Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Alaska Region (AK), Beaufort Sea Program Area, Proposed 2019 Beaufort Sea Oil and Gas Lease Sale, 57749-57751 [2018-24739]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 222 / Friday, November 16, 2018 / Notices Additional documentation has been received for the following resource: GEORGIA Glynn County Brunswick Old Town Historic District, Roughly bounded by 1st, Bay, New Bay, H and Cochran Sts., Brunswick, AD79000727 Nomination submitted by Federal Preservation Officers: The State Historic Preservation Officer reviewed the following nomination and responded to the Federal Preservation Officer within 45 days of receipt of the nomination and supports listing the property in the National Register of Historic Places. GEORGIA Laurens County Dublin Veterans Administration Hospital, (United States Third Generation Veterans Hospitals, 1946–1958 MPS), 1826 Veterans Blvd., Dublin, MP100003205 Authority: Section 60.13 of 36 CFR part 60 COLORADO Dodgeville Mill, 453 S Main St., Attleboro, SG100003220 BILLING CODE 4312–52–P Tobin’s Beach Site, Address Restricted, Brookfield vicinity, 86003808 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Tobin’s Beach Site (Boundary Increase), Address Restricted, Brookfield vicinity, BC100003227 [NPS–WASO–NRNHL–DTS#–26929; PPWOCRADI0, PCU00RP14.R50000] MICHIGAN National Register of Historic Places; Notification of Pending Nominations and Related Actions Grande Ballroom, 8952–8970 Grand River Ave., Detroit, SG100003226 National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. Bernalillo County Wayne County NEW MEXICO The National Park Service is soliciting comments on the significance of properties nominated before November 3, 2018, for listing or related actions in the National Register of Historic Places. DATES: Comments should be submitted by December 3, 2018. ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent via U.S. Postal Service and all other carriers to the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, 1849 C St. NW, MS 7228, Washington, DC 20240. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The properties listed in this notice are being considered for listing or related actions in the National Register of Historic Places. Nominations for their consideration were received by the National Park Service before November SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:19 Nov 15, 2018 Jkt 247001 Main Library, 501 Copper Ave. NW, Albuquerque, SG100003217 Roosevelt County Davis Mercantile, 4610 NM 206, Milnesand, SG100003218 Torrance County Willard Mercantile Company, 101 E Broadway, Mountainair, SG100003219 VERMONT Addison County Camp Marbury Historic District, (Organized Summer Camping in Vermont MPS), 243, 245 & 293 Mile Point Rd., Ferrisburgh, MP100003222 Franklin County Bridge Number VT105–10, (Metal Truss, Masonry, and Concrete Bridges in Vermont MPS), VT 105, Sheldon vicinity, MP100003224 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Additional documentation has been received for the following resource: AMERICAN SAMOA Eastern District U.S. Naval Station Tutuila Historic District, Between Togotogo Ridge and W side of Pago Pago Harbor, on waterfronts of Fagatogo and Utulei villages, Fagatogo and Utulei, AD90000854 Authority: Section 60.13 of 36 CFR part 60. Dated: November 5, 2018. Christopher Hetzel, Acting Chief, National Register of Historic Places/National Historic Landmarks Program. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Bristol County Worcester County AGENCY: Spokane County Coeur d’Alene Park, 2111 W 2nd Ave., Spokane, SG100003228 Mount Spokane Vista House, N 26107 Mt. Spokane Park Dr., Mead, SG100003229 BILLING CODE 4312–52–P Holmes, David Hull, House, 720 11th St., Boulder, SG100003225 [FR Doc. 2018–25035 Filed 11–15–18; 8:45 am] National Park Service WASHINGTON [FR Doc. 2018–25034 Filed 11–15–18; 8:45 am] Boulder County MASSACHUSETTS Dated: October 26, 2018. Christopher Hetzel, Acting Chief, National Register of Historic Places/National Historic Landmarks Program. amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES 3, 2018. Pursuant to Section 60.13 of 36 CFR part 60, written comments are being accepted concerning the significance of the nominated properties under the National Register criteria for evaluation. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Nominations submitted by State Historic Preservation Officers: 57749 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 [Docket No. BOEM–2018–0054] Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Alaska Region (AK), Beaufort Sea Program Area, Proposed 2019 Beaufort Sea Oil and Gas Lease Sale Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, announce the area identified for leasing, and hold public scoping meetings. AGENCY: Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed 2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area. The EIS will focus on the potential effects of leasing, exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas in the proposed lease sale area. In addition to the no action alternative (i.e., not holding the lease sale), other alternatives will be considered. Consistent with the regulations implementing the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), BOEM is also announcing the area recommended for leasing. DATES: Comments: All interested parties, including Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments, and the general public, may submit written comments by December 17, 2018 on the scope of SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\16NON1.SGM 16NON1 amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES 57750 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 222 / Friday, November 16, 2018 / Notices the 2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale EIS, significant issues, reasonable alternatives, potential mitigation measures, and the types of oil and gas activities of interest in the proposed lease sale area. Comments may be made on-line. Navigate to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket BOEM–2018– 0054, or ‘‘Oil and Gas Lease Sales: Alaska Outer Continental Shelf; 2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale’’, and click on the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ button. Enter your information and comment, and then click ‘‘Submit.’’ Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. ADDRESSES: Scoping Meetings: Pursuant to the regulations implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA, BOEM will hold public scoping meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to solicit comments on the scope of the 2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale EIS. All meetings will start at 7:00 p.m. and conclude at 9:00 p.m., and are scheduled as follows: • December 3, 2018, Barrow High School, Utqiag˙vik, Alaska; • December 4, 2018, Kisik Community Center, Nuiqsut, Alaska; • December 5, 2018, Community Center, Kaktovik, Alaska; and • December 6, 2018, Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center, Anchorage, Alaska. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the 2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale EIS, the submission of comments, or BOEM’s policies associated with this notice, please contact Sharon Randall, Chief of Environmental Analysis Section, BOEM, Alaska OCS Region, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, AK 99503, (907) 334–5200. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 4, 2018, the Secretary of the Interior released the 2019–2024 National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program. The Draft Proposed Program includes the proposed 2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale. The proposed lease sale area includes all available OCS blocks in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area. The Beaufort Sea Planning Area is located offshore of the State of Alaska and consists of 11,876 VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:19 Nov 15, 2018 Jkt 247001 whole and partial lease blocks covering roughly 26.2 million hectares (approximately 65 million acres) of the Beaufort Sea. To view the specifics of the area recommended for leasing, go to: https://www.boem.gov/beaufort2019. This Notice of Intent is not an announcement to hold a lease sale, but is a continuation of the information gathering process and is published early in the environmental review process in furtherance of the goals of NEPA. The comments received during scoping will help inform the content of the 2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale EIS. If, after completion of the EIS, the Department of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management chooses to hold the proposed lease sale, that decision and the details related to the lease sale (including the lease sale area and any mitigation) will be announced in a Record of Decision and Final Notice of Sale. Scoping Process: This Notice of Intent also serves to announce the scoping process for identifying key issues to be addressed in the 2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale EIS. Throughout the scoping process, Federal, State, Tribal and local governments, and the general public have the opportunity to provide input to BOEM in determining significant resources, issues, impacting factors, reasonable alternatives, and potential mitigation measures to be analyzed in the EIS. BOEM has developed and also seeks public input on the following draft alternatives: • Offshore Whaling Areas Alternative: This alternative is proposed to minimize conflicts between subsistence whaling practices and oil and gas activities. • Environmentally Important Areas Alternative: This alternative is proposed to reduce impacts to several known environmentally important areas (Barrow Canyon, Harrison Bay/Colville River Delta, the Bolder Patch, and Kaktovik). • Deepwater Exclusion Alternative: This alternative is proposed to focus the environmental analyses while offering leases in areas with the highest known resource potential. Maps and more details on each of these draft alternatives can be found at: https://www.boem.gov/beaufort2019. These draft alternatives are based on previous OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program and response to stakeholder comments made during the development of the 2019–2024 Draft Proposed Program (published January 8, 2018 (83 FR 829)). BOEM is proceeding in a manner that allows for maximum PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 flexibility in adapting these preliminary alternatives to future Program decisions. BOEM will consider additional alternatives, exclusion and/or mitigation suggestions identified during scoping meetings and the comment period initiated by this notice of intent in the preparation of the EIS. BOEM will use the NEPA commenting process to satisfy the public comment requirements of section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f), as provided for in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). Cooperating Agencies: BOEM invites qualified government entities such as other Federal agencies, State, Tribal, and local governments, to consider becoming cooperating agencies for the preparation of the 2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale EIS. Following the guidelines at 40 CFR 1501.6 and 1508.5 from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), qualified agencies and governments are those with ‘‘jurisdiction by law or special expertise.’’ Potential cooperating agencies should consider their authority and capacity to assume the responsibilities of a cooperating agency and remember that an agency’s role in the environmental analysis neither enlarges nor diminishes the final decision-making authority of any other agency involved in the NEPA process. Upon request, BOEM will provide potential cooperating agencies with a written summary of guidelines for cooperating agencies, including time schedules and critical action dates, milestones, responsibilities, scope and detail of cooperating agencies’ contributions, and availability of predecisional information. BOEM anticipates this summary will form the basis for a Memorandum of Understanding between BOEM and any cooperating agency. BOEM, as the lead agency, will not provide financial assistance to cooperating agencies. In addition to becoming a cooperating agency, other opportunities will exist to provide information and comments to BOEM during the public comment period for the EIS. For additional information about cooperating agencies, please contact Sharon Randall, Chief of Environmental Analysis Section, BOEM (907–334–5200). Authority: This notice of intent is published pursuant to the regulations at 40 CFR 1501.7 implementing the provisions of NEPA. E:\FR\FM\16NON1.SGM 16NON1 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 222 / Friday, November 16, 2018 / Notices Dated: November 7, 2018. Walter D. Cruickshank, Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. [FR Doc. 2018–24739 Filed 11–15–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET Draft Federal Grants Management Data Standards for Feedback Office of Management and Budget. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: In March 2018, the Office of Management and Budget launched the President’s Management Agenda (PMA). The PMA established a Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) goal titled: ‘‘ResultsOriented Accountability for Grants’’. This notice is meant to notify the public of the opportunity to provide input on proposed grants management common data standards that have been created in support of the Results-Oriented Accountability for Grants CAP goal. DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 15, 2019. ADDRESSES: Interested parties should provide comments at the following link: www.grantsfeedback.cfo.gov. All comments received may be posted without change, including any personal information provided. Do not submit confidential business information, trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be available to the public. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeannette M. Mandycz, Office of Federal Financial Management, OMB, Jeannette.M.Mandycz@omb.eop.gov, or 202–395–5009. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In March 2018, OMB launched the President’s Management Agenda (PMA). The PMA lays out a long-term vision for modernizing the Federal Government in key areas that will improve the ability of agencies to deliver mission outcomes, provide excellent service, and effectively steward taxpayer dollars on behalf of the American people. The PMA established a Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) goal titled ‘‘ResultsOriented Accountability for Grants’’ with the intent to rebalance grants compliance efforts with a focus on results for the American taxpayer; standardizing grant reporting data, and improving data collection in ways that will increase efficiency, promote evaluation, reduce reporting burden, and benefit the American taxpayer. amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:19 Nov 15, 2018 Jkt 247001 Additional details regarding the CAP goal can be found at: https:// www.performance.gov/CAP/CAP_goal_ 8.html. In order to bring grants management into the digital age and allow recipients to focus more time on performing work that delivers results, there is a need to develop and implement core grants management data standards and modernize grants management information technology solutions. In support of this goal, a draft of core grants management data standards have been developed and are now available for your review. Once finalized, the core grants management data standards will contribute to a future state where grants data are interoperable, there are fewer internal and public-facing grants management systems, and Federal awarding agencies and recipients can leverage data to successfully implement a risk-based, data-driven approach to managing Federal grants. A draft of the proposed grants management common data standards are available for your review and input at www.grantsfeedback.cfo.gov. The comment period will be open until January 15, 2019. Timothy F. Soltis, Deputy Controller. [FR Doc. 2018–24927 Filed 11–15–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3110–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2018–0176] Proposed Revisions to SRPs 2.3.3, Onsite Meteorological Measurements Program; 2.4.6, Tsunami Hazards; and 2.4.9, Channel Migration or Diversion Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Standard review plan—draft section revision; reopening of comment period. AGENCY: On September 28, 2018, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a request for public comment on draft NUREG–0800, ‘‘Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition,’’ Standard Review Plans (SPRs) 2.3.3, ‘‘Onsite Meteorological Measurements Program’’; 2.4.6, ‘‘Tsunami Hazards’’; and 2.4.9, ‘‘Channel Migration or Diversion.’’ The public comment period was originally scheduled to close on October 29, 2018. The NRC has decided to reopen the public comment period on these documents for 30 days to allow SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 57751 more time for members of the public to develop and submit comments. DATES: The comment period for the document published on September 28, 2018 (83 FR 49132) has been reopened. Comments must be filed no later than December 17, 2018. Comments received after this date will be considered, if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2018–0176. Address any questions about NRC Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301–287–9127; email: Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. • Mail comments to: May Ma, Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN 7 A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001. For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see ‘‘Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark D. Notich, Office of New Reactors, telephone: 301–415–3053; email: Mark.Notich@nrc.gov; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments A. Obtaining Information Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2018– 0176 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publiclyavailable information related to this action by any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2018–0176. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ adams.html. To begin the search, select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301– 415–4737, or by email to E:\FR\FM\16NON1.SGM 16NON1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 222 (Friday, November 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57749-57751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24739]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2018-0054]


Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Alaska Region (AK), Beaufort Sea 
Program Area, Proposed 2019 Beaufort Sea Oil and Gas Lease Sale

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, 
announce the area identified for leasing, and hold public scoping 
meetings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Consistent with the regulations implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 
(BOEM) is announcing its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the proposed 2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale in the 
Beaufort Sea Planning Area. The EIS will focus on the potential effects 
of leasing, exploration, development, and production of oil and natural 
gas in the proposed lease sale area. In addition to the no action 
alternative (i.e., not holding the lease sale), other alternatives will 
be considered. Consistent with the regulations implementing the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), BOEM is also announcing the area 
recommended for leasing.

DATES: Comments: All interested parties, including Federal, State, 
Tribal, and local governments, and the general public, may submit 
written comments by December 17, 2018 on the scope of

[[Page 57750]]

the 2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale EIS, significant issues, reasonable 
alternatives, potential mitigation measures, and the types of oil and 
gas activities of interest in the proposed lease sale area.
    Comments may be made on-line. Navigate to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket BOEM-2018-0054, or ``Oil and 
Gas Lease Sales: Alaska Outer Continental Shelf; 2019 Beaufort Sea 
Lease Sale'', and click on the ``Comment Now!'' button. Enter your 
information and comment, and then click ``Submit.'' Before including 
your address, phone number, email address, or other personal 
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your 
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public 
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

