Bureau of Ocean Energy Management July 16, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) (NEPA), BOEM is announcing its intent to prepare a Supplemental EIS for proposed WPA lease sales beginning with Lease Sale 238 (WPA Lease Sales 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental EIS). Lease Sale 238 is the next proposed lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico's WPA off the States of Texas and Louisiana. The WPA Lease Sales 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental EIS will update the environmental and socioeconomic analyses in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2012-2017; Western Planning Area Lease Sales 229, 233, 238, 246, and 248; Central Planning Area (CPA) Lease Sales 227, 231, 235, 241, and 247, Final Environmental Impact Statement (OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2012-019) (WPA/CPA Multisale EIS) and the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2013-2014; Western Planning Area Lease Sale 233; Central Planning Area Lease Sale 231-Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2013-0118) (WPA 233/CPA 231 Supplemental EIS). The WPA/CPA Multisale EIS was completed in July 2012. The WPA 233/CPA 231 Supplemental EIS was completed in April 2013. A Supplemental EIS is deemed appropriate to supplement the NEPA documents cited above for these lease sales in order to consider possible new circumstances and information arising from, among other things, the Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil spill, and response. The WPA Lease Sales 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental EIS analysis will focus on updating the baseline conditions and potential environmental effects of oil and natural gas leasing, exploration, development, and production in the WPA. The WPA Lease Sales 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental EIS analysis will focus on the potential environmental effects of oil and natural gas leasing, exploration, development, and production in the WPA identified through the Area Identification procedure as the proposed lease sale area. In addition to the no action alternative (i.e., canceling the proposed sale), other alternatives may be considered for the proposed lease sales, including WPA Lease Sale 238, such as deferring certain areas from the proposed lease sales.