[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 247 (Monday, December 27, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77265-77268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28102]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Alaska OCS Region, Cook Inlet Oil 
and Gas Sale 199, May 2006

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Request for Information (RFI) and Notice of Intent (NOI) to 
prepare an Environmental Assessment.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary's approved 5-Year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing 
Program for 2002-2007 provides for two sales, Sales 191 and 199, to be 
held in the Cook Inlet program area. An Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) that covered both sales was prepared. For Sale 199 an 
Environmental Assessment will be prepared and, if significant effects 
are found, a supplemental EIS will also be written. In addition, a 
federal consistency determination (CD) under the Coastal Zone 
Management Act will be prepared, as well as a proposed and final notice 
of sale.
    The RFI and a NOI to prepare an EIS for Sales 191 and 199 was 
published in the Federal Register on December 31, 2001, at 66 FR 67543. 
The Cook Inlet final EIS for Sales 191 and 199 was released in November 
2003 (OCS EIS/EA, MMS 2003-055). The first sale, Sale 191, was held on 
May 19, 2004; however, the sale received no bids. The MMS is now 
initiating a Request for Information for Cook Inlet Sale 199.

Comment Period: Comments on the RFI and on the NOI must be received no 
later than 45 days following publication of this document in the 
Federal Register. If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments 
by any one of the following methods:
    <bullet> You may mail comments to the Alaska OCS Region, Minerals 
Management Service, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, 
Alaska 99503, in envelopes labeled ``Attn: Comments on Request for 
Information for Cook Inlet Sale 199'' or ``Attn: Comments on Notice of 
Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for Cook Inlet Sale 
199,'' as appropriate.
    <bullet> You may fax your comments to MMS at (907) 334-5242.
    <bullet> You may also comment using Public Connect at: https://ocsconnect.mms.gov/pcs-public.
    <bullet> Finally, you may hand-deliver comments weekdays between 8 
AM and 5 PM to the Alaska OCS Region, Minerals Management Service, 3801 
Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Fred King at (907) 334-
5271 in MMS's Alaska OCS Region regarding questions on the RFI/NOI to 
prepare an Environmental Assessment.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The environmental analysis for Sale 199 will 
focus primarily on new issues that may have arisen since the completion 
of the EIS for Sales 191 and 199 (November 2003). A consistency 
determination will be prepared for the sale and will include analysis 
of any approved changes that may have occurred in the State's coastal 
management plan. The process will lead to identification of the area to 
be included in the proposed Notice of Sale. Each of these steps, 
including the proposed Notice of Sale, provides for a public review 
period. At the culmination of each step and after analysis of any 
public comments, the MMS will decide whether to proceed to the next 
step. This process will:
    <bullet> Focus the environmental analysis on impact types and 
levels that may have changed since the analysis was done for Sale 191;
    <bullet> Clearly highlight any new issues for the public;
    <bullet> Eliminate the need for costly preparation and public 
review of a repetitive, voluminous new EIS for Sale 199; and
    <bullet> Result in a more efficient and responsive application of 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
    The MMS will analyze all comments received in response to this RFI 
and re-examine information previously submitted in response to the Call 
and the draft and final EISs for Sales 191 and 199. The MMS will then 
identify the issues to be analyzed in the NEPA document.
    This RFI does not indicate a decision to lease in the area 
described below. Final delineation of the areas for possible leasing 
will be made after completion of the pre-sale steps described above and 
in compliance with the current 5-year program and applicable laws, 
including all requirements of the NEPA and the OCS Lands Act.

Request for Information

1. Authority

    This RFI is published pursuant to the OCS Lands Act, as amended (43 
U.S.C. 1331-1356, (1994)) (OCS Lands Act), and the regulations issued 
thereunder (30 CFR 256); and in accordance with the 5-Year OCS Oil and 
Gas Leasing Program 2002 to 2007.

2. Purpose of Request

    The purpose of the RFI is to gather information for Oil and Gas 
Lease Sale 199 in the Cook Inlet, scheduled for May 2006. Information 
on oil and gas leasing, exploration, and development and production 
within the Cook Inlet are sought from all interested parties. This 
early planning and consultation step is important for ensuring that all 
interests and concerns are communicated to the Department of the 
Interior for decisions in the leasing process.
    The Call for Information and Nominations published in the Federal 
Register on December 31, 2001, requested information and nominations 
from industry for Sales 191 and 199 in the Cook Inlet Planning Area. 
The MMS will use the information submitted in response to that Call and 
any new information submitted in response to this RFI to determine the 
area that will be included in a NEPA analysis. The public need not re-
submit comments sent in response to the multiple-sale Call. A company 
need not re-submit its areas of interest if its comments or indications 
of interest have not changed since that time. This request seeks to 
identify new concerns and new areas of interest to industry.

3. Description of Area

    The area covered by this RFI is located offshore the State of 
Alaska in the Cook Inlet Planning Area. This area consists of 
approximately 517 whole and partial blocks (about 2.5 million acres). A 
page-size map of the area accompanies this Notice. A large scale RFI 
map showing the boundaries of the area on a block-by-block basis is

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available without charge from the Records Manager at the address given 
below, or by telephone request at (907) 334-5207 or 1-800-764-2627. 
Copies of Official Protraction Diagrams (OPDs) are also available at 
the following location: Alaska OCS Region, Minerals Management Service, 
3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska, 99503.
    In addition, the OPDs are available on the MMS Web site at http://www.mms.gov/ld/alaska.htm.

