58310 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 164 / Friday, August 25, 2023 / Notices 

1https://www.boem.gov/sites/default/files/ 

documents//Draft%20Area%20ID%20

Memo%20GOM%20508.pdf. 

at https://www.boem.gov/ for 

information regarding any changes. 

Elizabeth A. Klein, 

Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2023–18342 Filed 8–24–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4340–98–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

[Docket No. BOEM–2023–0045] 

Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental 

Shelf, Oil and Gas Lease Sale 261 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM), Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of a record 

of decision. 

SUMMARY: BOEM announces the 

availability of the Record of Decision 

(ROD) for Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer 

Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas 

Lease Sale 261 (GOM Lease Sale 261). 

This ROD identifies the selected 

alternative for GOM Lease Sale 261, 

which is analyzed in the Gulf of Mexico 

OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales 259 and 

261: Final Supplemental Environmental 

Impact Statement (GOM Lease Sales 259 

and 261 Supplemental EIS). 

ADDRESSES: The ROD and associated 

information are available on BOEM’s 

website at https://www.boem.gov/oilgas-energy/leasing/lease-sale-261. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Helen Rucker, Supervisor, 

Environmental Assessment Section Unit 

1, Office of Environment, BOEM New 

Orleans Office, by telephone at 504– 

736–2421, or by email at helen.rucker@

boem.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BOEM 

must hold GOM Lease Sale 261 on or 

before September 30, 2023, pursuant to 

section 50264(e) of the Inflation 

Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA, Pub. L. 

117–169), which was signed into law on 

August 16, 2022. However, the IRA does 

not affect BOEM’s discretion regarding 

other aspects of its normal leasing 

process, including decisions regarding 

the scope of the lease sale and the terms 

of the resulting leases. GOM Lease Sale 

261 will provide qualified bidders the 

opportunity to bid on unleased blocks 

in the Gulf of Mexico OCS in order to 

explore for, develop, and produce oil 

and natural gas. BOEM evaluated five 

alternatives in the GOM Lease Sales 259 

and 261 Supplemental EIS, which 

BOEM completed as part of its normal 

leasing process to inform the decisionmaker on possible lease sale impacts, 

mitigations, and other action 

alternatives. 

The ROD for Lease Sale 261 is the 

second ROD that relies on the analysis 

in the GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261 

Supplemental EIS. BOEM reviewed new 

and relevant information since the GOM 

Lease Sales 259 and 261 Supplemental 

EIS was issued and verified that the 

GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261 

Supplemental EIS adequately addresses 

the potential environmental effects of 

the proposed lease sale. There are no 

new circumstances, information, or 

changes in the proposed lease sale or its 

potential impacts that require 

supplementation of the GOM Lease 

Sales 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS. 

After careful consideration, the U.S. 

Department of the Interior (Interior) 

decided to offer for lease a subset of the 

OCS blocks analyzed as Alternative D in 

the GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261 

Supplemental EIS. 

Therefore, BOEM will hold GOM 

Lease Sale 261 as a GOM regionwide 

lease sale encompassing all three 

planning areas, i.e., the Western 

Planning Area, Central Planning Area, 

and a small portion of the Eastern 

Planning Area, with the following 

exclusions: (1) whole and portions of 

blocks made unavailable for leasing by 

Presidential withdrawal in the 

September 8, 2020, Memorandum on 

the Withdrawal of Certain Areas of the 

United States Outer Continental Shelf 

from Leasing Disposition; (2) blocks that 

are adjacent to or beyond the United 

States Exclusive Economic Zone in the 

area known as the northern portion of 

the Eastern Gap; (3) whole and partial 

blocks within the boundary of the 

Flower Garden Banks National Marine 

Sanctuary as of the July 14, 2008, 

Memorandum on Modification of the 

Withdrawal of Areas of the United 

States Outer Continental Shelf from 

Leasing Disposition; (4) whole and 

partial blocks that were previously 

subject to the Topographic Features 

Stipulation; (5) whole and partial blocks 

that were previously subject to the Live 

Bottom (Pinnacle Trend) Stipulation; (6) 

