Notice2021-16572
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, Alaska
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 4, 2021
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
In accordance with Secretary's Order 3401, Comprehensive Analysis and Temporary Halt on all Activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Relating to the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Alaska State Office, Anchorage, Alaska, intends to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to the September 2019 Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program EIS. The Supplemental EIS will provide a comprehensive analysis of the potential environmental impacts of the Program, including by addressing the deficiencies identified in Secretary's Order 3401.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 147 (Wednesday, August 4, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 147 (Wednesday, August 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41989-41990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-16572]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[21X.LLAK930100.L16100000.PN0000]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, Alaska
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with Secretary's Order 3401, Comprehensive
Analysis and Temporary Halt on all Activities in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge Relating to the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing
Program, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Alaska State Office,
Anchorage, Alaska, intends to prepare a Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) to the September 2019 Coastal Plain Oil and Gas
Leasing Program EIS. The Supplemental EIS will provide a comprehensive
analysis of the potential environmental impacts of the Program,
including by addressing the deficiencies identified in Secretary's
Order 3401.
DATES: This Notice initiates the public scoping process for the
Supplemental EIS. Comments on issues, impacts, and potential new
alternatives to be analyzed may be submitted in writing until October
4, 2021. The BLM will announce on its website any additional venues for
commenting during scoping.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Website: <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/102555/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/102555/510</a>.
<bullet> Mail: BLM, Alaska State Office, Attention--Coastal Plain
Supplemental EIS, 222 West 7th Avenue, #13, Anchorage, AK 99513-7599.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Serena Sweet, Project Lead, via email
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f1939d9cae909aae929e908285909d819d90989fae828481819d949c949f85909db4b8a2b1939d9cdf969e87"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="781a1415271913271b17190b0c19140814191116270b0d0808141d151d160c19143d312b381a1415561f170e">[email protected]</span></a>, or via telephone at
907-271-5960; or by mail at Bureau of Land Management, 222 West 7th
Avenue, #13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513-7599. You may also request to be
added to the mailing list for the Supplemental EIS. Additional
background information and supporting documents may be found at the
<a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/102555/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/102555/510</a>.
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the
above individual during normal business hours. FRS is available 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with the
above individual. You will receive a reply during normal business
hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The area comprising the Coastal Plain
includes approximately 1.6 million acres within the approximately 19.3
million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In September 2019 and in
connection with Public Law 115-97, Dec. 22, 2017, the BLM completed the
Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Final EIS. The BLM then issued a
Record of Decision (ROD) for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing
Program on August 8, 2020 (85 FR 51754). The ROD approved a program to
implement Section 20001 of Public Law 115-97, which directed the BLM to
manage the oil and gas leasing program on the Coastal Plain in a manner
similar to lease sales under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production
Act of 1976 (including regulations).
On June 1, 2021, the Secretary of the Interior issued Secretary's
Order 3401, Section 4 of which directed ``a temporary halt on all
Department activities related to the [Leasing] Program in the Arctic
Refuge'' pending ``a new, comprehensive analysis of the potential
environmental impacts of the Program'' to ``address . . . identified
legal deficiencies.''
The purpose of this public scoping process is to determine the
scope of issues to be addressed and to identify the significant issues,
including any legal deficiencies in the Final EIS, related to an oil
and gas leasing program within the Coastal Plain. Information received
during this process will influence the development of the Supplemental
EIS and guide the scope of the environmental analysis. The BLM will
work collaboratively with interested parties to identify the management
decisions best suited to local, regional, and national needs and
concerns.
The purpose and need of the Supplemental EIS is bound by statute
and remains the same as for the September 2019 Final EIS, i.e., to
implement Section 20001 of Public Law 115-97. Potential new
alternatives to be considered in the Supplemental EIS include, but are
not limited to, those that would: Designate certain areas of the
Coastal Plain as open or closed to leasing; permit less than 2,000
acres of surface development throughout the Coastal Plain; prohibit
surface infrastructure in sensitive areas; and otherwise avoid or
mitigate impacts from oil and gas activities.
The Supplemental EIS will evaluate impacts to various surface
resources including, but not limited to, caribou, polar bears, birds,
vegetation, and
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surface waters including wetlands, as well as to other uses of the
Coastal Plain, including subsistence uses. The Supplemental EIS will
also consider impacts from greenhouse gas emissions from any Leasing
Program.
After the scoping comment period is closed, the BLM will review and
consider the scoping comments received and will develop a Draft
Supplemental EIS, which BLM estimates will be completed approximately 6
to 8 months after the scoping period ends. At that time the Draft
Supplemental EIS will be made available for public comment for at least
45 days. After the close of the Draft Supplemental EIS comment period,
BLM will develop a Final Supplemental EIS incorporating comments
received on the Draft, which BLM estimates will be completed
approximately 6 months after the Draft Supplemental EIS comment period
ends. A record of decision selecting a program alternative from the
Final Supplemental EIS would be issued no sooner than 30 days after
notice of the availability of the Final Supplemental EIS is published
in the Federal Register.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.9(d), 40 CFR 1501.7 (2019).
Laura Daniel-Davis,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. 2021-16572 Filed 8-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P
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