42048 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 138 / Friday, July 18, 2014 / Notices 

NOS Package in case of an event that the 

BOEM Gulf of Mexico RD deems may 

interfere with the carrying out of a fair 

and orderly lease sale process. Such 

events could include, but are not 

limited to, natural disasters (e.g., 

earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods), 

wars, riots, acts of terrorism, fires, 

strikes, civil disorder, or other events of 

a similar nature. In case of such events, 

bidders should call (504) 736–0557, or 

access the BOEM Web site at http://

www.boem.gov, for information 

regarding any changes. 

Dated: July 14, 2014. 

Walter D. Cruickshank, 

Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2014–16962 Filed 7–17–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf 

(OCS), Western Planning Area; (WPA) 

Oil and Gas Lease Sale 238; MMAA 

104000 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM), Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of 

a Record of Decision (ROD) for WPA 

Lease Sale 238, most recently analyzed 

in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas 

Lease Sales: 2014–2016; Western 

Planning Area Lease Sales 238, 246, and 

248; Final Supplemental Environmental 

Impact Statement (WPA 238, 246, and 

248 Supplemental EIS). 

SUMMARY: BOEM prepared a ROD for 

proposed oil and gas WPA Lease Sale 

238, scheduled for August 20, 2014. The 

Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals 

Management (ASLM) has signed that 

ROD. The proposed lease sale is in the 

Gulf of Mexico’s WPA off the States of 

Texas and Louisiana. Proposed WPA 

Lease Sale 238 is the third WPA lease 

sale scheduled in the OCS Oil & Gas 

Leasing Program for 2012–2017 (FiveYear Program). In preparing the ROD, 

BOEM considered alternatives to the 

proposed action, the potential impacts 

as presented in the WPA 238, 246, and 

248 Supplemental EIS, and all 

comments received throughout the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) process. The WPA 238, 246, and 

248 Supplemental EIS evaluated the 

environmental and socioeconomic 

impacts for proposed WPA Lease Sale 

238. The WPA 238, 246, and 248 

Supplemental EIS tiers from and 

incorporates by reference, the Gulf of 

Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 

2013–2014 Western Planning Area Lease 

Sale 233/Central Planning Area Lease 

Sale 231—Final Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas 

Lease Sales: 2012–2017; Western 

Planning Area Lease Sales 229, 233, 

238, 246, and 248; Central Planning 

Area Lease Sales 227, 231, 235, 241, and 

247—Final Environmental Impact 

Statement. One comment letter was 

received after publication of the Final 

WPA 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental 

EIS from the United States 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(USEPA), which did not raise any new 

or significant issues not already 

discussed. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the 

WPA 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental 

EIS, BOEM evaluated the alternatives 

that are summarized below: 

Alternative A—The Proposed Action: 

This was BOEM’s preferred alternative. 

This alternative would offer for lease all 

unleased blocks within the proposed 

WPA lease sale area for oil and gas 

operations with the following exception: 

Whole and partial blocks within the 

boundary of the Flower Garden Banks 

National Marine Sanctuary (i.e., the 

boundary as of the publication of the 

WPA 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental 

EIS). 

The unleased whole and partial 

blocks in the WPA that the Department 

of the Interior (DOI) will offer for leasing 

in proposed WPA Lease Sale 238 are 

listed in the document entitled ‘‘List of 

Blocks Available for Leasing,’’ which is 

included in the Final Notice of Sale 

Package for WPA Lease Sale 238. The 

proposed WPA lease sale area 

encompasses virtually all of the WPA’s 

28.58 million acres. As of June 2014, 

approximately 21.5 million acres of the 

proposed WPA lease sale area are 

currently unleased. The estimated 

amount of resources projected to be 

developed as a result of the proposed 

WPA lease sale is 0.116–0.200 billion 

barrels of oil and 0.538–0.938 trillion 

cubic feet of gas. 

Alternative B—The Proposed Action 

Excluding the Unleased Blocks Near the 

Biologically Sensitive Topographic 

Features: This alternative would offer 

for lease all unleased blocks within the 

proposed WPA lease sale area, as 

described for a proposed action 

(Alternative A), but it would exclude 

from leasing any unleased blocks 

subject to the Topographic Features 

Stipulation. The estimated amount of 

resources projected to be developed is 

0.116–0.200 BBO and 0.538–0.938 Tcf 

of gas. The number of blocks that would 

not be offered under Alternative B 

represents only a small percentage of 

the total number of blocks to be offered 

under Alternative A; therefore, it is 

assumed that the levels of activity for 

Alternative B would be essentially the 

same as those projected for the WPA 

proposed action. 

Alternative C—No Action: This 

alternative is the cancellation of 

proposed WPA Lease Sale 238 and is 

identified as the environmentally 

preferred alternative. 

After careful consideration, the ASLM 

selected the proposed action, identified 

as BOEM’s preferred alternative 

(Alternative A) in the WPA 238, 246, 

and 248 Supplemental EIS. The ASLM’s 

selection of the preferred alternative 

meets the purpose and need for the 

proposed action, as identified in the 

WPA 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental 

EIS, and provides for an orderly 

resource development with protection 

of the human, marine, and coastal 

environments while also ensuring that 

the public receives an equitable return 

for these resources and that free-market 

competition is maintained. 

Record of Decision Availability: To 

obtain a single printed or CD copy of the 

ROD for proposed WPA Lease Sale 238, 

you may contact BOEM, Gulf of Mexico 

OCS Region, Public Information Office 

(GM 335A), 1201 Elmwood Park 

Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 

70123–2394 (1–800–200–GULF). An 

electronic copy of the ROD is available 

on BOEM’s Internet Web site at http:// 

www.boem.gov/nepaprocess/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

more information on the ROD, you may 

contact Mr. Gary D. Goeke, Bureau of 

Ocean Energy Management, Gulf of 

Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood 

Park Boulevard (GM 623E), New 

Orleans, Louisiana 70123–2394. You 

may also contact Mr. Goeke by 

telephone at 504–736–3233. 

Authority: This NOA is published 

pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR part 

1506) implementing the provisions of the 

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

Dated: July 14, 2014. 

Walter D. Cruickshank, 

Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2014–16958 Filed 7–17–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 


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