[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 15 (Monday, January 25, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3707-3709]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1601]
[[Page 3707]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Outer Continental Shelf, Eastern Gulf of Mexico, Oil and Gas
Lease Sale 181
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Call for Interest and Information (Call) and Notice of Intent
(NOI) to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
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Call for Interest and Information
The MMS is issuing this Call pursuant to the Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS) Lands Act as amended (43 U.S.C. 1331-1356, (1994)), and the
regulations issued thereunder (30 CFR Part 256).
Purpose of Call
The purpose of this Call is to ask for an indication of interest by
potential bidders and to gather information from all potentially
affected parties about possible oil and gas leasing, exploration,
development, and production in the area available for leasing
consideration for Sale 181 in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (EGOM). This
Call is not a preliminary decision to lease in the Sale 181 area. It is
the initial information-gathering step in a 3-year prelease
decisionmaking process. The area available for leasing consideration in
Sale 181 and the tentative schedule for the steps in the process
leading to a final decision on the sale are described below.
Tentative Sale 181 Schedule
The following is a list of planned presale process steps and
related tentative dates applicable to proposed Sale 181:
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Process step Tentative completion date
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Call/NOI..................................... January 1999.
Comments due on Call/NOI..................... March 1999.
Area Identification.......................... June 1999
Draft EIS.................................... August 2000.
Public Hearings.............................. September 2000.
Final EIS.................................... June 2001
Proposed Notice of Sale & CZM Consistency July 2001.
Determination.
Final Notice of Sale......................... October 2001.
Bid Opening/Reading.......................... December 2001.
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Please note that the MMS is considering changing the proposed Sale
181 bid opening/reading from December 2001 to March 2002, and holding
it in conjunction with proposed Central GOM Sale 182. These proposed
sales would be planned and held as two separate sales, but holding the
sales sequentially on the same day in the same location might be
beneficial to MMS and prospective bidders due to the commonality of
potential oil and gas plays and related exploration and development
issues. All interested parties are requested to consider this proposed
Sale 181 schedule change and include any comments on this matter along
with the following specific requested information.
Description of Call Area
The area of this Call covers a small portion of the EGOM Planning
Area offshore Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. It includes 1,033
blocks covering 5.949 million acres (see attached map). This is the
area identified as available for leasing consideration for Sale 181 in
the 1997-2002 OCS OIL AND Gas Leasing Program. During development of
the 5-Year Program, the MMS consulted with the States of Alabama and
Florida and was responsive to their concerns in identifying the Sale
181 area. The MMS considers all of this area to have potential for the
discovery of accumulations of hydrocarbons. None of the EGOM outside
the Sale 181 area is available for leasing in this 5-year program. In
addition, in a June 1998 announcement, the President withdrew from
leasing until 2012 numerous areas of the OCS, including all of the EGOM
outside the area identified as available for leasing consideration for
Sale 181. A ``Call for Information Map'' depicting the Sale 181 area on
a block-by-block basis is available without charge from the MMS Gulf of
Mexico Public Information Unit (see last paragraph of this Call).
Currently 39 blocks covering 224,640 acres are under lease (this
figure may change before the sale if any of the leases become expired,
relinquished, or terminated). Eight wells have been drilled in the Sale
181 area. At this time there are plans to develop two areas: Destin
Dome Blocks 1 and 2 (four wells from two surface locations; and DeSoto
Canyon Blocks 133 and 177 (two wells in each block). Both of these
areas are along the western boundary of the sale area and may be
associated with well-developed areas of the Central Gulf of Mexico
Planning Area.
The Department of Defense makes use of much of the EGOM, including
the proposed sale area. The Navy conducts various training missions for
both ships and aircraft, and the Air Force conducts aircraft training
missions as well as the testing of various weapons from nearby Eglin
Air Force Base and associated facilities in Florida. Coordination
between the Department of Defense and the MMS is ongoing to minimize
conflicts.
Instructions to Potential Bidders in Responding to Call
Potential bidders are requested to indicate interest in any or all
of the acreage within the boundaries of the Call area that they wish to
have included in EGOM OCS Lease Sale 181. Respondents should rank areas
in which they express interest according to priority of their interest
(e.g., priority 1 [high], 2 [medium], or 3 [low]). Respondents should
be specific in indicating blocks by priority; blanket nominations (such
as nominating the entire Call area as high priority) are not useful and
may be ignored in the MMS analysis of industry interest. Also, areas
where interest has been indicated but on which respondents have not
indicated priorities will be considered priority 3 [low]. Responses may
be provided in textual block listings (by Official Protraction Diagram
designations) or graphically along block boundaries on the ``Call for
Information Map'' or on Official Protraction Diagrams (which may be
purchased from the MMS Gulf of Mexico Public Information Unit).
Although individual indications of interest are considered to be
privileged and proprietary information, the names of persons or
entities indicating interest or submitting comments will be of public
record.
