[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 189 (Monday, October 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67803-67806]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21675]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2023-0046]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Gulf of Mexico Regional Outer 
Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement

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

ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare a programmatic environmental 
impact statement (PEIS); request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Consistent with the regulations implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BOEM announces its intent to prepare a 
Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Regional Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (GOM Oil and Gas PEIS). The 
GOM Oil and Gas PEIS will analyze the potential impacts of a 
representative oil and gas lease sale in available OCS areas of the 
Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas (Proposed Action) and the 
associated potential site and activity-specific approvals resulting 
from a sale. This NOI announces the scoping process BOEM will use to 
identify significant issues and potential alternatives for 
consideration in the GOM Oil and Gas PEIS. The draft PEIS will include 
a summary of all alternatives, information, and analyses submitted 
during the scoping process for consideration by BOEM and the 
cooperating agencies.

DATES: BOEM will consider comments received by November 1, 2023. BOEM 
will hold two virtual public scoping meetings for the GOM Oil and Gas 
PEIS. The first will be held on October 17, 2023, at 6 p.m. CDT, and 
the second on October 19, 2023, at 1 p.m. CDT.
    Additional information and registration for the public meetings may 
be found here: https://www.boem.gov/Gulf-of-Mexico-Oil-and-Gas-PEIS or 
by calling 1-800-200-4853.

ADDRESSES: Detailed information can be found on BOEM's website at: 
https://www.boem.gov/Gulf-of-Mexico-Oil-and-Gas-PEIS.
    Written comments can be submitted through the regulations.gov web 
portal: Navigate to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket 
No. BOEM-2023-0046. Select the document in the search results on which 
you want to comment, click on the ``Comment'' button, and follow the 
online instructions for submitting your comment. A commenter's 
checklist is available on the comment web page. Enter your information 
and comment, then click ``Submit.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Helen Rucker, BOEM New Orleans Office, 
Office of Environment, 1201 Elmwood Park Blvd., New Orleans, Louisiana 
70123, telephone (504) 736-2421, or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 67804]]

Purpose of and Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose of the Federal Proposed Action is to offer for lease, 
and ultimately to allow for potential post-lease development through 
plan and permit approvals (subject to additional environmental review 
and regulatory oversight), those areas that may contain economically 
recoverable oil and gas. This purpose is consistent with BOEM's mandate 
to further the orderly development of OCS oil and gas resources under 
the OCS Lands Act. Each individual proposed lease sale would provide 
qualified bidders the opportunity to bid upon and lease available 
acreage in the GOM OCS in order to explore, develop, and produce oil 
and natural gas.
    The need for the Proposed Action is to manage the development of 
OCS oil and gas resources in an environmentally and economically 
responsible manner. Oil from the GOM OCS contributes to meeting 
domestic demand; however, combustion of oil and natural gas from the 
GOM OCS creates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, fueling climate change, 
which poses a significant global threat. The long-term goal of the 
Biden administration is to reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 and to 
limit global warming to less than 1.5[deg] Celsius. The administration 
also established goals of a 50 percent reduction of 2005 GHG emissions 
by 2030 and a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/22/fact-sheet-president-biden-sets-2030-greenhouse-gas-pollution-reduction-target-aimed-at-creating-good-paying-union-jobs-and-securing-u-s-leadership-on-clean-energy-technologies/).
    To meet these targets, the United States would have to drastically 
change the way it both consumes and supplies energy. An increase in 
renewable energy production, electrification, energy efficiency, and 
reduced consumption leads to less reliance on oil and gas resources and 
reduced demand. Refer to chapters 1.2 and 6 of the 2024-2029 National 
OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (2024-2029 National OCS 
Proposed Final Program) for details on U.S. energy needs and national 
and regional energy markets, respectively. Additionally, under the 
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Pub. L. 117-169, enacted Aug. 16, 
2022), Congress directed that the Secretary of the Interior must hold 
an offshore oil and gas lease sale(s) totaling 60 million acres in the 
year prior to issuing any wind energy leases.

