40380 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 131 / Monday, July 9, 2012 / Notices 

[FR Doc. 2012–16733 Filed 7–6–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–C 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

Outer Continental Shelf, Gulf of 

Mexico, Oil and Gas Lease Sales, 

Western Planning Area Lease Sale 233 

and Central Planning Area Lease Sale 

231 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM), Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare a 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS). 

Authority: This Notice of Intent to Prepare 

a Supplemental EIS (NOI) is published 

pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR 1501.7) 

implementing the provisions of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 

amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) (NEPA). 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the regulations 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA, BOEM is announcing its intent 

to prepare a Supplemental EIS for 

proposed Western Planning Area (WPA) 

Lease Sale 233 and Central Planning 

Area (CPA) Lease Sale 231 (WPA/CPA 

Supplemental EIS). The proposed lease 

sales are in the Gulf of Mexico’s WPA 

off the States of Texas and Louisiana 

and in the CPA off the States of 

Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. 

The WPA/CPA Supplemental EIS will 

update the environmental and 

socioeconomic analyses in the Gulf of 

Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 

2012–2017; WPA Lease Sales 229, 233, 

238, 246, and 248; CPA Lease Sales 227, 

231, 235, 241, and 247, Final 

Environmental Impact Statement (OCS 

EIS/EA BOEM 2012–019) (WPA/CPA 

Multisale Final EIS). The WPA/CPA 

Multisale Final EIS was completed in 

July 2012. 

A Supplemental EIS is deemed 

appropriate to supplement the WPA/ 

CPA Multisale Final EIS for these lease 

sales in order to consider new 

circumstances and information arising, 

among other things, from the Deepwater 

Horizon event. The WPA/CPA 

Supplemental EIS analysis will focus on 

updating the baseline conditions and 

potential environmental effects of oil 

and natural gas leasing, exploration, 

development, and production in the 

WPA and CPA. The WPA/CPA 

Supplemental EIS will also analyze the 

1.4 nautical mile (nmi) buffer area in the 

Western Gap, which was excluded from 

the WPA/CPA Multisale EIS but which 

may be available in the proposed lease 

sale or subsequent sale. The WPA/CPA 

Supplemental EIS will assist 

decisionmakers in making informed 

decisions regarding the approval of 

operations, as well as leasing. 

The WPA/CPA Supplemental EIS 

analysis will focus on the potential 

environmental effects of oil and natural 

gas leasing, exploration, development, 

and production in the areas identified as 

the proposed lease sale areas. In 

addition to the no action alternative 

(i.e., canceling the proposed sales), 

other alternatives may be considered for 

each proposed lease sale, such as 

deferring certain areas from the 

proposed lease sales. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 

28, 2012, the Department of the Interior 

released a Proposed Final OCS Oil and 

Gas Leasing Program for 2012–2017, 

which includes proposed WPA Lease 

Sale 233 and CPA Lease Sale 231. The 

general area proposed for WPA Lease 

Sale 233 covers approximately 29 

million acres in the western portion of 

the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) (excluding 

whole and partial blocks within the 

boundary of the Flower Garden Banks 

National Marine Sanctuary). The general 

area proposed for CPA Lease Sale 231 

covers approximately 67 million acres 

in the central portion of the GOM 

(excluding whole and partial blocks 

deferred by the Gulf of Mexico Energy 

Security Act of 2006 and blocks that are 

beyond the United States Exclusive 

Economic Zone in the area known as the 

northern portion of the Eastern Gap). 

On February 20, 2012, the United 

States and Mexico signed an Agreement 

between the United States of America 

and the United Mexican States 

Concerning Transboundary 

Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the Gulf of 

Mexico (hereinafter referred to as the 

‘‘Agreement’’). Upon the Agreement’s 

entry into force, additional acreage that 

lies within 1.4 nmi north of the 

continental shelf boundary in the area 

formerly known as the Western Gap will 

be available for lease. A treaty with 

Mexico currently prohibits leasing in 

this 1.4 nmi buffer area until 2014. This 

area includes acreage in the CPA and 

WPA along the continental shelf 

boundary between the United States and 

Mexico. If the Agreement enters into 

force, this 1.4 nmi buffer area may be 

available for leasing prior to 2014. When 

this area becomes available for lease, it 

will be announced in a Notice of Sale. 

