The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Carlsbad Field Office is asking concerned parties to participate in a public scoping process to gather input regarding the preparation of an environmental assessment for OLC Kermit LLC’s proposed Kermit Overland Conveyor Project.
OLC is a subsidiary of Atlas Sand Co. LLC. The BLM received an application for a right-of-way on federal land for the proposed conveyor system. The BLM is the lead federal agency for the undertaking. The public scoping period will end on Feb. 4, 2020.
OLC is seeking a permanent 70-ft.-wide right-of-way across federal lands for the construction, operation and maintenance of an approximate 16.5-mile-long covered overland conveyor belt system in southeast New Mexico.
This project would transport sand from a proposed 60-acre offloading facility in Loving County, Texas, to a proposed 140-acre loadout facility in Lea County, New Mexico.
The project objective is to carry sand into New Mexico for use in hydraulic fracturing operations, by means other than heavy vehicle trucking, the current method to transport sand in New Mexico. The overland conveyor system would annually reduce the number of miles driven by sand-hauling trucks on public roadways by approximately 25 million miles, or 47%.
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 locations of the temporary workspace areas have not yet been determined.
Additional information about the project, including the preliminary plan of development and description of the proposed project details, are available on the ePlanning, the BLM National NEPA register, at: https://go.usa.gov/xpyxw.
The BLM is requesting comments from the public within 30 days from the date of this notice. The public can submit comments to the BLM via the following methods:
• Online submission via the e-planning link provided above.
• Mail: BLM Carlsbad Field Office, Attn: Tessa Cisneros, 620 E. Greene St., Carlsbad, NM 88220.
• In person submission at the BLM Carlsbad Field Office from 7:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
For more information, please contact Carlsbad Field Office Project Lead Tessa Cisneros at 575-234-5980.