energy, Inc. for the Shadura Natural Gas Development Project
(Project), which would involve construction and operation of facilities
associated with the exploration and production of natural gas from the
subsurface estate within the Refuge. We intend to gather information
necessary to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its implementation
regulations for the application. We are publishing this notice in
compliance with NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1501.7) to advise other
agencies and the public of our intentions and to obtain suggestions and
information on the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS.
DATES: Meetings: We will locally announce any future meeting dates,
times, and locations, at least 10 days prior to each meeting.
Comments: Please provide any written comments, information, or
suggestions on the scope of issues to address in the EIS by June 18,
2012.
ADDRESSES: Additional information concerning the Project can be found
at:
http://kenai.fws.gov/current.htm
http://alaska.fws.gov/nwr/planning/nepa.htm
Refuge information may be found at:
http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=74525.
Send your comments or requests for information by any of the
following methods to:
Email: fw7_kenai_planning@fws.gov;
Fax: Attn: Peter Wikoff, (907) 786-3976;
U.S. Mail: Peter Wikoff, Natural Resource Planner, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 East Tudor Rd., MS-231, Anchorage, AK
99503.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Wikoff, Natural Resource
Planner, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at (907) 786-3357, or at the
address above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application for, and
intend to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for, a
proposed right-of-way within the Refuge. The right-of-way would be in
compliance with Section 1110(b) of ANILCA, regarding access to
inholdings, for the construction and operation of facilities associated
with the exploration and production of natural gas from the subsurface
estate within the Refuge. The Service owns the surface estate, and Cook
Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI) owns the subsurface estate of coal, oil, and
gas in the project area. The Project would be in the northwestern
portion of the Kenai Peninsula, approximately 4 miles southeast of the
end of the road in Captain Cook State Recreation Area in T8N, R10W. The
application is being made by NordAq Energy, Inc., the holder of the
lease from CIRI for the area.
This notice advises the public that we have started preliminary
scoping and intend to gather information necessary to develop an EIS. A
third-party contractor will prepare the EIS and evaluate the various
alternatives associated with the Project pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; NEPA) and its
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500 et seq.). The EIS will describe
and evaluate a range of reasonable alternatives and the anticipated
impacts of each. We are publishing this notice in compliance with the
NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1501.7) to advise other agencies and the
public of our intentions and to obtain suggestions and information on
the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS.
Public Input and Meetings
Special mailings, newspaper advertisements, and other media
announcements will inform the public of opportunities to provide
written input throughout the planning process. Public meetings were
held on March 20, 2012, in, Kenai, Alaska, and on March 22, 2012, in
Anchorage. In local media, we will announce additional public meetings
to be held in the cities of Kenai and Anchorage. Information pertaining
to the right-of-way application for the project is available for
viewing and downloading at http://kenai.fws.gov/current.htm or http://alaska.fws.gov/nwr/planning/nepa.htm.
Refuge Information
The Refuge covers approximately two million acres on the Kenai
Peninsula in
[[Page 29359]]
south-central Alaska. It is readily accessible by road from the city of
Anchorage, which is home to 41.5 percent of Alaska's population. The
Refuge consists of the western slopes of the Kenai Mountains and
forested lowlands bordering Cook Inlet. The Kenai Mountains, with their
glaciers, rise to more than 6,500 feet. Treeless alpine and subalpine
habitats are home to mountain goats, Dall sheep, caribou, wolverine,
marmots, and ptarmigan. Boreal forests extend from sea level to 1,800
feet and are composed of spruce and birch forests, which on the Refuge
are intermingled with hundreds of lakes. Boreal forests are home to
moose, wolves, black and brown bears, lynx, snowshoe hares, and
numerous species of Neotropical birds, such as olive-sided flycatchers,
myrtle warblers, and ruby crowned kinglets. At sea level, the Refuge
encompasses the last remaining pristine major saltwater estuary on the
Kenai Peninsula, the Chickaloon River Flats. The Flats provide a major
migratory staging area and nesting habitat for shorebirds and waterfowl
throughout the spring, summer, and fall. The Flats are also used as a
haul-out area by harbor seals. Thousands of salmon migrate up the
Chickaloon River system each year to spawn.
While the Service owns the land surface within the Refuge, portions
of the subsurface estate have been transferred to CIRI. CIRI was
established by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA;
43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). Under authority of ANCSA, Congress granted
CIRI the subsurface oil, gas, and coal estate to nearly 200,000 acres
within the Refuge. The State of Alaska also owns lands adjacent to the
Refuge (Captain Cook State Recreation Area). ANILCA Section 1110 (b)
requires that the Service provide for reasonable access to the
subsurface estate. CIRI has previously leased other portions of its
subsurface estate within the Refuge. Oil and gas are currently being
produced from other production units within the Refuge.
The Alaska National Interests Land Conservation Act of 1980
(Section 303[4]) established the Refuge from the Kenai Moose Range and
other lands and set forth the following major purposes for which the
Refuge was to be managed:
(i) To conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their
natural diversity, including, but not limited to, moose, bear, mountain
goats, Dall sheep, wolves, and other furbearers; salmonoids and other
fish; waterfowl and other migratory and nonmigratory birds;
(ii) To fulfill the international treaty obligations of the United
States with respect to fish and wildlife and their habitats;
(iii) To ensure, to the maximum extent practicable and in a manner
consistent with the purposes set forth in paragraph (i), water quality
and necessary water quantity within the Refuge;
(iv) To provide in a manner consistent with subparagraphs (i) and
(ii), opportunities for scientific research, interpretation,
environmental education, and land management training; and
(v) To provide, in a manner compatible with these purposes,
opportunities for fish and wildlife-oriented recreation.
Public Availability of Comments
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 to withhold it from public view, we cannot guarantee we will be
able to do so.
Dated: May 11, 2012.
Geoffrey L. Haskett,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 2012-11942 Filed 5-16-12; 8:45 am]
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