ADDRESSES: Scoping Meetings: Pursuant to the regulations implementing 
the procedural provisions of NEPA, BOEM will hold public scoping 
meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to solicit comments on the 
scope of the 2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale EIS. All meetings will start 
at 7:00 p.m. and conclude at 9:00 p.m., and are scheduled as follows:
     December 3, 2018, Barrow High School, Utqia[gdot]vik, 
Alaska;
     December 4, 2018, Kisik Community Center, Nuiqsut, Alaska;
     December 5, 2018, Community Center, Kaktovik, Alaska; and
     December 6, 2018, Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center, 
Anchorage, Alaska.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the 2019 Beaufort 
Sea Lease Sale EIS, the submission of comments, or BOEM's policies 
associated with this notice, please contact Sharon Randall, Chief of 
Environmental Analysis Section, BOEM, Alaska OCS Region, 3801 
Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, AK 99503, (907) 334-5200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 4, 2018, the Secretary of the 
Interior released the 2019-2024 National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Draft 
Proposed Program. The Draft Proposed Program includes the proposed 2019 
Beaufort Sea Lease Sale.
    The proposed lease sale area includes all available OCS blocks in 
the Beaufort Sea Planning Area. The Beaufort Sea Planning Area is 
located offshore of the State of Alaska and consists of 11,876 whole 
and partial lease blocks covering roughly 26.2 million hectares 
(approximately 65 million acres) of the Beaufort Sea. To view the 
specifics of the area recommended for leasing, go to: https://www.boem.gov/beaufort2019.
    This Notice of Intent is not an announcement to hold a lease sale, 
but is a continuation of the information gathering process and is 
published early in the environmental review process in furtherance of 
the goals of NEPA. The comments received during scoping will help 
inform the content of the 2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale EIS. If, after 
completion of the EIS, the Department of the Interior's Assistant 
Secretary for Land and Minerals Management chooses to hold the proposed 
lease sale, that decision and the details related to the lease sale 
(including the lease sale area and any mitigation) will be announced in 
a Record of Decision and Final Notice of Sale.
    Scoping Process: This Notice of Intent also serves to announce the 
scoping process for identifying key issues to be addressed in the 2019 
Beaufort Sea Lease Sale EIS. Throughout the scoping process, Federal, 
State, Tribal and local governments, and the general public have the 
opportunity to provide input to BOEM in determining significant 
resources, issues, impacting factors, reasonable alternatives, and 
potential mitigation measures to be analyzed in the EIS.
    BOEM has developed and also seeks public input on the following 
draft alternatives:
     Offshore Whaling Areas Alternative: This alternative is 
proposed to minimize conflicts between subsistence whaling practices 
and oil and gas activities.
     Environmentally Important Areas Alternative: This 
alternative is proposed to reduce impacts to several known 
environmentally important areas (Barrow Canyon, Harrison Bay/Colville 
River Delta, the Bolder Patch, and Kaktovik).
     Deepwater Exclusion Alternative: This alternative is 
proposed to focus the environmental analyses while offering leases in 
areas with the highest known resource potential.
    Maps and more details on each of these draft alternatives can be 
found at: https://www.boem.gov/beaufort2019.
    These draft alternatives are based on previous OCS Oil and Gas 
Leasing Program and response to stakeholder comments made during the 
development of the 2019-2024 Draft Proposed Program (published January 
8, 2018 (83 FR 829)). BOEM is proceeding in a manner that allows for 
maximum flexibility in adapting these preliminary alternatives to 
future Program decisions.
    BOEM will consider additional alternatives, exclusion and/or 
mitigation suggestions identified during scoping meetings and the 
comment period initiated by this notice of intent in the preparation of 
the EIS.
    BOEM will use the NEPA commenting process to satisfy the public 
comment requirements of section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f), as provided for in 36 CFR 
800.2(d)(3).
    Cooperating Agencies: BOEM invites qualified government entities 
such as other Federal agencies, State, Tribal, and local governments, 
to consider becoming cooperating agencies for the preparation of the 
2019 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale EIS. Following the guidelines at 40 CFR 
1501.6 and 1508.5 from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), 
qualified agencies and governments are those with ``jurisdiction by law 
or special expertise.'' Potential cooperating agencies should consider 
their authority and capacity to assume the responsibilities of a 
cooperating agency and remember that an agency's role in the 
environmental analysis neither enlarges nor diminishes the final 
decision-making authority of any other agency involved in the NEPA 
process. Upon request, BOEM will provide potential cooperating agencies 
with a written summary of guidelines for cooperating agencies, 
including time schedules and critical action dates, milestones, 
responsibilities, scope and detail of cooperating agencies' 
contributions, and availability of predecisional information. BOEM 
anticipates this summary will form the basis for a Memorandum of 
Understanding between BOEM and any cooperating agency. BOEM, as the 
lead agency, will not provide financial assistance to cooperating 
agencies. In addition to becoming a cooperating agency, other 
opportunities will exist to provide information and comments to BOEM 
during the public comment period for the EIS. For additional 
information about cooperating agencies, please contact Sharon Randall, 
Chief of Environmental Analysis Section, BOEM (907-334-5200).

    Authority: This notice of intent is published pursuant to the 
regulations at 40 CFR 1501.7 implementing the provisions of NEPA.


[[Page 57751]]


    Dated: November 7, 2018.
Walter D. Cruickshank,
Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2018-24739 Filed 11-15-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P
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