[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 248 (Friday, December 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67337-67338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-28049]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[18X.LLAK930000.LXSSL0120000.L131000.DP0000]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program and 
Announcement of Public Subsistence-Related Hearings

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Alaska State Office, is 
issuing the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Coastal 
Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program and by this notice is announcing the 
opening of the public comment period. The BLM is also announcing that 
it will hold public meetings on the Draft EIS and subsistence-related 
hearings to receive comments on the Draft EIS and the program's 
potential to impact subsistence resources and activities.

DATES: Comments on the Draft EIS may be submitted in writing until 45 
days after the Environmental Protection Agency's publication of Notice 
of Availability of the Draft EIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will 
hold public meetings in: Anchorage, Arctic Village, Fairbanks, Fort 
Yukon, Kaktovik, Utqia[gdot]vik, and Venetie, Alaska, and Washington, 
DC A public hearing on subsistence resources and activities will occur 
in conjunction with the public meeting for the Draft EIS in the 
potentially affected community of Kaktovik. The dates, times, and 
locations, of the meetings will be announced through local news media, 
newspapers, and the BLM website.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/plans-in-development/alaska/coastal-plain-eis.
     Mail to: BLM, Alaska State Office, Attention--Coastal 
Plain EIS, 222 West 7th Avenue, #13, Anchorage, AK 99513-7599.
     Hand Delivery: BLM Alaska Public Information Center 
(Public Room), 222 W. 8th Avenue (First Floor), Anchorage, Alaska.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Hayes, 907-271-4354; by mail: 
Bureau of Land Management, 222 West 7th Avenue, #13, Anchorage, AK 
99513-7599. You may also request to be added to the mailing list for 
the EIS. Documents pertaining to the EIS may be examined at http://www.blm.gov/alaska or at the BLM Alaska State Office, BLM Alaska Public 
Information Center (Public Room), 222 West 8th Avenue (First Floor), 
Anchorage, Alaska.
    People who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the 
above individual during normal business hours. The FRS 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 BLM is undertaking this Leasing EIS to 
implement the leasing program consistent with Public Law 115-97. The 
Leasing EIS will serve to inform BLM's implementation of Public Law 
115-97, Section 20001(c)(1), which is the requirement to hold multiple 
lease sales. It may also inform post-lease activities, including 
seismic and drilling exploration, development, and transportation of 
oil and gas in and from the Coastal Plain. Specifically, the Leasing 
EIS considers and analyzes the environmental impact of various leasing 
alternatives, including the areas to offer for sale, and the indirect 
impacts that could result in consideration of the hypothetical 
development scenario. The alternatives analyze various terms and 
conditions (i.e., lease stipulations and required operating procedures) 
to be applied to leases and associated oil and gas activities, to 
properly balance oil and gas development with protection of surface 
resources. The lands comprising the Coastal Plain include approximately 
1.6 million acres within the approximately 19.3 million-acre Arctic 
National Wildlife Refuge.
    The purpose of the public comment period is to inform the public of 
the availability of the Draft EIS and solicit comment from the public. 
Information received during the public comment period will be used to 
develop the Final EIS.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.
    The BLM has worked with interested parties to identify the 
management decisions best suited to local, regional, and national needs 
and concerns, as well as to develop a proposed action and alternatives 
consistent with the following criteria:
     The EIS considers all Federal lands and waters within the 
Coastal Plain;
     The EIS used scoping to identify issues; impacts and 
potential alternatives to be addressed;
     Under Public Law 115-97, not fewer than two lease sales, 
each to include not fewer than 400,000 acres area-wide of the areas 
with the highest potential of hydrocarbons, must occur by December 
2024;
     The BLM considers subsistence resources and users, as well 
as potential actions to minimize adverse impacts to subsistence in 
accordance with section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act (ANILCA); and
     The EIS considers the surface management of the Coastal 
Plain.
    Future on-the-ground actions requiring BLM approval, including 
potential exploration and development proposals, would require further 
NEPA analysis based on the site-specific proposal. Potential applicants 
would be subject to the terms of the lease; however, the BLM Authorized 
Officer may require additional site-specific terms and conditions 
before authorizing any oil and gas activity based on the project level 
NEPA analysis.
    Section 810 of ANILCA requires BLM to evaluate the effects of the 
alternatives

[[Page 67338]]

presented in the Draft EIS on subsistence activities, and to hold 
public hearings if it finds that any alternative may significantly 
restrict subsistence uses. The preliminary evaluation of subsistence 
impacts indicates that certain alternatives analyzed in the Draft EIS 
and the associated cumulative impacts may significantly restrict 
subsistence uses. Therefore, the BLM will hold a public hearing on 
subsistence resources and activities in conjunction with the public 
meeting on the Draft EIS in the potentially affected community of 
Kaktovik.
    Upon completion of a Final EIS and Record of Decision, the BLM 
intends to conduct lease sales in accordance with Public Law 115-97.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6(b).

Ted A. Murphy,
Acting State Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 2018-28049 Filed 12-27-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P