Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Oil and Gas Lease Sale 257, 50160-50162 [2021-19174]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 170 / Tuesday, September 7, 2021 / Notices
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Total Estimated Annual Non-Hour
Burden Cost: $45.
The BLM may not conduct or sponsor
and, notwithstanding any other
provision of law, a person is not
required to respond to a collection of
information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
The authority for this action is the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Darrin King,
Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021–19172 Filed 9–3–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–84–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[L14400000 PN0000 HQ350000 212; OMB
Control No. 1004–0029]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Color-of-Title Application
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) proposes to renew an information
collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before October
7, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
Information Collection Request (ICR)
should be sent within 30 days of
publication of this notice to
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
Find this particular information
collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under
30-day Review—Open for Public
Comments’’ or by using the search
function.
SUMMARY:
To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Susie Greenhalgh by
email at lgreenhalgh@blm.gov, or by
telephone at 202–302–4288. Individuals
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may call the Federal Relay Service at 1–
800–877–8339 for TTY assistance. You
may also view the ICR at https://
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the PRA, 44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq. and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), we
provide the general public and other
Federal agencies with an opportunity to
comment on new, proposed, revised,
sradovich on DSKJLST7X2PROD with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
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and continuing collections of
information. This helps us assess the
impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public’s
reporting burden. It also helps the
public understand our information
collection requirements and provide the
requested data in the desired format.
A Federal Register notice with a 60day public comment period soliciting
comments on this collection of
information was published on May 18,
2021 (86 FR 26939). No comments were
received.
As part of our continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we are again soliciting
comments from the public and other
Federal agencies on the proposed ICR
that is described below. We are
especially interested in public comment
addressing the following:
(1) Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether or not the
information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the
burden for this collection of
information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) How might the agency minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of response.
Comments that you submit in
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you can ask us in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying
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cannot guarantee that we will be able to
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Abstract: The BLM collects and uses
the information to determine the
validity of a claim under the Color-ofTitle Act. The following forms comprise
an application in support of a Color-ofTitle claim: (a) 2540–001, Color-of-Title
Application; (b) 2540–002, Conveyances
Affecting Color or Claim of Title; and (c)
2540–003, Color-of-Title Tax Levy and
Payment Record. OMB control number
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October 31, 2021. This request is for
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Title of Collection: Color-of-Title
Application (43 CFR subparts 2540 and
2541).
OMB Control Number: 1004–0029.
Form Numbers: 2540–001; 2540–002,
and 2540–003.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public:
Individuals, groups, or corporations that
wish to claim title to a tract of public
land on grounds that such land has been
held in good faith and in peaceful,
adverse possession under claim or color
of title, and have placed valuable
improvements on such land or some
part thereof has been reduced to
cultivation for an amount of time
sufficient under the Color-of-Title Act,
43 U.S.C. 1068, et seq.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
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Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 8.
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Burden Hours: 24.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour
Burden Cost: $80.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor and, notwithstanding any other
provision of law, a person is not
required to respond to a collection of
information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
The authority for this action is the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Darrin King,
Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021–19173 Filed 9–3–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–84–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM–2021–0001]
Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS), Oil and Gas Lease Sale 257
Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a record
of decision.
AGENCY:
The Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM) is announcing the
availability of a Record of Decision for
proposed Gulf of Mexico (GOM)
SUMMARY:
07SEN1
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 170 / Tuesday, September 7, 2021 / Notices
regionwide oil and gas Lease Sale 257.
This Record of Decision identifies
BOEM’s selected alternative for
proposed Lease Sale 257, which is
analyzed in the Gulf of Mexico OCS
Lease Sale: Final Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement 2018
(2018 GOM Supplemental EIS).
