[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 165 (Friday, August 25, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50457-50463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7128]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Request for Comments on the Proposed 5-Year Outer Continental 
Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2007-2012

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service, Interior.

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ACTION: Request for Comments on the Proposed 5-Year OCS Oil and Gas 
Leasing Program for 2007-2012

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SUMMARY: The Minerals Management Service requests comments on the 
Proposed 5-Year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2007-2012. This is 
the second draft of a new program to succeed the current program that 
expires on June 30, 2007. The first proposal--the draft proposed 
program--was issued in February for a 60-day comment period that closed 
on April 11, 2006.
    Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) specifies a multi-
step process of consultation and analysis that must be completed before 
the Secretary of the Interior may approve a new 5-year program. The 
required steps following this notice include the development of a 
proposed final program and Secretarial approval. Pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the MMS also will publish a 
Final EIS for the new 5-year program.

DATES: Please submit comments and information to the MMS no later than 
November 24, 2006.

Public Comment Procedure

    The MMS will accept comments in one of two formats: by mail or our 
Internet commenting system. Please submit your comments using only one 
of these formats, and include full names and addresses. Comments 
submitted by other means may not be considered. We will not consider 
anonymous comments, and we will make available for inspection in their 
entirety all comments submitted by organizations and businesses or by 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives of organizations 
and businesses.
    Our practice is to make comments, including the names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review. An individual 
commenter may ask that we withhold his or her name, home address, or 
both from the public record, and we will honor such a request to the 
extent allowable by law. If you submit comments and wish us to withhold 
such information, you must so state prominently at the beginning of 
your submission.

ADDRESSES: Mail comments and information to: Renee Orr, 5-Year Program 
Manager, Minerals Management Service (MS-4010), Room 3120, 381 Elden 
Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170. Please label your comments and the 
packaging in which they are submitted according to the subject matter. 
Mark those pertaining to program preparation, ``Comments on Draft 
Proposed 5-Year Program for 2007-2012,'' and mark those pertaining to 
EIS preparation, ``Comments on the Draft EIS for the 5-Year Program for 
2007-2012.'' If you submit any privileged or proprietary information to 
be treated as confidential, please mark the envelope, ``Contains 
Confidential Information.''
    Internet: The MMS will accept comments submitted to our electronic 
commenting system. This system can be accessed at http://www.mms.gov/5-year/2007-2012main.htm. We also will provide access to information 
concerning the 5-year program and EIS, including copies of comments we 
receive in response to this notice, at the MMS Internet Web site 
(http://www.mms.gov).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Renee Orr, 5-Year Program Manager, at 
(703) 787-1215.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
1344) specifies a multi-step process of consultation and analysis that 
must be completed before the Secretary of the Interior may approve a 
new 5-year program. The required steps following this notice include 
the development of a proposed final program to be submitted to the 
Congress and the President, with Secretarial approval of a new program 
no sooner than 60 days afterward. Pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act, the MMS also is preparing an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the new 5-year program. The draft EIS is 
being issued with this proposed program and a final EIS will be issued 
with the proposed final program.
    The MMS requests comments from states, local governments, native 
groups, tribes, the oil and gas industry, Federal agencies, 
environmental and other interest organizations, and all other 
interested parties, including the public to assist in the preparation 
of a 5-Year OCS oil and gas leasing program for 2007-2012 and 
applicable EIS.
    The proposed program document may be downloaded off the MMS Web 
site at http://www.mms.gov. The document also is available as part of 
our electronic commenting system noted above. Hard copies will be made 
available by contacting the 5-Year Program Office at 703-787-1215.

Background

    Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act requires the Secretary of the 
Interior to prepare and maintain a schedule of proposed OCS oil and gas 
lease sales determined to ``best meet national energy needs for the 5-
year period following its approval or reapproval.''

