Bureau of Ocean Energy Management April 29, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), BOEM is announcing its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (2017-2022 Gulf of Mexico Multisale EIS) on the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) oil and gas lease sales tentatively proposed in the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program (2017-2022 Draft Proposed Program). This Notice of Intent (NOI) serves to announce the EIS scoping process and scoping meetings for the 2017- 2022 Gulf of Mexico Multisale EIS. Due to the lead time to prepare an EIS, BOEM will begin preparation of the 2017-2022 Gulf of Mexico Multisale EIS prior to the 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program being finalized. Should the GOM lease sales ultimately included in the 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program differ substantially from those proposed in the 2017-2022 Draft Proposed Program, BOEM will incorporate those changes into the 2017-2022 Gulf of Mexico Multisale EIS, as appropriate. Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) requires the development of an OCS oil and gas leasing program every five years, setting forth a five-year schedule of lease sales designed to best meet the Nation's energy needs. The lease sales proposed in the GOM in the 2017-2022 Draft Proposed Program are region-wide sales comprised of the Western, Central, and a small portion of the Eastern Planning Areas in the GOM not subject to Congressional moratorium. These planning areas are located offshore the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Should the 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program include GOM-wide sales, any individual lease sale could still be scaled back during the pre-lease sale process to offer a smaller area should circumstances warrant. For example, an individual lease sale could offer an area that conforms more closely to the separate planning area model used in the 2012-2017 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program.