ADDRESSES: The Record of Decision is
available on BOEM’s website at https://
www.boem.gov/nepaprocess/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
more information on the Record of
Decision, you may contact Dr. Arie
Kaller, Regional Supervisor, Office of
the Environment, by telephone at 504–
736–2983, or by email at arie.kaller@
boem.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the Gulf
of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales:
2017–2022; Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales
249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 256, 257,
259, and 261—Final Multisale
Environmental Impact Statement and
2018 GOM Supplemental EIS, BOEM
evaluated five alternatives for proposed
Lease Sale 257. We have summarized
these alternatives below, noting some
additional blocks that may be excluded
due to their lease status at the time of
this decision:
Alternative A—Regionwide Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Sale:
This is BOEM’s preferred alternative.
This alternative would allow for a
proposed GOM regionwide lease sale
encompassing all three planning areas:
Western Planning Area (WPA); Central
Planning Area (CPA); and a small
portion of the Eastern Planning Area
(EPA) not under congressional
moratorium. Under this alternative,
BOEM would offer for lease all
available, unleased blocks within the
proposed regionwide lease sale area for
oil and gas operations with the
following exceptions: whole and
portions of blocks deferred by the Gulf
of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006;
blocks that are adjacent to or beyond the
United States Exclusive Economic Zone
in the area known as the northern
portion of the Eastern Gap; whole and
partial blocks within the boundary of
the Flower Garden Banks National
Marine Sanctuary as of the July 2008
Memorandum on Withdrawal of Certain
Areas of US OCS from Leasing
Disposition; depth-restricted, segregated
portions of Block 299, Main Pass Area,
South and East Addition (Louisiana
Leasing Map LA10A); blocks where the
lease status is currently under appeal;
and whole or partial blocks that have
received bids in previous lease sales,
where the bidder has sought
reconsideration of BOEM’s rejection of
their bid, unless the reconsideration
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request is fully resolved at least 30 days
prior to the publication of the Final
Notice of Sale. We will list the
unavailable blocks in Section I of the
Final Notice of Sale for proposed Lease
Sale 257, which will be available on
www.boem.gov/Sale-257 once it is
published. The proposed lease sale area
encompasses about 91.93 million acres
(ac), with approximately 80.8 million ac
available for lease. As described in the
2018 GOM Supplemental EIS, the
estimated amounts of resources
projected to be leased, discovered,
developed, and produced as a result of
the proposed regionwide lease sale are
between 0.211 and 1.118 billion barrels
of oil (BBO) and 0.547 and 4.424 trillion
cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas.
Alternative B—Regionwide OCS Lease
Sale Excluding Available, Unleased
Blocks in the WPA Portion of the
Proposed Lease Sale Area: This
alternative would offer for lease all
available, unleased blocks within the
CPA and EPA portions of the proposed
lease sale area for oil and gas operations,
with the following exceptions: Whole
and portions of blocks deferred by the
Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of
2006; blocks that are adjacent to or
beyond the United States Exclusive
Economic Zone in the area known as the
northern portion of the Eastern Gap;
depth-restricted, segregated portions of
Block 299, Main Pass Area, South and
East Addition (Louisiana Leasing Map
LA10A); blocks where the lease status is
currently under appeal; and whole or
partial blocks that have received bids in
previous lease sales, where the bidder
has sought reconsideration of BOEM’s
rejection of their bid, unless the
reconsideration request is fully resolved
at least 30 days prior to publication of
the Final Notice of Sale. The proposed
CPA/EPA lease sale area encompasses
about 63.35 million ac, with
approximately 53 million ac available
for lease. The estimated amounts of
resources projected to be leased,
discovered, developed, and produced as
a result of the proposed lease sale under
Alternative B are 0.185–0.970 BBO and
0.441–3.672 Tcf of gas.
Alternative C—Regionwide OCS Lease
Sale Excluding Available, Unleased
Blocks in the CPA and EPA Portions of
the Proposed Lease Sale Area: This
alternative would offer for lease all
available, unleased blocks within the
WPA portion of the proposed lease sale
area for oil and gas operations, with the
following exceptions: Whole and partial
blocks within the boundary of the
Flower Garden Banks National Marine
Sanctuary as of the July 2008
Memorandum on Withdrawal of Certain
Areas of US OCS from Leasing
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50161
Disposition; blocks where the lease
status is currently under appeal; and
whole or partial blocks that have
received bids in previous lease sales,
where the bidder has sought
reconsideration of BOEM’s rejection of
their bid, unless the reconsideration
request is fully resolved at least 30 days
prior to publication of the Final Notice
of Sale. The proposed WPA lease sale
area encompasses about 28.58 million
ac, with approximately 26.9 million ac
available for lease. The estimated
amounts of resources projected to be
leased, discovered, developed, and
produced as a result of the proposed
lease sale under Alternative C are
0.026–0.148 BBO and 0.106–0.752 Tcf
of gas.