Summary of the Proposed Program

    In developing the proposed program for 2007-2012, the MMS carries 
forward the same proposed schedule of lease sales as contained in the 
draft proposed program published in February 2006, with modifications 
in four areas as detailed below. Some of these areas are currently 
withdrawn from disposition by leasing through June 30, 2012, under 
section 12 of the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341) and have been subject 
to annual congressional moratoria.
    There will be no leasing of such areas unless the Presidential 
withdrawal is modified and Congress discontinues the annual statutory 
moratoria. The comments received and the analyses conducted for this 
proposed program may provide the information necessary for a potential 
modification of the withdrawal areas. The areas identified as proposed 
program areas in this notice are ones that warrant further study and 
analysis based on oil and gas resource estimates and comments received 
in response to the draft proposed program published in February of this 
year. Continued inclusion of areas in the proposed lease sale schedule 
provides a basis for gathering information and conducting analyses to 
inform policy makers whether to include these areas for leasing 
consideration in the new 5-year program. The program proposes sales in 
offshore areas that have the highest oil and gas resource values and 
highest industry interest, or areas that are currently under leasing 
restrictions and are off the coasts of states that have expressed 
interest in learning more about the energy potential offshore their 
coasts. The proposed schedule is responsive to the recommendations of 
affected state and local governments.
    The proposed program schedules a total of 21 OCS lease sales in 7 
areas (4 areas off Alaska, 2 areas in the Gulf of Mexico, and 1 area in 
the Atlantic). Maps A and B show the areas proposed for leasing. Table 
A lists the location and timing of the proposed lease sales in areas 
that are available for leasing consideration, i.e., not withdrawn or 
subject to congressional moratoria. Table B lists the location and 
timing of the proposed lease sales in areas that are withdrawn and/or 
subject to moratoria.

Alaska Region

    In the Alaska Region, the program proposes multiple lease sales in 
the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas and North Aleutian Basin Planning Areas, 
which are three areas of interest to Alaska, the

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MMS, and the oil and gas industry. Multiple sales are consistent with 
the Governor of Alaska's recommendations. The North Aleutian Basin 
Planning Area is currently withdrawn by presidential order under 
section 12 of the OCS Lands Act.
    Two of these areas are modified from the draft proposed program. In 
the Chukchi Sea, the proposed program removes from leasing 
consideration, a 25-mile buffer area along the coast, as there is no 
existing oil and gas activity in the area and the State has made no 
request to include leasing closer to shore. For the North Aleutian 
Basin, in response to comments from the Governor and the vast majority 
of the local governments and tribal organizations, this program 
proposes sales only in the area offered in Sale 92 held in 1985. With 
that limitation of the area to be offered, the Governor of Alaska 
requested ``that the President lift the withdrawal of the North 
Aleutian Basin planning area from the leasing program, and allow the 
scheduling of lease sales in the Sale 92 area in the 2007-2012 
program.'' Therefore, the North Aleutian Basin is included.
    The Cook Inlet Planning Area is included on the schedule as a 
special interest sale. The sales are proposed for 2009 and 2011, but 
before the MMS proceeds, it will issue a request for nominations and 
comments and will move forward only if environmentally acceptable 
blocks are nominated by industry. If this does not occur, the sale will 
likely be postponed and a request for nominations and comments may be 
issued again the following year and so on through the 5-year schedule 
until the sale is held or the schedule expires.

Gulf of Mexico Region

    In the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas, which 
remain the two areas of highest resource potential and interest, the 
proposed program is the same as that of the draft proposed program with 
the exception of the exclusion of a small area in the Central Gulf that 
is east of the military line (86[deg] W 41[min] N). The program 
continues to schedule annual areawide lease sales, as has been the 
customary practice, and proposes a sale in 2007 of a portion of the 
area that was identified for Sale 181 in the 5-year program for 1997-
2002. As a result of the reconfiguration of some planning areas to 
follow new administrative lines, some of the areas formerly included in 
the Eastern and Western Gulf Planning Area are now part of the Central 
Gulf Planning Area. There are no lease sales scheduled in the Eastern 
Gulf Planning Area. The original Sale 181 area is not under 
presidential withdrawal and has not been subject to congressional 
moratoria. In addition, the area being considered for leasing will not 
include the area within 100 miles of the Florida coast that used to be 
part of the Eastern Gulf Planning Area. This will respect the 
commitment made earlier by the Secretary. In the August 2005 Request 
for Information, then Secretary Norton stated that she ``had no 
intention of offering for leasing areas in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico 
Planning Area within 100 miles of the coast of the State of Florida.'' 
Subsequent annual Central Gulf sales may include the area to the south 
of the Sale 181 area that is currently under presidential withdrawal 
and has been subject to annual congressional moratoria. In addition, 
pursuant to Section 19 of the OCS Lands Act, no sale will be proposed 
until all affected states have the opportunity to comment.

