Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea Planning Areas Oil and Gas Lease Sales 209, 212, 217, and 221, 77835-77836 [E8-30246]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 245 / Friday, December 19, 2008 / Notices
sec. 7, NE1⁄4SE1⁄4 and NE1⁄4SE1⁄4SE1⁄4.
T. 38 S., R. 8 W.,
sec. 12, lots 3 and 4 and W1⁄2SE1⁄4.
The areas described aggregate
approximately 200 acres in Garfield and
Kane Counties.
b. Secretarial Order dated July 27,
1907
Salt Lake Meridian
T. 36 S., R. 7 W.,
sec. 8, SW1⁄4NW1⁄4 and SW1⁄4;
sec. 17, NW1⁄4.
The area described contains 360 acres
in Garfield County.
2. At 10 a.m. on January 20, 2009, the
lands described in Paragraph 1 shall be
opened to such forms of disposition as
may by law be made of National Forest
System lands, including location and
entry under the United States mining
laws, subject to valid existing rights, the
provisions of existing withdrawals,
other segregations of record, and the
requirements of applicable law.
Appropriation of lands described in this
order under the general mining laws
prior to the date and time of restoration
is unauthorized. Any such attempted
appropriation, including attempted
adverse possession under 30 U.S.C. 38
(2000), shall vest no rights against the
United States. Acts required to establish
a location and to initiate a right of
possession are governed by State law
where not in conflict with Federal law.
The Bureau of Land Management will
not intervene in disputes between rival
locators over possessory rights since
Congress has provided for such
determinations in local courts.
Authority: 43 CFR 2091.6.
Dated: December 11, 2008.
Selma Sierra,
State Director.
[FR Doc. E8–29894 Filed 12–18–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–11–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea
Planning Areas Oil and Gas Lease
Sales 209, 212, 217, and 221
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service
(MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
and announcement of Public Hearings.
SUMMARY: The purpose of the proposed
Federal actions addressed in this DEIS
(OCS EIS/EA MMS 2008–055) is to offer
for lease areas in the Beaufort Sea and
Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS) that may contain economically
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17:29 Dec 18, 2008
Jkt 217001
recoverable oil and natural gas
resources. These lease sales would
provide qualified bidders the
opportunity to bid on certain blocks in
the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea OCS
to gain conditional rights to explore,
develop, and produce oil and natural
gas.
This DEIS is a draft of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
analysis that will enable the Minerals
Management Service (MMS) to make
informed decisions on the configuration
of the lease sales and the applicable
mitigation measures. In the DEIS, the
potential direct, indirect, and
cumulative environmental impacts of
the proposed sales and alternatives,
including projected exploration and
development and production activities
on the physical, biological, and human
environments in the Beaufort Sea and
Chukchi Sea areas, are analyzed.
The DEIS integrates the biological
assessment elements required under
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act
(per Section 402.06 of the Act) for
species under jurisdiction of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. The DEIS
reflects the information in the MMS
Biological Assessment and the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
Biological Opinion (dated July 17, 2008)
for the bowhead, fin, and humpback
whales.
In the
DEIS, the MMS has examined the
potential environmental effects of the
Proposed Actions and alternatives. The
Proposed Actions (Alternative 2 for each
planning area) are to conduct Beaufort
and Chukchi Sea OCS Lease Sales 209,
212, 217, and 221 in the years 2010,
2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively. The
resource estimates and scenario
information included in the DEIS
analysis are presented as a range of
activities that could be associated with
each sale, including exploration seismic
surveying, on-lease ancillary activities,
exploration and delineation drilling,
development and production of OCS oil
and natural gas resources,
decommissioning, and lease
abandonment.
The Proposed Actions combined
would offer for lease approximately
13,449 whole and partial blocks (about
73.4 million acres) identified as the
program areas in the 2007–2012 5-Year
Program. The proposed Chukchi Sea
Sale area excludes a zone within 25
miles of the Chukchi Sea coast. Water
depths in the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi
Sea sale areas vary from approximately
10 meters (33 feet) to approximately
3,800 meters (12,467 feet).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
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77835
Alternative 1 (No Lease Sale) for each
sale area is equivalent to cancellation of
a Proposed Action as scheduled in the
approved 5-Year Program. The
opportunity to discover and develop the
estimated oil and gas resources that
could have resulted from a Proposed
Action would be precluded or
postponed, and any potential
environmental impacts resulting from a
Proposed Action would not occur or
would be postponed.
