[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 159 (Monday, August 18, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49520-49521]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-21036]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Outer Continental Shelf, Pacific Region, Environmental Document 
Prepared for ExxonMobil Offshore Power System Repair (OSPR) Project

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS).

ACTIONS:  Notice of Availability of Mitigated Negative Declaration/
Environmental Assessment (MND/EA).

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SUMMARY: The MMS and the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development 
Department (SBC) have jointly prepared a MND/EA for ExxonMobil's OSPR 
Project pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental 
Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

DATES: MMS and SBC completed the MND/EA on February 19, 2003. MMS 
issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) on February 19, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John Smith, Minerals Management 
Service, Pacific OCS Region, 770 Paseo Camarillo, Camarillo, CA, 93010, 
telephone (805) 389-7833. The MND/EA is posted on the MMS Web site at 
http://www.mms.gov/omm/pacific/. A digital copy of the MND/EA on a

[[Page 49521]]

Compact Disk may be requested by calling 1-800-6-PAC-OCS 
(1.800.672.2627), or by sending a request to the above address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MMS prepares EA's and Findings for Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas exploration and development 
activities and other operations on the Pacific OCS. ExxonMobil's OSPR 
Project involves replacing a failed power cable (17 miles) linking OCS 
Platform Heritage with the onshore Las Flores Canyon Processing 
Facility and installing a new cable (4 miles) between OCS Platforms 
Hondo and Harmony to provide redundancy in the event of a future cable 
failure. The MMS and SBC prepared a joint environmental document (MND/
EA) for the OSPR Project to facilitate review of the project by 
regulatory agencies, the public, and other interested parties. The MND/
EA examines the potential environmental effects of the OSPR project and 
presents MMS and SBC conclusions regarding the significance of those 
effects. Pursuant to CEQA, MND's are prepared to determine whether 
proposed projects have the potential to result in significant 
environmental effects. The MMS prepares EA's to determine whether 
proposed projects constitute a major Federal action that significantly 
affects the quality of the human environment in the sense of NEPA 
102(2)(C). A FONSI is prepared in those instances where the MMS finds 
the project will not result in significant effects on the quality of 
the human environment. The FONSI briefly presents the basis for that 
finding and includes a summary or copy of the EA. This notice 
constitutes the public Notice of Availability of environmental 
documents required under the NEPA regulations.

    Dated: July 15, 2003.
Peter L. Tweedt,
Regional Manager, Pacific OCS Region, Minerals Management Service.
[FR Doc. 03-21036 Filed 8-15-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P