[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 251 (Friday, December 30, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82275-82277]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33195]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XA885
Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for Effects of Oil and Gas Activities in the Arctic Ocean
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
[[Page 82276]]
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the availability of the ``Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Effects of Oil and Gas Activities in
the Arctic Ocean.'' Publication of this notice begins the official
public comment period for this DEIS. The purpose of the DEIS is to
evaluate, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of
implementing the alternative approaches for authorizing the take of
marine mammals incidental to oil and gas exploration activities in the
Arctic Ocean pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The
U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
(BOEM) is a cooperating agency on this DEIS, and as such, this DEIS
also evaluates the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts
of implementing the alternative approaches for authorizing geological
and geophysical (G&G) surveys and ancillary activities under the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) in the Arctic Ocean. The North
Slope Borough (NSB) is also a cooperating agency on this DEIS.
DATES: All comments and written statements must be received no later
than Monday, February 13, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and statements on the DEIS must be
postmarked by February 13, 2012. Comments on the DEIS may be submitted
by:
Email: arcticeis.comments@noaa.gov.
Mail: Office of Protected Resources, 1315 East-West
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Fax: (301) 713-0376.
Public Hearings: Oral and written comments will be
accepted during the upcoming public hearings. See SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION, Public Hearings (below) for more information.
Comments sent via email, including all attachments, must not exceed
a 25-megabyte file size. Information on this project can also be found
on the Protected Resources Web page at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/eis/arctic.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Candace Nachman, Jolie Harrison, or
Michael Payne, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, at (301) 427-8401
or via email at arcticeis.comments@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Sections 101 (a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.)
direct the Secretary of Commerce to allow, upon request, the
incidental, but not intentional taking of small numbers of marine
mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than
commercial fishing) within a specified geographical region if certain
findings are made and either regulations are issued or, if the taking
is limited to harassment, a notice of proposed authorization is
provided to the public for review. The term ``take'' under the MMPA
means ``to harass, hunt, capture, kill or collect, or attempt to
harass, hunt, capture, kill or collect.'' Except with respect to
certain activities not pertinent here, the MMPA defines ``harassment''
as ``any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which (i) has the
potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild
[Level A harassment]; or (ii) has the potential to disturb a marine
mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of
behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration,
breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering [Level B
harassment].''
Authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS finds
that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or
stock(s), will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses (where
relevant), and if the permissible methods of taking and requirements
pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of such takings
are set forth. NMFS has defined ``negligible impact'' in 50 CFR 216.103
as ``. . . an impact resulting from the specified activity that cannot
be reasonably expected to, and is not reasonably likely to, adversely
affect the species or stock through effects on annual rates of
recruitment or survival.''
NMFS, as the lead federal agency, prepared this DEIS to evaluate a
broad range of reasonably foreseeable levels of exploration activities
and associated mitigation measures that may occur within the five-year
period from the date of completion of the Final EIS and Record of
Decision. BOEM and the NSB are serving as formal cooperating agencies;
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is serving as a consulting
agency; and NMFS is coordinating with the Alaska Eskimo Whaling
Commission (AEWC) pursuant to our co-management agreement under the
MMPA.
NMFS has published this EIS to disclose the potential impacts
associated with their issuance of ITAs for seismic surveys, ancillary
activities, and exploratory drilling under section 101(a)(5) of the
MMPA and BOEM's authorization of G&G permits and ancillary activities
under the OCSLA.
Scoping
On February 8, 2010, NMFS provided public notice (75 FR 6175) that
it would prepare an EIS to analyze the environmental impacts of issuing
ITAs pursuant to the MMPA to the oil and gas industry for the taking of
marine mammals incidental to offshore exploration activities (e.g.,
seismic surveys and exploratory drilling) in Federal and state waters
of the U.S. Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off Alaska. The 60-day public
scoping period ended on April 9, 2010.
Scoping was the first step in this NEPA process (as required under
40 CFR 1501.7). Scoping provided an opportunity for the public and
agencies to express their views and identify issues to be addressed in
the DEIS.
As part of scoping, NMFS hosted public meetings to introduce the
proposed action, describe the EIS process, and solicit input on the
issues and alternatives to be evaluated. Public scoping meetings were
held in February and March 2010 in the communities of Kotzebue, Point
Hope, Point Lay, Wainwright, Barrow, Nuiqsut, and Kaktovik and in
Anchorage, Alaska. During the scoping comment period, 73 public
comments were received. A report summarizing these comments is
available on the project Web site at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/eis/arctic.htm.
