[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 241 (Tuesday, December 16, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70028-70030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31013]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Mangement Service


Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Alaska OCS Region, Beaufort Sea 
Oil and Gas Lease Sale 195, March 2005

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Request for information and Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare 
an Environmental Assessment.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary's approved 5-Year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing 
Program for 2002-2007 provides for 3 sales: Sales 186, 195, and 202 to 
be held in the Beaufort Sea program area. The pre-sale process 
incorporated planning and analysis for all three sales. From the 
initial step in the process (the call for information and nominations 
(call)) through the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/
Consistency Determination (CD) step, the process covered the multiple 
sale proposals. However, there will be complete National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), OCS Lands Act, and Coastal Zone Management Act 
coverage for each sale, and each sale will be preceded by a proposed 
and final notice of sale. The environmental analysis and the CD for 
Sale 195 will focus primarily on new issues and/or changes in the 
State's federally-approved coastal management plan.
    The call and NOI to prepare an EIS for Sales 186, 195, and 202 was 
published in the Federal Register on September 19, 2001, at 66 FR 
48268. The Beaufort Sea final EIS for Sales 186, 195, and 202 was 
released in February 2003 (OCS EIS/EA, MMS 2003-001). The first sale, 
Sale 186, was held on September 24, 2003. The MMS is now initiating a 
request for information for Beaufort Sea Sale 195.

DATES: Comments on the Request for Information and on the NOI must be 
received no later than 45 days following publication of this document 
in the Federal Register in envelopes labeled ``Comments on the Request 
for Information for Beaufort Sea Sale 195'' or ``Comments on the NOI to 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment'', as appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please call Tom Warren at (907) 271-
6691 in MMS's Alaska OCS Region regarding questions on the request for 
information/NOI to prepare an Environmental Assessment.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The environmental analysis and the CD for 
Sale 195 will focus primarily on new issues that may have arisen since 
the completion of the EIS for Sales 186, 195, and 202 (February 2003) 
and on any changes that may have occurred in the State's coastal 
management plan. The process will lead to identification of the area to 
be included in the proposed notice of sale. Each of these steps, 
including the proposed notice of sale, provides for a public comment 
period. At the culmination of each step and after analysis of any 
public comments, the MMS will decide whether to proceed to the next 
step. This process will:
    [sbull] Focus on the environmental analysis by revising types and 
levels of impacts that changed since the analysis was done for Sale 
186;
    [sbull] Result in any new issues being more easily highlighted by 
the public;
    [sbull] Eliminate issuance for public review of repetitive, 
voluminous EISs for each sale; and
    [sbull] Result in a more efficient and responsive application of 
the NEPA.
    The MMS will analyze all comments received in response to this 
request for information and re-examine information previously submitted 
in response to the call and the draft and final EISs for Sales 186, 
195, and 202. The MMS will then identify the area to be analyzed in the 
NEPA document.
    This request for information does not indicate a decision to lease 
in the area described below. Final delineation of the areas for 
possible leasing will be made after completion of the pre-sale steps 
described above and in compliance with the final 5-year program and 
applicable laws, including

[[Page 70029]]

all requirements of the NEPA and the OCS Lands Act.

Request for Information

1. Authority

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

2. Purpose of Request

    The purpose of the request for information is to gather information 
for Oil and Gas Lease Sale 195 in the Beaufort Sea, scheduled for March 
2005. Information on oil and gas leasing, exploration, development, and 
production within the Beaufort Sea 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 decisions in the leasing process 
pursuant to the OCS Lands Act and regulations at 30 CFR part 256.
    The call published in the Federal Register on September 19, 2001, 
requested information and nominations from industry for Sales 186, 195, 
and 202 in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area. The MMS will use the 
information submitted in response to that call and any new information 
submitted in response to this request for information to determine the 
area that will be included in a NEPA analysis. It is not necessary to 
re-submit comments sent in response to the multiple-sale call or for 
industry to re-submit their areas of interest if your comments or 
indications of interest have not changed since that time. This process 
seeks to identify new areas of concern and areas of interest to 
industry.

