[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 189 (Monday, October 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67798-67800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21678]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management


Notice of Availability of the 2024-2029 National Outer 
Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program and Final 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: BOEM is announcing the availability of the Proposed Final 
Program (PFP) for the 2024-2029 National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) 
Oil and Gas Leasing Program (2024-2029 Program, National OCS Program, 
or Program), as well as the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement for the 2024-2029 Program (Final Programmatic EIS).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the 2024-2029 
Program process or BOEM's policies associated with this notice, please 
contact Ms. Kelly Hammerle, Chief, National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing 
Program Development and Coordination Branch, at (703) 787-1613 or 
[email protected]. For information on the 2024-2029 Final 
Programmatic EIS, please contact Jennifer Bosyk, Chief, Branch of 
Environmental Coordination, at (703) 787-1834 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BOEM is responsible for administering the 
leasing program for oil and gas resources on the OCS and advising the 
Secretary of the Interior on the National OCS Program. The PFP is the 
last in a series of three proposals made by the Secretary, pursuant to 
section 18 of the OCS Lands Act, before final action may be taken to 
approve the 2024-2029 National OCS Program. The three analytical phases 
used to develop a new National OCS Program are the (1) Draft Proposed 
Program (DPP); (2) Proposed Program; and (3) PFP.
    The first proposal, the DPP, was published on July 3, 2017 (82 FR 
30886), and was followed by a 60-day comment period. The second 
proposal, the Proposed Program, was published

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on January 8, 2018 (83 FR 829). A notice of availability announcing the 
Proposed Program was published in the Federal Register on July 8, 2022, 
initiating a 90-day public comment period (87 FR 40859). Following 
publication of the Proposed Program, BOEM received more than 760,000 
comments from interested parties including governors, Federal agencies, 
State agencies, local agencies, energy and non-energy industries, 
Tribal governments, non-governmental organizations, and the general 
public (see Appendix A of the PFP document for more information).
    After careful consideration of the OCS Lands Act section 18(a) 
factors, as well as input from governors and the public, the 
Secretary's final proposal, the PFP, includes three potential lease 
sales in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Program Area (which contains the 
Western GOM Planning Area and the portions of the Central and Eastern 
GOM planning areas not currently under Presidential withdrawal--see 
Figure 1). An option for a potential lease sale in the northern portion 
of the Cook Inlet Planning Area was identified in the Proposed Program 
and analyzed as part of the PFP. Based on careful consideration of 
section 18 requirements and factors, no Cook Inlet sale is included in 
the PFP.
    In the PFP, the Secretary has decided to require that all leases 
issued under the 2024-2029 Program will include, as lease stipulations, 
programmatic mitigation measures to protect topographic features and 
pinnacle trends. Applying these stipulations at the National OCS 
Program development stage is consistent with current practice and 
continues the effective protection of these biologically sensitive 
areas, should they be offered in the three potential lease sales 
scheduled under this PFP.
    The schedule shown in Table 1 reflects the potential lease sales 
for the 2024-2029 PFP. Figure 1 depicts the program area included in 
the 2024-2029 PFP.

                             Table 1--2024-2029 Proposed Program Lease Sale Schedule
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                 Count                     Sale No.          Year              OCS region and program area
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1.....................................             262            2025  Gulf of Mexico: GOM Program Area.
2.....................................             263            2027  Gulf of Mexico: GOM Program Area.
3.....................................             264            2029  Gulf of Mexico: GOM Program Area.
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    The Secretary's final proposal, as described in the PFP, is the 
proposed action evaluated in the Final Programmatic EIS. BOEM has 
elected to prepare the Programmatic EIS to help describe and analyze 
the potential environmental impacts that could result from leasing, 
exploration, production, and decommissioning associated with lease 
sales under the National OCS Program for 2024-2029. The National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Park Service are 
Cooperating Agencies on the Final Programmatic EIS.
    Please go to https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/national-program/ 
for additional information about the Final Programmatic EIS and the 
National OCS Program for 2024-2029.
    Next Steps in the Process: BOEM will submit the PFP and Final 
Programmatic EIS to the President and Congress at least 60 days prior 
to Secretarial approval of the 2024-2029 Program.
    Authority: This Notice of Availability for the 2024-2029 PFP is 
published in accordance with section 18 of the OCS Lands Act and its 
implementing regulations (30 CFR part 556 subpart B). This Notice of 
Availability for the 2024-2029 Final Programmatic EIS is published 
pursuant to the regulation (40 CFR 1506.20 and 43 CFR 46.415) 
implementing the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act.

Elizabeth Klein,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
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[FR Doc. 2023-21678 Filed 9-29-23; 8:45 am]
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