[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 67 (Friday, April 8, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18050-18051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-6984]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf, Western Planning Area, 
Oil and Gas Lease Sale 196 (2005) Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of an environmental assessment.

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SUMMARY: The Minerals Management Service is issuing this notice to 
advise the public that MMS has prepared an environmental assessment 
(EA) for proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas Lease Sale 
196 in the Western Gulf of Mexico (GOM) (Lease Sale 196) scheduled for 
August 2005. Proposed Lease Sale 196 is the fourth Western Planning 
Area (WPA) lease sale scheduled in the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and 
Gas Leasing Program: 2002-2007 (5-Year Program, OCS EIS/EA MMS 2002-
006). The preparation of this EA is an important step in the 
decisionmaking process for Lease Sale 196. The proposal for Lease Sale 
196 (the offering of all available unleased acreage in the WPA) and its 
alternatives (the proposed action excluding the unleased blocks near 
biologically sensitive topographic features and no action) 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 Gulf of 
Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2003-2007; Central Planning Area 
Sales 185, 190, 194, 198, and 201; Western Planning Area Sales 187, 
192, 196, and 200--Final Environmental Impact Statement; Volumes I and 
II (Multisale EIS, OCS EIS/EA MMS 2002-052). The Multisale EIS analyzed 
the effects of a typical WPA lease sale by presenting a set of ranges 
for resource estimates, projected exploration and development 
activities, and impact-producing factors for any of the proposed WPA 
lease sales. The level of activities projected for proposed Lease Sale 
196 falls within these ranges. In this EA, which tiers from the 
Multisale EIS and incorporates that document by reference, MMS 
reexamined 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 Multisale 
EIS was prepared. No new significant impacts were identified for 
proposed Lease Sale 196 that were not already assessed in the Multisale 
EIS. As a result, MMS determined that a supplemental EIS is not 
required and prepared a Finding of No New Significant Impact (FONNSI).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Dennis Chew, Minerals Management 
Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, MS 
5410, 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 Multisale 
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 
Central Planning Area (CPA) and WPA lease sales scheduled in 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 
Multisale EIS; a separate EA was prepared for that proposal. The 
Multisale 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 Multisale 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 
NEPA review (an EA) 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 FONNSI or a Supplemental EIS. The MMS 
will then prepare and send Consistency Determinations (CD's) to the 
affected States to determine whether the proposed lease sale 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 the proposed lease sale. The tentative schedule 
for the prelease decision process for Lease Sale 196 is as follows: 
CD's sent to affected States, March 2005; PNOS sent to governors of the 
affected States, March 2005; Final Notice of Sale published in the 
Federal Register, July 2005; and Lease Sale 196, August 2005. To obtain 
single copies of the Multisale 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 Multisale EIS or check the list of libraries that have copies of 
the Multisale EIS on the MMS Web site at http://www.gomr.mms.gov.
    Public Comments: Interested parties are requested to send comments 
on this EA/FONNSI within 30 days of this notice's publication. Comments 
may be submitted in one of the following three ways:
    1. Comments may be submitted using MMS's Public Connect on-line 
commenting system at https://ocsconnect.mms.gov. This is the preferred 
method for commenting. From the Public Connect ``Welcome'' screen, 
search for ``WPA Lease Sale 196 EA'' or select it from the ``Projects 
Open for Comment'' menu.
    2. Written comments may be enclosed in an envelope labeled 
``Comments on WPA Lease Sale 196 EA'' and mailed (or hand carried) to 
the Regional Supervisor, Leasing and Environment (MS 5410), Minerals 
Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park 
Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394.
    3. Comments may be sent to the MMS e-mail address: 
[email protected].
    All comments received will be considered in the decisionmaking 
process for Lease Sale 196.
    EA Availability: To obtain a copy of this EA, you may contact the 
Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, Attention: 
Public Information Office (MS 5034), 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, Room 
114,

[[Page 18051]]

New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394 (1-800-200-GULF). You may also view 
this EA on the MMS Web site at http://www.gomr.mms.gov.

    Dated: March 7, 2005.
Chris C. Oynes,
Regional Director, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region.
[FR Doc. 05-6984 Filed 4-7-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P