Atlantic OCS

    There are four planning areas in the Atlantic OCS--North Atlantic, 
Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Straits of Florida. As in the draft 
proposed program, the proposed program proposes a special interest sale 
in the Mid-Atlantic in late 2011, which may proceed based on comments 
received in response to the call for information and depends on whether 
the presidential withdrawal is lifted and the congressional moratorium 
is discontinued.
    The area proposed for consideration is in the Mid-Atlantic Planning 
Area off the coastline of Virginia. Inclusion of this area in the 
proposed program will allow the gathering of additional information 
needed to decide whether to include this area in the proposed final 
program. As in the Chukchi Sea, the proposed program area includes a 
25-mile buffer from leasing consideration as there is no existing oil 
and gas activity in the area and the State has made no request to 
include leasing closer to shore. In addition, there is no leasing 
proposed in a wedge-shaped No-Obstruction Zone, to protect navigation 
activities in and out of the Chesapeake Bay. In addition, pursuant to 
section 19 of the OCS Lands Act, no sale will be proposed until all 
affected states have the opportunity to comment. This area is also 
under presidential withdrawal under section 12 and has been subject to 
congressional moratoria.

 Table A: Draft Proposed Program for 2007-2012--Lease Sale Schedule for
                             Available Areas
------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Sale No.                          Area                 Year
------------------------------------------------------------------------
204...........................  Western Gulf of Mexico.......       2007
205...........................  Central Gulf of Mexico.......       2007
193...........................  Chukchi Sea..................       2007
206...........................  Central Gulf of Mexico.......       2008
207...........................  Western Gulf of Mexico.......       2008
208...........................  Central Gulf of Mexico.......       2009
209...........................  Beaufort Sea.................       2009
210...........................  Western Gulf of Mexico.......       2009
211...........................  Cook Inlet...................       2009
212...........................  Chukchi Sea..................       2010
213...........................  Central Gulf of Mexico.......       2010
215...........................  Western Gulf of Mexico.......       2010
216...........................  Central Gulf of Mexico.......       2011
217...........................  Beaufort Sea.................       2011
218...........................  Western Gulf of Mexico.......       2011
219...........................  Cook Inlet...................       2011
221...........................  Chukchi Sea..................       2012
222...........................  Central Gulf of Mexico.......       2012
------------------------------------------------------------------------


   Table B: Draft Proposed Program for 2007-2012--Potential Lease Sale
               Schedule for Areas Subject to Restrictions*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Sale No.                          Area                 Year
------------------------------------------------------------------------
214...........................  North Aleutian Basin.........       2010
220...........................  Mid-Atlantic.................       2011
223...........................  North Aleutian Basin.........      2012
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Lease sales would only be held if the President chooses to modify the
  withdrawal in both areas and Congress discontinues the annual
  appropriations moratorium in the Mid-Atlantic.

Assurance of Fair Market Value

    Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act requires receipt of fair market 
value for OCS oil and gas leases and the rights they convey. The 
proposed program carries forward the provisions published in the draft 
proposed program: setting minimum bid levels by individual lease sale 
based on market conditions and continuing use of a two-phase bid 
evaluation process.

Information Requested

    We request all interested and affected parties to comment on the 
size, timing, and location of leasing and the procedures for assuring 
fair market value that are included in the Proposed

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5-Year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2007-2012. Respondents who 
submitted information in response to previous requests for comments on 
the preparation of this 5-year program may wish to reference that 
information, as appropriate, rather than repeating it in their comments 
on the proposed program. We also invite comments and suggestions on how 
to proceed with the section 18 analysis for the proposed final program.
    Section 18(g) authorizes confidential treatment of privileged or 
proprietary information that is submitted. In order to protect the 
confidentiality of such information, respondents should include it as 
an attachment to other comments submitted and mark it appropriately. On 
request, the MMS will treat such information as confidential from the 
time of its receipt until 5 years after approval of the new leasing 
program, subject to the standards of the Freedom of Information Act. 
MMS will not treat as confidential any aggregate summaries of such 
information, the names of respondents, and comments not containing such 
information.

Next Steps in the Process

    MMS plans to issue the proposed final program and final EIS in the 
spring of 2007. Sixty days later, the Secretary may approve the new 5-
year program to go into effect as of July 1, 2007.

    Dated: August 21, 2006.
R. M. ``Johnnie'' Burton,
Director, Minerals Management Service.
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[FR Doc. 06-7128 Filed 8-24-06; 8:45 am]
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