[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 26, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13080-13081]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04406]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLAK930000.L16100000.LXSINPRA0000.DT0000]


Notice of Availability of Record of Decision for the National 
Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Final Integrated Activity Plan

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability 
of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the National Petroleum Reserve in 
Alaska (NPR-A) Final Integrated Activity Plan (IAP). The Secretary of 
the Interior, Ken Salazar, signed the ROD on February 21, 2013. The ROD 
constitutes the final decision of the Department on the plan and is 
effective immediately.

ADDRESSES: The ROD is available on the BLM-Alaska Web site at 
www.blm.gov/ak. Hard copies of the ROD are available upon request from 
Serena Sweet 907-271-4543 and at the BLM Public Room at 222 West 7th 
Avenue 13, Anchorage, AK 99513-7504. The NPR-A Final 
Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (IAP/EIS), 
which provides the analysis upon which the decision is based, is also 
available at the above Web site address, the Anchorage BLM Public Room, 
and by telephoning Serena Sweet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact Serena 
Sweet, telephone 907-271-4543 or by email at [email protected]. Persons 
who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the 
Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact 
the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is 
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question 
with the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal 
business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NPR-A IAP/EIS planning process began 
with the publication of the Notice of Intent in the Federal Register on 
July 28, 2010, which began the formal scoping period. Formal scoping 
ended October 1, 2010. After the scoping period, the BLM, in 
consultation with the cooperating agencies and tribes and with 
additional input from the public, researched information on the 
resources and uses of the area, developed a range of reasonable future 
management alternatives, and analyzed the impacts

[[Page 13081]]

of those alternatives. These analyses underwent review within the BLM 
and among the cooperating agencies, resulting in the Draft IAP/EIS 
released on March 30, 2012. The comment period was originally scheduled 
to end on June 1, 2012, but in response to public requests, the BLM 
extended the comment period to June 15, 2012. The public and agencies 
commented on the Draft IAP/EIS. Based on these comments and additional 
analysis, the BLM developed the preferred alternative and revised the 
Draft to issue a Final IAP/EIS on December 19, 2012.
    The ROD provides opportunities for oil and gas leasing and 
development as required by the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act, 
as amended, and for application for onshore infrastructure in support 
of offshore development, while protecting surface values, most notably 
subsistence resources and access and a wide range of important wildlife 
and wildlife habitat. This decision reflects the Preferred Alternative 
B-2 in the NPR-A Final IAP/EIS issued in December 2012, with minor 
modifications to clarify intent, provide greater assurance of the 
consistency of the plan with onshore infrastructure to support offshore 
development, and to establish an NPR-A working group as a means for 
future ongoing dialogue regarding BLM management of the NPR-A.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6.

Ted A. Murphy,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-04406 Filed 2-25-13; 8:45 am]
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