USDA Forest Service
Fishlake National Forest
Beaver and Millard Counties, Utah
Legal Notice of Opportunity to Object
Cove Fort Geothermal Leasing
The Beaver Ranger District has completed the Final Environmental Assessment (EA) and the Draft Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact (DN/FONSI) for the Cove Fort Geothermal Leasing project. The selected alternative in the draft DN would authorize the proposed action, which entails consenting to lease through the BLM three parcels for geothermal resources, FIF-0260S-0060W-001 (UT 0320-9376), FIF-0260S-0060W-002 (UT 0320-9377), and FIF-0260S-0070W-001 (UT 0320-9393), near Cove Fort, Utah.
The three parcels cover an area of approximately 6,062 acres and encompass Forest lands open to fluid mineral leasing. The parcels would be offered for lease through a competitive sale by the BLM in or after October 2023. If not leased at the end of the competitive sale process, the parcels would then be available for noncompetitive leasing at a later date.
Geothermal resource exploration and production on the parcels would be conducted through leases with the BLM; would be subject to terms and stipulations identified in the environmental analysis; and would comply with all applicable federal and state laws. Subsequent proposals for exploration and/or development on specific parcels would be examined for conformance with the appropriate land use plan and must be analyzed as required by NEPA prior to implementation.
The Responsible Official is Mike Elson, Forest Supervisor, and the Objection Reviewing Officer is Deb Oakeson, Deputy Regional Forester. The Final EA and Draft DN/FONSI are available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=63962. For additional information, contact Adam Solt, Minerals Program Manager, adam.solt@usda.gov.
This action is subject to the pre-decisional administrative review process outlined in Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 218, Subparts A and B. A final decision will not be made until after the requirements of 36 CFR 218.12, Timing of Project Decision, have been met.
