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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 240 (Friday, December 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 101044-101047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29360]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2023-0046]

Notice of Availability of a Gulf of Mexico Regional Outer 
Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Consistent with the regulations implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 
(BOEM) announces the availability of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Regional 
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Lease Sales: Draft 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Draft GOM Oil and Gas 
EIS). The Draft GOM Oil and Gas EIS analyzes the potential impacts of a 
representative oil and gas lease sale in available OCS areas of the 
Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas and the associated 
potential site- and activity-specific approvals resulting from an OCS 
oil and gas lease sale. This notice of availability (NOA) announces the 
release of the Draft GOM Oil and Gas EIS, start of the public review 
and comment period, and dates and times for public meetings. After the 
public comment period, BOEM will address the comments received and 
publish the Final GOM Oil and Gas EIS.

DATES: BOEM will consider comments received by January 27, 2025. BOEM 
will hold three virtual public meetings for the Draft GOM Oil and Gas 
EIS.
    Dates, times, registration and additional information for the 
public meetings may be found at https://www.boem.gov/environment/environmental-assessment/gulf-mexico-regional-ocs-oil-and-gas-programmatic or by calling 1-800-200-4853.

ADDRESSES: Detailed information can be found on BOEM's website at 
https://www.boem.gov/environment/environmental-assessment/gulf-mexico-regional-ocs-oil-and-gas-programmatic.
    Written comments can be submitted through the regulations.gov web 
portal: Navigate to www.regulations.gov and search for Docket No. BOEM-
2023-0046. Select the document in the search

[[Page 101045]]

results on which you want to comment, click on the ``Comment'' button, 
and follow the online instructions for submitting your comment. A 
commenter's checklist is available on the comment web page. Enter your 
information and comment, then click ``Submit.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Helen Rucker, BOEM, Gulf of Mexico 
Regional Office, Office of Environment, 1201 Elmwood Park Blvd., New 
Orleans, Louisiana 70123, (504) 736-2421, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    This EIS is expected to be used to inform the decision for the 
first GOM oil and gas lease sale proposed in the 2024-2029 National OCS 
Oil and Gas Leasing Program. It also is expected to be used and 
supplemented as appropriate for decisions on additional future proposed 
GOM lease sales. In addition, this EIS will be used to support post-
lease site- and activity-specific OCS oil- and gas-related activity 
analyses and approvals.
    In this Draft EIS, BOEM analyzes four alternatives: a no action 
alternative and three action alternatives. Because this EIS analyzes a 
representative lease sale, Alternative A (No Action) is the 
cancellation of a single proposed GOM lease sale.
    The first action alternative (Alternative B) is BOEM's Proposed 
Action and offers all available unleased acreage in the U.S. Gulf of 
Mexico OCS, including the Western and Central Planning Areas and the 
portion of the Eastern Planning Area not subject to Presidential 
withdrawal. Alternative B would allow BOEM to issue offshore wind 
energy leases in the 12 months following the sale by satisfying the 
requirement in the Inflation Reduction Act to offer an aggregate of at 
least 60 million acres for offshore oil and gas leasing within a 12-
month period prior to issuing offshore wind energy leases. Alternative 
B analyzes lease stipulations and other mitigation measures for 
environmental protection.
    The second action alternative (Alternative C) would allow for a 
proposed lease sale excluding targeted portions of the Central, 
Western, and Eastern Planning Areas within the U.S. Gulf of Mexico OCS. 
Alternative C would allow BOEM to issue offshore wind energy leases in 
the 12 months following the sale by satisfying the requirement in the 
Inflation Reduction Act to offer an aggregate of at least 60 million 
acres for offshore oil and gas leasing within a 12-month period prior 
to issuing offshore wind energy leases. Alternative C would exclude 
several areas for environmental protection purposes and to avoid 
conflicts with other ocean uses.
    The final action alternative (Alternative D) would allow for a 
proposed OCS oil and gas lease sale excluding more targeted portions 
than Alternative C in the Central and Western Planning Areas within the 
U.S. Gulf of Mexico OCS. Alternative D would exclude more of the OCS 
for environmental considerations and to avoid conflicts with other 
ocean uses. However, this Alternative would not on its own satisfy the 
aggregate lease acreage requirements of the Inflation Reduction Act to 
issue offshore wind energy leases. Selection of this alternative would 
require at least one additional OCS oil and gas lease sale within a 12-
month period in order to satisfy the requirements of the Inflation 
Reduction Act.

