29996 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 103 / Friday, May 28, 2010 / Notices 

STATUS: Closed. 

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: 

Enforcement Matters. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

Sauntia S. Warfield, 202–418–5084. 

Sauntia S. Warfield, 

Assistant Secretary of the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2010–13084 Filed 5–26–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6351–01–P 

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING 

COMMISSION 

Sunshine Act Meetings 

TIME AND DATE: 11 a.m., Friday, June 11, 

2010. 

PLACE: 1155 21st St., NW., Washington, 

DC, 9th Floor Commission Conference 

Room. 

STATUS: Closed. 

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: Surveillance 

Matters. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

Sauntia S. Warfield, 202–418–5084. 

Sauntia S. Warfield, 

Assistant Secretary of the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2010–13079 Filed 5–26–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6351–01–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

Sunshine Act Meetings 

TIME AND DATE: Wednesday, June 2, 

2010; 2 p.m.–4 p.m. 

PLACE: Hearing Room 420, Bethesda 

Towers, 4330 East West Highway, 

Bethesda, Maryland. 

STATUS: Closed to the Public. 

Matters To Be Considered 

Compliance Status Report 

The Commission staff will brief the 

Commission on the status of compliance 

matters. 

For a recorded message containing the 

latest agenda information, call (301) 

504–7948. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

Todd A. Stevenson, Office of the 

Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product 

Safety Commission, 4330 East West 

Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814 (301) 

504–7923. 

Dated: May 25, 2010. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2010–13064 Filed 5–26–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 

COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL 

QUALITY 

Review of MMS NEPA Policies, 

Practices, and Procedures for OCS Oil 

and Gas Exploration and Development 

AGENCY: Council on Environmental 

Quality. 

ACTION: Notice of Review and Request 

for Public Comment. 

SUMMARY: On May 17, 2010, the Council 

on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 

informed the Department of the Interior 

(DOI) that CEQ was conducting a 30 day 

review National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA) policies, practices, and 

procedures for the Minerals 

Management Service (MMS) decisions 

for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil 

and gas exploration and development. 

This review of MMS NEPA policies, 

practices and procedures is being 

conducted as a result of the oil spill 

from the Deepwater Horizon well and 

drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The 

purpose of this review is to ascertain 

how MMS applies NEPA in its 

management of Outer Continental Shelf 

oil and gas exploration and 

development and make 

recommendations for revisions. The 

scope of the review is intended to be 

holistic, i.e. from leasing decisions to 

drilling and production. 

In line with CEQ’s effort to engage the 

public in the NEPA process and the 

President’s Open Government Initiative, 

this notice is also a solicitation for 

public comment on the review process 

undertaken by CEQ as well as on 

current MMS NEPA policies, practices, 

and procedures regarding Outer 

Continental Shelf oil and gas 

exploration and development. Public 

participation in this review effort will 

benefit this specific review process, the 

MMS NEPA implementation, CEQ’s 

overall effectiveness in overseeing 

NEPA, and the environmental and 

social consequences of government 

activity. 

DATES: Comments should be submitted 

as soon as possible on the CEQ review, 

recognizing that the review is to be 

completed June 17, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: All relevant information 

related to MMS NEPA procedures and 

the review process is available at http:// 

www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/initiatives/

nepa. Comments on the procedures and 

review should be submitted 

electronically at the above URL or to 

hgreczmiel@ceq.eop.gov or in writing to 

Associate Director for NEPA Oversight, 

Council on Environmental Quality, 722 

Jackson Place NW., Washington, DC 

20503. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Horst Greczmiel, Associate Director for 

NEPA Oversight, Council on 

Environmental Quality, at (202) 395– 

5750. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

NEPA and Offshore Drilling 

Enacted in 1970, NEPA mandates that 

Federal agencies consider the 

environmental impacts of their 

proposed actions during all stages of 

decision making, from planning to 

implementation. NEPA is a fundamental 

decision-making tool used to harmonize 

our economic, environmental, and 

social aspirations and is a cornerstone of 

our Nation’s efforts to protect the 

environment. NEPA applies to every 

stage of Federal decision making related 

to offshore oil and gas exploration and 

development. When an agency proposes 

an action, it must determine if the 

action has the potential to affect the 

quality of the human environment. 

Agencies then apply one of three levels 

of NEPA analysis. They may: Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

when the agency projects the proposed 

action has the potential for significant 

environmental impacts; apply a 

Categorical Exclusion (CE) when the 

agency has previously established a CE 

based on its determination that 

proposed action falls within the 

categories of actions described in the CE 

which the agency has found do not 

typically result in individually or 

cumulatively significant environmental 

effects or impacts; or the agency 

prepares an Environmental Assessment 

(EA) to determine whether it can make 

a Finding of No Significant Impact or 

proceed to prepare an EIS. 

Under the Outer Continental Shelf 

Lands Act, MMS has implemented a 

process for oil and gas development 

consisting of the following stages: (1) 

Preparing a nationwide 5-year oil and 

gas development program, (2) planning 

for and holding a specific lease sale, (3) 

approving a company’s exploration 

plan, and (4) approving a company’s 

development and production plan. 

MMS is required to apply NEPA during 

each of these stages, beginning with the 

initial planning of outer continental 

shelf leasing and ending with a decision 

on a specific well. The sequence of 

NEPA analyses is informed by the CEQ 

Regulations Implementing the 

Procedural Requirements of the 

National Environmental Policy Act, 40 

CFR parts 1500–1508 available at 

http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/ceq_regulations/ 

regulations.html. Specifically, 40 CFR 

1502.20, discusses ‘‘tiering,’’ a strategy 

used to avoid repetitive discussions of 


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