Alternative D—Alternative A, B, or C,
with the Option to Exclude Available,
Unleased Blocks Subject to the
Topographic Features, Live Bottom
(Pinnacle Trend), and/or Blocks South
of Baldwin County, Alabama,
Stipulations: This alternative could be
combined with any of the action
alternatives above (i.e., Alternative A, B,
or C) and would allow the flexibility to
offer leases under any alternative with
additional exclusions. Under
Alternative D, the decisionmaker could
exclude from leasing any available,
unleased blocks in Alternative A subject
to any one or a combination of the
following stipulations: Topographic
Features Stipulation; Live Bottom
Stipulation; and Blocks South of
Baldwin County, Alabama, Stipulation
(not applicable to Alternative C). This
alternative considered blocks subject to
these stipulations because these areas
have been emphasized in scoping, can
be geographically defined, and adequate
information exists regarding their
ecological importance and sensitivity to
OCS oil- and gas-related activities.
A total of 207 blocks within the CPA
and 160 blocks in the WPA are affected
by the Topographic Features
Stipulation. There are currently no
identified topographic features
protected under this stipulation in the
EPA. The Live Bottom Stipulation
covers the pinnacle trend area of the
CPA, affecting a total of 74 blocks.
Alternative E—No Action: This
alternative is not holding proposed
regionwide Lease Sale 257 and is
identified as the environmentally
preferred alternative. Alternative E was
not selected because, if it were, revenue
would not be collected by the Federal
Government nor subsequently disbursed
to the States. If the proposed GOM
region-wide lease sale were not held,
the overall near-term level of OCS oil
and gas-related activity in the region
would be reduced. However, not
07SEN1
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50162
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 170 / Tuesday, September 7, 2021 / Notices
holding a single lease sale would not
significantly change the overall activity
levels in the GOM (i.e., on blocks leased
in previous lease sales) and the
associated environmental impacts in the
near term.
Lease Stipulations—Ten lease
stipulations have been adopted for
Lease Sale 257. The 2018 GOM
Supplemental EIS describes these 10
lease stipulations, which will be
included in the Final Notice of Sale
Package.
In the Record of Decision for the
2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil
and Gas Leasing: Proposed Final
Program, the Secretary of the Interior
required the protection of biologically
sensitive underwater features in all Gulf
of Mexico oil and gas lease sales as
programmatic mitigation; therefore,
BOEM is adopting the Topographic
Features Stipulation and Live Bottom
Stipulation and applying them to
designated lease blocks in proposed
Lease Sale 257.
The additional eight lease stipulations
considered for proposed regionwide
Lease Sale 257 are the Military Areas
Stipulation; the Evacuation Stipulation;
the Coordination Stipulation; the Blocks
South of Baldwin County, Alabama,
Stipulation; the Protected Species
Stipulation; the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea
Royalty Payment Stipulation; the Below
Seabed Operations Stipulation; and the
Stipulation on the Agreement between
the United States of America and the
United Mexican States Concerning
Transboundary Hydrocarbon Reservoirs
in the Gulf of Mexico. The Protected
Species Stipulation has been updated
due to the completion of the
Endangered Species Act consultation
with the National Marine Fisheries
Service and the issuance of a Biological
Opinion in March 2020, addressing OCS
oil- and gas-related activities in the Gulf
of Mexico, including this lease sale. As
noted, BOEM is adopting these ten
stipulations as lease terms where
applicable and they are enforceable as
part of the lease.
