[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 161 (Friday, August 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55480-55481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19861]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2016-0047; MMAA104000]


Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Oil and Gas 
Lease Sales for 2018

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement.

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SUMMARY: Consistent with the regulations implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), BOEM is 
announcing its intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for proposed GOM Lease Sales 250 and 251 (2018 GOM 
Lease Sales 250 and 251 Supplemental EIS) as scheduled in the 2017-2022 
OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Program (2017-2022 Proposed Program). 
This Notice of Intent (NOI) serves to announce the EIS scoping process 
for the 2018 GOM Lease Sales 250 and 251 Supplemental EIS. The 2018 GOM 
Lease Sales 250 and 251 Supplemental EIS will tier from the 2017-2022 
GOM Multisale EIS.
    Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) requires the 
development of an OCS oil and gas leasing program every five years. The 
Program sets forth a schedule of lease sales designed to best meet the 
Nation's energy needs. The lease sales proposed in the GOM in the 2017-
2022 Proposed Program are areawide sales encompassing both the Western 
and Central Planning Areas, and a portion of the Eastern Planning Area 
not subject to Congressional moratorium. These planning areas are 
located off the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and 
Florida. By proposing lease sales that offer all available GOM acreage, 
BOEM seeks to provide more opportunity for industry to bid on rejected, 
relinquished, or expired OCS lease blocks and facilitate better 
planning to explore resources that straddle the U.S./Mexico boundary. 
During the pre-lease sale process, the size of any individual lease 
sale could be reduced, and a smaller area offered for leasing, should 
circumstances warrant. For example, an individual lease sale could be 
focused on a single GOM Planning Area as in the 2012-2017 OCS Oil and 
Gas Leasing Program.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implementing NEPA encourage 
agencies to analyze similar or related proposals in one EIS (40 CFR 
1508.25). Since both lease sales would be held in 2018 and the ensuing 
OCS activities are similar, BOEM will prepare a single Supplemental EIS 
for two lease sales proposed to be held in the GOM in 2018 (Lease Sales 
250 and 251). The 2018 GOM Lease Sales 250 and 251 Supplemental EIS 
will tier from the 2017-2022 GOM Multisale EIS and focus on new 
information released since the publication of the 2017-2022 GOM 
Multisale EIS. This EIS approach allows for subsequent NEPA analyses to 
focus on changes in the proposed lease sales and on new issues and 
information. Analyzing two proposed lease sales within one Supplemental 
EIS will eliminate the repetition of annual Supplemental EISs for each 
proposed lease sale. The resource estimates and scenario information 
for the Supplemental EIS will include a range that encompasses the 
resources and activities estimated for either or both of the proposed 
lease sales. At the completion of this Supplemental EIS process, a 
decision will be made for Lease Sale 250. Thereafter, a separate 
decision will be made for Lease Sale 251. No final decision will be 
made on any individual lease sale until the end of the Supplemental EIS 
process to allow for full consultation with Federal agencies, affected 
states, and the public.
    The 2018 GOM Lease Sales 250 and 251 Supplemental EIS analysis will 
focus on the potential environmental effects from oil and natural gas 
leasing, exploration, development, and

[[Page 55481]]