Proposed Action and Preliminary Alternatives

    The Proposed Action evaluated in this PEIS is to hold an oil and 
gas lease sale on the U.S. GOM OCS. This PEIS is expected to be used to 
inform the decision for the first GOM lease sale proposed in the 2024-
2029 National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program. It also is expected to 
be used and supplemented as appropriate for decisions on future 
proposed GOM lease sales. In addition, this PEIS will be used for 
tiering of associated post-lease site and activity-specific OCS oil- 
and gas-related activity analyses and approvals.
    In this PEIS, BOEM will analyze four alternatives to the Proposed 
Action: a no action alternative and three action alternatives. Because 
this PEIS analyzes a representative lease sale, Alternative A (No 
Action) is the cancellation of a single proposed GOM lease sale.
    The first action alternative (Alternative B) offers all available 
unleased acreage in the U.S. GOM OCS, including the Western and Central 
Planning Areas and the portion of the Eastern Planning Area not subject 
to Presidential withdrawal. Alternative B correlates to Program Area 1 
from the 2024-2029 National OCS Proposed Final Program and would 
satisfy the requirement in the Inflation Reduction Act to offer an 
aggregate of at least 60 million acres for offshore oil and gas leasing 
within a 12-month period prior to issuing offshore wind energy leases. 
Alternative B analyzes lease stipulations and other mitigation measures 
for environmental protection.
    The second action alternative (Alternative C) would allow for a 
proposed lease sale excluding targeted portions of the Central, 
Western, and Eastern Planning Areas within the U.S. GOM OCS. 
Alternative C would satisfy the requirement in the Inflation Reduction 
Act to offer an aggregate of at least 60 million acres for offshore oil 
and gas leasing within a 12-month period prior to issuing offshore wind 
energy leases. Alternative C would exclude several areas for 
environmental protection purposes and to avoid conflicts with other 
ocean uses. Under this alternative, BOEM would analyze the effects of a 
single oil and gas sale offering at least the aggregate area required 
by the Inflation Reduction Act to allow wind energy leases to be 
issued.
    The final action alternative (Alternative D) would allow for a 
proposed lease sale excluding even more targeted portions than 
Alternative C in the Central and Western Planning Areas within the U.S. 
GOM OCS. Alternative D would exclude more of the OCS for environmental 
considerations and to avoid conflicts with other ocean uses. However, 
this Alternative would not on its own satisfy the aggregate lease 
acreage requirements of the Inflation Reduction Act to issue offshore 
wind energy leases. Selection of this alternative would require at 
least one additional lease sale within a 12-month period in order to 
satisfy the requirements of the Inflation Reduction Act.
    A complete description of the alternatives considered may be found 
here: https://www.boem.gov/Gulf-of-Mexico-Oil-and-Gas-PEIS.

Summary of Potential Impacts

    Potential impacts to resources may include adverse or beneficial 
impacts on air quality; water quality; coastal communities and 
habitats; benthic communities and habitats (including protected 
corals); pelagic communities and habitats; fishes and invertebrates; 
birds; marine mammals; sea turtles; commercial fisheries; recreational 
fishing; recreational resources; land use and coastal infrastructure; 
social factors (including environmental justice); economic factors; and 
cultural, historical, and archaeological resources. These potential 
impacts will be analyzed in the draft and final GOM Oil and Gas PEIS.
    Based on a preliminary evaluation of these resources, previous NEPA 
analyses, and BOEM's extensive history of leasing in the GOM, BOEM 
expects potential impacts on the resources listed above from routine 
air emissions, discharges and wastes, bottom disturbance, noise, 
coastal land use or modification, lighting and visual impacts, offshore 
habitat modification or space use, and socioeconomic changes. 
Additional impacts may occur from accidental events such as 
unintentional releases into the environment, response activities, or 
strikes and collisions. Past GOM oil and gas NEPA analyses (assuming 
analyzed mitigation measures are adopted) have shown that impacts range 
from negligible to moderate with most being negligible or minor and 
some beneficial.