Issues identified by the public during the scoping process include,
but are not limited to, concerns regarding potential impacts to marine
mammals and habitat, subsistence uses of marine mammals, and other
wildlife, as well as concerns regarding the potential for an oil spill.
Some commenters also expressed concerns about meeting national energy
demands. Substantive comments received during the public scoping period
have been addressed in the DEIS.
Alternatives
NMFS has evaluated five alternatives in the DEIS. NMFS has not
identified a preferred alternative in the DEIS. In this DEIS, NMFS and
BOEM present and assess a reasonable range of G&G, ancillary, and
exploratory drilling activities expected to occur, as well as a
reasonable range of mitigation measures, in order to accurately assess
the potential consequences of issuing ITAs under the MMPA and permits
under the OCSLA. The potential level of
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activity described by each alternative is based on recent Federal and
state lease planning and recent industry plans for both seismic surveys
and exploratory drilling programs in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.
Each alternative also includes an analysis of a suite of standard and
additional mitigation measures that have been identified to help reduce
impacts to marine mammals and to ensure no unmitigable adverse impact
on the availability of marine mammals for subsistence uses. The suite
of measures are considered and analyzed in all four of the action
alternatives. The alternatives are summarized as follows:
Alternative 1: No Action Alternative: Under the No Action
Alternative, NMFS would not issue any ITAs under the MMPA for seismic
surveys or exploratory drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, and
BOEM would not issue G&G permits or authorize ancillary activities in
the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.
Alternative 2: Authorization for Level 1 Exploration Activity:
Alternative 2 analyzes a certain amount of 2D/3D seismic, site
clearance and high resolution shallow hazards, and on-ice seismic
surveys and exploratory drilling programs to occur each year.
Alternative 2 also evaluates a range of standard and additional
mitigation measures that would be considered and incorporated into any
issued authorization (on a case-by-case basis). Examples of standard
and additional mitigation measures include measures to: reduce acoustic
exposures (e.g., exclusion zones, flight altitude restrictions, time/
area closures); reduce non-acoustic exposures (e.g., vessel speed
restrictions, oil spill prevention plans, limited or zero discharge
requirements); and ensure no unmitigable adverse impact to subsistence
uses (e.g., time/area closures, communication centers).
Alternative 3: Authorization for Level 2 Exploration Activity:
Alternative 3 analyzes a level of 2D/3D seismic, site clearance and
high resolution shallow hazards, and on-ice seismic surveys and
exploratory drilling programs to occur each year that is higher than
the level contemplated under Alternative 2. The same suite of standard
and additional mitigation measures that would be considered and
incorporated into any issued authorization (on a case-by-case basis)
under Alternative 2 is considered under Alternative 3.
Alternative 4: Authorization for Level 2 Exploration Activity with
Additional Required Time/Area Closures: Alternative 4 considers the
same level of activity contemplated under Alternative 3 and also
evaluates the same suite of standard and additional mitigation
measures. However, certain time/area closures that would be considered
on a case-by-case basis under the other alternatives would be required
under Alternative 4. The time/area closures would be for specific areas
important to biological productivity, life history functions for
specific species of concern, and subsistence activities. Activities
would not be permitted to occur in any of the time/area closures during
the specific identified periods. Additionally, buffer zones around
these time/area closures could potentially be included.
Alternative 5: Authorization for Level 2 Exploration Activity with
Use of Alternative Technologies: Alternative 5 considers the same level
of activity contemplated under Alternative 3 and also evaluates the
same suite of standard and additional mitigation measures. However,
Alternative 5 also includes specific additional mitigation measures
that focus on the use of alternative technologies that have the
potential to augment or replace traditional airgun-based seismic
exploration activities in the future.
Public Involvement
Comments will be accepted at public hearings and during the public
comment period, and must be submitted to NMFS by February 13, 2011 (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). We request that you include in your
comments: (1) Your name, address, and affiliation (if any); and (2)
background documents to support your comments as appropriate.
Public scoping meetings will be held in late January and early
February 2012, in the communities of Barrow, Kaktovik, Kivalina,
Kotzebue, Nuiqsut, Point Hope, Point Lay, and Wainwright. However, the
final dates and times have not yet been set. A supplement to this
Notice of Availability will be published with the final meeting dates,
times, and locations. Comments will be accepted at all public meetings,
as well as during the public comment period and can be submitted via
the methods described earlier in this document (see ADDRESSES).
Dated: December 20, 2011.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-33195 Filed 12-29-11; 8:45 am]
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