4. Instructions on Request for Information

    The RFI map delineates the area that is the subject of this 
request. Respondents are requested to indicate interest in and comment 
on any or all of the Federal acreage within the boundaries of the RFI 
area that they wish to have included in Cook Inlet Sale 199. Comments 
should be sent to the Regional Supervisor, Leasing and Environment, 
Alaska OCS Region, at the address or Public Connect Web site as stated 
above in the comment period section.
    Our practice is to make comments, including names and addresses of 
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. 
Individual respondents may request that we withhold their address from 
the rulemaking record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by 
law. Under some circumstances, MMS may withhold a respondent's 
identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name 
and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of 
your comment. However, we will not consider anonymous comments. We will 
make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of 
organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their 
entirety.
A. Areas of Interest to the Oil and Gas Industry
    The MMS requests industry to submit any new information, including 
nomination of blocks that are of significant interest for exploration 
and development and production. Information and nominations submitted 
in response to the multiple-sale Call for Sales 191 and 199, published 
on December 31, 2001 (66 FR 67543), will also be considered as 
information and nominations for the Sale 199 area identification 
process.
    Nominations must be depicted on the RFI map by outlining the 
area(s) of interest along block lines. Nominators are asked to submit a 
list of whole and partial blocks nominated (by OPD and block number) to 
facilitate correct interpretation of their nominations on the Request 
for Information map. Although the identities of those submitting 
nominations become a matter of public record, the individual 
nominations are proprietary information.
    Nominators also are requested to rank blocks nominated according to 
priority of interest [e.g., priority 1 (high), or 2 (medium)]. Blocks 
nominated that do not indicate priorities will be considered priority 3 
(low). Nominators must be specific in indicating blocks by priority and 
be prepared to discuss their range of interest and activity regarding 
the nominated area(s). The telephone number and name of a person to 
contact in the nominator's organization for additional information 
should be included in the response. This person will be contacted to 
set up a mutually agreeable time and place for a meeting with the 
Alaska OCS Regional Office to present their views regarding the 
company's nominations.
B. Relation to Coastal Management Plans
    Comments also are sought on potential conflicts with approved local 
coastal management plans that may result from the sale and future OCS 
oil and gas activities. These comments should identify specific coastal 
management plan policy of concern, the nature of the conflicts 
foreseen, and steps that MMS could take to avoid or mitigate the 
potential conflicts. Comments may be in terms of broad areas or 
restricted to particular blocks of concern. Commenters are requested to 
list block numbers or outline the subject area on the large-scale RFI 
map.

5. Use of Information From the Request for Information

    Information submitted in response to this RFI will be used for 
several purposes. Responses will be used to:
    <bullet> Help to further identify areas of potential oil and gas 
development;
    <bullet> Identify environmental effects and potential use conflicts 
not previously addressed in the Final EIS and Consistency Determination 
for Sales 191 and 199 (OCS EIS/EA, MMS 2003-055);
    <bullet> Develop any additional lease terms and conditions/
mitigating measures that may be necessary; and
    <bullet> Identify any potential conflicts between oil and gas 
activities and the Alaska coastal management plan not addressed in the 
Consistency Determination for Sale 191.

6. Existing Information

    The MMS has acquired a substantial amount of information, including 
that gained through the use of traditional knowledge, on the issues and 
concerns related to oil and gas leasing in the Cook Inlet.
    An extensive environmental, social, and economic studies program 
has been underway in this area since 1975. The emphasis has been on 
geologic mapping, environmental characterization of biologically 
sensitive habitats, endangered whales and marine mammals, physical 
oceanography, ocean-circulation modeling, and ecological and socio-
cultural effects of oil and gas activities.
    Information on the studies program, completed studies, and a 
program status report for continuing studies in this area is available 
on the MMS Web site http://www.mms.gov/alaska, or may be obtained from 
the Chief, Environmental Studies Section, Alaska OCS Region, by 
telephone request at (907) 334-5230, or by written request at the 
address stated under Description of Area. A request may also be made 
via the Alaska OCS Region Web site at http://www.mms.gov/alaska/ref/pubindex/pubsindex.htm.

7. Tentative Schedule

    The following is a list of tentative milestone dates applicable to 
Cook Inlet Sale 199 covered by this RFI:

Request for Information published--December 2004
Area Identification--February 2005
National Environmental Policy Act/Environmental Assessment Review (or 
Supplemental EIS) published--October 2005
Proposed Notice and Consistency Determination--December 2005
Final Notice of Sale--April 2006
Tentative Sale Date--May 2006

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Analysis

1. Authority

    The 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. (1988)].

2. Purpose of Notice of Intent

    Pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR 1501.7) implementing the 
procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), MMS is announcing its intent to prepare an 
environmental assessment for Cook Inlet Oil and Gas Lease Sale 199, 
scheduled

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for May 2006. The environmental assessment will be prepared to 
determine if significant new issues or impacts not previously addressed 
in the EIS for Sales 191 and 199 have arisen. If no significant new 
issues or impacts are identified, a Finding of No New Significant 
Impacts will be issued. If information is submitted in response to this 
Request for Information or found by MMS analysts that identifies 
environmentally significant new issues and/or impacts not previously 
addressed, a supplemental EIS may be prepared.

3. Instructions on Notice of Intent

    Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments and other interested 
parties are requested to send their written comments on new information 
and issues that should be addressed in the environmental assessment to 
the Regional Supervisor, Leasing and Environment, Alaska OCS Region, at 
the address or Public Connect Web site as stated above in the comment 
period section.

    Dated: December 13, 2004.
Johnnie Burton,
Director, Minerals Management Service.
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN27DE04.028

[FR Doc. 04-28102 Filed 12-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-C