The 1.4 nmi buffer area was not 

previously considered in the Multisale 

Final EIS, but potential impacts on this 

area will be considered in the WPA/ 

CPA Supplemental EIS. 

This Federal Register notice is not an 

announcement to hold the proposed 

lease sales, but is a continuation of 

information gathering and is published 

early in the environmental review 

process as required by NEPA. The 

comments received during the scoping 

comment period will help form the 

content of the WPA/CPA Supplemental 

EIS and will be summarized in presale 

documentation prepared prior to 

holding the proposed WPA or CPA lease 

sales. If, after completion of the 

Supplemental EIS, the Secretary’s 

decision is to hold one or both of the 

lease sales, then the lease sale areas 

identified in the Notice of Sale may 

exclude or defer certain lease blocks 

from the areas offered. For purposes of 

the WPA/CPA Supplemental EIS and to 

adequately assess the potential impacts 

of two area wide lease sales, however, 

BOEM is conservatively assuming that 

all unleased blocks may be offered in 

the proposed WPA and CPA lease sales. 

In order to ensure a greater level of 

transparency during the Outer 

Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) 

stages and tiered NEPA processes of the 

Proposed Final OCS Oil & Gas Leasing 

Program 2012–2017, (the Five-Year 

Program), BOEM established an 

alternative and mitigation tracking table 

(the Table), which is designed to track 

the receipt and treatment of alternative 

and mitigation suggestions. Section 

4.3.2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Oil 

and Gas Leasing Program: 2012–2017; 

Final Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement (the Five-Year EIS) 

(http://www.boem.gov/5-year/2012- 

2017/PEIS.aspx) has presented a list of 

deferral and alternatives requests that 

were received during the development 

of the Five-Year EIS but were 

determined to be more appropriately 

considered at subsequent OCSLA and 

NEPA stages. The WPA/CPA Multisale 

Final EIS addressed these deferral and 

alternatives requests, even though they 

were ultimately deemed inappropriate 

for further analysis as a separate 

alternative or deferral from those 

already included and considered in the 

WPA/CPA Multisale Final EIS. In future 

NEPA analyses, BOEM will continue to 

evaluate whether these or other deferral 

or alternative requests warrant 

additional consideration as appropriate. 

(Please refer to Sections 2.2.1.1 and 

2.2.1.1 of the WPA/CPA Multisale Final 

EIS for a complete discussion; http:// 

www.boem.gov/EnvironmentalStewardship/EnvironmentalAssessment/NEPA/nepaprocess.aspx). 

The key requirement at each stage in the 

NEPA process is to identify how the 

recommendations for deferral and 

mitigation requests are being addressed 

and whether new information or 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 131 / Monday, July 9, 2012 / Notices 40381 

circumstances favor new or different 

analytical approaches in response to 

these requests. 

Additionally, BOEM has created a 

tailored map of the potentially affected 

area through the Multipurpose Marine 

Cadastre (MMC) Web site, http:// 

boem.gov/Oil-and-Gas-Energy-Program/ 

Leasing/Five-Year-Program/Lease-SaleSchedule/Interactive-Maps.aspx. This 

map is an integrated marine information 

system that provides a more 

comprehensive look at geospatial data 

and ongoing activities and studies 

occurring in the area being considered. 

This Web site provides the ability to 

view multiple data layers of existing 

geospatial data. Commenters can suggest 

data layers for consideration by 

following the commenting instructions 

below. 

Scoping Process: Through this NOI, 

BOEM is also announcing the scoping 

process for the WPA/CPA Supplemental 

EIS. Throughout the scoping process, 

Federal, state, tribal, and local 

government agencies, and other 

interested parties have the opportunity 

to aid BOEM in determining the 

significant issues, reasonable 

alternatives, and potential mitigation 

measures to be analyzed in the WPA/ 

CPA Supplemental EIS, as well as 

providing additional information. 

BOEM will use the NEPA commenting 

process to satisfy the public 

involvement process for Section 106 of 

the National Historic Preservation Act 

(16 U.S.C. 470f), as provided for in 

36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). 

