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The
NewsRoom
Release: #3401
Date: November 22, 2005
Notice of Availability of
the Environmental Assessment for
Proposed Central Planning Area Lease Sale 198
(OCS EIS/EA MMS 2005-059)
NEW ORLEANS - The Minerals Management
Service (MMS) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for
proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas Lease Sale 198 in
the Central Gulf of Mexico (GOM) (Lease Sale 198) scheduled for
March 2006. Proposed Lease Sale 198 is the fourth Central Planning
Area (CPA) lease sale scheduled in the Outer Continental Shelf Oil
and Gas Leasing Program: 2002-2007 (5-Year Program, OCS EIS/EA MMS
2002-006). The preparation of this EA is an important step in the
decisionmaking process for Lease Sale 198.
The proposal for Lease Sale 198 (the offering of all available
unleased acreage in the CPA) and its alternatives (the proposed
action excluding the unleased blocks near biologically sensitive
topographic features; the proposed action excluding the unleased
blocks within 15 miles of the Baldwin County, Alabama, coast; and no
action) were identified by the MMS Director in January 2002
following the Call for Information and Nominations/Notice of Intent
to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and were analyzed
in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2003-2007;
Central Planning Area Sales 185, 190, 194, 198, and 201; Western
Planning Area Sales 187, 192, 196, and 200 – Final Environmental
Impact Statement; Volumes I and II (Multisale EIS, OCS EIS/EA MMS
2002-052). The Multisale EIS analyzed the effects of a typical CPA
lease sale by presenting a set of ranges for resource estimates,
projected exploration and development activities, and
impact-producing factors for any of the proposed CPA lease sales.
The level of activities projected for proposed Lease Sale 198 falls
within these ranges.
In this EA, which tiers from the Multisale EIS and incorporates that
document by reference, MMS reexamined the potential environmental
effects of the proposed action and its alternatives on the basis of
any new information regarding potential impacts and issues that was
not available at the time the Multisale EIS was prepared. No new
significant impacts were identified for proposed Lease Sale 198 that
were not already assessed in the Multisale EIS. As a result, MMS
determined that a supplemental EIS is not required and prepared a
Finding of No New Significant Impact (FONNSI).
Interested parties are requested to send comments on this EA/FONNSI
within 30 days of the Notice of Availability in the Federal
Register. Comments may be submitted in written form enclosed in an
envelope labeled "Comments on CPA Lease Sale 198 EA" and mailed (or
hand carried) to the Minerals Management Service, Headquarters
Office, Attention: Environmental Division, Environmental Assessment
Branch (MS 4042), Parkway Atrium Building, 381 Elden Street,
Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817.
All comments received will be considered in the decisionmaking
process for Lease Sale 198.
To obtain a copy of this EA, you may contact the Minerals Management
Service, Headquarters Office, Attention: Environmental Division,
Environmental Assessment Branch (MS 4042), Parkway Atrium Building,
381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817. You may also view
this EA on the MMS website at
http://www.gomr.mms.gov.
MMS, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages
offshore oil and gas exploration as well as renewable and
alternative energy sources such as wind, wave, and solar on 1.76
billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf while protecting the
human, marine, and coastal environments. The OCS provides 30 percent
of oil and 21 percent of natural gas produced domestically, and sand
used for coastal restoration. MMS collects, accounts for, and
disburses mineral revenues from Federal and American Indian lands,
and contributes to the Land and Water Conservation Fund and other
special use funds, with Fiscal Year 2005 disbursements of
approximately $9.9 billion and more than $153 billion since 1982.
Relevant Web
Sites:
MMS Main Website
Gulf of Mexico Website:
Media Contacts:
Debra Winbush (281) 873-1958
Caryl Fagot (281)
873-1959
MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for
America
U.S. Department of the Interior
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