[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 147 (Wednesday, August 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41989-41990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-16572]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[21X.LLAK930100.L16100000.PN0000]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, Alaska

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with Secretary's Order 3401, Comprehensive 
Analysis and Temporary Halt on all Activities in the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge Relating to the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing 
Program, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Alaska State Office, 
Anchorage, Alaska, intends to prepare a Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) to the September 2019 Coastal Plain Oil and Gas 
Leasing Program EIS. The Supplemental EIS will provide a comprehensive 
analysis of the potential environmental impacts of the Program, 
including by addressing the deficiencies identified in Secretary's 
Order 3401.

DATES: This Notice initiates the public scoping process for the 
Supplemental EIS. Comments on issues, impacts, and potential new 
alternatives to be analyzed may be submitted in writing until October 
4, 2021. The BLM will announce on its website any additional venues for 
commenting during scoping.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/102555/510.
    <bullet> Mail: BLM, Alaska State Office, Attention--Coastal Plain 
Supplemental EIS, 222 West 7th Avenue, #13, Anchorage, AK 99513-7599.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Serena Sweet, Project Lead, via email 
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f1939d9cae909aae929e908285909d819d90989fae828481819d949c949f85909db4b8a2b1939d9cdf969e87"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="781a1415271913271b17190b0c19140814191116270b0d0808141d151d160c19143d312b381a1415561f170e">[email protected]</span></a>, or via telephone at 
907-271-5960; or by mail at Bureau of Land Management, 222 West 7th 
Avenue, #13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513-7599. You may also request to be 
added to the mailing list for the Supplemental EIS. Additional 
background information and supporting documents may be found at the 
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/102555/510.
    Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the 
above individual during normal business hours. FRS is available 24 
hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with the 
above individual. You will receive a reply during normal business 
hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The area comprising the Coastal Plain 
includes approximately 1.6 million acres within the approximately 19.3 
million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In September 2019 and in 
connection with Public Law 115-97, Dec. 22, 2017, the BLM completed the 
Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Final EIS. The BLM then issued a 
Record of Decision (ROD) for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing 
Program on August 8, 2020 (85 FR 51754). The ROD approved a program to 
implement Section 20001 of Public Law 115-97, which directed the BLM to 
manage the oil and gas leasing program on the Coastal Plain in a manner 
similar to lease sales under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production 
Act of 1976 (including regulations).
    On June 1, 2021, the Secretary of the Interior issued Secretary's 
Order 3401, Section 4 of which directed ``a temporary halt on all 
Department activities related to the [Leasing] Program in the Arctic 
Refuge'' pending ``a new, comprehensive analysis of the potential 
environmental impacts of the Program'' to ``address . . . identified 
legal deficiencies.''
    The purpose of this public scoping process is to determine the 
scope of issues to be addressed and to identify the significant issues, 
including any legal deficiencies in the Final EIS, related to an oil 
and gas leasing program within the Coastal Plain. Information received 
during this process will influence the development of the Supplemental 
EIS and guide the scope of the environmental analysis. The BLM will 
work collaboratively with interested parties to identify the management 
decisions best suited to local, regional, and national needs and 
concerns.
    The purpose and need of the Supplemental EIS is bound by statute 
and remains the same as for the September 2019 Final EIS, i.e., to 
implement Section 20001 of Public Law 115-97. Potential new 
alternatives to be considered in the Supplemental EIS include, but are 
not limited to, those that would: Designate certain areas of the 
Coastal Plain as open or closed to leasing; permit less than 2,000 
acres of surface development throughout the Coastal Plain; prohibit 
surface infrastructure in sensitive areas; and otherwise avoid or 
mitigate impacts from oil and gas activities.
    The Supplemental EIS will evaluate impacts to various surface 
resources including, but not limited to, caribou, polar bears, birds, 
vegetation, and

[[Page 41990]]

surface waters including wetlands, as well as to other uses of the 
Coastal Plain, including subsistence uses. The Supplemental EIS will 
also consider impacts from greenhouse gas emissions from any Leasing 
Program.
    After the scoping comment period is closed, the BLM will review and 
consider the scoping comments received and will develop a Draft 
Supplemental EIS, which BLM estimates will be completed approximately 6 
to 8 months after the scoping period ends. At that time the Draft 
Supplemental EIS will be made available for public comment for at least 
45 days. After the close of the Draft Supplemental EIS comment period, 
BLM will develop a Final Supplemental EIS incorporating comments 
received on the Draft, which BLM estimates will be completed 
approximately 6 months after the Draft Supplemental EIS comment period 
ends. A record of decision selecting a program alternative from the 
Final Supplemental EIS would be issued no sooner than 30 days after 
notice of the availability of the Final Supplemental EIS is published 
in the Federal Register.
    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.9(d), 40 CFR 1501.7 (2019).

Laura Daniel-Davis,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. 2021-16572 Filed 8-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P


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