Notice2026-00467
Notice of Availability of the Draft Bakersfield Field Office Oil and Gas Leasing and Development Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, California
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
January 13, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Bakersfield Field Office Oil and Gas Leasing and Development.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 8 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1330-1331]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00467]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[A2407-014-004-065516; O2509-014-004-125222]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Bakersfield Field Office Oil
and Gas Leasing and Development Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement, California
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
announces the availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Bakersfield Field
[[Page 1331]]
Office Oil and Gas Leasing and Development.
DATES: To afford the BLM the opportunity to consider comments in the
Draft Supplemental EIS, 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
EIS in the Federal Register. The EPA usually publishes its NOAs on
Fridays. The BLM will hold one virtual public meeting, with the date
announced on the BLM California website. The public must register in
advance for this webinar to participate: <a href="https://empsi.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8qypCIrwSrGVj8VYKh6anA#/registration">https://empsi.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8qypCIrwSrGVj8VYKh6anA#/registration</a>.
ADDRESSES: The Draft Supplemental EIS and associated documents are
available for review on the BLM project website at: <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2037500/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2037500/510</a>. Written comments
related to the Bakersfield Office Oil and Gas Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement may be submitted by the following
method: <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2037500/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2037500/510</a>.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may also be examined at the
Bakersfield Field Office, 35126 McMurtrey Ave., Bakersfield, CA 93308.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Mathews, Project Manager,
telephone (661) 391-6145; address 35126 McMurtrey Ave., Bakersfield, CA
93308; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e1838d8cbe8280be838a878ebe8e888dbe868092be92848892a1838d8ccf868e97"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2f4d4342704c4e704d4449407040464370484e5c705c4a465c6f4d434201484059">[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. Mathews.
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 Bakersfield Field Office planning area
includes Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara,
Tulare, and Ventura counties in California and encompasses
approximately 400,000 acres of public land and 1.2 million acres of
Federal mineral estate. The purpose of the Supplemental EIS is to
analyze the environmental effects of oil and gas leasing and
development within the Planning Area and to determine whether changes
are needed to the fluid minerals decisions in the Bakersfield Field
Office based on new information or changes in circumstances. The need
to develop the supplemental environmental analysis is to respond to
settlement agreement in Case No. 2:20-cv-00371-DSF and Case No. 1:21-
cv-00475-DAD-SAB, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central
District of California Western Division and the U.S. District Court for
the Eastern District of California on July 29, 2022. The BLM presented
preliminary information for public scoping review and comment in the
June 23, 2025, Federal Register Notice of Intent (90 FR 26605). Issues
identified by the BLM; Federal, State, and local agencies; and other
stakeholders are analyzed in the Draft Supplemental EIS and were
categorized by resource and include, but are not limited to, air and
atmospheric values; water quality and quantity; special status species;
and soil resources. An order issued by the U.S. District Court for the
Central District of California in 2016 upheld the range of alternatives
analyzed in the 2014 Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP)/2012 Final
EIS and carried forward to the 2019 Final Supplemental EIS. The five
management alternatives as analyzed in the 2014 Proposed RMP/2012 Final
EIS and the 2019 Supplemental EIS were:
<bullet> The No Action alternative (Alternative A) would continue
management under the existing 1997 Caliente RMP and 1984 Hollister RMP,
as amended.
<bullet> The Proposed Plan (Alternative B) strives to balance
resource conservation and ecosystem health with the production of
commodities and public use of the land.
<bullet> Alternative C emphasizes conserving cultural and natural
resources, maintaining functioning natural systems, and restoring
natural systems that are degraded.
<bullet> Alternative D follows Alternative C in all aspects except
with regard to livestock grazing. Alternative D would eliminate
livestock grazing from the BLM-managed lands in the planning area for
the life of this land use plan.
<bullet> Alternative E emphasizes the production of natural
resources and commodities while emphasizing public use opportunities.
The results of this draft supplemental analysis of the impacts of
hydraulic fracturing, additive to those identified in the 2012 Final
EIS and the 2019 Final Supplemental EIS, did not show notable increase
in total impacts. No conflicts were found between the estimated impacts
of hydraulic fracturing and the resource or program management goals
and objectives stated in the RMP. The range of alternatives has not
changed between the approved 2014 RMP and its 2012 Final EIS, the 2019
Final Supplement EIS and the 2025 Draft Supplemental EIS. Therefore, no
amendment to the 2014 RMP is being proposed.
The Draft Supplemental EIS also provides supplemental information
for seven lease parcels (4,134 acres) within the Bakersfield Field
Office analyzed in the 2020 Environmental Assessment (EA) (DOI-BLM-CA-
C060-2020-0120-EA) for the 2020 oil and gas lease sale. The 2020 EA
included site-specific analysis for those seven parcels. The lease
parcels were nominated through Expressions of Interest (EOI) and leased
during the December 2020 Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale. These
implementation-level decisions are subject to appeal to the Interior
Board of Land Appeals after the signing of a Record of Decision for
this project.
Public Involvement Process
The date and location of any additional meetings will be announced
in advance through local media, newspapers, ePlanning project page (see
ADDRESSES), and the BLM website (see ADDRESSES).
The BLM will continue to consult with Indian Tribal Nations on a
government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order
13175, BLM Manual Section 1780 and other Departmental policies. Tribal
concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and potential
impacts to cultural resources, will be given due consideration.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personally identifiable information in your comment, you should
be aware that your entire comment--including your personally
identifiable information--may be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personally
identifiable information from public review, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4332.
Joseph Stout,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2026-00467 Filed 1-12-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-15-P
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