Further, Appendix B of the Gulf of
Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales:
2017–2022; Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales
249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 256, 257,
259, and 261—Final Multisale
Environmental Impact Statement
provides a list and description of
standard post-lease conditions of
approval that BOEM or the Bureau of
Safety and Environmental Enforcement
may require as a result of their plan and
permit review processes for the Gulf of
Mexico OCS region.
After careful consideration, BOEM
selected the preferred alternative
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(Alternative A) from the 2018 GOM
Supplemental EIS, with certain
additional blocks excluded due to their
status, for proposed Lease Sale 257.
BOEM is also adopting 10 lease
stipulations and all practicable means of
mitigation at the lease sale stage. The
preferred alternative meets the purpose
of and need for the proposed action, as
identified in the 2018 GOM
Supplemental EIS, and provides for
orderly resource development with
protection of human, marine, and
coastal environments while also
ensuring that the public receives a fair
market value for these resources and
that free-market competition is
maintained.
Authority: This Notice of Availability
of a Record of Decision is published
pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR part
1505) implementing the provisions of
the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.).
Amanda Lefton,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management.
[FR Doc. 2021–19174 Filed 9–3–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement
[Docket ID BSEE–2020–0008; EEEE500000
21XE1700DX EX1SF0000.EAQ000; OMB
Control Number 1014–0021]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget for Review
and Approval; Operations in the Outer
Continental Shelf for Minerals Other
Than Oil, Gas, and Sulphur
Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of
1995, the Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)
proposes to renew an information
collection.
SUMMARY:
Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before October
7, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
DATES:
PO 00000
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‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open
for Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function. Please provide a copy
of your comments to Kye Mason, BSEE
ICCO, 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling,
VA 20166; or by email to kye.mason@
bsee.gov. Please reference OMB Control
Number 1014–0021 in the subject line of
your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Kye Mason by email at
kye.mason@bsee.gov, or by telephone at
(703) 787–1607. You may also view the
ICR at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/
do/PRAMain.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the PRA and 5 CFR
1320.8(d)(1), we provide the general
public and other Federal agencies with
an opportunity to comment on new,
proposed, revised, and continuing
collections of information. This helps us
assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize
the public’s reporting burden. It also
helps the public understand our
information collection requirements and
provide the requested data in the
desired format.
A Federal Register notice with a 60day public comment period soliciting
comments on this collection of
information was published on August
24, 2020, (85 FR 52146). We received
one comment in response to this
Federal Register notice, but it was not
germane to the collection.
As part of our continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we are again soliciting
comments from the public and other
Federal agencies on the proposed ICR
that is described below. We are
especially interested in public comment
addressing the following:
(1) Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether or not the
information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the
burden for this collection of
information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) How might the agency minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of response.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
07SEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50160-50162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19174]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM-2021-0001]
Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Oil and Gas Lease
Sale 257
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a record of decision.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing the
availability of a Record of Decision for proposed Gulf of Mexico (GOM)
[[Page 50161]]
regionwide oil and gas Lease Sale 257. This Record of Decision
identifies BOEM's selected alternative for proposed Lease Sale 257,
which is analyzed in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Lease Sale: Final
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 2018 (2018 GOM Supplemental
EIS).
