[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 12 (Friday, January 17, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2568-2569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-680]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AK-931-1310-DP-NPRA]


Notice of Availability and Announcement of Public Subsistence-
Related Hearing Schedule; Northwest National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska 
Draft Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability 
of the Northwest National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Draft Integrated 
Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (IAP/EIS). The planning 
area is roughly bounded by the Ikpikpuk River to the east. The southern 
boundary extends along a portion of the Colville River and then 
proceeds along township and sections lines generally in a north and 
west direction to the west to the boundary of the NPR-A. It then 
proceeds due north to Icy Cape on the Arctic Ocean and proceeds east 
along the Arctic coastline encompassing the bays, lagoons, inlets, and 
tidal waters between the NPR-A's outlying islands and the mainland.
    The IAP/EIS contains four alternatives for a land management plan 
within the 8.8 million-acre planning area and assessments of each 
plan's impacts on the surface resources present there. These 
alternatives provide varying answers to three primary questions. First, 
will the BLM conduct oil and gas lease sales in the planning area and, 
if so, what lands will be made available for leasing? Second, what 
measures should we develop to protect important surface resources 
during oil and gas activities? Third, what non-oil and gas land 
allocations should we consider for this portion of the NPR-A?
    The no action alternative calls for no change from the status quo, 
and under it no leasing would occur. Alternatives A through C make 
progressively less land, especially environmentally sensitive land, 
available to possible leasing. Alternative A makes 100 percent 
available, Alternative B makes 96 percent available, Alternative C 
makes 47 percent available. Stipulations would provide protection for 
natural and cultural resources under all alternatives, but their 
nature, number and scope would vary between alternatives.
    Alternative A contains the fewest stipulations and many of them are 
performance based and reliant on subsequent NEPA analysis. Alternative 
B's stipulations are similar to those in Alternative A, but some 
surface occupancy protections are tied to areas of sensitive resources. 
Alternative C has more prescriptive stipulations, many of which are 
tied to areas associated with sensitive resources.
    The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to identify specific 
lands in the NPR-A as ``Special Areas,'' and there are small parts of 
two previously designated Special Areas within the planning area. 
Alternative B recommends that the Kasegaluk Lagoon, an area that is 
rich in wildlife and that features marine tidal flats which are rare on 
the North Slope, as an additional Special Area.
    Alternative C recommends that Congress designate three wilderness 
areas within the planning area. The first is the Kasagaluk Lagoon. The 
second and third areas are located in the hills and mountains in the 
southern part of the planning area and have special values, are 
particularly remote, and feature good hiking and scenic vistas in high 
terrain. Alternative C also recommends Congressional designation of the 
part of the Colville River in the planning area as a Wild river and 
that 21 other rivers in the unit be designated as Scenic.
    Section 810 of the Alaska National Lands Conservation Act requires 
BLM to evaluate the effects of the alternative plans presented in this 
IAP/EIS on subsistence activities in the planning area, and to hold 
public hearings if it finds that any alternative might significantly 
restrict subsistence activities. Appendix 5 of the document indicates 
that alternatives A and B may significantly restrict subsistence 
activities. In addition, all alternatives may significantly restrict 
subsistence in the cumulative case. Therefore, the BLM is holding 
public hearings on subsistence in conjunction with the public meetings 
discussed below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the NPR-A Planning Team, 
Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office (931), 222 West 7th 
Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 99513-7599. Comments can also be submitted at 
the project Web site at www.ak.blm.gov/nwnpra or sent via e-mail to 
[email protected]. Individual respondents may request 
confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or street address 
from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information 
Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your written 
comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by

[[Page 2569]]

law. All submissions from organizations and businesses, and from 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of 
organizations or businesses, will be available for public inspection in 
their entirety. The draft IAP/EIS will be available in either hard copy 
or on compact disk at the Alaska State Office, Public Information 
Center at 222 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 99513-7599. Copies of 
the draft IAP/EIS will also be available for pubic review at the 
following locations: Tuzzy Public Library, Barrow, Alaska; City of 
Nuiqsut, Nuiqsut, Alaska; City of Atqasuk, Atqasuk, Alaska; City of 
Anaktuvuk Pass, Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska; City of Wainwright, Wainwright, 
Alaska; and City of Point Lay, Point Lay, Alaska. The entire document 
can also be reviewed at the project Web site at http://www.ak.blm.gov/nwnpra.

DATES: Written comments on the draft IAP/EIS will be accepted for 60 
days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. Future meetings or 
hearings and any other public involvement activities will be announced 
at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media news 
releases, and/or mailings. The BLM currently plans to hold meetings and 
hearings in Nuiqsit, Atqasuk, Barrow, Wainwright, Point Lay, Fairbanks, 
and Anchorage.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Curt Wilson, BLM Alaska State Office, 
907-271-5546 or Mike Kleven, BLM Northern Field Office, 907-474-2317.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Authority for developing this document is 
derived from the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the Naval 
Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976, as amended, and the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In recent years, oil and gas 
development has gradually moved east from the original find at Prudhoe 
Bay. By the late 1990's, there was a developable field at Alpine just 
to the east of the of NPR-A. In 1998, responding to interest from 
industry, the State of Alaska and the North Slope Borough, the BLM 
developed the Northeast NPR-A IAP/EIS which authorized a leasing 
program within the northeastern part of the Reserve.
    The document determined where and under what conditions a leasing 
program could occur. Since that time, two lease sales have been 
conducted. The first was held in May 1999 and 867,721 acres were leased 
bringing in $104.6 million. A second lease sale was held in June 2002 
and 579,269 acres were leased for a total of $63.8 million. This level 
of interest, and the fact that industry has announced the discovery of 
oil in three test wells within the leased area, has stimulated interest 
in expanding exploration to the area covered by this draft IAP/EIA. 
President Bush responded to this interest by identifying the area as 
having a high priority in his energy plan. Should the BLM undertake 
leasing in the Northwest NPR-A, this IAP/EIS will form the basic NEPA 
documentation to authorize this leasing, and it will determine those 
lands that are available and those that are unavailable for leasing.
    Public participation has occurred throughout the period since the 
Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS was published in November 2001. 
Scoping meetings were held in Nuiqsit, Atqasuk, Barrow, Wainwright, 
Point Lay, Fairbanks, and Anchorage. The planning area provides 
particularly important habitat for caribou, waterfowl, and other 
species. Many of the local residents of the area rely on harvesting 
these resources for subsistence purposes. Ensuring adequate protection 
of these resources has been one of the main focuses of public 
discussion in scoping meetings. The BLM has worked very closely with 
the North Slope Borough and the State of Alaska in developing this 
draft IAP/EIS. The Mineral Management Service of the Department of the 
Interior has also assisted the BLM in developing the document.

    Dated: November 22, 2002.
Henri R. Bisson,
State Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 03-680 Filed 1-16-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P