Notice of Availability of the Willow Master Development Plan Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Alaska, 45801 [2019-18839]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 169 (Friday, August 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 45801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18839]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[19X.LLAK930100 L510100000.ER0000]


Notice of Availability of the Willow Master Development Plan 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Alaska

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Willow Master 
Development Plan (MDP) and by this notice is announcing the opening of 
the comment period. The BLM is also announcing that it will be holding 
public meetings on the Willow MDP Draft EIS and a subsistence-related 
hearing to receive comments on the Willow MDP Draft EIS and the 
proposed project's potential to impact subsistence resources and 
activities.

DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Willow MDP Draft EIS within 45 days following 
the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of 
Availability of the Draft EIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will 
hold public meetings in: Anaktuvuk Pass, Anchorage, Atqasuk, Fairbanks, 
Nuiqsut, Utqiagvik, Alaska. The dates, times, and locations of the 
meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through public 
notices, media releases, and mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Willow MDP Draft EIS 
by any of the following methods:
     Website: https://www.blm.gov/alaska/WillowEIS.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Willow DEIS Comments, BLM Alaska State Office, 222 W 
7th Avenue #13, Anchorage, AK 99513.
     Hand Deliver comments to: BLM Alaska State Office, 222 W 
7th Ave. #13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Racheal Jones, Willow EIS Project 
Manager, telephone: 907-290-0307; address: 222 West 7th Avenue, #13, 
Anchorage, Alaska 99513. You may also request to be added to the 
mailing list for the EIS. Documents pertaining to the Draft EIS may be 
examined at https://www.blm.gov/alaska/WillowEIS or at the BLM Alaska 
State Office, BLM Alaska Public Information Center (Public Room), 222 
West 7th Avenue (First Floor), Anchorage, Alaska or the Arctic District 
Office, 222 University Avenue, Fairbanks, Alaska.
    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. The 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 Bureau of Land Management prepared the 
Willow MDP Draft EIS in response to a letter submitted by 
ConocoPhillips on May 10, 2018. ConocoPhillips requested the 
development of the Willow prospect through a MDP EIS. The letter, 
available on the project website, includes a description of the 
foreseeable infrastructure and activity associated with the proposed 
Willow prospect development. Analyzing the entire proposed Willow 
development in a single MDP EIS allows the BLM to make determinations 
of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) adequacy when individual 
applications for permits to drill or rights-of-way are submitted. The 
MDP includes up to five drill sites, a central processing facility, an 
operations center pad, up to 38.2 miles of gravel roads, up to 924.2 
miles of ice roads during construction and up to 215.6 total miles of 
resupply ice roads during operations, 1 to 2 airstrips, up to 337 miles 
of pipelines, and a gravel mine site. In addition, the Proponent would 
submit applications to the State of Alaska for a module transfer island 
on State submerged lands to support module delivery via sealift barges.
    Actions on both state and federal lands are considered in the Draft 
EIS. The Willow MDP would have a peak production of up to 130,000 
barrels of oil per day over its 30-year life (producing approximately 
590 million barrels of oil) and would help offset declines in 
production from the North Slope oil fields and contribute to the local, 
state, and national economies.
    The purpose of the public comment period is to inform the public of 
the availability of the Willow MDP Draft EIS and solicit comments from 
the public. Information received during the public comment period will 
be used to develop the Final EIS. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information, be 
advised that your entire comment, including your identifying 
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you may 
ask us in your comments to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.
    The BLM has worked with interested parties to develop a proposed 
action and alternatives consistent with the following criteria:
     The proposed project submitted by ConocoPhillips Alaska, 
Inc.;
     Issues identified during public scoping, impacts and 
potential alternatives to be addressed; and
     Subsistence resources and users, as well as potential 
actions to minimize adverse impacts to subsistence in accordance with 
section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 
(ANILCA).
    Section 810 of ANILCA requires the BLM to evaluate the effects of 
the alternatives presented in the Willow MDP Draft EIS on subsistence 
activities, and to hold public hearings if it finds that any 
alternatives may significantly restrict subsistence users. The 
preliminary evaluation of subsistence impact indicates that the 
alternatives analyzed in the Willow MDP Draft EIS and the associated 
cumulative impacts may significantly restrict subsistence uses for the 
community of Nuiqsut. Therefore, the BLM will hold a public hearing on 
subsistence resources and activities in Nuiqsut, Alaska.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6(b).

Chad B. Padgett,
State Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 2019-18839 Filed 8-29-19; 8:45 am]
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