[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 71 (Friday, April 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 19872]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7775]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Central
Planning Area (CPA) and Western Planning Area (WPA), Oil and Gas Lease
Sales for Years 2009-2012
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) and Public Hearings.
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SUMMARY: The MMS has prepared a draft SEIS on oil and gas lease sales
tentatively scheduled in 2009-2012 in the CPA and WPA offshore the
States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. As mandated in
the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (GOMESA) (Pub. L. 109-
432, December 20, 2006), the MMS shall offer, as soon as practicable,
approximately 5.8 million acres located in the southeastern part of the
CPA (``181 South Area''). The CPA Sale 208 (March 2009) will be the
first sale to include the ``181 South Area.'' The draft SEIS analyzed
the potential environmental effects of oil and natural gas leasing,
exploration, development, and production in the ``181 South Area'' and
newly available information.
Authority: This NOA and notice of public hearings is published
pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR 1503) implementing the
provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969,
as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (1988)).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As mandated in GOMESA, the MMS shall offer
the ``181 South Area'' for oil and gas leasing pursuant to the OCS
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). In March 2009, proposed Lease Sale
208 would be the first CPA sale to offer the ``181 South Area.'' The
draft SEIS supplements the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales:
2007-2012; Western Planning Area Sales 204, 207, 210, 215, and 218;
Central Planning Area Sales 205, 206, 208, 213, 216, and 222, Final
Environmental Impact Statement (OCS EIS/EA MMS 2007-018, Multisale
EIS). The Multisale EIS did not analyze the ``181 South Area'',
therefore the MMS has prepared the draft SEIS to address the addition
of the ``181 South Area'' to the proposed CPA sale area. Also an
extensive search was conducted for new information published since
completion of the Multisale EIS, including various Internet sources,
scientific journals, and interviews with personnel from academic
institutions, and Federal, State, and local agencies.
Based on new information and the expanded CPA sale area, the MMS
has reexamined potential impacts of routine activities and accidental
events associated with the proposed CPA and WPA lease sales, and a
proposed lease sale's incremental contribution to the cumulative
impacts on environmental and socioeconomic resources. Like the
Multisale EIS, the resource estimates and scenario information for the
SEIS analyses are presented as a range that would encompass the
resources and activities estimated for any of the seven proposed lease
sales. At the completion of the SEIS process, a decision will be made
for proposed CPA Sale 208 (2009) and WPA Sale 210 (2009).
Draft SEIS Availability: To obtain a single, printed or CD-ROM copy
of the draft SEIS, you may contact the Minerals Management Service,
Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, Public Information Office (Mail Stop 5034),
1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, Room 114, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-
2394 (1-800-200-GULF). An electronic copy of the draft EIS is available
at the MMS's Internet Web site at http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/environ/nepa/nepaprocess.html. Several libraries along the
Gulf Coast have been sent copies of the draft SEIS. To find out which
libraries, and their locations, have copies of the draft SEIS for
review, you may contact the MMS's Public Information Office or visit
the MMS Internet Web site at http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/environ/libraries.html.
Public Hearings: The MMS will hold public hearings to receive
comments on the draft SEIS. The public hearings are scheduled as
follows:
Tuesday, May 13, 2008, Larose Civic Center, 307 East 5th
Street, Larose, Louisiana, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008, Louisiana State University,
Center for Energy Studies, 1077 Energy, Coast and Environment Building,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1 p.m.
Thursday, May 15, 2008, Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel,
64 South Water Street, Mobile, Alabama, 6 p.m.
If you wish to testify at a hearing, you may register one hour
prior to the meeting. Each hearing will briefly recess when all
speakers have had an opportunity to testify. If there are no additional
speakers, the hearing will adjourn immediately after the recess.
Written statements submitted at a hearing will be considered part of
the hearing record. If you are unable to attend the hearings, you may
submit written statements.
Comments: Federal, State, and local government agencies and other
interested parties are requested to send their written comments on the
draft SEIS in one of the following two ways:
1. In written form enclosed in an envelope labeled ``Comments on
the Supplemental Multisale EIS'' and mailed (or hand carried) to the
Regional Supervisor, Leasing and Environment (Mail Stop 5410), Minerals
Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park
Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394.
2. Electronically to the MMS e-mail address: [email protected].
Comments should be submitted no later than 60 days from the
publication of this NOA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information on the draft SEIS
or the public hearings, you may contact Dennis Chew, Minerals
Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park
Boulevard (Mail Stop 5412), New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394, or by e-
mail at [email protected]. You may also contact Mr. Chew by telephone
at (504) 736-2793.
Dated: March 14, 2008.
Chris C. Oynes,
Associate Director for Offshore Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. E8-7775 Filed 4-10-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P