Beaufort Sea Alternative 3 (Barrow
Deferral) is the Proposed Action
excluding an area comprising
approximately 15 whole or partial
blocks along the Beaufort coastline east
of Barrow beginning at the three-mile
limit. This alternative was developed to
reduce potential impacts to bowhead
whale subsistence hunters as well as
various wildlife species and associated
habitats. Beaufort Sea Alternative 4
(Cross Island Deferral) is the Proposed
Action excluding an area comprising
approximately 41 whole or partial
blocks north and east of Cross Island.
This alternative was developed to
protect a portion of the Nuiqsut
Bowhead whale subsistence hunting
area. Beaufort Sea Alternative 5 (Eastern
Deferral) is the Proposed Action
excluding an area comprising
approximately 80 whole or partial
blocks along the coastline east of
Kaktovik. This alternative was
developed to provide protection for a
portion of the Kaktovik’s bowhead
whale subsistence hunting area.
Beaufort Sea Alternative 6 (Deepwater
Deferral) is the Proposed Action
excluding an area comprising
approximately 4,357 whole or partial
blocks in areas off the continental shelf.
This alternative defers areas that are
generally deeper than 100 meters.
Chukchi Sea Alternative 3 (Coastal
Deferral) is the Proposed Action
excluding an area comprising
approximately 882 whole or partial
blocks near the eastern or shoreward
edge of the program area. This
alternative was developed as the
Corridor II deferral for Sale 193 to
reduce potential impacts to subsistence
hunting. Chukchi Sea Alternative 4
(Ledyard Bay Deferral) is the Proposed
Action excluding the area comprising
approximately 191 whole or partial
blocks of the proposed sale area that is
within the Ledyard Bay Critical Habitat.
This alternative was developed to
protect the designated critical habitat
area for the federally listed threatened
spectacled eider. Chukchi Sea
Alternative 5 (Hanna Shoal Deferral) is
the Proposed Action excluding an area
comprising approximately 241 whole or
partial blocks at Hanna Shoal. This
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77836
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 245 / Friday, December 19, 2008 / Notices
alternative was developed to reduce
potential impacts to an ecologically
important area for Pacific walruses and
gray whales. Chukchi Sea Alternative 6
(Deepwater Deferral) is the Proposed
Action excluding an area comprising
approximately 1,020 whole or partial
blocks in areas off the continental shelf.
This alternative defers areas that are
generally in waters deeper than 100
meters (328 feet).
DEIS Availability: To obtain a copy of
the DEIS, you may contact the Minerals
Management Service, Alaska OCS
Region, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite
500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503–5820,
telephone (907) 334–5200. You may also
view the DEIS on the MMS Web site at
https://www.mms.gov/alaska or at the
following locations:
Alaska Pacific University, Academic,
Academic Support Center Library, 4101
University Drive, Anchorage, Alaska
99508.
Alaska Resources Library and
Information Service (ARLIS), 3211
Providence Drive, Suite 111, Anchorage,
Alaska 99508.
Alaska State Library, Government
Publications, State Office Building, 333
Willoughby, Juneau, Alaska 99801.
City of Point Hope, P.O. Box 169,
Point Hope, Alaska 99766.
City of Wainwright, P.O. Box 9,
Wainwright, Alaska 99782.
Fairbanks North Star Borough, Noel
Wien Library, 1215 Cowles Street,
Fairbanks, Alaska 99701.
Point Lay Tribal Council, P.O. Box
59031, Point Lay, Alaska 99759.
Tuzzy Consortium Library, P.O. Box
749, Barrow, Alaska 99723.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 10 Library, 1200 6th Avenue,
OMP–104, Seattle, Washington 98101.
