[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 224 (Tuesday, November 22, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70634-70635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23074]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Central Planning 
Area, Oil and Gas Lease Sale 198 (2006) Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment.

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SUMMARY: The MMS is issuing this notice to advise the public, pursuant 
to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, 42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq., that MMS has prepared an environmental assessment 
(EA) for proposed OCS oil and gas Lease Sale 198 in the Central Gulf of 
Mexico (GOM) (Lease Sale 198) scheduled for March 2006. Proposed Lease 
Sale 198 is the fourth Central Planning Area (CPA) 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 198. 
The proposal for Lease Sale 198 (the offering of all available unleased 
acreage in the CPA) and its alternatives (the proposed action excluding 
the unleased blocks near biologically sensitive topographic features, 
the proposed action excluding the unleased blocks within 15 miles of 
the Baldwin County, Alabama, Coast, 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 CPA 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 CPA lease sales. The 
level of activities projected for proposed Lease Sale 198 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 198 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. James F. Bennett, Minerals 
Management Service, Minerals Management Service, Headquarters Office, 
Attention: Environmental Division, Environmental Assessment Branch (MS 
4042), Parkway Atrium Building, 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 
20170-4817. You may also contact Mr. Bennett by telephone at (703) 787-
1660.

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 9 of the 10 
CPA and Western Planning Area (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 (NOS) 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 198 is as follows: 
CD's sent to affected States, upon publication in the Federal Register 
of the NOA; proposed NOS sent to governors of the affected States, upon 
publication in the Federal Register of the NOA; Final Notice of Sale 
published in the Federal Register,

[[Page 70635]]

February 2006; and Lease Sale 198, March 2006. To obtain single copies 
of the Multisale EIS, you may contact the MMS, Minerals Management 
Service, Attention: Environmental Division, Environmental Assessment 
Branch (MS 4042), 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817. 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 written form enclosed in an envelope labeled ``Comments on CPA Lease 
Sale 198 EA'' and mailed (or hand carried) to the MMS, Minerals 
Management Service, Attention: Environmental Division, Environmental 
Assessment Branch (MS 4042), 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170-
4817.
    All comments received will be considered in the decisionmaking 
process for Lease Sale 198.

EA Availability

    To obtain a copy of this EA, you may contact the Minerals 
Management Service, Attention: Environmental Division, Environmental 
Assessment Branch (MS 4042), 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170-
4817. You may also view this EA on the MMS Web site at http://www.gomr.mms.gov.

    Dated: October 31, 2005.
Thomas A. Readinger,
Associate Director for Offshore Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. 05-23074 Filed 11-21-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P