Cooperating Agency: BOEM invites 

other Federal agencies and sate, tribal, 

and local governments to consider 

becoming cooperating agencies in the 

preparation of the WPA/CPA 

Supplemental EIS. We invite qualified 

government entities to inquire about 

cooperating agency status for the WPA/ 

CPA Supplemental EIS. Following the 

guidelines from the Council of 

Environmental Quality (CEQ), 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 to remember that an agency’s role 

in the environmental analysis neither 

enlarges nor diminishes the final 

decisionmaking authority of any other 

agency involved in the NEPA process. 

Upon request, BOEM will provide 

potential cooperating agencies with a 

written summary of ground rules for 

cooperating agencies, including time 

schedules and critical action dates, 

milestones, responsibilities, scope and 

detail of cooperating agencies’ 

contributions, and availability of 

predecisional information. BOEM 

anticipates this summary will form the 

basis for a Memorandum of Agreement 

between BOEM and each cooperating 

agency. Agencies should also consider 

the ‘‘Factors for Determining 

Cooperating Agency Status’’ in 

Attachment 1 to CEQ’s January 30, 2002, 

Memorandum for the Heads of Federal 

Agencies: Cooperating Agencies in 

Implementing the Procedural 

Requirements of the National 

Environmental Policy Act. These 

documents are available at the following 

locations on the Internet: http://nepa.

fhwa.dot.gov/ReNEPA/ReNepa.nsf/All

+Documents/D155918ABFA4EB3A852

56BF20071E9AE/$FILE/

Cooperating%20Agencies%20

Memorandum.1.30.02.doc and http:// 

nepa.fhwa.dot.gov/ReNEPA/

ReNepa.nsf/All+Documents/

D155918ABFA4EB3A85256

BF20071E9AE/$FILE/Cooperating

%20Agency%20Memo%

20Factors.1.30.02.doc. 

BOEM, as the lead agency, will not 

provide financial assistance to 

cooperating agencies. Even if an 

organization is not a cooperating 

agency, opportunities will exist to 

provide information and comments to 

BOEM during the normal public input 

stages of the NEPA/EIS process. For 

further information about cooperating 

agencies, please contact Mr. Gary D. 

Goeke at (504) 736–3233. 

Comments: All interested parties, 

including Federal, state, and local 

government agencies, and the general 

public, may submit written comments 

on the scope of the WPA/CPA 

Supplemental EIS, significant issues 

that should be addressed, alternatives 

that should be considered, potential 

mitigation measures, and the types of oil 

and gas activities of interest in the 

proposed lease sale areas. 

Written scoping comments may be 

submitted in one of the following two 

ways: 

1. In an envelope labeled ‘‘Scoping for 

the WPA/CPA Supplemental EIS’’ and 

mailed (or hand delivered) to Mr. Gary 

D. Goeke, Chief, Regional Assessment 

Section, Office of Environment (MS 

5410), Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, Gulf of Mexico OCS 

Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, 

New Orleans, Louisiana 70123–2394; or 

2. BOEM email address: 

Ls_233_231SEIS@boem.gov. 

Petitions, although accepted, do not 

generally provide useful information to 

assist in scoping. BOEM does not 

consider anonymous comments. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email address, or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. If you wish for your name and/ 

or address to be withheld, you must 

state your preference prominently at the 

beginning of your comment. 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. 

DATES: Comments must be received no 

later than August 8, 2012 at the address 

specified below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the WPA/CPA 

Supplemental EIS, scoping process, the 

submission of comments, or BOEM’s 

policies associated with this notice, 

please contact Mr. Gary D. Goeke, Chief, 

Regional Assessment Section, Office of 

Environment (MS 5410), Bureau of 

Ocean Energy Management, Gulf of 

Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood 

Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 

70123–2394, telephone (504) 736–3233. 

Dated: July 3, 2012. 

Tommy P. Beaudreau, 

Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2012–16732 Filed 7–6–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

[Investigation No. 337–TA–806] 

Certain Digital Televisions Containing 

Integrated Circuit Devices and 

Components Thereof, Notice of 

Commission Determination Not To 

Review an Initial Determination 

Terminating the Investigation as to 

Sole Respondent Vizio, Inc.; 

Termination of Investigation 

AGENCY: U.S. International Trade 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the U.S. International Trade 

Commission has determined not to 

review the presiding administrative law 

judge’s (‘‘ALJ’’) initial determination 

(‘‘ID’’) (Order No. 10) terminating the 

investigation with respect to sole 

respondent Vizio, Inc. (‘‘Vizio’’) on the 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES