[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 5 (Monday, January 8, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1365-1366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-426]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service (MMS)


Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Alaska Region, Beaufort Sea, 
Proposed Liberty Development and Production Plan (DPP)

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) and Locations and Dates of Public Hearings for British 
Petroleum Exploration (Alaska) (BPXA) Inc.'s Proposed Liberty DPP 
Offshore Alaska.

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SUMMARY: The MMS is issuing a draft EIS for the BPXA Inc.'s proposed 
Liberty Development Project DPP in the Beaufort Sea, Alaska. The U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) were cooperating agencies, with the MMS, in preparing the EIS. 
Information on the availability of the EIS and dates and locations for 
public hearings and submission of comments are presented in this 
notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For matters pertaining to this notice, 
contact Mr. Fred King (Alaska OCS Region, Anchorage) at (907) 271-6696 
or toll free at 1-800-764-2627.

DATES: Comments on the draft EIS will be accepted until March 13, 2001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MMS, in cooperation with the COE and 
EPA, prepared a draft EIS on BPXA Inc.'s proposed Liberty Development 
Project DPP. This EIS additionally serves as the environmental analysis 
for the BPXA's Oil Discharge Prevention and Contingency Plan (ODPCP) 
and the construction and operation of a pipeline that would be 
associated with any Right-of-Way (ROW) for the OCS portion of the 
proposed Liberty pipeline. The public review for the DPP, ODPCP, and 
ROW will be announced separately by the MMS Alaska OCS Region.
    This EIS is also intended to meet NEPA compliance and public notice 
requirements for EPA's issuance of a National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System (NPDES) permit, pursuant to Section 402 of the Clean 
Water Act. By this notice, the EPA is seeking public review and comment 
of the NPDES permit and explanatory fact sheet which are included as 
Appendix I in the draft EIS.
    The Liberty prospect is located on the OCS in the Beaufort Sea 
northeast of the Prudhoe Bay oil field. The MMS is the lead agency 
which developed the EIS, in cooperation with the COE and the EPA, as 
required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.). In February 1998, BPXA submitted a 
DPP, subsequently revised in November 1998 (Revision 1) and July 2000 
(Revision 2), describing how they proposed to produce, develop, and 
transport oil from the Liberty Prospect using a manmade gravel island 
constructed on the Federal OCS and located in 22 feet of water about 
6.1 miles offshore in Foggy Island Bay and 1.5 miles west of the 
abandoned Tern Island. The Liberty Island facility would be a self-
contained offshore drilling operation with processing facilities. Oil 
would be transported to shore in a common carrier pipeline which 
connects with the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. A new gravel mine site 
and offshore and onshore ice roads are part of the proposed project. 
The MMS based the EIS analyses on estimates of the kinds and amounts of 
activity onshore and offshore that could result from transporting 
personnel and equipment offshore, constructing the self-contained 
manmade gravel island and structures, installing structures and 
equipment on the island, drilling wells, and constructing a common 
carrier oil pipeline buried in an undersea trench to an onshore 
landfall and then elevated onshore by vertical support members to a 
tie-in with the existing onshore Badami oil pipeline, then to the 
Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
    The EIS addresses a range of potentially applicable technologies 
and construction options. The EIS evaluates the BPXA Proposal, a No-
Action alternative, and a variety of alternatives that were developed 
in light of the most significant issues raised from scoping. The 
alternatives examine three island locations and pipeline routes, four 
pipeline designs, two types of upper slope protection for the 
production island, two gravel mine sites, and two pipeline burial 
depths. The EIS also evaluates the effects of oil spill response 
activities described in the ODPCP.
    EIS Availability: You may obtain single copies of the draft EIS, 
``OCS EIS, MMS 2001-001'' (three volumes), from the MMS, Alaska OCS 
Region, Attention: Mr. Fred R. King, (MS 8303), 949 E. 36th Avenue, 
Room 308, Anchorage, Alaska 99508-4363, or by

