Laserfiche WebLink
ii <br />t United States <br />JSDA Department of <br />Agriculture <br />Forest Grand Mesa, <br />Service Uncompahgre and <br />Gunnison <br />National Forests <br />2250 Highway 50 <br />Delta, CO 81416 <br />Voice: 970-874-6600 <br />TDD: 970-874-6660 <br />File Code: 2820-2 <br />Date: June 7, 2010 <br />0"'iECEIV ED <br />JUN 0 9 2010 <br />DivwuiY " ?ktki n' <br />Wn'ing WW SAW <br />Dear Interested Party, <br />Notice for Opportunity to Comment <br />-GEC, Sixteen Well,.Exploratory _ _ <br />Master Surface Plan of Operations <br />Paonia Ranger District, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests <br />The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests (GMUG) proposes to authorize Gunnison Energy <br />Corporation (GEC) to exercise federal oil and gas lease rights, and conduct surface operations associated with accessing, <br />drilling, testing, and completing 16 natural gas wells from four multiple-well drill pads, construct about 0.8 miles of new <br />access road with co-located gas gathering and water lines, and construct 0.8 miles of natural gas pipeline on the Paonia <br />Ranger District. GEC submitted a Master Surface Use Plan of Operations (MSUPO) as part of a Master Development Plan <br />(MDP) to the Paonia Ranger District for these operations on federal oil and gas leases (COC-42314 and COC-70360) in <br />Township 11 South, 90 West, Section 8 and 9, and in Township 10 South, Range 91 West, Section 36 in Delta and Gunnison <br />Counties, as shown on the attached figure. <br />The MDP will be evaluated according to Onshore Order #1 and implementing regulations at 36 CFR 228, Subpart E, along <br />with the applicable environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act. These surface operations would be <br />subject to the terms and conditions of the leases, as well as the applicable standards and guidelines in the 1983 Land and <br />Resource Management Plan for the GMUG, as amended. This project would contribute to meeting the Forest Plan goals to <br />encourage environmentally sound energy and mineral development. <br />Background <br />A MDP is a plan which describes common information to multiple planned wells, including drilling plans, surface use plans <br />of operations, and plans for future production. Its contents include a Master Surface Use Plan of Operations (approved by <br />the Forest Service), a Master Drilling Plan (approved by th_e BLM), and identifies areas and locations to which the MDP <br />would apply. When using an MDP, no site-specific Applications for Permit to Drill (APDs) are submitted until after the MDP <br />has been approved. Any APDs submitted subsequently can reference the MDP and be approved using the NEPA analysis for <br />the MDP so long as they are consistent with what was analyzed in the MDP. Subsequent APD submittals need only <br />reference the applicable MDP, attach a certified well plat, and state any deviation from the common 9-point drilling plan <br />and 12-point Surface Use Plan of Operations, if there are any. <br />The benefits of using MDPs are increased processing efficiency by eliminating redundant paper work and duplicative <br />environmental reviews of individual APDs. MDPs facilitate better planning of roads, pipelines, flow lines, production <br />facilities, and facilitate better cumulative effects analyses. <br />U?iS Caring for the Land and Serving People Printed on Recycled Paper i'??