[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 186 (Friday, September 25, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 57873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24391]
[[Page 57873]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM-2015-0068]
Outer Continental Shelf, Alaska Region, Beaufort Sea Planning
Area, Liberty Development and Production Plan, MMAA104000
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS).
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SUMMARY: BOEM is announcing its intent to prepare an EIS for the
Liberty Development and Production Plan (DPP) in the Beaufort Sea
Planning Area. The DPP proposes several steps. A man-made gravel
production island, known as the Liberty Drilling and Production Island
(LDPI), would be established in Foggy Island Bay. Gravel for
construction would come from a new mine west of the Kadleroshilik
River. A pipeline would link the LDPI to the Badami Sales Oil Pipeline
(Badami pipeline). The pipe-in-pipe pipeline would be buried along a
route going south from the LPDI to the shoreline west of the
Kadleroshilik River, transition to an above-ground pipeline, and
continue south to tie into the existing Badami pipeline. Oil produced
from the LDPI would be transported through the Badami pipeline to the
existing common carrier pipeline system to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
System.
This NOI also serves to announce the beginning of the scoping
process. The scope of an EIS refers to the range of issues,
alternatives, and mitigation measures to be considered. Public scoping
assists the agency in focusing on significant issues and alternatives
and eliminating from detailed consideration those issues that are
insignificant, irrelevant or have been fully and adequately considered
in prior analyses. No alternatives, other than the no-action
alternative, have yet been identified.
Through this notice, BOEM also invites public input regarding the
identification of historic properties and potential effects from the
proposed action to historic properties as defined by the National
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 306108), as provided for in
36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). Additional information related to the Liberty DPP,
including the proposed plan itself, may be found at http://www.boem.gov/Liberty.
DATES: Comments should be submitted no later than November 24, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Liberty DPP
EIS, the submission of comments, or BOEM's policies associated with
this notice, please contact Lauren Boldrick, Project Manager, BOEM,
Alaska OCS Region, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, AK
99503, telephone (907) 334-5227.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BOEM invites qualified entities, such as
other Federal agencies, state, tribal, and local governments, to
consider becoming cooperating agencies for the preparation of this EIS.
Following the guidelines at 40 CFR 1501.6 and 1508.5 from the Council
on Environmental Quality (CEQ), qualified agencies and governments are
those with ``'jurisdiction by law or special expertise.'' Potential
cooperating agencies should consider their authority and capacity to
assume the responsibilities of a cooperating agency and remember that
an agency's role in the environmental analysis neither enlarges nor
diminishes the final decisionmaking authority of any other agency
involved in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. Upon
request, BOEM will provide potential cooperating agencies with a
written summary of guidelines for cooperating agencies, including time
schedules and critical action dates, milestones, responsibilities,
scope and detail of cooperating agencies' contributions, and
availability of pre-decisional information. BOEM anticipates this
summary will form the basis for a Memorandum of Understanding between
BOEM and any cooperating agency consistent with 43 CFR 46.226(d). BOEM,
as the lead agency, will not provide financial assistance to
cooperating agencies. In addition to becoming a cooperating agency,
other opportunities will exist to provide information and comments to
BOEM during the public comment period for the EIS.
Federal, state, tribal, and local governments and/or agencies and
other interested parties may submit written comments on the scope of
this EIS through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the field entitled ``Enter Keyword or ID,''
enter [Docket No. BOEM-2015-0068], and then click ``search.'' Follow
the instructions to submit public comments and view supporting and
related materials available for this notice.
Before including your address, phone number, email address or other
personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware
that your entire comment, including your personal identifying
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
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.
Pursuant to the regulations implementing the procedural provisions
of NEPA, BOEM will hold public scoping meetings. The purpose of these
meetings is to solicit comments on the scope of the Liberty Development
and Production Plan EIS. These meetings are scheduled as follows:
November 2, 2015, Westmark Conference Center, Fairbanks,
Alaska;
November 3, 2015, Kaktovik Community Center, Kaktovik,
Alaska;
November 4, 2015, Kisik Community Center, Nuiqsut, Alaska;
November 5, 2015, Inupiat Heritage Center, Barrow, Alaska;
and
November 9, 2015, Embassy Suites (Benson Boulevard),
Anchorage, Alaska.
Authority: This NOI to prepare an EIS is in compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4231 et seq.), and is published pursuant to implementing regulations
at 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 46.415.
Dated: September 15, 2015.
Abigail Ross Hopper,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-24391 Filed 9-24-15; 8:45 am]
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