Purpose of and Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose of the Proposed Action (Alternative B) is to facilitate 
the potential development of those areas of the OCS that may contain 
economically recoverable oil and gas. Following lease issuance, BOEM 
may authorize development through plan and permit approvals (subject to 
additional environmental review and regulatory oversight). This purpose 
is consistent with BOEM's mandate to further the orderly development of 
OCS oil and gas resources under the OCS Lands Act. Each individual 
proposed oil and gas lease sale would provide qualified bidders the 
opportunity to bid upon and lease available acreage in the Gulf of 
Mexico OCS in order to explore, develop, and produce oil and natural 
gas.
    The Proposed Action is needed to meet the ongoing domestic demand 
for oil and gas resources and, per current law, to help facilitate the 
development of offshore wind as a source of renewable electricity. Oil 
and gas from the Gulf of Mexico OCS contributes to meeting domestic 
demand. Oil serves as the feedstock for liquid hydrocarbon products, 
including gasoline, aviation and diesel fuel, and various 
petrochemicals. Gas may be used to support OCS oil and gas production 
on site as well as to potentially heat homes, generate electricity, and 
as feedstock necessary for the production of numerous other goods.
    Under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Pub. L. 117-169, enacted 
August 16, 2022), Congress directed that the Secretary of the Interior 
must hold an offshore oil and gas lease sale(s) totaling at least 60 
million acres in the year prior to issuing any offshore wind energy 
leases. The long-term goal of the Biden Administration is to reduce 
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 50 percent of 2005 emissions by 2030, 
reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, and to limit global warming to 
less than 1.5 [deg]Celsius (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/22/fact-sheet-president-biden-sets-2030-greenhouse-gas-pollution-reduction-target-aimed-at-creating-good-paying-union-jobs-and-securing-u-s-leadership-on-clean-energy-technologies/). Offshore wind energy is a key component of the 
Administration's plans to reduce future GHG emissions. Therefore, 
continued OCS oil and gas lease sale sales are required to pursue the 
climate-related goals of the Biden Administration.

Summary of Potential Impacts

    BOEM analyzed potential impacts from routine OCS oil- and gas-
related activities through impact-producing factors (IPFs) such as air 
emissions, discharges and wastes, bottom disturbance, noise, coastal 
land use/modification, lighting and visual impacts, offshore habitat 
modification/space use, and socioeconomic changes. Additional IPFs 
analyzed in this Draft EIS may occur from accidental events such as 
unintentional releases into the environment, response activities, or 
strikes and collisions. BOEM also included an analysis of cumulative 
impacts from past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future OCS oil- 
and gas-related activities and non-OCS oil- and gas-related activities 
as part of the Draft EIS. Resources analyzed included air quality; 
water quality; coastal communities and habitats; benthic communities 
and habitats (including protected corals); pelagic communities and 
habitats; fishes and invertebrates; birds; marine mammals; sea turtles; 
commercial fisheries; recreational fishing; recreational resources; 
land use and coastal infrastructure; social factors (including 
environmental justice); economic factors; and cultural, historical, and 
archaeological resources. This EIS determined potential impacts to 
resources ranging from negligible to moderate adverse (with most being 
negligible or minor) and some beneficial. Two issues of programmatic 
concern were identified and analyzed separately in this Draft EIS: GHG 
emissions and their social costs and space-use conflicts between BOEM 
Program Areas. These issues of programmatic concern are included in the 
environmental consequences analysis through the air emissions and

[[Page 101046]]

offshore habitat modification/space use impact-producing factors.

Post-Lease Plan/Permit Approvals and Tiering

    If the Department of the Interior ultimately decides to move 
forward with an individual OCS oil and gas lease sale, neither this EIS 
nor a resulting individual lease sale record of decision (ROD) will 
authorize any immediate activities (beyond ancillary activities under a 
lease) or approve any individual applications for plans or permits. The 
GOM Oil and Gas EIS will provide a programmatic environmental analysis 
and framework to support future decision-making on individual plan and 
permit submittals.
    When plans or permit applications are submitted to BOEM or the 
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the site-
specific characteristics of the project will be evaluated by preparing 
additional environmental analyses that may tier from this EIS or 
incorporate it by reference. Based on the site-specific applications 
and evaluations, BOEM or BSEE may then reach a site-specific 
determination and approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove 
individual plans or permits. This EIS may inform future BOEM decision-
making on plan submittals but does not approve or authorize any 
applications or plans. Therefore, neither this EIS nor a resulting oil 
and gas lease sale ROD constitutes a final agency action authorizing or 
approving any individual plan(s) or permit(s).

Anticipated Authorizations and Consultations

    In conjunction with this EIS, BOEM is undertaking various 
consultations and coordination in accordance with applicable Federal 
laws, such as the Endangered Species Act, Magnuson[hyphen]Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, National Historic Preservation 
Act (NHPA), and Coastal Zone Management Act, as appropriate. BOEM also 
conducted government-to-government Tribal consultations.

