[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 97 (Monday, May 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23295-23297]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10506]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2014-0001; MMAA104000]


Alaska Outer Continental Shelf, Cook Inlet Planning Area, Oil and 
Gas Lease Sale 244

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of a Record of Decision.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is announcing the 
availability of the Record of Decision for the Cook Inlet Planning 
Area, Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Lease Sale 244 (Lease 
Sale 244). This Record of Decision identifies the Bureau's selected 
alternative for holding Lease Sale 244, which is analyzed in the Alaska 
OCS: Cook Inlet Planning Area Oil and Gas Lease Sale 244 in the Cook 
Inlet, Alaska; Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) (OCS/EIS EA 
BOEM 2016-069). The Record of Decision and associated information are 
available on BOEM's Web site at https://www.boem.gov/Sale-244/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information on the Record of 
Decision, you may contact Sharon Randall, Chief, Environmental Analysis 
Section, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Alaska OCS Region, 3801 
Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503, 907-334-5235.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Cook Inlet Lease Sale Area is located 
offshore of the State of Alaska in the northern portion of the Federal 
waters of Cook Inlet and is comprised of 224 OCS blocks, which 
encompass an area of approximately 442,500 hectares or 1.09 million 
acres. There are currently no active OCS oil and gas leases in the Cook 
Inlet Planning Area. The unleased OCS blocks within Cook Inlet that 
BOEM will offer for lease are listed in the document entitled, ``List 
of Blocks Available for Leasing,'' which is included in the Final 
Notice of Sale for Cook Inlet Lease Sale 244. The estimated resource 
potential of the Lease Sale is 215 million barrels of oil and 571 
billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Decision

    After careful consideration, the Department of the Interior (DOI) 
has selected the Preferred Alternative identified and analyzed in the 
Lease Sale 244 FEIS. In selecting the Preferred Alternative for Lease 
Sale 244, BOEM will offer for lease 224 unleased OCS blocks subject to 
mitigation measures adopted to reduce potential impacts to sensitive 
biological resources and other uses of the OCS, including, but not 
limited to, the beluga whales and their critical habitat and feeding 
areas, sea otters and their critical habitat, and the gillnet fishery. 
The Preferred Alternative combines the Proposed Action (Alternative 1) 
with several mitigations analyzed as alternatives in the Lease Sale 244 
FEIS. In holding Lease Sale 244, DOI is implementing Alternative 3B 
(Beluga Whale Critical Habitat Mitigation), Alternative 3C (Beluga 
Whale Nearshore Feeding Areas Mitigation), Alternative 4B (Northern Sea 
Otter Critical Habitat Mitigation) and Alternative 5 (Gillnet Fishery 
Mitigation), as described in the FEIS.

[[Page 23296]]