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Instructions to all Interested Parties in Responding to Call
Comments are sought from all interested parties about particular
environmental, geologic, and socioeconomic conditions or conflicts, or
other information that might bear upon the potential oil and gas
leasing, exploration, development, and production activities from
proposed EGOM Sale 181. Comments are also sought on possible conflicts
between potential future OCS oil and gas activities that may result
from the proposed sale and State Coastal Management Programs (CMPs). If
possible, these comments should identify specific CMP policies of
concern, the nature of the conflict foreseen, and steps that the MMS
could take to avoid or mitigate the potential conflict. Comments may
either be in terms of broad areas or restricted to particular blocks of
concern. Those submitting comments are requested to list blocks or
outline the subject area on the ``Call for Information Map'' mentioned
above. Please submit responses to this Call in envelopes labeled
``Response to the Call for Interest and Information for Proposed
Eastern Gulf of Mexico OCS Lease Sale 181,'' addressed to the Regional
Supervisor, Leasing and Environment (MS 5400), Gulf of Mexico OCS
Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70123-
2394. Responses to this Call must be received no later than 60 days
following publication of this document in the Federal Register.
Use of Information from Call
Information submitted in response to this Call will be used for
several purposes. First, responses will be used to assess industry
interest and to identify areas of potential for oil and gas
development. Second, comments on possible environmental effects and
potential use of conflicts will be considered in the analysis of
environmental conditions in and near the Call area and to develop
alternatives and mitigating measures to lessen potential environmental
impacts and ensure safe operations. And, third, comments may be used to
assess potential conflicts between offshore oil and gas activities and
a State CMP.
Existing EGOM Information
The MMS routinely assesses the status of information acquisition
efforts and the quality of the information base for potential decisions
on tentatively scheduled lease sales. An extensive environmental
studies program has been underway in the Gulf of Mexico since 1973. The
emphasis, including continuing studies, has been on environmental
characterization of biologically sensitive habitats, physical
oceanography, ocean-circulation modeling, and ecological effects of oil
and gas activities. Two documents are available from the MMS Gulf of
Mexico Region Public Information Unit:
Listing of available EGOM Study Reports (with information
for ordering copies).
Technical Summaries from Selected Environmental Studies of
the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico, MMS 96-0025, 1996.
Obtaining EGOM Information
The documents and the large-sized ``Call for Information Map''
mentioned above are available from:
Gulf of Mexico Public Information Unit, Minerals Management Service,
1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394,
Telephone: (504) 736-2519 or (800) 200-GULF.
In addition, a wealth of information concerning the EGOM, the MMS
studies program, and the MMS is available on the Internet at: http://
www.mms.gov. Also, many documents may be obtained through the MMS 24-
hour Fax-on-Demand service: (202) 219-1703.
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement--Purpose
of Notice of Intent
The MMS intends to prepare an EIS on OCS Lease Sale 181. This sale
is tentatively scheduled for 2001 and will cover Federal waters
offshore the States of Alabama and Florida. The NOI also announces the
scoping process we will use for this EIS. Throughout the scoping
process, you have the opportunity to help us determine the scope of the
Draft EIS, the significant issues to be addressed, and alternatives to
be considered.
Our EIS will evaluate the potential environmental effects of
leasing, exploration, and development of the blocks identified through
the Area Identification procedure. Alternatives to the proposal that we
may consider are to delay, cancel, or modify the sale.
What is Scoping?
Scoping is an open and early process for determining the scope of
the EIS and for identifying significant issues related to a proposed
action. Scoping also provides you an opportunity to identify additional
alternatives to the proposed action. As MMS prepares for public scoping
meetings on the EIS for OCS Lease Sale 181, we will distribute
additional information and will advertise details of the actual dates,
times, and facilities for the meetings in local media.
The National Environmental Policy Act process ends with MMS
preparing a Final EIS and making a decision on the proposed action and
alternatives. There are many opportunities for you to influence the
EIS. You may provide comments.
During the 60-day period after this NOI is published;
During public scoping meetings;
While we accept written scoping comments (We will consider
comments received during the scoping process in preparing of the Draft
EIS.); and
During a 60-day comment period after publication of the
Draft EIS; and
During public hearings on the Draft EIS (We will address
comments received during the public hearing process in the Final EIS.).
We anticipate completing the EIS in about two and one-half years.
At the end of this process, the decisionmaker will have a document that
assesses the impacts of the lease sale proposal and the alternatives to
use in making an informed decision.
How To Submit Comments
Please send your written comments on the scope of the EIS,
significant issues to be addressed, and alternatives that should be
considered to the Regional Supervisor, Leasing and Environment (MS
5400), Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New
Orleans, Louisiana, 70123-2394. The deadline for your submission is 60
days after this NOI is published. Clearly label your comments,
``Comments on the NOI to Prepare an EIS on the proposed 2001 Lease Sale
in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.''
Dated: January 13, 1999.
Cynthia Quarterman,
Director, Minerals Management Service.
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[FR Doc. 99-1601 Filed 1-22-99; 8:45 am]
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