Decision-Making Schedule

    After the public comment period ends, BOEM will review and respond 
to comments received and will develop the Final EIS. BOEM will make the 
Final EIS available to the public at least 30 days prior to issuance of 
any ROD. The ROD will document the final decision on which alternative 
(or alternative with modifications) has been selected. If the decision 
is to hold an OCS oil and gas lease sale, the ROD will identify the 
area and terms to be offered in the lease sale, including any required 
mitigation (e.g., through lease stipulations).

NEPA Cooperating Agencies

    One Tribal government and three Federal agencies responded to 
BOEM's request for cooperating agencies. The National Park Service, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, and BSEE are cooperating agencies on 
the GOM Oil and Gas EIS.

Information on Comment Submissions

    Federal agencies, Tribal, State, and local governments, and other 
interested parties are requested to comment on the Draft EIS. For 
information on how to submit comments, see the ``Addresses'' section 
above.
    BOEM does not consider anonymous comments. Please include your name 
and address as part of your comment. Comments submitted in response to 
this notice are a matter of public record. You should be aware that 
your entire comment--including your address, phone number, email 
address, and other personally identifiable information included in your 
comment--may be made publicly available.
    You may request that BOEM withhold your personally identifiable 
information from public disclosure. For BOEM to consider withholding 
from disclosure your personally identifying information, you must 
identify, in a cover letter, any information contained in the submittal 
of your comments that, if released, would constitute a clearly 
unwarranted invasion of your personal privacy. You must also briefly 
describe any possible harmful consequences from disclosing your 
information, such as embarrassment, injury, or other harm.
    Even if BOEM withholds your information in the context of this NOA, 
your submission is subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). If 
your submission is requested under FOIA, BOEM can only withhold your 
information if it determines that one of the FOIA's exemptions to 
disclosure applies. Such a determination will be made in accordance 
with the Department of the Interior's FOIA regulations and applicable 
law.
    Additionally, under Section 304 of the NHPA, BOEM is required, 
after consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, to withhold the 
location, character, or ownership of historic property if it determines 
that disclosure may, among other things, cause a significant invasion 
of privacy, risk harm to the historic property, or impede the use of a 
traditional religious site by practitioners. Tribal entities and other 
parties providing information on historic resources should designate 
information that they wish to be held as confidential and provide the 
reasons why BOEM should do so. Please label privileged or confidential 
information as ``Contains Confidential Information,'' and consider 
submitting such information as a separate attachment. BOEM may consider 
information that is not labeled as privileged or confidential as 
suitable for public release.
    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.

Request for Comment

    BOEM requests data, traditional and Indigenous knowledge, comments, 
views, information, analysis, or suggestions relevant to the analysis 
of the Proposed Action from the public; affected Federal, Tribal, 
State, and local governments, agencies, and offices; the scientific 
community; industry; or any other interested party. Specifically, BOEM 
requests information on the following topics:
    1. Potential mitigating measures and the effects these could have 
on--
    a. biological resources, including birds, coastal communities, 
benthic communities, pelagic communities, fish, invertebrates, 
essential fish habitat, marine mammals, and sea turtles;
    b. physical resources and conditions, including air quality, water 
quality, coastal habitats, benthic habitats, and pelagic habitats; and
    c. socioeconomic and cultural resources, including commercial 
fishing, recreational fishing, demographics, employment, economics, 
environmental justice, land use and coastal infrastructure, navigation 
and vessel traffic, other uses (such as marine minerals, military use, 
and aviation), and recreation and tourism.
    2. The identification of historic properties within the GOM, the 
potential effects on those historic properties from GOM oil and gas 
development, and any information that supports identification of 
historic properties under the NHPA. BOEM also solicits proposed 
measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any adverse effects on 
historic properties. If any historic properties are identified, a 
potential effects analysis will be available for public and NHPA 
consulting party comment in the Final EIS.
    3. Information on other current or planned activities in the GOM, 
including any mitigating measures, their possible impacts on the 
alternatives,

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and the alternatives' possible impacts on those activities.
    4. Other information relevant to impacts on the human environment 
from potential GOM oil and gas development alternatives, including any 
mitigating measures.
    To promote informed decision-making, comments should be as specific 
as possible and should provide as much detail as necessary to 
meaningfully and fully inform BOEM of the commenter's position. 
Comments should explain why the issues raised are important for 
consideration of the Proposed Action, as well as economic, employment, 
and other impacts affecting the quality of the human environment.
    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. and 40 CFR 1503.1.

James J. Kendall,
Regional Director, New Orleans, Louisiana Office, Bureau of Ocean 
Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2024-29360 Filed 12-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4350-98-P
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