[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 95191]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31222]



[[Page 95191]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2016-0069; MMAA104000]


Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf, Central Planning Area 
Oil and Gas Lease Sale 247

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

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision.

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SUMMARY: BOEM is announcing the availability of a Record of Decision 
(ROD) for the proposed oil and gas Central Planning Area (CPA) Lease 
Sale 247. This ROD identifies the Bureau's selected alternative for 
proposed CPA Lease Sale 247, which is analyzed in the Gulf of Mexico 
OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2017; Central Planning Area Lease Sale 
247; Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (CPA 247 
Supplemental EIS). The ROD and associated information are available on 
BOEM's Web site at http://www.boem.gov/nepaprocess/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information on the ROD, you 
may contact Mr. Greg Kozlowski, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Gulf 
of Mexico Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard (GM 627A), New Orleans, 
Louisiana 70123-2394. You may also contact Mr. Kozlowski by telephone 
at 504-736-2512.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the CPA 247 Supplemental EIS, BOEM 
evaluated three alternatives that are summarized below:
    Alternative A--The Proposed Action: This alternative would offer 
for lease all available unleased blocks within the proposed CPA lease 
sale area for oil and gas operations with the following exceptions: 
whole and partial blocks deferred by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security 
Act of 2006; and blocks that are adjacent or beyond the United States' 
Exclusive Economic Zone in the area known as the northern portion of 
the Eastern Gap. This is BOEM's preferred alternative.
    All available unleased whole and partial blocks in the CPA that 
BOEM will offer for leasing in proposed CPA Lease Sale 247 are listed 
in the document ``List of Blocks Available for Leasing,'' which is 
included in the Final Notice of Sale for CPA Lease Sale 247. The 
proposed CPA lease sale area encompasses about 63 million acres of the 
total CPA area of 66.45 million acres. As of October 2016, 
approximately 47.72 million acres of the proposed CPA lease sale area 
were unleased. The estimated amount of resources projected to be 
developed as a result of the proposed CPA lease sale is 0.460-0.894 
billion barrels of oil (BBO) and 1.939-3.903 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) 
of gas.
    Alternative B--Exclude the Unleased Blocks Near the Biologically 
Sensitive Topographic Features: This alternative would offer for lease 
all available unleased blocks within the proposed CPA lease sale area, 
as described for the proposed action (Alternative A), but it would 
exclude from leasing any available unleased blocks subject to the 
Topographic Features Stipulation. The estimated amount of resources 
projected to be developed is 0.460-0.894 BBO and 1.939-3.903 Tcf of 
gas. The number of blocks that would not be offered under Alternative B 
represents only a small percentage of the total number of blocks to be 
offered under Alternative A; therefore, it is assumed that the levels 
of activity for Alternative B would be essentially the same as those 
projected for the CPA proposed action.
    Alternative C--No Action: This alternative is the cancellation of 
proposed CPA Lease Sale 247 and is identified as the environmentally 
preferred alternative.
    Lease Stipulations--The CPA 247 Supplemental EIS describes all 
lease stipulations, which are included in the Final Notice of Sale 
Package. The 10 lease stipulations for proposed CPA Lease Sale 247 are 
the Topographic Features Stipulation; the Live Bottom (Pinnacle Trend) 
Stipulation; the Military Areas Stipulation; the Evacuation 
Stipulation; the Coordination Stipulation; the Blocks South of Baldwin 
County, Alabama, Stipulation; the Protected Species Stipulation; the 
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Royalty Payment 
Stipulation; the Below Seabed Operations Stipulation; and the 
Stipulation on the Agreement between the United States of America and 
the United Mexican States Concerning Transboundary Hydrocarbon 
Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico. The stipulations will be added as 
lease terms, where applicable, and will therefore be enforceable as 
part of the lease. Appendix A of the CPA 241/EPA 226 Supplemental EIS, 
from which the CPA 247 Supplemental EIS was tiered, provides a list and 
description of standard post-lease mitigating measures that may be 
required by BOEM or the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement 
as a result of plan and permit review processes for the Gulf of Mexico 
Region.
    After careful consideration, BOEM has selected the preferred 
alternative (Alternative A) in the CPA 247 Supplemental EIS. BOEM's 
selection of the preferred alternative meets the purpose and need for 
the proposed action, as identified in the CPA 247 Supplemental EIS, and 
reflects an orderly resource development with protection of the human, 
marine, and coastal environments while also ensuring that the public 
receives an equitable return for these resources and that free-market 
competition is maintained.

    Authority: This NOA of a ROD is published pursuant to the 
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6) implementing the provisions of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.).

    Dated: December 20, 2016.
Abigail Ross Hopper,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2016-31222 Filed 12-23-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P