[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 208 (Friday, October 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54275-54276]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-27033]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

[DES 01-37]


Notice of availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and 
Gas Leasing Program for 2002 to 2007

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the draft EIS for the proposed OCS 
Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2002 to 2007.

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SUMMARY: The MMS has prepared a draft EIS on the Proposed OCS 5-Year 
Oil andGas Leasing Program for 2002 to 2007 pursuant to section 
102(2)(C) of the NationalEnvironmental Policy Act of 1969.

DATES: Please submit comments on the draft EIS to the MMS by January 
24, 2002. In accordance with 30 CFR 256.2(b), public hearings related 
to the draft EIS will be held in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska Regions. 
The exact dates, times, and locations of the hearings will be announced 
by Federal Register notice in the near future.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Wildermann, Minerals 
Management Service, Branch of Environmental Assessment, at (703) 787-
1670.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This draft EIS addresses a proposed Federal 
action that will establish a schedule of oil and gas lease sales on the 
OCS for the years 2002 to 2007. The proposed program schedules a total 
of 20 lease sales in 8 areas. In the Gulf of Mexico Region, 2 sales are 
scheduled in the Eastern, 5 in the Central, and 5 in the Western Gulf 
Planning Areas. In the Alaska Region, 3 sales are scheduled in the 
Beaufort Sea Planning Area, 2 in the Chukchi Sea/Hope Basin Planning 
Areas, 2 in the Cook Inlet Planning Area, and 1 in the Norton Basin 
Planning Area. Three alternatives are also analyzed which would slow 
the pace of leasing by reducing the numbers of sales proposed in some 
planning areas, exclude some planning areas from the program, or 
accelerate leasing in some areas by adding sales. Also evaluated is a 
no action alternative which would consist of no leasing during the 2002 
to 2007 period.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the draft EIS and written materials prepared as 
part of testimony at the public hearings should be mailed to the 
Minerals Management Service, Attention: Mr. Richard Wildermann, 381 
Elden Street,

[[Page 54276]]

Mail Stop 4042, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817. Hand deliveries may be 
made to the Department of the Interior, Main Interior Building, 1849 C 
Street, NW., Room 4227, Washington, DC 20240. Envelopes or packages 
should be marked ``2002-2007 Oil and Gas Program Draft EIS.'' The MMS 
will also accept comments submitted by e-mail to [email protected].
    Public Comment Procedures: Our practice is to make comments, 
including the names and home address of respondents, available for 
public review. An individual commenter may ask that we withhold name, 
home address, or both from the public record, and we will honor such a 
request to the extent allowable by law. If you submit comments and wish 
us to withhold such information, you must state so prominently at the 
beginning of your submission.
    We will not consider anonymous comments, and we will make available 
for inspection in their entirety all comments submitted by 
organizations and businesses or by individuals identifying themselves 
as representatives of organizations and businesses.
    EIS Availability: To learn which libraries in Alaska have copies of 
the draft EIS contact the Alaska OCS Region, Minerals Management 
Service, 949 East 36th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 99508-4363, telephone 
1-800-764-2627 or (907) 271-6438. On the Pacific coast contact the 
Pacific OCS Region, Minerals Management Service, 770 Paseo Camarillo, 
Camarillo, California 93010-6064, telephone (805) 389-7520. For 
availability of the draft EIS along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic 
coasts contact the Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, Minerals Management 
Service, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-
2394, telephone (504) 736-2595. Information on the availability of the 
draft EIS can also be obtained from the Minerals Management Service, 
Attention: Mr. Richard Wildermann, 381 Elden Street, Mail Stop 4042, 
Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817, telephone (703) 787-1670.
    The list of libraries and their locations is also available on the 
MMS Homepage on the Internet at http://www.mms.gov.
    After the public hearing testimony and written comments on the 
draft EIS have been reviewed and analyzed, a final EIS will be 
prepared.

    Dated: October 16, 2001.
Thomas A. Readinger,
Acting Associate Director for Offshore Minerals Management.
    Dated: October 17, 2001.
Willie R. Taylor,
Director, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 01-27033 Filed 10-25-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P