whole and partial blocks that were 

previously subject to the Blocks South 

of Baldwin County, Alabama, 

Stipulation; (7) whole blocks that 

contain banks that are adjacent to blocks 

previously included in the Topographic 

Features Stipulation (currently Garden 

Banks 181); (8) whole and partial blocks 

identified as either Wind Energy Area 

Options (Areas A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, 

J, K, L, and N) or final Wind Energy 

Areas (Areas I and M); 1 (9) depthrestricted, segregated block portions 

(Block 299, Main Pass Area, South and 

East Addition); (10) whole and partial 

BOEM-designated Significant Sediment 

Resource Area blocks; and (11) whole 

and partial blocks between the 100- 

meter and 400-meter isobaths across the 

northern GOM on the OCS, eastward 

from the Mexican border with Texas 

and westward from the eastern edge of 

the Central Planning Area. 

The excluded blocks are identified by 

their block number in the Final Notice 

of Sale for GOM Lease Sale 261. The 

lease sale area encompasses 

approximately 12,395 OCS blocks 

covering approximately 67.3 million 

acres. The unleased OCS blocks that 

BOEM will offer for lease are listed in 

the document entitled ‘‘Lease Sale 

Area,’’ which is included in the Final 

Notice of Sale package for GOM Lease 

Sale 261 available on BOEM’s website. 

See ADDRESSES caption above. 

As part of the decision to hold GOM 

Lease Sale 261, BOEM adopted all 

practicable means to avoid or minimize 

environmental harm at the lease sale 

stage. In addition, any subsequent postlease activities (e.g., exploration and 

development plans), which may be 

expected as a result of GOM Lease Sale 

261, will undergo additional 

environmental review and may include 

additional project-specific mitigation 

measures applied as conditions of 

individual plan approvals. The various 

mitigation measures adopted for the 

lease sale, and those that may be 

applied during post-lease reviews, are 

summarized below. 

Lease Stipulations—Because the OCS 

blocks that otherwise were previously 

subject to the Topographic Features 

Stipulation; Live Bottom (Pinnacle 

Trend) Stipulation; and Blocks South of 

Baldwin County, Alabama, Stipulation 

have all been removed from leasing 

under the chosen alternative, these 

stipulations will not be applied to any 

leases issued as a result of GOM Lease 

Sale 261. Eight lease stipulations have 

been adopted as lease terms where 

applicable, and they will be enforceable 

as part of the leases issued. The GOM 

Lease Sale 259 and 261 Supplemental 

EIS describes these lease stipulations, 

which are included in the Final Notice 

of Sale Package. These lease stipulations 

include the following: Military Areas; 

Evacuation; Coordination; Protected 

Species; United Nations Convention on 

the Law of the Sea Royalty Payment; 

Agreement between the United States of 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 164 / Friday, August 25, 2023 / Notices 58311 

America and the United Mexican States 

Concerning Transboundary 

Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the Gulf of 

Mexico; Restrictions Due to Rights-ofUse and Easements for Floating 

Production Facilities; and Royalties on 

All Produced Gas. The Final Notice of 

Sale package includes a document 

describing these stipulations in detail. 

See ADDRESSES caption above. 

Post-Lease Measures—Appendix B of 

the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas 

Lease Sales: 2017–2022; Gulf of Mexico 

Lease Sales 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 

256, 257, 259, and 261—Final Multisale 

Environmental Impact Statement 

provides a list and description of 

standard post-lease conditions of 

approval that BOEM or the Bureau of 

Safety and Environmental Enforcement 

may require as a result of their plan and 

permit reviews for oil and gas activities 

in the Gulf of Mexico OCS region. 

The decision to hold GOM Lease Sale 

261 meets the purpose of and need for 

the proposed action, as identified in the 

GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261 

Supplemental EIS, and provides for 

orderly resource development with 

protection of human, marine, and 

coastal environments while also 

ensuring that the public receives a fair 

market value for these resources and 

that free-market competition is 

maintained. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. 

(National Environmental Policy Act) 

and 40 CFR parts 1505 and 1506. 

Elizabeth A. Klein, 

Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2023–18345 Filed 8–24–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4340–98–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Notice of Lodging of Proposed 

Consent Decree Under the 

Comprehensive Environmental 

Response, Compensation, and Liability 

Act (‘‘CERCLA’’) 

On August 21, 2023, the Department 

of Justice lodged a proposed consent 

decree with the United States District 

Court for the District of New Jersey in 

the lawsuit entitled United States of 

America v. TCI Pacific 

Communications, LLC, Civil Action No. 

