Moab, UT – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah has signed the Decision Record (DR) and Finding of No Significant Impact and approved the Application for Permit to Drill (APD) for the Harley Dome Helium Project in the Moab Field Office just north of I-70 and a few miles west of the Utah-Colorado state line.
В
Flatirons Resources, LLC, applied to the BLM-Utah Moab Field Office for a permit to drill a 1,100-foot exploratory well in the Harley Dome gas field in eastern Utah and for an associated right-of-way to transport the produced gas via a surface pipeline to a new gas processing plant that would be brought in. If sufficient quality and quantity of helium is confirmed, the proponent will construct a four-inch, 7,183-foot pipeline to a small plant where the helium will be removed from the gas stream and compressed for truck transport. The well will be located five miles west of the Utah-Colorado border on federal lands in northern Grand County; the helium extraction plant will be located 1.4 miles from the well on private property.
The project environmental assessment considered a wide range of potential impacts to natural and cultural resources, and the DR includes best management practices and reclamation plans to mitigate identified impacts.
Natural gas deposits commonly contain small amounts of helium. The Harley Dome helium project is notable because the helium reservoir in the Harley Dome gas field is believed to have an unusually high concentration of helium and low concentration of flammable gases like methane.
Helium is a colorless, odorless gas with unique properties such as the lowest boiling and melting points of all the natural elements. In addition to filling colorful balloons, helium’s distinctive characteristics also make it critical to hospitals that use it to cool MRI scanners; the nuclear industry, which uses it to cool reactors; and, even NASA who uses it to purge explosive fuel from its rockets.
В
Additional information about the proposed project is included in the EA, which is available on the BLM’s Environmental Notification Bulletin Board (ENBB) at: https://www.blm.gov/ut/enbb/index.php.
В
A hard copy can also be obtained in person at the Moab Field Office, 82 East Dogwood, Moab, Utah, 84532.
For further information, please contact Lisa Bryant at (435)259-2150. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to leave a message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.