NEPA Number: DOI-BLM-UT-G010-2016-0033-EA
Project Name: Vernal 2016 Lease Sale

Project Information 

  • NEPA Number
    DOI-BLM-UT-G010-2016-0033-EA
  • Project Name
    Vernal 2016 Lease Sale
  • Project Type
    EA
  • NEPA Status
    Completed - Completed
  • Lead Office
    Vernal Field Office
  • Last Updated


Project Description

What's New

Vernal 2016 Lease Sale
The November 15, 2016, Oil and Gas Lease Sale has been postponed until December 13, 2016. Please see the Utah BLM Oil and Gas Lease Sale page at: http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/prog/energy/oil_and_gas/oil_and_gas_lease.html  for more information.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah State Office has posted the proposed list of parcels for the upcoming quarterly competitive oil and gas lease sale, scheduled for December 13, 2016.  Twenty-eight parcels totalling 12,225 acres will be offered for lease in the Vernal Field Office area.  All 28 parcels are identified as available to oil and gas leasing under the current resource management plan.

The sale will be conducted utilizing the EnergyNet internet-based auction system.   Additional details about the internet auction process are included in the December 2016 Notice of Competitive Lease Sale (NCLS), which can be found on BLM-Utah Oil and Gas Lease Sale webpage.  A hard copy NCLS will also be posted in the BLM Utah State Office Public Room located on the fifth floor of the Gateway South Office Building 440 West 200 South, Salt Lake City.

For additional information about oil and gas leasing in Utah, please contact Sheri Wysong at (801) 539-4067.  Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question with the above individual.  The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Replies are provided during normal business hours.

AN ERRATA SHEET HAS BEEN ADDED

 
This website provides the latest information on this project. Throughout the NEPA process, this website will be updated to include background documents, maps, meeting announcements, published bulletins, and other documents as applicable.  Using the contact information listed below, individuals and organizations must submit a written statement to the BLM indicating their interest to serve as a consulting party in the proposed project's Section 106 process.  For instructions on how to navigate and use this site, review the Video Tutorial in the upper right corner.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency.  This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska.  The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation.  The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield.  In Fiscal Year 2015, the BLM generated $4.1 billion in receipts from activities occurring on public lands.

 
Stephanie Howard is the Vernal Field Office NEPA Lead and the primary public contact for questions or concerns regarding Vernal NEPA documents.

Stephanie Howard
BLM Vernal Field Office
170 S 500 E
Vernal, UT 84078
Telephone: (435) 781-8145
Fax: (435) 781-4410
Email: [email protected]
 
 

In general, the BLM Utah State Office (USO) conducts a quarterly competitive lease sale to sell available oil and gas lease parcels in the state. In the process of preparing a lease sale the BLM USO compiles a list of lands nominated and legally available for leasing, and sends a parcel list to the appropriate Field Office where the parcels are located, in this case the Vernal Field Office (VFO). VFO staff then:
review and verify that the parcels are; in conformance with the VFO RMP BLM 2008b as being available for leasing;
review any new information that has become available;
assess any circumstances that have changed to determine what level of analysis is required;
attach appropriate stipulations and notices;
conduct appropriate consultations;
complete site visits;
and identify any special resource conditions for potential bidders.
The Field Office then either determines that existing analyses provide an adequate basis for making a decision or that additional analysis is needed before making a leasing recommendation.  

Initially 102 Parcels were sent to the VFO for consideration for the 2016 lease sale. (Additional information is available on the oil and gas leasing webpage.)  http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/prog/energy/oil_and_gas/oil_and_gas_lease.html

The VFO reviewed those 102 preliminary parcels, and deferred 74 full parcels and 5 partial parcels from consideration for the November 2016 lease sale on account of issues related to; white-tailed prairie dog habitat, Sage Grouse habitat, Yellow-billed Cuckoo habitat, pending wilderness inventories and recreation concerns.

The surface rights for most of the 28 parcels considered in the EA are owned by the federal government and administered by the VFO with smaller portions owned by other Federal, State and private entities. (see Appendix A, November 2016 Preliminary Oil and Gas Lease Sale List; and Appendix B, Maps). Appendix A provides the surface ownership, legal descriptions and acreages by the parcel identification number. The 28 parcels encompass a total of 12,344.48 acres.

An EA is being used to determine whether leasing the remaining parcels would result in significant impacts beyond those disclosed in the EISs listed in Section 1.7.1.

The EA and unsigned FONSI are made available to the public for a 30-day public comment period on the BLM ePlanning Website.  http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/content/wo/en/prog/planning/planning_overview/eplanning2.html

After analyzing and incorporating all substantive comments received during the public comment period, changes to the document and/or lease parcels list are made if necessary. The EA and unsigned FONSI are released again with an updated parcel list including applicable lease stipulations and notices through a Notice of Competitive Lease Sale which initiates a 30-day protest period.

Project Location

City State/Territory Zip Code County(ies)
Vernal Utah 84078

Application Information

  • Program
    Fluid Minerals (Oil & Gas, Tar Sands, Oil Shale)
  • Sub-Program
    Oil & Gas


Project Dates

  • Start Date
    2/22/2016
  • FONSI Date
    2/10/2017


Project Office Information

  • Lead Office
    Vernal Field Office
  • Offices
    Vernal FO


Contacts