Notice2023-03972
Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf, Oil and Gas Lease Sale 259
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
February 27, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentOcean Energy Management Bureau
Abstract
BOEM announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Lease Sale 259 (GOM Lease Sale 259). This ROD identifies the selected alternative for GOM Lease Sale 259, which is analyzed in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Lease Sales 259 and 261: Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS).
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 38 (Monday, February 27, 2023)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 38 (Monday, February 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12413-12414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03972]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM-2023-0022]
Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf, Oil and Gas Lease Sale
259
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a Record of Decision.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: BOEM announces the availability of the Record of Decision
(ROD) for Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and
Gas Lease Sale 259 (GOM Lease Sale 259). This ROD identifies the
selected alternative for GOM Lease Sale 259, which is analyzed in the
Gulf of Mexico OCS Lease Sales 259 and 261: Final Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261
Supplemental EIS).
ADDRESSES: The ROD and associated information are available on BOEM's
website at <a href="https://www.boem.gov/GoM-Sales-259-and-261-SEIS">https://www.boem.gov/GoM-Sales-259-and-261-SEIS</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Helen Rucker, Chief, Environmental
Assessment Section, Office of Environment, by telephone at 504-736-
2421, or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ed8588818883c39f988e86889fad8f828880c38a829b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d0b8b5bcb5befea2a5b3bbb5a290b2bfb5bdfeb7bfa6">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BOEM is required to hold GOM Lease Sale 259
on or before March 31, 2023, pursuant to the Inflation Reduction Act of
2022 (IRA, Pub. L. 117-169), signed into law on August 16, 2022. While
Section 50264(d) of the IRA requires BOEM to hold GOM Lease Sale 259,
the IRA does not disturb the bulk of BOEM's normal leasing process,
including the resolution of particular questions regarding the scope of
the lease sale and the terms of the resulting leases. GOM Lease Sale
259 will provide qualified bidders the opportunity to bid on unleased
blocks in the Gulf of Mexico OCS in order to explore for, develop, and
produce oil and natural gas. BOEM evaluated five alternatives in the
GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS. While BOEM has no
discretion in whether to hold GOM Lease Sale 259, BOEM issued the GOM
Lease Sales 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS in accordance with its normal
leasing process to the fullest extent practicable, and to inform the
decisionmaker on impacts from a representative lease sale, mitigations,
and other action alternatives.
After careful consideration, the Department of the Interior (DOI)
has selected a subset of the blocks analyzed as Alternative D in the
GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS. That is, to hold oil and
gas Lease Sale 259 as a GOM lease sale, with the exclusion of whole and
partial blocks that were otherwise proposed to be subject to the
Topographic Features Stipulation, the Live Bottom (Pinnacle Trend)
Stipulation, and the Blocks South of Baldwin County, Alabama,
Stipulation. Additional blocks have also been excluded to help reduce
identified space-use conflicts or competing interests in the Gulf of
Mexico while BOEM studies whether these areas are compatible for use by
more than one infrastructure type.
Therefore, as selected by DOI, Lease Sale 259 is a GOM regionwide
lease sale encompassing all three planning areas, i.e., the Western
Planning Area, Central Planning Area, and a small portion of
[[Page 12414]]
the Eastern Planning Area, with the following exclusions: (1) whole and
portions of blocks withdrawn from leasing by Presidential withdrawal in
the September 8, 2020, Memorandum on the Withdrawal of Certain Areas of
the United States Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing Disposition; (2)
blocks that are adjacent to or beyond the United States Exclusive
Economic Zone in the area known as the northern portion of the Eastern
Gap; (3) whole and partial blocks within the boundary of the Flower
Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary as of the July 14, 2008,
Memorandum on Modification of the Withdrawal of Areas of the United
States Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing Disposition; (4) whole and
partial blocks that would otherwise have been subject to the
Topographic Features Stipulation; (5) whole and partial blocks that
would otherwise have been subject to the Live Bottom (Pinnacle Trend)
Stipulation; (6) whole and partial blocks that otherwise would have
been subject to the Blocks South of Baldwin County, Alabama,
Stipulation; (7) draft and final identified Wind Energy Areas; (8)
designated Significant Sediment Resource Area blocks; and (9) Depth-
restricted, segregated block portions (Block 299, Main Pass Area, South
and East Addition). The excluded blocks are identified by their block
number in the Final Notice of Sale for Lease Sale 259. The lease sale
area encompasses approximately 13,600 OCS blocks covering approximately
73.3 million acres. The unleased OCS blocks that BOEM will offer for
lease are listed in the document entitled ``Lease Sale Area,'' which is
included in the Final Notice of Sale package for GOM Lease Sale 259.
As part of the decision to hold GOM Lease Sale 259, all practicable
means to avoid or minimize environmental harm at the lease sale stage
are being adopted. In addition, post-lease activities (e.g.,
exploration and development plans), which may be expected as a result
of GOM Lease Sale 259, will undergo additional environmental review and
may include additional project-specific mitigation measures applied as
conditions of individual plan approvals. The various mitigation
measures adopted for the lease sale, and those that may be applied
during post-lease reviews, are summarized below.
Lease Stipulations--Because the OCS blocks that otherwise were
proposed to be subject to the Topographic Features Stipulation; Live
Bottom (Pinnacle Trend) Stipulation; and Blocks South of Baldwin
County, Alabama, Stipulation have all been removed from leasing under
the chosen alternative, these stipulations will not be applied to
leases. Eight lease stipulations have been adopted as lease terms where
applicable, and they will be enforceable as part of the leases issued.
The GOM Lease Sale 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS describes these lease
stipulations, which are included in the Final Notice of Sale Package.
These lease stipulations include the following: Military Areas;
Evacuation; Coordination; Protected Species; United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea Royalty Payment; Agreement between the United
States of America and the United Mexican States Concerning
Transboundary Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico;
Restrictions Due to Rights-of-Use and Easements for Floating Production
Facilities; and Royalties on All Produced Gas.
Post-Lease Measures--Appendix B of the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and
Gas Lease Sales: 2017-2022; Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales 249, 250, 251,
252, 253, 254, 256, 257, 259, and 261--Final Multisale Environmental
Impact Statement provides a list and description of standard post-lease
conditions of approval that BOEM or the Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement may require as a result of their plan and
permit review processes for the Gulf of Mexico OCS region.
The decision to hold GOM Lease Sale 259 meets the purpose of and
need for the proposed action, as identified in the GOM Lease Sales 259
and 261 Supplemental EIS and provides for orderly resource development
with protection of human, marine, and coastal environments while also
ensuring that the public receives a fair market value for these
resources and that free-market competition is maintained.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (National Environmental Policy
Act) and 40 CFR parts 1505 and 1506.
Elizabeth Klein,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-03972 Filed 2-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 27, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.