Post-Lease Plan/Permit Approvals and Tiering

    If the Department of the Interior ultimately decides to move 
forward with an individual lease sale, neither this PEIS nor the 
resulting individual lease sale record of decision (ROD) will authorize 
any immediate activities (beyond ancillary activities under a lease) or 
approve any individual applications for plans or permits. The

[[Page 67805]]

GOM Oil and Gas PEIS will provide a programmatic environmental analysis 
and framework to support future decision-making on individual plan and 
permit submittals.
    When plans or permit applications are submitted to BOEM or the 
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the site-specific 
characteristics of the project will be evaluated by preparing 
additional environmental analyses that may tier from this PEIS or 
incorporate it by reference. Based on the site-specific applications 
and evaluations, BOEM may then reach a site-specific determination and 
approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove individual plans or 
permits. This PEIS may inform future BOEM decision-making on plan 
submittals but does not approve or authorize any applications or plans. 
Therefore, neither this PEIS nor a resulting lease sale ROD constitutes 
a final agency action authorizing or approving any individual plan(s) 
or permit(s).

Anticipated Authorizations and Consultations

    In conjunction with this PEIS, BOEM may undertake various 
consultations or coordination in accordance with applicable Federal 
laws, such as the Endangered Species Act, Magnuson[hyphen]Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, National Historic Preservation 
Act (NHPA), and Coastal Zone Management Act, as appropriate. BOEM will 
also conduct government-to-government Tribal consultations.

Decision-Making Schedule

    After the draft PEIS is completed, the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency will publish a notice of availability (NOA). BOEM 
will request public comments on the draft PEIS through its own NOA for 
the draft PEIS. BOEM currently expects both NOAs for the draft PEIS to 
be published in summer 2024. After the public comment period ends, BOEM 
will review and respond to comments received and will develop the final 
PEIS. BOEM will make the final PEIS available to the public at least 30 
days prior to issuance of any ROD. If the decision is to hold a sale, 
the ROD will document the final decision on the area and terms to be 
offered in the sale, including any required mitigation (e.g., through 
lease stipulations).

Scoping Process

    This NOI commences the public scoping process to identify issues 
and potential alternatives for consideration in the GOM Oil and Gas 
PEIS. BOEM will hold two virtual public scoping meetings as described 
above under the ``Dates'' caption and at https://www.boem.gov/Gulf-of-Mexico-Oil-and-Gas-PEIS. Throughout the scoping process, Federal 
agencies, Tribal, State, and local governments, and the public have the 
opportunity to help BOEM identify significant resources and issues, 
impact-producing factors, mitigation measures, and reasonable 
alternatives to be analyzed in the PEIS, as well as to provide 
additional information.
    BOEM will also use the NEPA comment process to initiate the section 
106 consultation process under the NHPA (54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.), as 
permitted by 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). To inform the section 106 
consultation, through this notice BOEM seeks public input regarding the 
identification of historic properties affected by or potential effects 
to historic properties from activities associated with approval of oil 
and gas development in the GOM.

NEPA Cooperating Agencies

    BOEM, as the lead agency, invites other Federal agencies and 
Tribal, State, and local governments to consider becoming cooperating 
agencies in the preparation of this PEIS. The Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations specify that qualified agencies and 
governments are those with ``jurisdiction by law or special 
expertise.'' Potential cooperating agencies should consider their 
authority and capacity to assume the responsibilities of a cooperating 
agency and should be aware that an agency's role in the environmental 
analysis neither enlarges nor diminishes the final decision-making 
authority of any other agency involved in the NEPA process.
    Upon request, BOEM will provide potential cooperating agencies with 
a written summary of expectations for cooperating agencies, including 
schedules, milestones, responsibilities, scope and detail of 
cooperating agencies' expected contributions, and availability of pre-
decisional information. BOEM anticipates this summary will form the 
basis for a memorandum of agreement between BOEM and any non-Department 
of the Interior cooperating agency; a memorandum of understanding is 
required in the case of non-Federal agencies. See 43 CFR 46.225(d). 
Agencies also should consider the factors for determining cooperating 
agency status in the CEQ memorandum entitled ``Cooperating Agencies in 
Implementing the Procedural Requirements of the National Environmental 
Policy Act,'' dated January 30, 2002. This document is available on the 
internet at: www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/nepapub/nepa_documents/RedDont/G-CEQ-CoopAgenciesImplem.pdf.
    BOEM does not provide financial assistance to cooperating agencies. 
Governmental entities that are not cooperating agencies will have 
opportunities to provide information and comments to BOEM during the 
public input stages of the NEPA process.