Lease Stipulations

    The following mitigation measures will be applied to Lease Sale 244 
as lease stipulations. The full text of the lease stipulations that 
will be included in leases issued as a result of the sale and the list 
of blocks to which they apply are available in the Final Notice of Sale 
Package for Lease Sale 244. The Final Notice of Sale Package is 
available on BOEM's Web site at: https://www.boem.gov/Sale-244/.
    Beluga Whale Critical Habitat Mitigation: This mitigation measure 
applies to 10 OCS blocks that overlap with the ``Area 2'' beluga whale 
critical habitat at the northern tip of the Lease Sale Area. Lessees 
will be prohibited from conducting on-lease seismic surveys or 
exploration drilling from November 1 through April 1 in the affected 
blocks. The Protection of Beluga Whale Critical Habitat Stipulation 
will be included in any leases issued for those blocks. Beluga Whale 
Nearshore Feeding Areas Mitigation: This mitigation measure creates 
temporal restrictions for on-lease seismic survey activities within the 
Lease Sale Area. On all 224 OCS blocks, no on-lease marine seismic 
surveys will be conducted between November 1 and April 1, when beluga 
whales are most likely to be present and distributed across the Lease 
Sale Area. The Protection of Beluga Whales Stipulation will be included 
in any leases issued pursuant to Lease Sale 244.
    Additionally, for blocks within 10 miles of major anadromous 
streams, lessees are prohibited from conducting on-lease marine seismic 
surveys between July 1 and September 30, when beluga whales are 
migrating to and from their summer feeding areas. The Protection of 
Beluga Whale Nearshore Feeding Areas Stipulation will be included in 
any leases issued for these blocks.
    Northern Sea Otter Critical Habitat Mitigation: This mitigation 
measure prohibits lessees from discharging drilling fluids and cuttings 
and conducting seafloor disturbing activities (including anchoring and 
placement of bottom-founded structures) within 1,000 m of areas 
designated as northern sea otter critical habitat. The Protection of 
Northern Sea Otter Critical Habitat Stipulation will be included in any 
leases issued on the 14 OCS blocks within 1,000 m of areas designated 
as northern sea otter critical habitat.
    Gillnet Fishery Mitigation: This mitigation measure applies to the 
117 whole or partial OCS blocks located north of Anchor Point within 
the Lease Sale Area to reduce the potential for conflicts with the 
drift gillnet fishery. Lessees are prohibited from conducting on-lease 
seismic surveys during the drift gillnetting season as designated by 
the State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) (approximately 
mid-June to mid-August). Lessees are required to notify the United Cook 
Inlet Drift Association (UCIDA) of any temporary or permanent 
structures planned during the drift gillnetting season. Lessees are 
required to coordinate with the UCIDA to avoid conflicts. The 
Protection of Gillnet Fishery Stipulation will be included in any 
leases issued for these blocks.
    The above measures would be implemented through lease stipulations, 
which would apply to some or all of the OCS blocks offered for lease. 
For each of the mitigation measures described above, lessees may 
request a waiver or variance to these lease stipulations at the time of 
filing an ancillary activities notice, an exploration plan, or a 
development and production plan with BOEM's Alaska Regional Supervisor, 
Leasing and Plans. Such requests must identify alternative methods for 
providing commensurate protection and analyze the effectiveness of 
those methods.
    While not analyzed as specific alternatives in the FEIS, DOI is 
implementing four additional lease stipulations in the Cook Inlet Lease 
Sale 244. These stipulations will be added as lease terms as applicable 
to all or a subset of the OCS blocks being offered for lease, and will 
therefore be enforceable as part of the lease.
    Protection of Fisheries Stipulation: Exploration, development, and 
production operations must be conducted in a manner that minimizes or 
prevents conflicts with fishing communities and gear (including, but 
not limited to subsistence, sport, and commercial fishing). The 
lessee's Exploration Plan (EP) and Development and Production Plan 
(DPP) must include a summary of fishing activities in the area of 
proposed operations, an assessment of effects on fishing from the 
proposed activity, and measures to be taken by the lessee/operator to 
minimize or prevent conflicts. The assessment of effects and measures 
to minimize or prevent conflicts must be described under the 
environmental impact analysis, as required by 30 CFR 550.227 for EPs 
and 30 CFR 550.261 for DPPs. BOEM may restrict lease-related activities 
if the Regional Supervisor, Leasing and Plans (RSLP) determines that 
the lessee's/operator's proposed measures will not minimize or prevent 
conflicts. The RSLP will work with directly affected parties, if 
necessary, to ensure that potential conflicts are identified and 
efforts are taken to minimize or prevent these conflicts.
    Protection of Biological Resources Stipulation: If biological 
populations or habitats that may require additional protection are 
identified by BOEM in the leased area, the RSLP may require the lessee/
operator to conduct biological surveys to determine the extent and 
composition of such biological populations or habitats. Based on any 
surveys that the RSLP required of the lessee/operator, or based on 
other information available to the RSLP regarding special biological 
resources, the RSLP may require the lessee/operator to: relocate the 
site of operations; establish to the satisfaction of the RSLP, on the 
basis of a site-specific survey, either that such operations will not 
have a significant adverse effect upon the resource identified or that 
a special biological resource does not exist; operate only during those 
periods of time, as established by the RSLP, that do not adversely 
affect the biological resources; and/or modify operations to ensure 
that significant biological populations or habitats deserving 
protection are not adversely affected.
    If populations or habitats of biological significance are 
discovered during the conduct of any operations on the lease, the 
lessee/operator must immediately report such findings to the RSLP and 
make every reasonable effort to preserve the biological resource and 
protect it from damage. The lessee/operator may take no action that 
might affect the biological populations or habitats surveyed until the 
RSLP provides written directions to the lessee/operator with regard to 
permissible actions. The RSLP will provide a written response outlining 
permissible actions within 30 days.
    Orientation Program Stipulation: An EP or DPP submitted under 30 
CFR 550.211 or 30 CFR 550.241, respectively, must include a proposed 
orientation program for all personnel involved in the Proposed Action 
(including personnel of the lessee's/operator's agents, contractors, 
and subcontractors). The program must be designed in sufficient detail 
to inform individuals working on the project of specific types of 
environmental, safety, social, and cultural concerns that relate to the 
area that could be affected by the operation or its personnel. The 
program must address the importance of not disturbing archaeological 
and biological resources and habitats, including endangered species, 
fisheries, bird colonies, and marine mammals, and provide guidance on 
how to avoid or

[[Page 23297]]

minimize disturbance. The program must address Safety and Environmental 
Management System elements including, but not limited to: Stop Work 
Authority; Ultimate Work Authority; Employee Participation Program 
(Safety); and Reporting Unsafe Working Conditions. The program must be 
designed to increase the sensitivity and understanding of personnel to 
community values, customs, and way-of-life in areas where such 
personnel will be operating. The orientation program also must include 
information concerning avoidance of conflicts with subsistence, sport, 
and commercial fishing activities.
    Transportation of Hydrocarbons Stipulation: Pipelines may be 
required for transporting produced hydrocarbons to shore if BOEM 
determines that: (a) Pipeline rights-of-way can be determined and 
obtained; (b) laying such pipelines is technologically feasible and 
environmentally preferable; and (c) pipelines can be laid without net 
social loss, taking into account any incremental costs of pipelines 
over alternative methods of transportation and any incremental benefits 
in the form of increased environmental protection or reduced multiple-
use conflicts.
    After careful consideration, DOI has selected the Preferred 
Alternative in the FEIS to hold Lease Sale 244, including the 
mitigations described above. DOI's selection of the preferred 
alternative meets the purpose and need for the Proposed Action, as 
identified in the Cook Inlet Lease Sale 244 FEIS, and reflects an 
informed decision balancing orderly resource development with 
protection of the human, marine, and coastal environments while also 
ensuring that the public receives fair market value for these resources 
and that free-market competition is maintained.

    Authority:  This Notice of Availability is published pursuant to 
regulations (40 CFR part 1506) implementing the provisions of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

    Dated: May 18, 2017.
Walter D. Cruickshank,
Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2017-10506 Filed 5-19-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P