3. Description of Area

    The area located offshore the State of Alaska in the Beaufort Sea 
Planning Area is the subject of this request for information. It 
extends offshore from about 3 nautical miles to approximately 60 
nautical miles, in water depths from approximately 25 feet to 200 feet. 
A small portion of the outer limits of the sale area north of Harrison 
Bay drops to approximately 3,000 feet. This area consists of 
approximately 1,898 whole and partial blocks (about 9.9 million acres). 
A page-size map of the area accompanies this notice. A large scale 
request for information 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) 
271-6621. 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; http://www.mms.gov/alaska.

4. Instructions on Request for Information

    The request for information map delineates the area that is the 
subject of this request. Respondents are requested to indicate interest 
in and comment on any or all of the Federal acreage within the 
boundaries of the request for information area that they wish to have 
included in Beaufort Sea Sale 195.
    If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any one of 
the following methods:
    [sbull] You may mail comments to the Alaska OCS Region, Minerals 
Management Service, 949 East 36th Avenue, Room 308, Anchorage, Alaska 
99508-4302.
    [sbull] 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 Request for Information for Beaufort Sea Sale 195'' and 
your name and return address in your Internet message. If you do not 
receive a confirmation from the system that we have received your 
Internet message, contact us directly at (907) 271-6621.
    [sbull] Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to the Alaska OCS 
Region, Minerals Management Service, 949 East 36th Avenue, Room 308, 
Anchorage, Alaska 99508-4302.
    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 record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There 
also may be additional 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
    The MMS requests industry to submit any new information, including 
nomination of blocks that are of significant interest for exploration, 
development, and production. Information and nominations submitted in 
response to the multiple-sale call for Sales 186, 195, and 202, 
published on September 19, 2001 (66 FT 48268), will also be considered 
as information and nominations for the Sale 195 area identification 
process.
    Nominations must be depicted on the request for information 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 request for information 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
    Comments also are sought on potential conflicts with approved local 
coastal management plans that may result from the sale and future OCS 
oil and gas activities. These comments should identify specific coastal 
management plan 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 
Request for Information map.

[[Page 70030]]

5. Use of Information From the Request for Information

    Information submitted in response to this request for information 
will be used for several purposes. Responses will be used to:
    [sbull] Help to further identify areas of potential oil and gas 
development;
    [sbull] Identify environmental effects and potential use conflicts 
not previously addressed in the final EIS and CD for Sales 186, 195, 
and 202 (OCS EIS/EA, MMS 2003-0010);
    [sbull] Develop any additional lease terms and conditions/
mitigating measures that may be necessary; and
    [sbull] Identify any potential conflicts between oil and gas 
activities and the Alaska coastal management plan not addressed in the 
CD for Sale 186.

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 Beaufort Sea.
    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 OCS Region Web site at http://www.mms.gov/alaska/ref/pubindex/pubsindex.htm.

7. Tentative Schedule

    The following is a list of tentative milestone dates applicable to 
Beaufort Sea Sale 195 covered by this call:

 
Request for Information published.........  December 2003
Area Identification.......................  February 2004
NEPA/Environmental Assessment Review (or    August 2004
 Supplemental EIS) published.
Proposed Notice and CD....................  October 2004
Final Notice of Sale......................  February 2005
Tentative Sale Date.......................  March 2005
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Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Analysis

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 NEPA of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), MMS 
is announcing its intent to prepare an environmental assessment for 
Beaufort Sea Oil and Gas Lease Sale 195, scheduled for March 2005. The 
environmental assessment will be prepared to determine if there are 
significant new issues or impacts not previously addressed in the EIS 
for Sales 189, 195, and 202. If no significant new issues or impacts 
are identified, a finding of no new significant impacts will be issued. 
If information is submitted in response to this request for information 
that identifies significant new issues and/or impacts not previously 
addressed, a supplemental EIS may be prepared.

3. Instructions on Notice of Intent

    Federal, State, tribal, and local governments and other interested 
parties are requested to send their written comments on new information 
and issues that should be addressed in the environmental assessment to 
the Regional Supervisor, Leasing and Environment, Alaska OCS Region, at 
the address stated under Request for Information, Item 4. Comments 
should be enclosed in an envelope labeled ``Comments on the Notice of 
Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for Beaufort Sea Sale 
195.'' Comments are due no later than 45 days from publication of this 
notice.

    Dated: December 2, 2003.
R.M. ``Johnnie'' Burton,
Director, Minerals Management Service.
[FR Doc. 03-31013 Filed 12-15-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P