[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 232 (Monday, December 4, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70422-70423]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-20468]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AK-020-1610-DO]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplement to the Northeast 
National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Amended Integrated Activity Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Alaska State Office, is 
preparing a supplemental Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental Impact 
Statement (IAP/EIS) for the Northeast portion of the National Petroleum 
Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A).

DATES: Comments regarding the concerns of the public on issues of 
interest, particularly recommended mitigation measures, should be 
received in writing by January 8, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding additional mitigation measures 
should be submitted to: Northeast NPR-A Planning Team Leader, 222 West 
7th Avenue, 13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513-7599.
    Before including your address, telephone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised that 
your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--
may be made publicly available at any time. Individual respondents may 
request confidentiality. If you wish to request that the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) consider withholding your name, street address, and 
other contact information (such as: Internet address, fax or phone 
number) from public review or disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act, you should prominently state at the beginning of your 
comment that you wish to request confidentiality. While you can ask in 
your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying 
information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Jim Ducker (907-271-3130) by phone or 
by mail at 222 W. 7th Avenue, 13, Anchorage, AK 99513-7599.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM published the Northeast NPR-A 
Amended IAP/EIS in January 2005 and issued a Record of Decision (ROD) 
for Northeast NPR-A planning area based upon the IAP/EIS on January 11, 
2006. On September 25, 2006, the U.S. District Court for the District 
of Alaska vacated

[[Page 70423]]

the January 2006 ROD and enjoined the Secretary from further action in 
the Northeast NPR-A under that ROD. The primary deficiency identified 
by the court concerned the failure to adequately address certain 
cumulative impacts associated with development in the adjacent 
Northwest NPR-A. The supplemental IAP/EIS will provide additional 
analysis necessary to fully address the deficiencies noted by the court 
and update relevant sections of the document with any new information. 
Any final decision will consider the full range of alternatives 
contained in the January 2005 Amended IAP/EIS, as informed by this new 
analysis.
    While scoping is not required for supplements to environmental 
impact statements (40 CFR 1502.9(c)(4)), BLM is inviting comments on 
the supplement. Commenters are especially encouraged to identify 
measures that could reduce impacts to resources or uses that could be 
impacted by oil and gas and other activities in both the Northeast and 
Northwest NPR-A planning areas. The agency seeks specific, rather than 
general, recommendations as to stipulations, operating procedures, and 
other mitigating measures that the BLM could consider to further its 
goal of reducing impacts.

    Authority: Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), as amended; the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as amended; Title I of the 
Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6501 et 
seq.), as amended by the Department of the Interior and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1981, Pub. L. 96-514, 94 
Stat. 2957, 2964 (codified in 42 U.S.C. 6508); the Alaska National 
Interest Lands Conservation Act, Pub. L. 96-487, 94 Stat. 2371, 
section 810, 16 U.S.C. 3120; and the regulations governing 
protection of resources in the NPR-A at 43 CFR parts 2360 and the 
regulations governing oil and gas leasing in the NPR-A at 43 CFR 
part 3130.

Julia Dougan,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. E6-20468 Filed 12-1-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P