[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 250 (Monday, December 31, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67543-67546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-32095]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Alaska Region, Cook Inlet, Oil and 
Gas Lease Sales 191 and 199 for Years 2004 and 2006

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service, Interior.

ACTION: Call for Information and Nominations and Notice of Intent 
(CALL/NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

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SUMMARY: The Secretary's preliminary decision to consider two sales in 
the Cook Inlet area in the Proposed OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 
2002-2007 provides for the first sale to be held in 2004, with a second 
sale in 2006. The MMS has modified its prelease planning and decision 
process for proposed Cook Inlet sales included in the proposed program. 
This Call/NOI reflects that change and is in keeping with the 
Secretary's preliminary decision to analyze these two sales in a multi-
sale EIS. The Secretary's preliminary decision is to offer only the 
Cook Inlet portion of the Cook Inlet/Shelikof Strait planning area as 
the program area for this 5-year program. The sale process for this 
first sale will require a minimum of 2\1/2\ years to complete. In order 
to meet the requirements of that schedule, we are issuing this Call/NOI 
at this time, recognizing that the final decision on the 2002-2007 5-
year program has not been made and final delineation of the program 
areas and number of sales may change from that included in the proposed 
program.
    The multi-sale review process is based on over 25 years of leasing 
in the Cook Inlet/Shelikof Strait area. The process will incorporate 
planning and analysis for two sales: Sales 191 and 199. From the 
initial step in the process (the Call for Information and Nominations) 
through the final EIS/Consistency Determination (CD) step, this process 
will cover multiple sale proposals. However, there will also be 
complete National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), OCS Lands Act, and 
Coastal Zone Management Act coverage for each sale after the first 
sale--either an Environmental Assessment or Supplemental EIS, CD, and a 
proposed and final Notice of Sale. The environmental analysis and the 
CD for the subsequent sale, Sale 199, will focus primarily on new 
issues or changes in the State of Alaska's federally-approved coastal 
management plan.
    This process will:

--Focus the environmental analysis by making impact types and levels 
that change between sales more easily recognizable for all reviewers,
--Result in new issues being more easily highlighted for the public,
--Eliminate issuance and public review of repetitive, voluminous EIS's 
for each sale a practice that has resulted in ``review burnout'' in 
Federal, state, local and tribal governments, and the public,
--Result in a more efficient and responsive application of NEPA.

This Call does not indicate a preliminary decision to lease in the area 
described below. Final delineation of the areas for possible leasing 
will be made at a later date in the presale process for each sale in 
compliance with the final 5-year program and with applicable laws 
including all requirements of the NEPA and the OCS Lands Act.

DATES: Nominations and comments must be received on or before February 
14, 2002 in envelopes labeled ``Nominations for Proposed 2002-2007 
Lease Sales in the Cook Inlet,'' or ``Comments on the Call for 
Information and Nominations for Proposed 2002-2007 Lease Sales in the 
Cook Inlet,'' as appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please call Tom Warren at (907) 271-
6691 in MMS's Alaska OCS Region regarding questions on the Call/NOI.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Call for Information and Nominations

1. Authority

    This Call is published pursuant to the OCS Lands Act as amended (43 
U.S.C. 1331-1356, (1994)), and the regulations issued thereunder (30 
CFR 256); and in accordance with the Proposed OCS Oil and Gas Leasing 
Program 2002 to 2007.

2. Purpose of Call

    The purpose of the Call is to gather preliminary information for 
the following tentatively scheduled OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales in the 
Cook Inlet area:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Sale No.                        Tentative sale date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
191.......................................  May 2004.
199.......................................  May 2006.
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Information and nominations on oil and gas leasing, exploration, and 
development and production within the Cook Inlet area are sought from 
all interested parties. This early planning and consultation step is 
important for ensuring that all interests and concerns are communicated 
to the Department of the Interior for future decisions in the leasing 
process pursuant to the OCS Lands Act and regulations at 30 CFR 256.
    Responses are requested relative to all sales included herein. This 
Call/NOI is being issued in accordance with the Proposed OCS Oil and 
Gas Leasing Program 2002 to 2007 released on October 26, 2001. The 
proposed program offers three options for leasing in the Cook Inlet 
area in the 2002-2007 5-year program: two sales, one sale, or no sales.

3. Description of Area

    The area that is the subject of this Call is located offshore the 
State of Alaska in Cook Inlet as depicted on the map that accompanies 
this Call. This area consists of approximately 517 whole and partial 
blocks (about 2.5 million acres). A page size map of the area 
accompanies this Notice. A large scale Call map showing the boundaries 
of the area on a block-by-block basis is available without charge from 
the Records Manager at the address given below, or by telephone request 
at (907) 271-6438 or 1-800-764-2627. Copies of Official Protraction 
Diagrams (OPDs) are also available for $2 each.