University of Alaska Anchorage,
Consortium Library, 3211 Providence
Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99508.
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Elmer
E. Rasmuson Library, Government
Documents, 310 Tanana Drive,
Fairbanks, Alaska 99709.
University of Alaska Fairbanks,
Geophysical Institute, Government
Documents, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775.
Z. J. Loussac Library, 3600 Denali
Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99503.
Written Comments: Interested parties
may submit their written comment on
this DEIS until March 16, 2009, to the
Regional Director, Alaska OCS Region,
Minerals Management Service, 3801
Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500,
Anchorage, Alaska 99503–5820, or
online at https://ocsconnect.mms.gov.
Our practice is to make comments,
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17:29 Dec 18, 2008
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including names and addresses of
respondents available for public review.
Individual commenters may ask that we
withhold their name, home address, or
both from the public record, and we will
honor such a request to the extent
allowable by law. If you submit
comments and wish us to withhold such
information, you must state so
prominently at the beginning of your
submission. We will not consider
anonymous comments, and we will
make available for inspection in their
entirety all comments submitted by
organizations or businesses or by
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives of organizations or
businesses.
Public Hearings: Public hearings will
be held to receive comments on the
DEIS. The hearings will provide the
MMS with additional information that
will help in evaluating potential effects
of the leasing program in the Beaufort
and Chukchi Seas. The public hearing
in Anchorage is scheduled as follows:
Anchorage, Alaska
January 15, 2009, 7 p.m., Centerpoint
Building, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, 1st
Floor Conference Room, Contact: Mr.
Albert Barros, (907) 334–5209.
Public hearings will be scheduled in
the following communities between
January 16 and March 15, 2009. The
dates, time, and locations for these
hearings will be announced to the
public on the MMS Web site, through
the media, and by letters to the
communities.
Kaktovik, Alaska; Wainwright,
Alaska; Point Lay, Alaska; Point Hope,
Alaska; Barrow, Alaska; and Nuiqsut,
Alaska.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Minerals Management Service, Alaska
OCS Region, 3801 Centerpoint Drive,
Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503–
5820, Ms. Deborah Cranswick,
telephone (907) 334–5267.
Dated: November 21, 2008.
Chris C. Oynes,
Associate Director for Offshore Energy and
Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. E8–30246 Filed 12–18–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P
PO 00000
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
[Docket No. MMS–2008–MRM–0027]
Notice of Establishment of the Indian
Oil Valuation Negotiated Rulemaking
Committee
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Establishment of Advisory
Committee.
SUMMARY: As required by section 9 (a)
(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), the
Department of the Interior (Department)
is giving notice of the establishment of
the Indian Oil Valuation Negotiated
Rulemaking Committee (Committee) to
develop specific recommendations
regarding Indian oil valuation. The
Department has determined that the
establishment of this Committee is in
the public interest and will assist the
Minerals Management Service (MMS) in
performing its duties under the Federal
Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of
1982 (FOGRMA) (30 U.S.C. 1701
et seq.). Copies of the Committee’s
charter will be filed with the
appropriate committees of Congress and
the Library of Congress in accordance
with section 9 (c) of FACA.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by the following methods:
• Electronically go to https://
www.regulations.gov. In the ‘‘Comment
or Submission’’ column, enter ‘‘MMS–
2008–MRM–0027’’ to view supporting
and related materials for this notice.
Click on ‘‘Send a comment or
submission’’ link to submit public
comments. Information on using
Regulations.gov, including instructions
for accessing documents, submitting
comments, and viewing the docket after
the close of the comment period, is
available through the site’s ‘‘User Tips’’
link. All comments submitted will be
posted to the docket.
• Mail comments to Hyla Hurst,
Regulatory Specialist, Minerals
Management Service, Minerals Revenue
Management, P.O. Box 25165, MS
302B2, Denver, Colorado 80225.