2:23–cv–06076. The United States seeks 

reimbursement of response costs under 

section 107 of the Comprehensive 

Environmental Response, 

Compensation, and Liability Act 

(‘‘CERCLA’’) in connection with the 

Barth Smelting Corporation Site located 

in the City of Newark, Essex County, 

New Jersey. Under the proposed consent 

decree, the Settling Defendant (TCI 

Pacific Communications, LLC) agrees to 

pay the United States $950,000 to 

resolve the United States’ claim for past 

response costs arising from a removal 

action by the Environmental Protection 

Agency to address lead-contaminated 

soil at the Site. 

The publication of this notice opens 

a period for public comment on the 

proposed consent decree. Comments 

should be addressed to the Assistant 

Attorney General, Environment and 

Natural Resources Division, 

Environmental Enforcement Section, 

and should refer to United States of 

America v. TCI Pacific 

Communications, LLC, Civil Action No. 

2:23–cv–06076, D.J. Ref. No. 90–11–3– 

12493. All comments must be submitted 

no later than thirty (30) days after the 

publication date of this notice. 

Comments may be submitted either by 

email or by mail: 

To submit 

comments: Send them to: 

By email ....... pubcomment-ees.enrd@

usdoj.gov. 

By mail ......... Assistant Attorney General, 

U.S. DOJ—ENRD, P.O. 

Box 7611, Washington, DC 

20044–7611. 

During the public comment period, 

the consent decree may be examined 

and downloaded at this Justice 

Department website: https://

www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. 

We will provide a paper copy of the 

consent decree upon written request 

and payment of reproduction costs. 

Please mail your request and payment 

to: Consent Decree Library, U.S. DOJ— 

ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 

20044–7611. 

Please enclose a check or money order 

for $4.25 (25 cents per page 

reproduction cost), for the consent 

decree with appendix payable to the 

United States Treasury. 

Henry S. Friedman, 

Assistant Section Chief, Environmental 

Enforcement Section, Environment and 

Natural Resources Division. 

[FR Doc. 2023–18295 Filed 8–24–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Office of Justice Programs 

[OJP (OJJDP) Docket No. 1814] 

Meeting of the Coordinating Council 

on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention 

AGENCY: Coordinating Council on 

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Coordinating Council on 

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention announces its next meeting. 

DATES: Tuesday September 19, 2023 at 

9:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. CT. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place 

at the DoubleTree Hotel & Suites 

Houston Galleria located at 5353 

Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77056. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Visit 

the website for the Coordinating Council 

at www.juvenilecouncil.gov or contact 

Maegen Barnes, Project Manager/ 

Federal Contractor, by telephone (732) 

948–8862, email at Maegen.Currie@

usdoj.gov; or Julie Herr, Designated 

Federal Official (DFO), OJJDP, by 

telephone at (202) 598–6885, email at 

Julie.Herr@usdoj.gov. Please note that 

the above phone numbers are not toll 

free. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Coordinating Council on Juvenile 

Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

(‘‘Council’’), established by statute in 

the Juvenile and Delinquency 

Prevention Act of 1974 section 206(a) 

(34 U.S.C. 11116(a)), will meet to carry 

out its advisory functions. Information 

regarding this meeting will be available 

on the Council’s web page at 

www.juvenilecouncil.gov. In light of 

space constraints, this meeting will be 

open to the public via online video 

conference only. Prior registration is 

required (see below). In addition, 

meeting documents will be viewable via 

this website including meeting 

announcements, agendas, minutes and 

reports. 

Although designated agency 

representatives may attend in lieu of 

members, the Council’s formal 

membership consists of the following 

secretaries and/or agency officials; 

Attorney General (Chair), Administrator 

of the Office of Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention (Vice Chair), 

Secretary of Health and Human 

Services, Assistant Secretary for Mental 

Health and Substance Use, Secretary of 

the Interior, Secretary of Labor, 

Secretary of Education, Secretary of 

Housing and Urban Development, 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1