production on all available acreage in the GOM, including the Western 
and Central Planning Areas, and the portion of the Eastern Planning 
Area not subject to Congressional moratorium. In addition to the no 
action alternative (i.e., cancel the lease sale), other alternatives 
will be considered for each proposed lease sale, such as offering 
individual or multiple planning areas for lease or deferring certain 
areas from the proposed lease sales in addition to those alternatives 
considered in the 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Program.
    Scoping Process: This NOI serves to announce the scoping process 
for identifying issues and potential alternatives for consideration in 
the 2018 GOM Lease Sales 250 and 251 Supplemental EIS. Throughout the 
scoping process, Federal agencies, state, tribal, and local 
governments, and the general public have the opportunity to help BOEM 
determine significant resources and issues, impact-producing factors, 
reasonable alternatives, and potential mitigating measures to be 
analyzed in the Supplemental EIS and to provide additional information. 
BOEM will also use the NEPA commenting process to initiate the section 
106 consultation process under the National Historic Preservation Act 
(54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.), as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3).
    Pursuant to the regulations implementing the provisions of NEPA (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), BOEM will hold public scoping meetings for the 
2018 GOM Lease Sales 250 and 251 Supplemental EIS. BOEM's scoping 
meetings will be held at the following places and times:
     Gulfport, Mississippi: Tuesday, September 6, 2016, 
Courtyard by Marriott, Gulfport Beachfront MS Hotel, 1600 East Beach 
Boulevard, Gulfport, Mississippi 39501; one meeting, beginning at 4:00 
p.m. CDT and ending at 7:00 p.m. CDT;
     Mobile, Alabama: Wednesday, September 7, 2016, Renaissance 
Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel, 64 South Water Street, Mobile, Alabama 
36602; one meeting, beginning at 4:00 p.m. CDT and ending at 7:00 p.m. 
CDT;
     Houston, Texas: Tuesday, September 13, 2016, Houston 
Marriott North, 255 North Sam Houston Pkwy East, Houston, Texas 77060; 
one meeting, beginning at 4:00 p.m. CDT and ending at 7:00 p.m. CDT; 
and
     New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, September 15, 2016, 
Wyndham Garden New Orleans Airport, 6401 Veterans Memorial Blvd., 
Metairie, Louisiana 70003; one meeting, beginning at 4:00 p.m. CDT and 
ending at 7:00 p.m. CDT.
    Cooperating Agencies: BOEM invites other Federal agencies, and 
state, tribal, and local governments to consider becoming cooperating 
agencies in the preparation of the 2018 GOM Lease Sales 250 and 251 
Supplemental EIS. BOEM invites qualified government entities to inquire 
about cooperating agency status for this Supplemental EIS. Following 
the guidelines from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), 
qualified agencies and governments are those with ``jurisdiction by law 
or special expertise.'' Potential cooperating agencies should consider 
their authority and capacity to assume the responsibilities of a 
cooperating agency and should remember that an agency's role in the 
environmental analysis neither enlarges nor diminishes the final 
decisionmaking authority of any other agency involved in the NEPA 
process. Upon request, BOEM will provide potential cooperating agencies 
with a written summary of expectations for cooperating agencies, 
including time schedules and critical action dates, milestones, 
responsibilities, scope and detail of cooperating agencies' 
contributions, and availability of predecisional information. BOEM 
anticipates this summary will form the basis for a Memorandum of 
Agreement between BOEM and any cooperating agency. Agencies should also 
consider the ``Factors for Determining Cooperating Agency Status'' in 
Attachment 1 to CEQ's January 30, 2002, Memorandum for the Heads of 
Federal Agencies: Cooperating Agencies in Implementing the Procedural 
Requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. This document is 
available on the Internet at: http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/nepapub/nepa_documents/RedDont/G-CEQ-CoopAgenciesImplem.pdf.
    BOEM, as the lead agency, will not provide financial assistance to 
cooperating agencies. Even if an organization is not a cooperating 
agency, opportunities will exist to provide information and comments to 
BOEM during the normal public input stages of the NEPA process.
    Comments: Federal agencies, tribal, state, and local governments, 
and other interested parties are requested to comment on the scope of 
the 2018 GOM Lease Sales 250 and 251 Supplemental EIS, significant 
issues that should be addressed, and alternatives that should be 
considered. Comments can be submitted in any of the following ways:
    1. In written form enclosed in an envelope labeled ``Comments on 
the 2018 GOM Lease Sales 250 and 251 Supplemental EIS'' and mailed (or 
hand carried) to Mr. Gary D. Goeke, Chief, Environmental Assessment 
Section, Office of Environment (GM 623E), BOEM, Gulf of Mexico OCS 
Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394; 
or
    2. Through the regulations.gov web portal: Navigate to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket No. BOEM-2016-0047. Click on 
the ``Comment Now!'' button to the right of the document link. Enter 
your information and comment, then click ``Submit.''
    BOEM does not consider anonymous comments. Please include your name 
and address as part of your submittal. BOEM makes all comments, 
including the names and addresses of respondents, available for public 
review during regular business hours. Individual respondents may 
request that BOEM withhold their names and/or addresses from the public 
record; however, BOEM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so. 
If you wish your name and/or address to be withheld, you must state 
your preference prominently at the beginning of your comment. All 
submissions from organizations or businesses and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

DATES: Comments should be submitted no later than September 19, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the 2018 GOM Lease 
Sales 250 and 251 Supplemental EIS, the submission of comments, or 
BOEM's policies associated with this notice, please contact Mr. Gary D. 
Goeke, Chief, Environmental Assessment Section, Office of Environment 
(GM 623E), BOEM, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park 
Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394, telephone 504-736-3233.

    Authority: This NOI is published pursuant to the regulations (40 
CFR 1501.7) implementing the provisions of NEPA.

    Dated: August 12, 2016.
Abigail Ross Hopper,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2016-19861 Filed 8-18-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P