Dakota Prairie Grasslands, North Dakota; Oil and Gas Development Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

Resumen

In June of 2003, the Dakota Prairie Grasslands Record of Decision for Oil and Gas Leasing on the Little Missouri and Cedar River National Grasslands was signed. This decision spelled out leasing stipulations, consistent with the Revised Dakota Prairie Grasslands Land and Resource Management Plan, based on the 2001 Northern Great Plains Management Plans Revision FEIS which included a Reasonably Foreseeable Development Scenario (RFDS) for Oil and Gas for the Little Missouri and Cedar River National Grasslands. In the 11 years since the analysis was completed there has been a change in the manner in which oil and gas development has occurred on the Dakota Prairie Grasslands, primarily that multiple (4-6) wells can be drilled from a single well pad rather than just one; as was most common in the past. The improvements in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to improve the ability to access oil and gas located deep underground are the primary reasons for these changes in development. At this time it is necessary to review the analysis to determine whether or not the effects of the changed pattern of oil and gas development are different from those effects considered