PINEDALE, Wyo. - In its ongoing effort to provide opportunities for responsible energy development, support the creation of jobs, and facilitate positive economic impacts to local communities, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today released its initial environmental analysis of a major natural gas development in Wyoming. Appearing in today’s Federal Register, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Normally Pressured Lance (NPL) Natural Gas Development Project identifies a range of alternatives as to how the project can move forward. The document is available for a 45-day public comment period.
The proposed project, which was submitted by Jonah Energy LLC, could unlock 5.25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, providing a reliable, long-term energy source for the nation and creating more than 700 full-time jobs and stable employment opportunities for southwestern Wyoming. The project could also create $2.2 billion in royalties, half of which would go to the State of Wyoming.
The project encompasses approximately 141,000 acres of public, state, and private lands, with the vast majority-approximately 96 percent-located on public lands. Situated south and west of the existing Jonah Gas Field in Sublette County, the project proposes up to 3,500 directionally drilled wells over a 10-year period. All alternatives in the NPL DEIS conform to the BLM-Wyoming’s Pinedale Field Office Resource Management Plan Record of Decision (2008), as amended, and the Green River Resource Management Plan Record of Decision (1997).
The BLM must receive comments by Aug. 21, 2017. Comments can be emailed to blm_wy_npl_eis@blm.gov or mailed to the following address:
NPL EIS Project Manager BLM Pinedale Field Office P.O. Box 768, Pinedale, WY 82941
The BLM will also hold two public meetings on the project on the following dates and locations:
Tuesday July 25, 2017
BLM Pinedale Field Office
1625 West Pine Street Pinedale, Wyoming 82941
Wednesday July 26, 2017
BLM High Desert District Office
280 Highway 191 North Rock Springs, Wyoming 82901
If you choose to submit a comment, please be advised that your entire comment-including any personal identifying information (i.e., address, phone number, or email address)-may be publicly available. While you may request in your comment that BLM withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
All project documents are available at http://tinyurl.com/hloulms.
For more information, please contact Liz Dailey at 307-367-5310, or by email at blm_wy_npl_eis@blm.gov. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with Ms. Dailey. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
