[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 108 (Friday, June 4, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31635-31636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-12285]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Central Planning Area, Oil and Gas 
Lease Sale 194 (2005)

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Preparation of an environmental assessment.

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SUMMARY: The MMS is beginning preparation of an environmental 
assessment (EA) for proposed Lease Sale 194 (scheduled for March 2005) 
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 194. The proposal and alternatives for Lease Sale 194 were 
identified by the MMS Director 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: Mr. Dennis Chew, Minerals Management 
Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New 
Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394. You may also contact Mr. Chew by 
telephone at (504) 736-2793.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In November 2002, MMS prepared a Final EIS 
that 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 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 194 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 the affected States on the size, timing, and location of 
Lease Sale 194. The tentative schedule for the pre-lease decision 
process for Lease Sale 194 is as follows: EA FONNSI or Supplemental EIS 
decision, October 2004; CD's sent to affected States, October 2004; 
PNOS sent to governors of the affected States, October 2004; Final 
Notice of Sale published in the Federal Register, February 2005; and 
Lease Sale 194, March 2005.
    Public Comments: Federal, State, and local governmental 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 194 EA.'' You may also send comments

[[Page 31636]]

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 19, 2004.
Chris C. Oynes,
Regional Director, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region.
[FR Doc. 04-12285 Filed 6-3-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P