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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70979-70980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29632]

[[Page 70979]]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Point Thomson Project, North Slope Borough, 
AK

AGENCY: Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, Department of 
Defense.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, has prepared 
a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed 
development by the Exxon Mobil Corporation and PTE Pipeline LLC 
(Applicant). The Draft EIS evaluates project alternatives and potential 
impacts to the environment which may occur from the Applicant's 
proposal to construct industrial infrastructure and produce liquid 
hydrocarbon resources near Point Thomson, Alaska. The proposed project 
includes the construction of structures in navigable waters of the 
United States (U.S.) and the discharge of dredged and/or fill materials 
into waters of the U.S., including wetlands. The proposed work requires 
authorization from the Corps of Engineers under Section 10 of the 
Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA) of 1899 and Section 404 of the Clean Water 
Act (CWA). The Draft EIS will be used to evaluate the Applicant's 
Department of the Army permit application and compliance with NEPA.
    Draft EIS Availability: Electronically available for viewing, 
copying, or printing at: http://www.pointthomsonprojecteis.com.
    A printed Executive Summary, which includes 2 Compact Discs 
containing the entire Draft EIS, can be obtained electronically through 
the project Web site address immediately above.
    Draft EIS Comment Period: The 45-day review and comment period 
begins on November 18, 2011 and ends on January 3, 2012.
    Send written comments, postmarked by January 3, 2012, to: Harry A. 
Baij Jr., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, Regulatory 
Division, Post Office Box 6898, JBER, AK 99506-0898.
    Send electronic comments, received by January 3, 2012, to: 
comments@pointthomsonprojecteis.com.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Mr. Baij by email message at 
harry.a.baij@usace.army.mil, by telephone at (800) 478-2712 (toll free 
within AK), (907) 753-2784 (office), or (907) 350-5097 (cell).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, has 
published a Public Notice of Application for Permit for the Applicant's 
proposal to coincide with this Notice of Availability. The Public 
Notice can be viewed at http://www.poa.usace.army.mil/reg. Navigate to 
the ``Public Notice'' button and file number POA-2001-1082-M1, Beaufort 
Sea. Comments on the Public Notice can be submitted by clicking on the 
Submit Comments button at the Public Notice Web page. The comment 
period is identical to the Draft EIS comment period.
    1. Authorities: Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) 
and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403).
    2. Background Information: The Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, 
received the Applicant's complete permit application on November 1, 
2011. The Applicant's purpose is to produce liquid hydrocarbons and 
delineate and evaluate hydrocarbon resources in the Point Thomson area. 
Two natural gas production wells have been previously authorized, 
drilled, and tested at an existing gravel pad at Point Thomson, AK. 
Other previously authorized gravel pads and exploration wells also 
exist in the general area.
    3. Location: Alaska's Arctic Coastal Plain, Beaufort seacoast, 
approximately 60 miles east Prudhoe Bay. Most of the reservoir is 
located under the Beaufort Sea in State of Alaska waters. The proposed 
facilities would be located primarily onshore, on State of Alaska 
lands, leased to the Applicant. Kaktovik, AK is located approximately 
60 miles east. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is approximately 2 
miles east.
    4. Proposed Project: Industrial development involving gravel fill 
placement in tundra waters and wetlands and marine structures.
    Construct a large gravel mine; a mile-long gravel airstrip; 3 
production and/or processing gravel pads; several miles of in-field 
gravel roads; similar length in-field above-ground pipelines; a marine 
bulkhead, service pier, and mooring dolphins; navigational dredging; 
and other industrial infrastructure. Processed liquid hydrocarbons 
would be transported through a new 22-mile long elevated pipeline to 
existing facilities to the west and further connections to the Trans 
Alaska Pipeline System.
    Construct temporary and permanent camps (lodging); offices, 
warehouses, and shops; electric power generation and distribution 
facilities; fuel, water, and chemical storage; a water and wastewater 
treatment facility; a grind and inject drilling waste facility; a solid 
waste facility; and communications facilities.
    Directionally drill a minimum of five wells on three gravel pads: 
Central, East, and West. The Central Pad would be the largest and the 
primary location for construction and operations, processing fluids, 
locating a gas injection well for recycling natural gas, and a 
wastewater disposal well. The East and West Pads would include wells to 
delineate and evaluate the hydrocarbon reservoir for additional oil and 
gas resources and facilitate production.
    5. Draft EIS Alternatives: Four alternatives were developed and 
evaluated in the Draft EIS that would meet the Applicant's purpose and 
need. The No Action Alternative is used for comparison of the 
environmental effects of the action alternatives and involves long term 
monitoring and maintenance of the existing wells and gravel pads. Three 
Action Alternatives were developed. Two action alternatives would 
minimize impacts to coastal resources by locating infrastructure 
components inland from the coastline and reducing coastal access. These 
2 alternatives consider alternative transportation routes, such as ice 
roads and an all-season gravel road in-lieu of barge access. A third 
alternative was developed to reduce impacts to waters and wetlands by 
minimizing the total gravel fill footprint. A complete description of 
the alternatives development, screening process, and the alternatives 
carried forward for detailed study, is disclosed in Section 2 of the 
Draft EIS.
    6. Scoping Process: A Notice of Intent to prepare a Draft EIS for 
the Proposed Point Thomson Project was published on December 4, 2009. 
The Corps of Engineers conducted public, Tribal, and agency scoping 
meetings in AK prior to preparing the Draft EIS. Results from the 
scoping process were summarized a Public Scoping Document and are 
addressed in the Draft EIS.
    7. Public Locations for Draft EIS: The Draft EIS is available for 
review at the following public libraries and schools:

a. Harold Kaveolook School, Kaktovik, AK
b. Nuiqsut Trapper School, Nuiqsut, AK
c. Tuzzy Consortium Library, Barrow, AK
d. Noel Wein Library, Fairbanks, AK
e. Z.J. Loussac Library, Anchorage, AK
f. Alaska Resources Library and Information Services, Anchorage, AK
g. University of Alaska, Anchorage Library, Anchorage, AK

[[Page 70980]]

    8. Public Meetings: Open house and public comment meetings will be 
held at the following times and locations:

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05 December 2011....................  Anchorage, AK..........  Open House............  4-6 p.m.
                                      Loussac Library........  Public Comment........  6:30-8 p.m.
07 December 2011....................  Fairbanks, AK..........  Open House............  4-6 p.m.
                                      Westmark Hotel.........  Public Comment........  6:30-8 p.m.
12 December 2011....................  Kaktovik, AK...........  Open House............  6-7:30 p.m.
                                      Marsh Creek Inn........  Public Comment........  8-9 p.m.
13 December 2011....................  Nuiqsut, AK............  Open House............  4-6 p.m.
                                      Trapper School.........  Public Comment........  6:30-8 p.m.
15 December 2011....................  Barrow, AK.............  Open House............  4-6 p.m.
                                      Hobson Middle School...  Public Comment........  6:30-8 p.m.
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Review and comment of this Draft EIS is encouraged. Requests to be 
placed on a mailing list for future announcements can be sent to Mr. 
Baij at the contact information above. The Corps of Engineers will give 
full consideration to all public comments received on the Draft EIS. A 
summary of the public meetings, written comment letters, and responses 
will be incorporated into the Final EIS, as appropriate.

    Dated: November 7, 2011.
Harry A. Baij, Jr.,
Project Manager, US Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District.
[FR Doc. 2011-29632 Filed 11-15-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
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