ADDRESSES: The Record of Decision is available on BOEM's website at
https://www.boem.gov/nepaprocess/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information on the Record of
Decision, you may contact Dr. Arie Kaller, Regional Supervisor, Office
of the Environment, by telephone at 504-736-2983, or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease
Sales: 2017-2022; Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales 249, 250, 251, 252, 253,
254, 256, 257, 259, and 261--Final Multisale Environmental Impact
Statement and 2018 GOM Supplemental EIS, BOEM evaluated five
alternatives for proposed Lease Sale 257. We have summarized these
alternatives below, noting some additional blocks that may be excluded
due to their lease status at the time of this decision:
Alternative A--Regionwide Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Sale:
This is BOEM's preferred alternative. This alternative would allow for
a proposed GOM regionwide lease sale encompassing all three planning
areas: Western Planning Area (WPA); Central Planning Area (CPA); and a
small portion of the Eastern Planning Area (EPA) not under
congressional moratorium. Under this alternative, BOEM would offer for
lease all available, unleased blocks within the proposed regionwide
lease sale area for oil and gas operations with the following
exceptions: whole and portions of blocks deferred by the Gulf of Mexico
Energy Security Act of 2006; blocks that are adjacent to or beyond the
United States Exclusive Economic Zone in the area known as the northern
portion of the Eastern Gap; whole and partial blocks within the
boundary of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary as of the
July 2008 Memorandum on Withdrawal of Certain Areas of US OCS from
Leasing Disposition; depth-restricted, segregated portions of Block
299, Main Pass Area, South and East Addition (Louisiana Leasing Map
LA10A); blocks where the lease status is currently under appeal; and
whole or partial blocks that have received bids in previous lease
sales, where the bidder has sought reconsideration of BOEM's rejection
of their bid, unless the reconsideration request is fully resolved at
least 30 days prior to the publication of the Final Notice of Sale. We
will list the unavailable blocks in Section I of the Final Notice of
Sale for proposed Lease Sale 257, which will be available on
www.boem.gov/Sale-257 once it is published. The proposed lease sale
area encompasses about 91.93 million acres (ac), with approximately
80.8 million ac available for lease. As described in the 2018 GOM
Supplemental EIS, the estimated amounts of resources projected to be
leased, discovered, developed, and produced as a result of the proposed
regionwide lease sale are between 0.211 and 1.118 billion barrels of
oil (BBO) and 0.547 and 4.424 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas.
Alternative B--Regionwide OCS Lease Sale Excluding Available,
Unleased Blocks in the WPA Portion of the Proposed Lease Sale Area:
This alternative would offer for lease all available, unleased blocks
within the CPA and EPA portions of the proposed lease sale area for oil
and gas operations, with the following exceptions: Whole and portions
of blocks deferred by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006;
blocks that are adjacent to or beyond the United States Exclusive
Economic Zone in the area known as the northern portion of the Eastern
Gap; depth-restricted, segregated portions of Block 299, Main Pass
Area, South and East Addition (Louisiana Leasing Map LA10A); blocks
where the lease status is currently under appeal; and whole or partial
blocks that have received bids in previous lease sales, where the
bidder has sought reconsideration of BOEM's rejection of their bid,
unless the reconsideration request is fully resolved at least 30 days
prior to publication of the Final Notice of Sale. The proposed CPA/EPA
lease sale area encompasses about 63.35 million ac, with approximately
53 million ac available for lease. The estimated amounts of resources
projected to be leased, discovered, developed, and produced as a result
of the proposed lease sale under Alternative B are 0.185-0.970 BBO and
0.441-3.672 Tcf of gas.
Alternative C--Regionwide OCS Lease Sale Excluding Available,
Unleased Blocks in the CPA and EPA Portions of the Proposed Lease Sale
Area: This alternative would offer for lease all available, unleased
blocks within the WPA portion of the proposed lease sale area for oil
and gas operations, with the following exceptions: Whole and partial
blocks within the boundary of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine
Sanctuary as of the July 2008 Memorandum on Withdrawal of Certain Areas
of US OCS from Leasing Disposition; blocks where the lease status is
currently under appeal; and whole or partial blocks that have received
bids in previous lease sales, where the bidder has sought
reconsideration of BOEM's rejection of their bid, unless the
reconsideration request is fully resolved at least 30 days prior to
publication of the Final Notice of Sale. The proposed WPA lease sale
area encompasses about 28.58 million ac, with approximately 26.9
million ac available for lease. The estimated amounts of resources
projected to be leased, discovered, developed, and produced as a result
of the proposed lease sale under Alternative C are 0.026-0.148 BBO and
0.106-0.752 Tcf of gas.
