81 FR 47819 - Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Cook Inlet Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 244; MMAA104000

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 141 (July 22, 2016)

BOEM is announcing the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Cook Inlet Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 244. This notice marks the start of the public review and comment period and serves to announce public hearings on the Draft EIS. After the public hearings and written comments on the Draft EIS have been reviewed and considered, a Final EIS will be prepared. The proposed action addressed in this Draft EIS is to conduct an oil and gas lease sale on portions of the Cook Inlet Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Planning Area. Lease Sale 244 would provide qualified bidders the opportunity to bid on OCS blocks in Cook Inlet to gain conditional rights to explore, develop, and produce oil and natural gas. The Draft EIS analyzes the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of the proposed lease sale on the physical, biological, and human environments in the Cook Inlet area. The EIS describes a hypothetical scenario of exploration, development, production, and decommissioning activities that could result from the proposed lease sale, and analyzes the potential impacts of those activities on the environment.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 141 (Friday, July 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47819-47820]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16847]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2014-0001]


Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Cook Inlet Outer 
Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 244; MMAA104000

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

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement.

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SUMMARY: BOEM is announcing the availability of the Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Cook Inlet Outer Continental 
Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 244. This notice marks the start of the 
public review and comment period and serves to announce public hearings 
on the Draft EIS. After the public hearings and written comments on the 
Draft EIS have been reviewed and considered, a Final EIS will be 
prepared.
    The proposed action addressed in this Draft EIS is to conduct an 
oil and gas lease sale on portions of the Cook Inlet Outer Continental 
Shelf (OCS) Planning Area. Lease Sale 244 would provide qualified 
bidders the opportunity to bid on OCS blocks in Cook Inlet to gain 
conditional rights to explore, develop, and produce oil and natural 
gas.
    The Draft EIS analyzes the potential direct, indirect, and 
cumulative environmental impacts of the proposed lease sale on the 
physical, biological, and human environments in the Cook Inlet area. 
The EIS describes a hypothetical scenario of exploration, development, 
production, and decommissioning activities that could result from the 
proposed lease sale, and analyzes the potential impacts of those 
activities on the environment.

    Authority:  This Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS is in 
compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.), and is published pursuant to 43 
CFR 46.415.

DATES: Comments should be submitted no later than September 6, 2016. 
See public hearing dates in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 27, 2012, the Secretary of the 
Interior approved the June 2012 Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf 
Oil & Gas Leasing Program 2012-2017 (Five-Year Program). The Five-Year 
Program includes proposed Lease Sale 244.
    The proposed Lease Sale 244 area defined in the Area Identification 
(Area ID) is located offshore of the State of Alaska in the northern 
portion of the Federal waters of Cook Inlet. The Area ID is comprised 
of 224 OCS blocks, which encompass an area of approximately 442,875 
hectares (1.09 million acres). This area is close to infrastructure 
needed to support

[[Page 47820]]

exploration, development, and production activities.
    The Area ID includes areas identified by industry in their 
responses to a March 27, 2012, Request for Interest. The proposed lease 
sale area also defers certain areas from consideration due to potential 
conflicts with areas of high ecological and subsistence value. These 
include: (1) The majority of the designated critical habitat areas for 
beluga whale and northern sea otter, and all of the critical habitat 
areas for Stellar sea lions and the North Pacific right whale, that are 
located within the Planning Area; (2) a buffer between the area 
considered for leasing and the Katmai National Park and Preserve, the 
Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, and the Alaska Maritime National 
Wildlife Refuge; and (3) many of the subsistence use areas for the 
Native Villages of Nanwalek, Seldovia, and Port Graham identified 
during the Cook Inlet Lease Sale 191 process.
    On October 23, 2014, BOEM published in the Federal Register a 
Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS in support of Lease Sale 244. 
Publication of the NOI opened a public comment period that extended 
through December 8, 2014. In November 2014, BOEM held a series of 
scoping meetings for the EIS. The 26 comments received during this 
scoping period were used to inform the scope and content of this Draft 
EIS.
    In this Draft EIS, BOEM has examined the potential environmental 
effects of activities that could result from the Lease Sale 244 
proposed action, along with several alternatives. The Draft EIS is 
based on BOEM estimates of the potential oil and gas resources in the 
proposed lease sale area and an associated scenario that estimates a 
range of potential oil and gas activities, including exploration 
seismic surveying, on-lease ancillary activities, exploration and 
delineation drilling, development, production, and decommissioning.
    Draft EIS Availability: Persons interested in reviewing the Cook 
Inlet Lease Sale 244 Draft EIS (OCS EIS/EA BOEM-2016-004) can download 
it from the Internet at http://www.boem.gov/ak-eis-ea/ or they may 
contact BOEM by calling (907) 334-5200 to request a paper copy (subject 
to availability) or a CD/ROM version. The Draft EIS will also be 
available for review at libraries in towns adjacent to the proposed 
lease sale and at multiple libraries in Anchorage.
    Comments: All interested parties, including Federal, State, Tribal, 
and local governments, and the public are invited to submit written 
comments on the Draft EIS at: Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the field entitled, ``Enter Keyword or ID,'' 
enter BOEM-2014-0001, and then click ``Search.''
    BOEM does not consider anonymous comments; please include your name 
and address as part of your submittal. Individual respondents may 
request that BOEM withhold their names and/or addresses from the public 
record; however, BOEM cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. 
If you wish your name and/or address to be withheld, you must state 
your preference prominently at the beginning of your comment. All 
submissions from organizations, businesses, and identified individuals 
will be available for public viewing on regulations.gov.
    Public Hearings: BOEM will hold public hearings on the Draft EIS 
from August 15, 2016, through August 18, 2016. The purpose of these 
hearings is to receive public comments on the Draft EIS. These hearings 
are scheduled as follows:
     Monday, August 15, 2016; Dena'ina Civic and Convention 
Center, Anchorage, Alaska; 5:00-8:00 p.m.
     Wednesday, August 17, 2016; Alaska Maritime National 
Wildlife Refuge Islands and Ocean Visitor Center, Homer, Alaska; 5:00-
8:00 p.m.
     Thursday, August 18, 2016; Alaska National Guard Armory, 
Kenai/Soldotna, Alaska; 5:00-8:00 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 
Alaska OCS Region, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska 
99503-5823; or Caron McKee, Lease Sale 244 Environmental Coordinator, 
(907) 334-5200.

    Dated: July 8, 2016.
Abigail Ross Hopper,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2016-16847 Filed 7-21-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-MR-P