• Hand-carry comments or use an
overnight courier service. Our courier
address is Building 85, Room A–614,
Denver Federal Center, West 6th Ave.
and Kipling St., Denver, Colorado
80225.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Donald T. Sant, Senior Policy Advisor,
Minerals Management Service, Minerals
Revenue Management, P.O. Box 25165,
MS 300B2, Denver, Colorado 80225–
Frm 00246
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 245 (Friday, December 19, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77835-77836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30246]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea Planning Areas Oil and Gas Lease
Sales 209, 212, 217, and 221
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS) and announcement of Public Hearings.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The purpose of the proposed Federal actions addressed in this
DEIS (OCS EIS/EA MMS 2008-055) is to offer for lease areas in the
Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) that may
contain economically recoverable oil and natural gas resources. These
lease sales would provide qualified bidders the opportunity to bid on
certain blocks in the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea OCS to gain
conditional rights to explore, develop, and produce oil and natural
gas.
This DEIS is a draft of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) analysis that will enable the Minerals Management Service (MMS)
to make informed decisions on the configuration of the lease sales and
the applicable mitigation measures. In the DEIS, the potential direct,
indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of the proposed sales
and alternatives, including projected exploration and development and
production activities on the physical, biological, and human
environments in the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea areas, are analyzed.
The DEIS integrates the biological assessment elements required
under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (per Section 402.06 of
the Act) for species under jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. The DEIS reflects the information in the MMS Biological
Assessment and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Biological
Opinion (dated July 17, 2008) for the bowhead, fin, and humpback
whales.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the DEIS, the MMS has examined the
potential environmental effects of the Proposed Actions and
alternatives. The Proposed Actions (Alternative 2 for each planning
area) are to conduct Beaufort and Chukchi Sea OCS Lease Sales 209, 212,
217, and 221 in the years 2010, 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively. The
resource estimates and scenario information included in the DEIS
analysis are presented as a range of activities that could be
associated with each sale, including exploration seismic surveying, on-
lease ancillary activities, exploration and delineation drilling,
development and production of OCS oil and natural gas resources,
decommissioning, and lease abandonment.
The Proposed Actions combined would offer for lease approximately
13,449 whole and partial blocks (about 73.4 million acres) identified
as the program areas in the 2007-2012 5-Year Program. The proposed
Chukchi Sea Sale area excludes a zone within 25 miles of the Chukchi
Sea coast. Water depths in the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea sale areas
vary from approximately 10 meters (33 feet) to approximately 3,800
meters (12,467 feet).
Alternative 1 (No Lease Sale) for each sale area is equivalent to
cancellation of a Proposed Action as scheduled in the approved 5-Year
Program. The opportunity to discover and develop the estimated oil and
gas resources that could have resulted from a Proposed Action would be
precluded or postponed, and any potential environmental impacts
resulting from a Proposed Action would not occur or would be postponed.
Beaufort Sea Alternative 3 (Barrow Deferral) is the Proposed Action
excluding an area comprising approximately 15 whole or partial blocks
along the Beaufort coastline east of Barrow beginning at the three-mile
limit. This alternative was developed to reduce potential impacts to
bowhead whale subsistence hunters as well as various wildlife species
and associated habitats. Beaufort Sea Alternative 4 (Cross Island
Deferral) is the Proposed Action excluding an area comprising
approximately 41 whole or partial blocks north and east of Cross
Island. This alternative was developed to protect a portion of the
Nuiqsut Bowhead whale subsistence hunting area. Beaufort Sea
Alternative 5 (Eastern Deferral) is the Proposed Action excluding an
area comprising approximately 80 whole or partial blocks along the
coastline east of Kaktovik. This alternative was developed to provide
protection for a portion of the Kaktovik's bowhead whale subsistence
hunting area. Beaufort Sea Alternative 6 (Deepwater Deferral) is the
Proposed Action excluding an area comprising approximately 4,357 whole
or partial blocks in areas off the continental shelf. This alternative
defers areas that are generally deeper than 100 meters.
Chukchi Sea Alternative 3 (Coastal Deferral) is the Proposed Action
excluding an area comprising approximately 882 whole or partial blocks
near the eastern or shoreward edge of the program area. This
alternative was developed as the Corridor II deferral for Sale 193 to
reduce potential impacts to subsistence hunting. Chukchi Sea
Alternative 4 (Ledyard Bay Deferral) is the Proposed Action excluding
the area comprising approximately 191 whole or partial blocks of the
proposed sale area that is within the Ledyard Bay Critical Habitat.