Comments

    Federal agencies, Tribal, State, and local governments, and other 
interested parties are requested to comment on the scope of this PEIS, 
significant issues that should be addressed, and alternatives that 
should be considered. For information on how to submit comments, see 
the ``Addresses'' section above.
    BOEM does not consider anonymous comments. Please include your name 
and address as part of your comment. Comments submitted in response to 
this notice are a matter of public record. You should be aware that 
your entire comment--including your address, phone number, email 
address, and other personally identifiable information included in your 
comment--may be made publicly available.
    You may request that BOEM withhold your personally identifiable 
information from public disclosure. For BOEM to consider withholding 
from disclosure your personally identifying information, you must 
identify, in a cover letter, any information contained in the submittal 
of your comments that, if released, would constitute a clearly 
unwarranted invasion of your personal privacy. You must also briefly 
describe any possible harmful consequences from disclosing your 
information, such as embarrassment, injury, or other harm.
    Even if BOEM withholds your information in the context of this NOI, 
your submission is subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). If 
your submission is requested under the FOIA, BOEM can only withhold 
your information if it determines that one of the FOIA's exemptions to 
disclosure applies. Such a determination will be made in accordance 
with the Department of the Interior's FOIA regulations and applicable 
law.
    Additionally, under section 304 of the NHPA, BOEM is required, 
after consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, to withhold the 
location, character, or ownership of historic property if it determines 
that disclosure may, among other things, cause a significant invasion 
of privacy, risk harm to the historic property, or impede the use of a 
traditional religious site by practitioners. Tribal entities and other

[[Page 67806]]

parties providing information on historic resources should designate 
information that they wish to be held as confidential and provide the 
reasons why BOEM should do so.
    All submissions from organizations or businesses and from 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of 
organizations or businesses will be made available for public 
inspection in their entirety.

Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, and 
Analyses Relevant to the Proposed Action

    BOEM requests data, traditional and indigenous knowledge, comments, 
views, information, analysis, alternatives, or suggestions relevant to 
the analysis of the Proposed Action from the public; affected Federal, 
Tribal, State, and local governments, agencies, and offices; the 
scientific community; industry; or any other interested party. 
Specifically, BOEM requests information on the following topics:
    1. Potential mitigation measures, including GOM oil and gas 
development alternatives, and the effects these could have on:
    a. Biological resources, including birds, coastal communities, 
benthic communities, pelagic communities, fish, invertebrates, 
essential fish habitat, marine mammals, and sea turtles;
    b. Physical resources and conditions, including air quality, water 
quality, coastal habitats, benthic habitats, and pelagic habitats; and
    c. Socioeconomic and cultural resources, including commercial 
fishing, recreational fishing, demographics, employment, economics, 
environmental justice, land use and coastal infrastructure, navigation 
and vessel traffic, other uses (such as marine minerals, military use, 
and aviation), recreation and tourism, and scenic and visual resources.
    2. The identification of historic properties within the GOM, the 
potential effects on those historic properties from GOM oil and gas 
development, and any information that supports identification of 
historic properties under the NHPA. BOEM also solicits proposed 
measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any adverse effects on 
historic properties. If any historic properties are identified, a 
potential effects analysis will be available for public and NHPA 
consulting party comment in the draft PEIS.
    3. Information on other current or planned activities in the GOM, 
including any mitigation measures, their possible impacts on the 
alternatives, and the alternatives' possible impacts on those 
activities.
    4. Other information relevant to impacts on the human environment 
from potential GOM oil and gas development alternatives, including any 
mitigation measures.
    To promote informed decision-making, comments should be as specific 
as possible and should provide as much detail as necessary to 
meaningfully and fully inform BOEM of the commenter's position. 
Comments should explain why the issues raised are important for 
consideration of the Proposed Action, as well as economic, employment, 
and other impacts affecting the quality of the human environment.
    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., and 40 CFR 1501.9.

James J. Kendall,
Regional Director, New Orleans Office, Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-21675 Filed 9-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P