The Bureau of Land Management invites public to comment on Proposed Kermit Overland Conveyor Project
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CARLSBAD, New Mexico– The Bureau of Land Management is asking for public comments on a proposed conveyor system project, which would reduce truck traffic on public roadways and employ 715 employees locally through the 18-month construction period and approximately 36 employees locally through the 28.5-year operational period.
On Jan. 6, 2020, the BLM, the lead agency on this project, published a news release to formally begin a 30-day public scoping period that ended on Feb. 4, 2020. As the next step, the BLM Carlsbad Office now invites the public to provide comments on the Environmental Assessment for OLC Kermit, LLC’s, a subsidiary of Atlas Sand Company, LLC, proposed Kermit Overland Conveyor Project.
“All comments received during the scoping period were considered and every effort was made to address all concerns presented by the commenters in the environmental assessment,” said David Evans, Acting Carlsbad Field Office Manager. “We look forward to getting feedback on this environmental assessment from the public during this upcoming comment period.”
OLC Kermit is seeking a permanent 70-foot-wide right-of-way across federal lands for the construction, operation and maintenance of an approximate 16.4-mile-long overland covered belted conveyor system in southeast New Mexico. This project would transport sand from a 60-acre offloading facility in Loving County, Texas to a proposed 23.9-acre end of line offloading facility in Lea County, New Mexico.
The conveyor system would carry sand into New Mexico for use in hydraulic fracturing operations, rather than using heavy vehicle trucking, which is the current method to transport sand in New Mexico. The overland conveyor system would reduce the number of miles driven by sand hauling trucks on major public roadways and highways by localizing sand transportation operations to oil and gas lease roads within the vicinity of the proposed 23.9-acre end of line offloading facility. The project would utilize existing roads wherever possible to access the right-of-way. Temporary workspace areas located outside of the permanent right-of-way are needed during construction for material handling, temporary storage, and project staging activities.
The environmental assessment is available for public review and comment on e-planning, the BLM National NEPA register, at: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/1502740/510.
The 30-day public comment period will begin Aug. 28, 2020, with the release of this notice. The BLM will accept comments through Sept. 28, 2020. The public can submit comments to the BLM via the following methods:
- Online submission via e-planning at: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/1502740/510.
- Mail: BLM Carlsbad Field Office, Attn: Tessa Cisneros, 620 E. Greene St., Carlsbad, NM 88220.
- Hand Deliver: to the Carlsbad Field Office, 7:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
A copy of the environmental assessment available on ePlanning can be mailed via the U.S. Postal Service upon request to the Carlsbad Field Office. For more information or to request a copy of the EA, please contact Carlsbad Field Office Project Lead Tessa Cisneros at 575-234-5980.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.