[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 173 (Friday, September 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62104-62105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19427]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[DOI-BLM-AK-0000-2021-0006-EIS]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Coastal Plain Oil and Gas 
Leasing Program Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces 
the availability of the Draft Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Leasing SEIS).

DATES: To afford the joint lead agencies the opportunity to consider 
comments

[[Page 62105]]

in the Final Leasing SEIS, please ensure that the BLM receives your 
comments within 45 days following the date the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft 
Leasing SEIS in the Federal Register. The EPA publishes these NOAs on 
Fridays. The BLM will be holding virtual and in-person public meetings. 
The dates of the comment period as well as information about public 
meetings and subsistence hearings will be available on the project 
website in the ADDRESSES section.

ADDRESSES: The Draft Leasing SEIS is available for review on the BLM 
ePlanning project website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015144/510.
    Written comments related to the Draft Leasing SEIS may be submitted 
via the ePlanning project website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015144/510.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the BLM 
Alaska State Office, BLM Alaska Arctic District Office, and the United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge Office.

 BLM Alaska State Office Public Room, 222 W 7th Avenue, 
Anchorage, AK 99513
 BLM Alaska Arctic District Office, 222 University Avenue, 
Fairbanks, AK 99709
 USFWS Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Office, 101 12th Avenue, 
Room 235, Fairbanks, AK 99701

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Serena Sweet, BLM Supervisory Planner, 
telephone (907) 271-4345, or email [email protected]; Stephanie Kuhns, BLM 
Planning and Environmental Specialist, telephone (907) 271-4208, email 
[email protected]; or Bobbie Jo Skibo, Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Program 
Coordinator, telephone (907) 441-1539, email [email protected]. 
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of 
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services for contacting 
Ms. Sweet, Ms. Kuhns, or Ms. Skibo. Individuals outside the United 
States should use the relay services offered within their country to 
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft Leasing SEIS was developed by the 
BLM and USFWS as joint lead agencies to address deficiencies in the 
2019 Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Environmental Impact 
Statement and the 2020 Record of Decision approving the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program (85 FR 
51754).
    The joint lead agencies prepared this Draft Leasing SEIS in 
accordance with NEPA to implement an oil and gas leasing program in the 
Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Coastal Plain). 
This Draft Leasing SEIS serves to inform BLM's implementation of the 
Public Law 115-97, Section 20001(c)(1) requirement to hold two lease 
sales. It may also inform management of post-lease activities, 
including seismic surveys, exploratory drilling, oil and gas 
development, and transportation of oil and gas in and from the Coastal 
Plain. Specifically, the Draft Leasing SEIS considers and analyzes the 
environmental impacts of various leasing alternatives and the indirect 
impacts that could result from hypothetical development.
    This Draft Leasing SEIS does not permit oil and gas extraction 
activities. It considers three action alternatives for implementation 
of an oil and gas leasing program in the Coastal Plain. The decisions 
to be made include which lands to offer for lease and what terms and 
conditions would apply to leases. The decisions evaluated would not 
authorize any on-the-ground activity associated with the exploration or 
development of oil and gas resources on the Coastal Plain. Future on-
the-ground actions requiring BLM approval, including proposed 
exploration plans and development proposals, would require further NEPA 
analysis based on the site-specific proposal.
    Although sections 20001(a)(2) and (b)(2)(A) of Public Law 115-97 
assign responsibility to the BLM for administering the oil and gas 
program on the Coastal Plain, it is understood that all activities, 
including plan development, study development, and consideration of 
exceptions, modifications, waivers, or any operations conducted on the 
surface of the Coastal Plain, would include close coordination with the 
USFWS as the surface management agency. In addition, the BLM would 
coordinate with other appropriate Federal, State, and North Slope 
Borough agencies; Tribal Governments; ANCSA corporations; and other 
Native organizations as appropriate.
    All comments received during the comment period will be considered 
and evaluated, and substantive comments will be addressed in the Final 
Leasing SEIS to be completed in 2024. The most useful comments are ones 
that are specific and address one or more of the following:
     Identification of new information that would have a 
bearing on the analysis.
     Inaccuracies or discrepancies in information or any errors 
in our portrayal of the resources and uses of the program area.
     Suggestions for improving implementation of an oil and gas 
leasing program on the Coastal Plain, consistent with the purposes of 
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
     Identification of new impacts, alternatives, or potential 
mitigation measures.
    When you share your comments with us, please be as specific as 
possible. Identify the specific concern or correction you are 
suggesting, where it appears in the Draft Leasing SEIS, and the 
modification you feel is necessary or appropriate. If you have an idea 
for a potential mitigation measure, please tell us what it is and the 
benefits it would provide.
    Information about public meetings and subsistence hearings will be 
available on the project website listed in the ADDRESSES section, and 
will be announced through additional, public notices, news releases, 
and mailings.
    The BLM and USFWS will continue to consult with Indian Tribal 
Nations and Alaska Native corporations in accordance with Executive 
Order 13175, BLM MS 1780, and other Departmental policies. Tribal 
concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets, impacts to 
subsistence resources, and potential impacts to cultural resources, 
will be given due consideration.
    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.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10)

Steven M. Cohn,
BLM Alaska State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023-19427 Filed 9-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-10-P