[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 208 (Friday, October 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62139-62142]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21549]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Alaska OCS Region, Beaufort Sea 
Oil and Gas Lease Sale 202, March 2007

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

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

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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 Programlanning Area. The presale 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, we indicated that we would conduct and did 
conduct complete National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), OCS Lands 
Act, and Coastal Zone Management Act processes for each sale, including 
a proposed and final Notice of Sale. The environmental analysis and the 
CD for Sale 202 will focus primarily on new issues, new scientific 
information, and/or changes in the state's federally-approved coastal 
management plan.
    The Call 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 Multiple-Sale Final EIS for these sales was 
released in February 2003 (OCS EIS/EA, MMS 2003-001). Sales 186 and 195 
were held on September 24, 2003, and March 30, 2005, respectively. When 
the multiple-sale EIS was prepared, MMS indicated it would do an EA for 
Sales 195 and 202 if no significant new issues or impacts are 
identified. The MMS is now initiating a RFI for Beaufort Sea Sale 202.

DATES: Comments on the RFI 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 202'' or ``Comments on the Notice of Intent to 
prepare an Environmental Assessment'' as appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please call Steve Flippen at (907) 
334-5268 in MMS's Alaska OCS Region regarding questions on the RFI/NOI 
to prepare an EA.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The environmental analysis and the CD for 
Sale 202 will focus primarily on new issues and information 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 (NOS). Each of these steps, including the proposed NOS, 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:
     Focus on the environmental analysis by identifying impact 
types and levels that may change since the analysis was done for Sales 
186 and 195;
     Result in any new issues being more easily highlighted by 
the public;
     Eliminate issuance for public review the repetitive, 
voluminous EISs for each sale; and
     Result in a more efficient and responsive application of 
the NEPA.

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    The MMS will analyze all comments received in response to this RFI 
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 EA.
    This RFI 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 current 2002-2007 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing 
Program and applicable laws, including all requirements of the NEPA and 
the OCS Lands Act.

Request for Information

1. Authority

    This RFI 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 256), and in accordance with the OCS Oil and Gas 
Leasing Program 2002-2007.

2. Purpose of Request

    The purpose of the RFI is to gather information for Oil and Gas 
Lease Sale 202 in the Beaufort Sea, scheduled for March 2007. 
Information on oil and gas leasing, exploration, and development and 
production within the Beaufort Sea is sought from all interested 
parties. This early planning and consultation step is important for 
ensuring that all interests and concerns are communicated to the U.S. 
Department of the Interior for decisions in the leasing process 
pursuant to the OCS Lands Act and regulations at 30 CFR 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 RFI 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 that is the subject of this RFI is located offshore the 
State of Alaska in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area. 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. The map also shows the four deferral 
alternatives evaluated in the Beaufort Sea Final EIS for Sales 186, 
195, and 202. The Department excluded the Barrow and Kaktovik deferral 
areas from Sales 186 and 195. A large scale RFI 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, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, 
Anchorage, Alaska, 99503-5823, http://www.mms.gov/alaska.

4. Instructions on RFI

    The RFI 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 RFI 
area that they wish to have included in Beaufort Sea Sale 202.
    If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any one of 
the following methods:
     You may mail comments to: Alaska OCS Region, Minerals 
Management Service, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, 
Alaska 99503-5823.
    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 202'' 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 via e-mail to: [email protected].
     You may fax your comments to: MMS at (907) 334-5242.
     Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to: Alaska OCS 
Region, Minerals Management Service, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, 
Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5823.
    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 rulemaking record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by 
law. We would withhold a respondent's identity, as allowable by law, 
under certain circumstances. 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 and 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 202 area identification process.
    Nominations must be depicted on the RFI 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 RFI 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

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should identify specific coastal management plan policy 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 RFI map.

5. Use of Information From the RFI

    Information submitted in response to this RFI will be used for 
several purposes. Responses will be used to:
     Help to further identify areas of potential oil and gas 
development;
     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);
     Develop any additional lease terms and conditions/
mitigating measures that may be necessary; and
     Identify any potential conflicts between oil and gas 
activities and the Alaska coastal management plan not addressed in the 
CDs for Sales 186 and 195.

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 is available 
on the MMS Web site http://www.mms.gov/alaska, or may be obtained from 
the Chief, Environmental Studies Section, Alaska OCS Region, by 
telephone request at (907) 334-5280, or by written request at the 
address stated under Description of Area. A request may also be made 
via e-mail to: [email protected].

7. Tentative Schedule

    The following is a list of tentative milestone dates applicable to 
Beaufort Sea Sale 202 covered by this Call:

RFI published-October 2005.
Area Identification-December 2005.
NEPA/ EA Review (or Supplemental EIS) published-July 2006.
Proposed Notice and CD-October 2006.
Final NOS-February 2007.
Tentative Sale Date-March 2007.

NOI 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 NOI

    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 EA for Beaufort Sea Oil and Gas 
Lease Sale 202, scheduled for March 2007. The EA will be prepared to 
determine if there are significant new issues or impacts not previously 
addressed in the EIS for Sales 186, 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 
RFI that identifies significant new issues, information, and/or impacts 
not previously addressed, a supplemental EIS may be prepared.

3. Instructions on NOI

    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 EA to the Regional 
Supervisor, Leasing and Environment, Alaska OCS Region, Minerals 
Management Service, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, 
Alaska 99503-5823. Comments should be enclosed in an envelope labeled 
``Comments on the Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental 
Assessment for Beaufort Sea Sale 202.'' Comments are due no later than 
45 days from publication of this Notice.

    Dated: October 14, 2005.
R.M. ``Johnnie'' Burton,
Director, Minerals Management Service.
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P

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[FR Doc. 05-21549 Filed 10-27-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-C