Section 501 of FLPMA authorizes the BLM to grant ROWs for infrastructure and facilities that are in the public interest and require ROWs over, under, upon, or through BLM-administered lands. The BLM ROW program consists of the evaluation, authorization, and management of ROWs, including corridors, for a variety of uses on public/federal land. An ROW grant is an authorization to use specific pieces of public land for certain types of projects, such as developing roads, pipelines, transmission lines, and communications sites. A grant authorizes rights and privileges for a specific use of the land for a specific period.

In the existing plans, ROW corridors were formally designated as the preferred location for existing and future ROWs in the Planning Area. Land uses that typically do not require ROWs are those defined as “casual use” (43 CFR 3809.5). Casual use activities involve practices that do not ordinarily cause any appreciable disturbance to BLM-administered lands, resources, or existing improvements.

An important component of the ROW program is the intrastate and interstate transportation of commodities ultimately delivered as utility services (e.g., natural gas and electricity) to residential and commercial customers. Equally important at the local level is the growing demand for legal access to private homes and ranches using ROW grants. While most existing ROW actions in the Planning Area are for linear facilities, there also are many existing site ROWs for non-linear communications sites, water reservoirs, and energy resource distribution and transmission.

The BLM and other agencies (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability and the USFS) prepared the Programmatic EIS for the Designation of Energy Corridors on Federal Land in Eleven Western States (DOE and BLM 2008b). The Programmatic EIS evaluates potential impacts associated with the proposed action to designate corridors on federal land in 11 western states (including Wyoming) for oil, gas, and hydrogen pipelines and electricity transmission and distribution facilities. The ROD for the Programmatic EIS amended current RMPs in both the CYFO and WFO by designating energy corridor 79-216 as a multi-modal energy corridor (Map 51). Energy corridor 79-216 is the preferred location for major transmission and linear energy infrastructure in the Planning Area. This corridor contains several existing pipelines that go from the southern boundary of the Planning Area to the Montana border.

Existing ROW corridors are the preferred location for minor ROW grants (Map 51). These routes or areas are located primarily along existing highways, major pipelines and powerlines, oil fields, and communication sites. Concentrating new ROW grants along existing corridors works well when the source and terminus are nearby or when land along the route is predominantly federally administered. Due to the large blocks of public land and the various locations requested for the applications received, it is not always possible to concentrate new grants into designated corridors.

The use of ROW corridors in the Planning Area has been moderate, and existing corridors designated for major ROWs have been sufficient to meet demand and the needs of public land users. ROWs on BLM-administered lands in the Planning Area have primarily supported the development of energy minerals (i.e., project access roads, gathering/transportation pipeline systems, and related oil and gas facilities). However, in recent years, access roads and utilities associated with development of private lands have become more common.

Communications sites are authorized by an ROW under Section 501 of FLPMA and administered under regulations at 43 CFR 2800. Communications sites are typically site ROWs, which consist of facilities such as small buildings, towers, antennas, and other structures. The Planning Area contains a total of 72 communications sites concentrated in seven areas (Map 51). Communications site concentration areas are typically on mountaintops, ridgelines, or other high-elevation areas to allow uninterrupted transmission of the associated communications signal. Communications site plans have been prepared for each of the communications site concentration areas identified on Map 51. These plans govern specific development and management of communications sites in the area. Regularly updated information on communications site facilities, concentration areas, links to site plans, and other information for communications sites in the Planning Area can be found though the BLM website at: http://www.blm.gov/commsites/.

There are 2,192 existing ROWs (see Table 3–43) in the Planning Area covering approximately 44,539 acres. Most ROW applications in the Planning Area are for the development of powerlines, transportation and delivery of mineral-related commodities and facilities, telephone facilities (including fiber optic lines and communications sites), access roads, and water-related facilities (pipelines, ditches and canals, reservoirs). Over the last 10 years, the BLM has processed between 45 and 60 new or amended ROW applications every year for the Planning Area.

In the past 10 years, regional demand for ROWs on public land in Wyoming has increased; however, ROW demand in the Planning Area has remained relatively stable (BLM 2009b). Much of the regional demand has focused on exporting energy products through and from the sparsely populated western states to population centers, most recently dominated by west coast power demands. The upsurge in exploration and development of cleaner-burning fuels, such as natural gas, CBNG, and renewable energy resources, has resulted in the need for more pipelines and transmission lines. Technological advancements have also resulted in new demands on public land, largely related to wind energy and telecommunications (such as cellular and fiber optic). ROW applications in the region are likely to continue a slight upward trend during the planning cycle, while ROW demand in the Planning Area is expected to remain relatively stable.

If the current rate of development continues and current management remains in place, designated ROW corridors should adequately meet future needs over the next 10 to 20 years. At this rate of development, corridors could eventually be more intensively used, but the BLM does not anticipate crowding.

Oil and gas production in the Planning Area is expected to continue to come mostly from established fields that already have adequate infrastructure such as roads, powerlines, and gathering/transmission lines. Produced oil volume is flat or declining from these fields, and gas volume is stable or increasing. Therefore, no major increase in the number of new ROWs for oil and gas infrastructure (each field office currently issues four to eight per year) is anticipated for the next 10 to 15 years unless there is more activity, such as the construction of a pipeline to bring CO2 gas for use in oil recovery in existing oilfields.

The BLM estimates that demand for public land for access roads and electric or pipeline ROWs in the Planning Area will remain moderate over the next 10 to 20 years, depending on the location of energy mineral development. A small increase in demand for public land for major energy transportation ROWs is expected, potentially involving one or two major projects every 10 years. Further development of renewable energy resources, specifically wind in Wyoming, could create additional need for ROWs for transmission lines in the region and through the Planning Area to deliver energy produced in Wyoming to other markets.

With the current market demand, the BLM expects the demand for communications sites on BLM-administered land to continue in the foreseeable future. Future need for additional fiber optic lines is not known; however, because these types of development tend to run between population centers, existing ROW corridors appear to be sufficient to meet future needs.

Management Challenges

In general, ROW management challenges include meeting national and regional demands for energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, and other services while balancing management objectives for other resources (e.g., the preservation of sagebrush habitat).

A specific management challenge associated with linear ROWs is the proliferation of unauthorized roads and trails caused by the general public driving along the ROWs. This unauthorized development can cause extensive damage to resources that often goes unmitigated.

Another management challenge associated with ROW development is the controversial nature of allowing development of different types of infrastructure on public lands. The development of transmission lines and other energy-related infrastructure (including renewable energy facilities such as wind turbines authorized by ROWs) on public lands can create perceived threats to safety and adverse impacts to the visual character of landscapes, especially when development occurs near private land or populated areas.