[[Page 1366]]

calling 1-800-764-2627. The Executive Summary of this draft EIS is also 
available as a separate document: Executive Summary, MMS 2001-002. In 
addition, the complete EIS is available on CD-ROM (MMS 2001-001 CD) and 
on the Internet at (http://www.mms.gov/alaska/cproject/liberty).
    You may look at copies of the draft EIS in the following libraries 
and offices in Alaska:

Alaska MMS Public Information Resource Center, 949 E. 36th Avenue, 
Anchorage; Alaska Resources Library and Information Services, U.S. 
Department of the Interior, 3150 C Street, Suite 100, Anchorage;
Alaska State Library, State Office Building, 333 Willoughby, Juneau; 
Army Corps of Engineers Library, U.S. Department of Defense, Elmendorf 
Air Force Base, Anchorage;
Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Library (Noel Wien Library), 1215 
Cowles Street, Fairbanks;
Kaveolook School Library, Kaktovik;
Juneau Public Library, 292 Marine Way, Juneau;
North Slope Borough School District Library/Media Center, Barrow;
Northern Alaska Environmental Center Library, 218 Driveway, Fairbanks;
Nuiqsut Library, Nuiqsut;
Tuzzy Consortium Library, Barrow;
University of Alaska Anchorage, Consortium Library, 3211 Providence 
Drive, Anchorage;
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, 310 Tanana 
Drive, Fairbanks;
University of Alaska, Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology, 311 Irving 
Building, Fairbanks;
University of Alaska-Juneau Library, 11120 Glacier Highway, Juneau;
Valdez Consortium Library, 200 Fairbanks Street, Valdez;
Z. J. Loussac Library, 3600 Denali Street, Anchorage;
Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission Office, Barrow;
Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, 431 West 7th Avenue, Suite 201, Anchorage;
Barrow City Office, Barrow;
North Slope Borough Office, Barrow;
Kaktovik City Office, Kaktovik;
Nuiqsut City Office, Nuiqsut.

    Public Hearings: Five public hearings will be held to receive 
comments on the draft EIS. The hearings will provide us with additional 
information that will help in evaluating the potential effects of the 
proposed project. Hearings will be held in Anchorage, Barrow, Kaktovik, 
Nuiqsut, and Fairbanks on the following dates and times:

February 15, 2001, 12-3 p.m. and 7-9 p.m., Z. J. Loussac Library, 
Wilda;
Marston Theatre , 3600 Denali Street, Anchorage;
February 19, 2001, 7:30-10 p.m., Inupiaq Heritage Center, Barrow;
February 20, 2001, 7-10 p.m., Kaktovik Community Center, Kaktovik;
February 21, 2001, 7-10 p.m., at Kisik Community Center, Nuiqsut;
February 22, 2001, 6-9 p.m., at the Alaskaland Exhibit Hall, 2600 
Airport Way, Fairbanks.

    An Inupiat translator will be available at the public hearings held 
in Barrow, Kaktovik, and Nuiqsut. Oral and written comments on the 
draft EIS will be addressed in the final EIS.
    If you wish to testify at a hearing, you may register prior to the 
hearing to schedule a preferred time by contacting the Alaska OCS 
Region at the above address or Mr. Fred King at (907) 271-6696 or toll 
free 1-800-764-2627 not later than 3 days prior to the hearing date. 
Every effort will be made to accommodate individuals who have not pre-
registered to testify. Time limitations may make it necessary to limit 
the length of oral statements to 10 minutes. You may supplement an oral 
statement with a more complete written statement and submit it to a 
hearing official at the hearing or by mail until March 13, 2001. 
Written statements submitted at a hearing will be considered part of 
the hearing record. If you are unable to attend the hearing, you may 
submit written statements at the address below.
    We will accept comments on the draft EIS until March 13, 2001. 
Address your comments to the Regional Director, Alaska OCS Region, 
Minerals Management Service, 949 East 36th Avenue, Room 308, Anchorage, 
Alaska 99508-4363.

    Dated: December 21, 2000.
Carolita U. Kallaur,
Associate Director for Offshore Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. 01-426 Filed 1-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P