[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 234 (Friday, December 4, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78359-78360]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26781]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management


Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf, Geological and 
Geophysical Activities: Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas; 
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a record of decision.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing the 
availability of a Record of Decision for the final programmatic 
environmental impact statement (EIS) for proposed geological and 
geophysical (G&G) activities on the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS). This Record of Decision identifies BOEM's 
selected alternative for conducting proposed G&G activities on the Gulf 
of Mexico OCS, which is analyzed in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Proposed 
Geological and Geophysical Activities: Western, Central, and Eastern 
Planning Areas; Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement 
(Programmatic EIS). The Record of Decision and associated information 
are available on BOEM's website at http://www.boem.gov//or https://www.boem.gov/regions/gulf-mexico-ocs-region/resource-evaluation/gulf-mexico-geological-and-geophysical-gg.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information on the Record of 
Decision, you may contact Ms. Helen Rucker, Chief, Environmental 
Assessment Section, Office of Environment, by telephone at 504-736-2421 
or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Programmatic EIS addresses potential 
environmental impacts of BOEM's Oil and Gas, Renewable Energy, and 
Marine Minerals Programs, and focuses particularly on the environmental 
impacts of off-lease and on-lease geological (bottom sampling and test 
drilling) and geophysical (deep-penetration, high--resolution 
geophysical (HRG), electromagnetic, deep stratigraphic, and remote 
sensing) surveys. The area evaluated (i.e., Area of Interest or AOI) 
includes the OCS waters that are within BOEM's Gulf of Mexico planning 
areas (i.e., Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas). The AOI 
also includes, for purposes of the analysis, the coastal waters of 
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida extending from the 
coastline

[[Page 78360]]

outside of estuaries seaward 3 nautical miles (nmi) (3.5 miles [mi]; 
5.6 kilometers [km]) from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, or 9 nmi 
(10.4 mi; 16.7 km) from Texas and Florida to the limit of State 
jurisdiction.
    In the Programmatic EIS, BOEM evaluated seven alternatives. All but 
the No Action Alternative focused on mitigation measures to avoid or 
reduce the potential environmental impacts that could result from 
future G&G activities in the GOM. The Programmatic EIS and Record of 
Decision are available at https://www.boem.gov/regions/gulf-mexico-ocs-region/resource-evaluation/gulf-mexico-geological-and-geophysical-gg.
    After careful consideration, the Record of Decision identifies 
BOEM's selection of Alternative C of the Programmatic EIS. Under 
Alternative C, G&G activities would continue to be permitted and 
authorized, and would include the mitigation measures, monitoring, 
reporting, survey protocols, and guidance that were in place prior to 
the settlement agreement in Natural Resources Defense Council Ins., et 
al., v. Bernhardt, et al., Defendants and API, et al., Intervenor, 
Defendants, No. 2:10-cv-01882 (E.D. La.), as well as additional 
mitigation and temporal measures for survey protocols for seismic 
airgun and nonairgun HRG surveys. While BOEM is selecting Alternative C 
at this programmatic stage, rather than adopting the non-airgun, HRG 
survey protocol (as described in Appendix B of the Programmatic EIS), 
the protocol will be reserved, considered, and applied at the site-
specific stage, on an as-needed basis, to further minimize the 
potential for injury to marine mammals and sea turtles. BOEM's 
selection of the Preferred Alternative meets the purpose of and need 
for the proposed action, balances regional and national policy 
considerations, and includes appropriate measures to minimize potential 
environmental and socioeconomic impacts. This decision does not by 
itself authorize any activities. The mitigation measures contemplated 
in Alternative C may be supplemented by additional requirements or 
tailored as site-specific circumstances warrant in permits or other 
specific authorizations after BOEM completes additional environmental 
review.
    Authority: This Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision is 
published pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR part 1503; 1978, as 
amended in 1986 and 2005) implementing the provisions of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

Michael A. Celata,
Regional Director, New Orleans Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-26781 Filed 12-3-20; 8:45 am]
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