[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 164 (Friday, August 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58310-58311]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18345]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2023-0045]


Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf, Oil and Gas Lease Sale 
261

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of a record of decision.

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SUMMARY: BOEM announces the availability of the Record of Decision 
(ROD) for Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and 
Gas Lease Sale 261 (GOM Lease Sale 261). This ROD identifies the 
selected alternative for GOM Lease Sale 261, which is analyzed in the 
Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales 259 and 261: Final 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (GOM Lease Sales 259 and 
261 Supplemental EIS).

ADDRESSES: The ROD and associated information are available on BOEM's 
website at https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/leasing/lease-sale-261.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Helen Rucker, Supervisor, 
Environmental Assessment Section Unit 1, Office of Environment, BOEM 
New Orleans Office, by telephone at 504-736-2421, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BOEM must hold GOM Lease Sale 261 on or 
before September 30, 2023, pursuant to section 50264(e) of the 
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA, Pub. L. 117-169), which was 
signed into law on August 16, 2022. However, the IRA does not affect 
BOEM's discretion regarding other aspects of its normal leasing 
process, including decisions regarding the scope of the lease sale and 
the terms of the resulting leases. GOM Lease Sale 261 will provide 
qualified bidders the opportunity to bid on unleased blocks in the Gulf 
of Mexico OCS in order to explore for, develop, and produce oil and 
natural gas. BOEM evaluated five alternatives in the GOM Lease Sales 
259 and 261 Supplemental EIS, which BOEM completed as part of its 
normal leasing process to inform the decision-maker on possible lease 
sale impacts, mitigations, and other action alternatives.
    The ROD for Lease Sale 261 is the second ROD that relies on the 
analysis in the GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS. BOEM 
reviewed new and relevant information since the GOM Lease Sales 259 and 
261 Supplemental EIS was issued and verified that the GOM Lease Sales 
259 and 261 Supplemental EIS adequately addresses the potential 
environmental effects of the proposed lease sale. There are no new 
circumstances, information, or changes in the proposed lease sale or 
its potential impacts that require supplementation of the GOM Lease 
Sales 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS.
    After careful consideration, the U.S. Department of the Interior 
(Interior) decided to offer for lease a subset of the OCS blocks 
analyzed as Alternative D in the GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261 
Supplemental EIS.
    Therefore, BOEM will hold GOM Lease Sale 261 as a GOM regionwide 
lease sale encompassing all three planning areas, i.e., the Western 
Planning Area, Central Planning Area, and a small portion of the 
Eastern Planning Area, with the following exclusions: (1) whole and 
portions of blocks made unavailable for leasing by Presidential 
withdrawal in the September 8, 2020, Memorandum on the Withdrawal of 
Certain Areas of the United States Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing 
Disposition; (2) blocks that are adjacent to or beyond the United 
States Exclusive Economic Zone in the area known as the northern 
portion of the Eastern Gap; (3) whole and partial blocks within the 
boundary of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary as of the 
July 14, 2008, Memorandum on Modification of the Withdrawal of Areas of 
the United States Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing Disposition; (4) 
whole and partial blocks that were previously subject to the 
Topographic Features Stipulation; (5) whole and partial blocks that 
were previously subject to the Live Bottom (Pinnacle Trend) 
Stipulation; (6) whole and partial blocks that were previously subject 
to the Blocks South of Baldwin County, Alabama, Stipulation; (7) whole 
blocks that contain banks that are adjacent to blocks previously 
included in the Topographic Features Stipulation (currently Garden 
Banks 181); (8) whole and partial blocks identified as either Wind 
Energy Area Options (Areas A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K, L, and N) or 
final Wind Energy Areas (Areas I and M); \1\ (9) depth-restricted, 
segregated block portions (Block 299, Main Pass Area, South and East 
Addition); (10) whole and partial BOEM-designated Significant Sediment 
Resource Area blocks; and (11) whole and partial blocks between the 
100-meter and 400-meter isobaths across the northern GOM on the OCS, 
eastward from the Mexican border with Texas and westward from the 
eastern edge of the Central Planning Area.
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    \1\ https://www.boem.gov/sites/default/files/documents//Draft%20Area%20ID%20Memo%20GOM%20508.pdf.
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    The excluded blocks are identified by their block number in the 
Final Notice of Sale for GOM Lease Sale 261. The lease sale area 
encompasses approximately 12,395 OCS blocks covering approximately 67.3 
million acres. The unleased OCS blocks that BOEM will offer for lease 
are listed in the document entitled ``Lease Sale Area,'' which is 
included in the Final Notice of Sale package for GOM Lease Sale 261 
available on BOEM's website. See ADDRESSES caption above.
    As part of the decision to hold GOM Lease Sale 261, BOEM adopted 
all practicable means to avoid or minimize environmental harm at the 
lease sale stage. In addition, any subsequent post-lease activities 
(e.g., exploration and development plans), which may be expected as a 
result of GOM Lease Sale 261, will undergo additional environmental 
review and may include additional project-specific mitigation measures 
applied as conditions of individual plan approvals. The various 
mitigation measures adopted for the lease sale, and those that may be 
applied during post-lease reviews, are summarized below.
    Lease Stipulations--Because the OCS blocks that otherwise were 
previously subject to the Topographic Features Stipulation; Live Bottom 
(Pinnacle Trend) Stipulation; and Blocks South of Baldwin County, 
Alabama, Stipulation have all been removed from leasing under the 
chosen alternative, these stipulations will not be applied to any 
leases issued as a result of GOM Lease Sale 261. Eight lease 
stipulations have been adopted as lease terms where applicable, and 
they will be enforceable as part of the leases issued. The GOM Lease 
Sale 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS describes these lease stipulations, 
which are included in the Final Notice of Sale Package. These lease 
stipulations include the following: Military Areas; Evacuation; 
Coordination; Protected Species; United Nations Convention on the Law 
of the Sea Royalty Payment; Agreement between the United States of

[[Page 58311]]

America and the United Mexican States Concerning Transboundary 
Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico; Restrictions Due to 
Rights-of-Use and Easements for Floating Production Facilities; and 
Royalties on All Produced Gas. The Final Notice of Sale package 
includes a document describing these stipulations in detail. See 
ADDRESSES caption above.
    Post-Lease Measures--Appendix B of the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and 
Gas Lease Sales: 2017-2022; Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales 249, 250, 251, 
252, 253, 254, 256, 257, 259, and 261--Final Multisale Environmental 
Impact Statement provides a list and description of standard post-lease 
conditions of approval that BOEM or the Bureau of Safety and 
Environmental Enforcement may require as a result of their plan and 
permit reviews for oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico OCS 
region.
    The decision to hold GOM Lease Sale 261 meets the purpose of and 
need for the proposed action, as identified in the GOM Lease Sales 259 
and 261 Supplemental EIS, and provides for orderly resource development 
with protection of human, marine, and coastal environments while also 
ensuring that the public receives a fair market value for these 
resources and that free-market competition is maintained.
    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (National Environmental Policy 
Act) and 40 CFR parts 1505 and 1506.

Elizabeth A. Klein,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-18345 Filed 8-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P