[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 107 (Wednesday, June 4, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33531-33532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-13960]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Outer Continental Shelf, Central Planning Area, Oil and Gas Lease 
Sale 190 (2004)

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service, Interior.

ACTION: Preparation of an Environmental Assessment.

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SUMMARY: The Minerals Management Service (MMS) is beginning preparation 
of an environmental assessment (EA) for proposed Lease Sale 190 
(scheduled for March 2004) in the Central Planning Area (CPA) of the 
Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The preparation of this EA is the first step in 
the decision process for Lease Sale 190. The proposal and alternatives 
for Lease Sale 190 were identified by the Director of MMS in January 
2002 following the Call for Information and Nominations/Notice of 
Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and were 
analyzed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Proposed 
Central Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales 185, 190, 194, 198, 
and 201, and Proposed Western Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease 
Sales 187, 192, 196, and 200 (Final EIS). A CPA proposed action 
analyzed in the Final EIS was the offering of all available unleased 
acreage in the CPA. Three alternatives were analyzed: exclude blocks 
within 15 miles of Baldwin County, Alabama, coast; exclude blocks near 
biologically sensitive topographic features; and cancel the lease sale. 
The analysis in the EA will reexamine the potential environmental 
effects of the proposed action and its alternatives based on any new 
information regarding potential impacts and issues that were not 
available at the time the Final EIS was prepared.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Minerals Management Service, Gulf of 
Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 
70123-2394, Mr. Joseph Christopher, telephone (504) 736-2774.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In November 2002, MMS prepared a Final EIS, 
which addressed nine proposed Federal actions that offer for lease 
areas on the GOM OCS that may contain economically recoverable oil and 
gas resources. Federal regulations allow for several related or similar 
proposals to be analyzed in one EIS (40 CFR 1502.4). Since each 
proposed lease sale and its projected activities are very similar each 
year for each planning area, a single EIS was prepared for the nine CPA 
and Western Planning Area (WPA) lease sales scheduled in the Outer 
Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program: 2002-2007 (the 5-Year 
Program). Under the 5-Year Program, five annual areawide lease sales 
are scheduled for the CPA (Lease Sales 185, 190, 194, 198, and 201) and 
five annual areawide lease sales are scheduled for the WPA (Lease Sales 
184, 187, 192, 196, and 200). Lease Sale 184 was not addressed in the 
Final EIS; a separate

[[Page 33532]]

EA was prepared for that proposal. The Final EIS addressed CPA Lease 
Sales 185, 190, 194, 198, and 201 scheduled for 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 
and 2007, respectively, and WPA Lease Sales 187, 192, 196, and 200 
scheduled for 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, respectively. Although the 
Final EIS addresses nine proposed lease sales, at the completion of the 
EIS process, decisions were made only for proposed CPA Lease Sale 185 
and proposed WPA Lease Sale 187. In the year prior to each subsequent 
proposed lease sale, an additional National Environmental Policy Act 
review will be conducted to address any new information relevant to 
that proposed action. After completion of the EA, MMS will determine 
whether to prepare a Finding of No New Significant Impact (FONNSI) or a 
Supplemental EIS. The MMS will then prepare and send Consistency 
Determinations (CD's) to the affected States to determine whether Lease 
Sale 190 is consistent with their Federally-approved State coastal zone 
management programs. Finally, MMS will solicit comments via the 
Proposed Notice of Sale (PNOS) from the governors of affected States on 
the size, timing, and location of Lease Sale 190. The tentative 
schedule for the prelease decision process for Lease Sale 190 is: EA 
FONNSI or Supplemental EIS decision, October 2003; CD's sent to 
affected States, November 2003; PNOS sent to governors of affected 
States, November 2003; Final Notice of Sale published in the Federal 
Register, February 2004; and Lease Sale 190, March 2004.
    Public Comments: Federal, State, and local government agencies, and 
other interested parties are requested to send within 30 days of this 
Notice's publication comments regarding any new information or issues 
that should be addressed in the EA to the Regional Supervisor, Leasing 
and Environment (MS 5410), Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, Minerals 
Management Service, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 
70123-2394. Comments should be enclosed in an envelope labeled 
``Comments on CPA Lease Sale 190 EA.'' You may also send comments to 
the MMS e-mail address: [email protected]. Comments, including the 
names and home addresses of respondents, will be made available for 
public review during regular business hours. You may request that your 
name, home address, or both be withheld from the public record by 
stating so at the beginning of your submission. The MMS will honor such 
a request to the extent allowable by law. All comments submitted by 
organizations and businesses or by individuals identifying themselves 
as representatives of organizations and businesses will be made 
available for inspection in their entirety. Anonymous comments will not 
be considered. To obtain single copies of the Final EIS, you may 
contact the Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 
Attention: Public Information Office (MS 5034), 1201 Elmwood Park 
Boulevard, Room 114, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394 (1-800-200-
GULF). You may also view the Final EIS or check the list of libraries 
that have copies of the Final EIS and their locations on the MMS Web 
site at http://www.gomr.mms.gov.

    Dated: April 23, 2003.
Charles J. Schoennagel, Jr.,
Deputy Regional Director, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region.
[FR Doc. 03-13960 Filed 6-3-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P