Supplement to DEIS Forthcoming

The San Juan Public Lands Center received more than 18,000 public comments on the Draft Land Management Plan (DLMP) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that was published in December 2007.   The 120-day formal comment period closed on April 11, 2008.  During the comment period significant, new information surfaced regarding the potential for oil and gas development.  After reviewing the information, the San Juan Public Lands Center determined that it was necessary to publish a Supplement to the DEIS. 
The Supplement will include and analyze the consequences of the new development projections for oil and gas leasing and include a more rigorous air-quality modeling study, as requested by the Environmental Protection Agency.

In the past couple of years, developments in other parts of the country have proven a viable and economical way to extract gas from shale geologic formations.  Oil and gas industries have recently identified shale play areas on the west-end of San Juan Public Lands.  The Reasonable Foreseeable Development Scenario for Fluid Minerals is being revised to include new projected development scenarios for shale gas targets by industry and will be available for review this fall.  The new Shale Play Area consists of approximately 646,654 acres located within Montezuma, Dolores and San Miguel counties.  Approximately 55% of the area is within federal surface ownership. According to industry estimates, approximately 1,700 wells could be developed within the area to extract the shale gas.

The new information and analysis are specifically focused to oil and gas leasing and air quality. The Supplement will not address other issues or analysis. All public comments submitted during the DLMP/DEIS comment period regarding other plan-revision issues and resources are still applicable and are currently being reviewed and responded to. The Supplement is anticipated to be published for public review and comment in Summer 2009. 

Given the time needed to draft the Supplement, publish for public comment, respond to comments and make revisions, we do not anticipate publishing the proposed Land Management Plan (LMP) and Final Environmental Impact Statement until Spring 2010.  Although the release of the Final LMP will be delayed by the Supplement, it is better that this information is addressed and analyzed now for the health of the public lands and integrity of the forthcoming LMP.

For more information about the new gas development projections or air quality modeling, please contact Matt Janowiak, San Juan Public Lands Center Associate Center Manager for Physical Resources, 970 385-1378.

For more information about the Supplement and Plan Revision process contact Shannon Manfredi, Plan Revision Team Leader at 970-385-1229 or smanfredi@fs.fed.us

Draft Land Management Plan and
Draft Environmental Impact Statement

(Click on image above to go to DLMP & DEIS)

This Draft Land Management Plan (DLMP) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) addresses future management options for approximately 1,867,800 acres of the San Juan National Forest, administered by the USFS; and approximately 500,000 surface acres and 300,000 acres of subsurface mineral estate administered by the BLM.

The planning area is located in southwestern Colorado, in Archuleta, Conejos, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, Montezuma, Montrose, Rio Grande, San Juan, and San Miguel Counties. The BLM San Juan Field Office and the San Juan National Forest are managed under a combined “Service First” partnership. The San Juan Public Lands Center (SJPLC) is the joint USFS/BLM Service First office responsible for the management of these public lands and resources. Information provided by the public; BLM and USFS personnel; other Federal, State, and local governmental agencies; Native American tribal agencies and organizations; and special interest and community organizations has been used to develop and analyze the four land management alternatives and the oil and gas leasing alternatives considered in detail in this document.

Go to DLMP and DEIS now >>