This alternative was developed to protect the designated critical
habitat area for the federally listed threatened spectacled eider.
Chukchi Sea Alternative 5 (Hanna Shoal Deferral) is the Proposed Action
excluding an area comprising approximately 241 whole or partial blocks
at Hanna Shoal. This
[[Page 77836]]
alternative was developed to reduce potential impacts to an
ecologically important area for Pacific walruses and gray whales.
Chukchi Sea Alternative 6 (Deepwater Deferral) is the Proposed Action
excluding an area comprising approximately 1,020 whole or partial
blocks in areas off the continental shelf. This alternative defers
areas that are generally in waters deeper than 100 meters (328 feet).
DEIS Availability: To obtain a copy of the DEIS, you may contact
the Minerals Management Service, Alaska OCS Region, 3801 Centerpoint
Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5820, telephone (907) 334-
5200. You may also view the DEIS on the MMS Web site at https://
www.mms.gov/alaska or at the following locations:
Alaska Pacific University, Academic, Academic Support Center
Library, 4101 University Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99508.
Alaska Resources Library and Information Service (ARLIS), 3211
Providence Drive, Suite 111, Anchorage, Alaska 99508.
Alaska State Library, Government Publications, State Office
Building, 333 Willoughby, Juneau, Alaska 99801.
City of Point Hope, P.O. Box 169, Point Hope, Alaska 99766.
City of Wainwright, P.O. Box 9, Wainwright, Alaska 99782.
Fairbanks North Star Borough, Noel Wien Library, 1215 Cowles
Street, Fairbanks, Alaska 99701.
Point Lay Tribal Council, P.O. Box 59031, Point Lay, Alaska 99759.
Tuzzy Consortium Library, P.O. Box 749, Barrow, Alaska 99723.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 Library, 1200 6th
Avenue, OMP-104, Seattle, Washington 98101.
University of Alaska Anchorage, Consortium Library, 3211 Providence
Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99508.
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library,
Government Documents, 310 Tanana Drive, Fairbanks, Alaska 99709.
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute, Government
Documents, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775.
Z. J. Loussac Library, 3600 Denali Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99503.
Written Comments: Interested parties may submit their written
comment on this DEIS until March 16, 2009, to the Regional Director,
Alaska OCS Region, Minerals Management Service, 3801 Centerpoint Drive,
Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5820, or online at https://
ocsconnect.mms.gov. Our practice is to make comments, including names
and addresses of respondents available for public review. Individual
commenters may ask that we withhold their name, home address, or both
from the public record, and we will honor such a request to the extent
allowable by law. If you submit comments and wish us to withhold such
information, you must state so prominently at the beginning of your
submission. We will not consider anonymous comments, and we will make
available for inspection in their entirety all comments submitted by
organizations or businesses or by individuals identifying themselves as
representatives of organizations or businesses.
Public Hearings: Public hearings will be held to receive comments
on the DEIS. The hearings will provide the MMS with additional
information that will help in evaluating potential effects of the
leasing program in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. The public hearing in
Anchorage is scheduled as follows:
Anchorage, Alaska
January 15, 2009, 7 p.m., Centerpoint Building, 3801 Centerpoint
Drive, 1st Floor Conference Room, Contact: Mr. Albert Barros, (907)
334-5209.
Public hearings will be scheduled in the following communities
between January 16 and March 15, 2009. The dates, time, and locations
for these hearings will be announced to the public on the MMS Web site,
through the media, and by letters to the communities.
Kaktovik, Alaska; Wainwright, Alaska; Point Lay, Alaska; Point
Hope, Alaska; Barrow, Alaska; and Nuiqsut, Alaska.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Minerals Management Service, Alaska
OCS Region, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-
5820, Ms. Deborah Cranswick, telephone (907) 334-5267.
Dated: November 21, 2008.
Chris C. Oynes,
Associate Director for Offshore Energy and Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. E8-30246 Filed 12-18-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P