Alaska OCS Region, Minerals Management Service, 949 East 36th Avenue, 
Room 308, Anchorage, Alaska, 99508-4302, [email protected]

4. Instructions on Call

    The Call for Information Map and indications of interest and/or 
comments must be submitted to the Regional Supervisor, Leasing and 
Environment, at the above address.
    The Call map delineates the area that is the subject of this Call. 
Respondents are requested to indicate interest in and comment on any or 
all of the Federal

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acreage within the boundaries of the Call area that they wish to have 
included in each of the proposed sales in the Cook Inlet Call area.
    If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any one of 
the following methods:
     You may mail comments to the Alaska OCS Region, Minerals 
Management Service, 949 East 36th Avenue, Room 308, Anchorage, Alaska 
99508-4302.
     You may also comment via e-mail to [email protected]. Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII file avoiding 
the use of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also 
include ``Attn: Comments on Call for Information and Nominations for 
Proposed 2002-2007 Lease Sales in the Cook Inlet'' and your name and 
return address in your Internet message.
     Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to the Alaska OCS 
Region, Minerals Management Service, 949 East 36th Avenue, Room 308, 
Anchorage, Alaska.
    Our practice is to make comments, including names and addresses of 
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. 
Individual respondents may request that we withhold their address from 
the rulemaking record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by 
law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a 
respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold 
your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the 
beginning of your comment. However, we will not consider anonymous 
comments. We will make all submissions from organizations or 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available 
for public inspection in their entirety.
    A. Areas of Interest to the Oil and Gas Industry. Specific 
nominations are being sought regarding the oil and gas industry area(s) 
of interest. The MMS is soliciting nominations of blocks that are of 
significant industry interest for exploration and development and 
production.
    Nominations must be depicted on the Call map by outlining the 
area(s) of interest along block lines. Nominators are asked to submit a 
list of whole and partial blocks nominated (by OPD and block number) to 
facilitate correct interpretation of their nominations on the Call map. 
Although the identities of those submitting nominations become a matter 
of public record, the individual nominations are proprietary 
information.
    Nominators also are requested to rank blocks nominated according to 
priority of interest (e.g., priority 1 (high), or 2 (medium)). Blocks 
nominated that do not indicate priorities will be considered priority 3 
(low). Nominators must be specific in indicating blocks by priority and 
be prepared to discuss their range of interest and activity regarding 
the nominated area(s). The telephone number and name of a person to 
contact in the nominator's organization for additional information 
should be included in the response. This person will be contacted to 
set up a mutually agreeable time and place for a meeting with the 
Alaska OCS Regional Office to present their views regarding the 
company's nominations.
    B. Relation to Coastal Management Plans (CMP). Comments also are 
sought on potential conflicts with approved local coastal management 
plans that may result from the proposed sale and future OCS oil and gas 
activities. These comments should identify specific CMP policies of 
concern, the nature of the conflicts foreseen, and steps that MMS could 
take to avoid or mitigate the potential conflicts. Comments may be in 
terms of broad areas or restricted to particular blocks of concern. 
Commenters are requested to list block numbers or outline the subject 
area on the large-scale Call map.

5. Use of Information From Call

    Information submitted in response to this Call will be used for 
several purposes. Responses will be used to:

Help identify areas of potential oil and gas development
Identify environmental effects and potential use conflicts
Assist in the scoping process for the EIS
Develop possible alternatives to the proposed action
Develop lease terms and conditions/mitigating measures
Identify potential conflicts between oil and gas activities and the 
Alaska CMP

6. Existing Information

    The MMS has acquired a substantial amount of information, including 
that gained through the use of traditional knowledge, on the issues and 
concerns related to oil and gas leasing in the Cook Inlet area.
    An extensive environmental, social, and economic studies program 
has been underway in this area since 1975. The emphasis has been on 
geologic mapping, environmental characterization of biologically 
sensitive habitats, endangered whales and marine mammals, physical 
oceanography, ocean-circulation modeling, and ecological and socio-
cultural effects of oil and gas activities.
    Information on the studies program, completed studies, and a 
program status report for continuing studies in this area may be 
obtained from the Chief, Environmental Studies Section, Alaska OCS 
Region, by telephone request at (907) 271-6577, or by written request 
at the address stated under Description of Area. A request may also be 
made via the Alaska Region website at www.mms.gov/alaska/ref/pubindex/pubsindex.htm.