Alternative D--Alternative A, B, or C, with the Option to Exclude
Available, Unleased Blocks Subject to the Topographic Features, Live
Bottom (Pinnacle Trend), and/or Blocks South of Baldwin County,
Alabama, Stipulations: This alternative could be combined with any of
the action alternatives above (i.e., Alternative A, B, or C) and would
allow the flexibility to offer leases under any alternative with
additional exclusions. Under Alternative D, the decisionmaker could
exclude from leasing any available, unleased blocks in Alternative A
subject to any one or a combination of the following stipulations:
Topographic Features Stipulation; Live Bottom Stipulation; and Blocks
South of Baldwin County, Alabama, Stipulation (not applicable to
Alternative C). This alternative considered blocks subject to these
stipulations because these areas have been emphasized in scoping, can
be geographically defined, and adequate information exists regarding
their ecological importance and sensitivity to OCS oil- and gas-related
activities.
A total of 207 blocks within the CPA and 160 blocks in the WPA are
affected by the Topographic Features Stipulation. There are currently
no identified topographic features protected under this stipulation in
the EPA. The Live Bottom Stipulation covers the pinnacle trend area of
the CPA, affecting a total of 74 blocks.
Alternative E--No Action: This alternative is not holding proposed
regionwide Lease Sale 257 and is identified as the environmentally
preferred alternative. Alternative E was not selected because, if it
were, revenue would not be collected by the Federal Government nor
subsequently disbursed to the States. If the proposed GOM region-wide
lease sale were not held, the overall near-term level of OCS oil and
gas-related activity in the region would be reduced. However, not
[[Page 50162]]
holding a single lease sale would not significantly change the overall
activity levels in the GOM (i.e., on blocks leased in previous lease
sales) and the associated environmental impacts in the near term.
Lease Stipulations--Ten lease stipulations have been adopted for
Lease Sale 257. The 2018 GOM Supplemental EIS describes these 10 lease
stipulations, which will be included in the Final Notice of Sale
Package.
In the Record of Decision for the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf
Oil and Gas Leasing: Proposed Final Program, the Secretary of the
Interior required the protection of biologically sensitive underwater
features in all Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sales as programmatic
mitigation; therefore, BOEM is adopting the Topographic Features
Stipulation and Live Bottom Stipulation and applying them to designated
lease blocks in proposed Lease Sale 257.
The additional eight lease stipulations considered for proposed
regionwide Lease Sale 257 are the Military Areas Stipulation; the
Evacuation Stipulation; the Coordination Stipulation; the Blocks South
of Baldwin County, Alabama, Stipulation; the Protected Species
Stipulation; the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
Royalty Payment Stipulation; the Below Seabed Operations Stipulation;
and the Stipulation on the Agreement between the United States of
America and the United Mexican States Concerning Transboundary
Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico. The Protected Species
Stipulation has been updated due to the completion of the Endangered
Species Act consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service and
the issuance of a Biological Opinion in March 2020, addressing OCS oil-
and gas-related activities in the Gulf of Mexico, including this lease
sale. As noted, BOEM is adopting these ten stipulations as lease terms
where applicable and they are enforceable as part of the lease.
Further, Appendix B of the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease
Sales: 2017-2022; Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales 249, 250, 251, 252, 253,
254, 256, 257, 259, and 261--Final Multisale Environmental Impact
Statement provides a list and description of standard post-lease
conditions of approval that BOEM or the Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement may require as a result of their plan and
permit review processes for the Gulf of Mexico OCS region.
After careful consideration, BOEM selected the preferred
alternative (Alternative A) from the 2018 GOM Supplemental EIS, with
certain additional blocks excluded due to their status, for proposed
Lease Sale 257. BOEM is also adopting 10 lease stipulations and all
practicable means of mitigation at the lease sale stage. The preferred
alternative meets the purpose of and need for the proposed action, as
identified in the 2018 GOM Supplemental EIS, and provides for orderly
resource development with protection of human, marine, and coastal
environments while also ensuring that the public receives a fair market
value for these resources and that free-market competition is
maintained.
Authority: This Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision is
published pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR part 1505) implementing
the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Amanda Lefton,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2021-19174 Filed 9-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P
