| The Final Supplement to the Montana Statewide Oil and Gas Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Amendment of the Powder River and Billings Resource Management Plans (FSEIS) is a result of U.S. District Court issued-orders dated February 25, 2005, and April 5, 2005. These orders require BLM to prepare a Supplemental EIS to evaluate a phased development alternative for coal bed natural gas production. The FSEIS is a reissue of the original BLM 2003 Montana Statewide Oil and Gas Environmental Impact Statement and Amendment of the Powder River and Billings Resource Management Plans (RMPs) (Statewide Document). With the exception of minor edits, new text supplementing the Statewide Document is shaded gray for easy identification. The FSEIS was developed in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. It is based on Alternative H, the preferred alternative in the Draft Supplement to the Montana Statewide Oil and Gas Environmental Impact Statement and Amendment of the Powder River and Billings Resource Management Plans (DSEIS), which was released on February 2, 2007, and the DSEIS Supplemental Air Quality Analysis which was released December 12, 2007. The FSEIS contains the Proposed Plan (Alternative H). Changes between the DSEIS and FSEIS are indicated in text boxes inset at the beginning of each chapter. The FSEIS contains the effects from the proposed plan, a summary of written and verbal comments received during the public review periods on the DSEIS and the supplemental air quality analyses, and a response to comments. |