7. Tentative Schedule

    The following is a list of tentative milestone dates applicable to 
sales covered by this Call:

  Multi-Sale Process Milestones for Proposed 2002-2007 Cook Inlet Sales
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Call/NOI published.....................  December 2001.
Comments due on Call/NOI...............  February 2002.
Area Identification....................  March 2002.
Draft EIS published....................  November 2002.
Public Hearings........................  January 2003.
Final EIS/Consistency Determination/     November 2003.
 Proposed Notice of Sale issued.
Governor's Comments due (Sale 191).....  January 2004.
Final Notice of Sale published (Sale     April 2004.
 191).
Sale 191...............................  May 2004.
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 Sale-Specific Process Milestones for Proposed 2002-2007 Cook Inlet Sale
                                   199
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
Request for Information to Begin Sale    December 2004.
 199 Process.
Area Identification....................  February 2005.
NEPA Review published..................  October 2005.
Proposed Notice and Consistency          December 2005.
 Determination.
Governor's Comments due (Sale 199).....  February 2006.
Final Notice of Sale published.........  April 2006.
Tentative Sale 199.....................  May 2006.
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Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

1. Authority

    The NOI is published pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR 1501.7) 
implementing the provisions of the NEPA of 1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq. (1988)).

2. Purpose of Notice of Intent

    Pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR 1501.7) implementing the 
procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42

[[Page 67545]]

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), MMS is announcing its intent to prepare a multi-
sale EIS on the tentatively scheduled oil and gas lease sales in the 
Cook Inlet area off Alaska for the 5-year program period of July 2002 
through June 2007. The EIS analysis will focus on the potential 
environmental effects of two sales, and exploration and development and 
production of the areas defined in the Area Identification procedure as 
the proposed areas of the Federal actions. Alternatives to the 
proposals which may be considered for each individual sale are to delay 
the sale, modify the sale, or cancel the sale. These and any additional 
alternatives developed through the process for each individual sale 
will be considered in the sale-specific decision process. This NOI also 
serves to announce the initiation of the scoping process for this EIS. 
Throughout the scoping process, Federal, State, tribal, and local 
governments and other interested parties aid MMS in determining the 
significant issues and alternatives to be analyzed in the EIS and the 
possible need for additional information.

3. New EIS Procedure

    The MMS is proposing to prepare a single EIS for two proposed Cook 
Inlet sales tentatively scheduled with the first sale to be held in 
2004 and the second sale in 2006. The resource estimates and scenario 
information on which the EIS analysis are based will be presented as a 
range of resources and activities that would encompass either of the 
two proposed sales in the Cook Inlet.
    This proposal will provide several benefits. It will focus the NEPA 
process by making impact types and levels that change between sales 
more easily recognizable. New issues will be more easily highlighted 
for the decisionmakers and the public. The NEPA regulations at 40 CFR 
1502.4 require federal agencies, as appropriate, to employ tiering and 
other methods to relate broad and narrow actions and ``to avoid 
duplication and delay.'' The regulations further define broad actions 
at Sec. 1502.4(c) as actions that relate geographically, including 
actions occurring in the same general location, and generically, 
including actions which have relevant similarities such as impacts, 
alternatives, methods of implementation, media, or subject matter. 
Further guidance is given at 40 CFR 1502.20 which encourage agencies to 
tier their EIS's to ``eliminate repetitive discussions of the same 
issues and to focus on the actual issues ripe for decision at each 
level of environmental review.''
    The proposed actions analyzed in the EIS will be the two sales on 
the proposed 5-year schedule for the Cook Inlet area. The EIS will 
include an analysis of the environmental effects of holding two sales. 
The scenario will cover a range of resources and activities that will 
encompass both proposed actions. The second sale can then be compared 
to the initial analysis in an Environmental Assessment or supplemental 
EIS. Formal consultation with the public will be initiated for the 
second sale to obtain input to assist in the determination of whether 
or not the information and analyses in the original multi-sale EIS are 
still valid. A sale-specific Request for Information will be issued 
that will specifically describe the action for which we are requesting 
input. If the Secretary chooses to hold only one sale in Cook Inlet as 
part of the 5-year decision in June 2002, then the draft and final 
EIS's will be modified to evaluate a single sale.

4. Instructions on Notice of Intent

    Federal, State, tribal, and local governments and other interested 
parties are requested to send their written comments on the Scope of 
the EIS, significant issues that should be addressed, and alternatives 
that should be considered to the Regional Supervisor, Leasing and 
Environment, Alaska OCS Region, at the address stated under 
Instructions on Call above. Comments should be enclosed in an envelope 
labeled ``Comments on the Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS on 
Proposed Cook Inlet Lease Sales included in the 5-Year Program, 2002-
2007.'' Comments are due no later than 45 days from publication of this 
Notice. Scoping meetings will be held in appropriate locations to 
obtain additional comments and information regarding the scope of this 
EIS.

    Dated: December 17, 2001.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Acting Director, Minerals Management Service.
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[FR Doc. 01-32095 Filed 12-28-01; 8:45 am]
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