Notice2023-19427
Notice of Availability of the Draft Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
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
September 8, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Draft Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Leasing SEIS).
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 173 (Friday, September 8, 2023)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 173 (Friday, September 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62104-62105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19427]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[DOI-BLM-AK-0000-2021-0006-EIS]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Coastal Plain Oil and Gas
Leasing Program Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces
the availability of the Draft Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Leasing SEIS).
DATES: To afford the joint lead agencies the opportunity to consider
comments
[[Page 62105]]
in the Final Leasing SEIS, please ensure that the BLM receives your
comments within 45 days following the date the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft
Leasing SEIS in the Federal Register. The EPA publishes these NOAs on
Fridays. The BLM will be holding virtual and in-person public meetings.
The dates of the comment period as well as information about public
meetings and subsistence hearings will be available on the project
website in the ADDRESSES section.
ADDRESSES: The Draft Leasing SEIS is available for review on the BLM
ePlanning project website at <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015144/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015144/510</a>.
Written comments related to the Draft Leasing SEIS may be submitted
via the ePlanning project website at <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015144/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015144/510</a>.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the BLM
Alaska State Office, BLM Alaska Arctic District Office, and the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge Office.
<bullet> BLM Alaska State Office Public Room, 222 W 7th Avenue,
Anchorage, AK 99513
<bullet> BLM Alaska Arctic District Office, 222 University Avenue,
Fairbanks, AK 99709
<bullet> USFWS Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Office, 101 12th Avenue,
Room 235, Fairbanks, AK 99701
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Serena Sweet, BLM Supervisory Planner,
telephone (907) 271-4345, or email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dba8a8acbebeaf9bb9b7b6f5bcb4ad"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d0a3a3a7b5b5a490b2bcbdfeb7bfa6">[email protected]</span></a>; Stephanie Kuhns, BLM
Planning and Environmental Specialist, telephone (907) 271-4208, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#95e6fee0fdfbe6d5f7f9f8bbf2fae3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a9dac2dcc1c7dae9cbc5c487cec6df">[email protected]</span></a>; or Bobbie Jo Skibo, Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Program
Coordinator, telephone (907) 441-1539, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a3c1ccc1c1cac6c9ccfcd0c8cac1cce3c5d4d08dc4ccd5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1d7f727f7f74787772426e76747f725d7b6a6e337a726b">[email protected]</span></a>.
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services for contacting
Ms. Sweet, Ms. Kuhns, or Ms. Skibo. Individuals outside the United
States should use the relay services offered within their country to
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft Leasing SEIS was developed by the
BLM and USFWS as joint lead agencies to address deficiencies in the
2019 Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Environmental Impact
Statement and the 2020 Record of Decision approving the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program (85 FR
51754).
The joint lead agencies prepared this Draft Leasing SEIS in
accordance with NEPA to implement an oil and gas leasing program in the
Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Coastal Plain).
This Draft Leasing SEIS serves to inform BLM's implementation of the
Public Law 115-97, Section 20001(c)(1) requirement to hold two lease
sales. It may also inform management of post-lease activities,
including seismic surveys, exploratory drilling, oil and gas
development, and transportation of oil and gas in and from the Coastal
Plain. Specifically, the Draft Leasing SEIS considers and analyzes the
environmental impacts of various leasing alternatives and the indirect
impacts that could result from hypothetical development.
This Draft Leasing SEIS does not permit oil and gas extraction
activities. It considers three action alternatives for implementation
of an oil and gas leasing program in the Coastal Plain. The decisions
to be made include which lands to offer for lease and what terms and
conditions would apply to leases. The decisions evaluated would not
authorize any on-the-ground activity associated with the exploration or
development of oil and gas resources on the Coastal Plain. Future on-
the-ground actions requiring BLM approval, including proposed
exploration plans and development proposals, would require further NEPA
analysis based on the site-specific proposal.
Although sections 20001(a)(2) and (b)(2)(A) of Public Law 115-97
assign responsibility to the BLM for administering the oil and gas
program on the Coastal Plain, it is understood that all activities,
including plan development, study development, and consideration of
exceptions, modifications, waivers, or any operations conducted on the
surface of the Coastal Plain, would include close coordination with the
USFWS as the surface management agency. In addition, the BLM would
coordinate with other appropriate Federal, State, and North Slope
Borough agencies; Tribal Governments; ANCSA corporations; and other
Native organizations as appropriate.
All comments received during the comment period will be considered
and evaluated, and substantive comments will be addressed in the Final
Leasing SEIS to be completed in 2024. The most useful comments are ones
that are specific and address one or more of the following:
<bullet> Identification of new information that would have a
bearing on the analysis.
<bullet> Inaccuracies or discrepancies in information or any errors
in our portrayal of the resources and uses of the program area.
<bullet> Suggestions for improving implementation of an oil and gas
leasing program on the Coastal Plain, consistent with the purposes of
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
<bullet> Identification of new impacts, alternatives, or potential
mitigation measures.
When you share your comments with us, please be as specific as
possible. Identify the specific concern or correction you are
suggesting, where it appears in the Draft Leasing SEIS, and the
modification you feel is necessary or appropriate. If you have an idea
for a potential mitigation measure, please tell us what it is and the
benefits it would provide.
Information about public meetings and subsistence hearings will be
available on the project website listed in the ADDRESSES section, and
will be announced through additional, public notices, news releases,
and mailings.
The BLM and USFWS will continue to consult with Indian Tribal
Nations and Alaska Native corporations in accordance with Executive
Order 13175, BLM MS 1780, and other Departmental policies. Tribal
concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets, impacts to
subsistence resources, and potential impacts to cultural resources,
will be given due consideration.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10)
Steven M. Cohn,
BLM Alaska State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023-19427 Filed 9-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-10-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 September 8, 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.