[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 208 (Friday, October 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54136-54137]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23366]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management


Environmental Impact Statement on the Liberty Development and 
Production Plan in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area

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

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision.

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SUMMARY: BOEM is announcing the availability of the Record of Decision 
for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Liberty 
Development and Production Plan (DPP) in the Beaufort Sea Planning 
Area. The Record of Decision identifies the Bureau's selected 
alternative for the Liberty DPP. The Record of Decision and associated 
information are available on BOEM's website at https://www.boem.gov/liberty.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lauren Boldrick, Project Manager, 
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Alaska OCS Region, 3801 Centerpoint 
Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503, 907-334-5200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action would recover and 
process oil from the Liberty oil field and transport sales-quality oil 
to market. To accomplish this, Hilcorp Alaska, LLC would construct the 
Liberty Drilling and Production Island (LDPI) to recover reserves from 
three Federal leases (OCS-Y-1585, OCS-Y-1650, and OCS-Y-1886) in Foggy 
Island Bay of the Beaufort Sea. The ocean bottom footprint of the 
proposed LDPI is approximately 24 acres. Hilcorp would construct a new 
pipeline linking the LDPI to the Badami Sales Oil Pipeline (Badami 
pipeline). They would bury the subsea portion (approximately 5.6 miles) 
of the pipeline along a route

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running south from the LDPI to the Alaska coastline west of the 
Kadleroshilik River. The pipeline would transition to above-ground for 
approximately 1.5 miles and tie into the existing Badami pipeline. 
Hilcorp would produce and process oil from the LDPI, transport it 
through the Badami pipeline to the existing common carrier pipeline 
system, and from there on to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
    After careful consideration, the Department of the Interior (DOI) 
has selected the Proposed Action (Alternative 1) with additional 
mitigation measures analyzed in the Liberty DPP FEIS. DOI's selection 
of the Proposed Action meets the purpose and need as identified in the 
Liberty DPP FEIS, and reflects an informed decision balancing orderly 
resource development with protection of the human, marine, and coastal 
environments. The full text of the mitigation measures which will be 
included in the project approval are available in the Record of 
Decision, which is available on BOEM's website at: www.boem.gov/liberty.

    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: October 19, 2018.
Walter D. Cruickshank,
Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2018-23366 Filed 10-25-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P