Lease Sales 225 and 226, scheduled for 2014 and 2016, are part of the
Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program: 2012-2017 (Five Year Program). The Five Year Program makes all areas with the highest-known resource potential available for oil and gas leasing in order to further reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.
“The draft environmental impact statement evaluates baseline conditions and potential environmental effects of oil and natural gas leasing, exploration, development and production in the Eastern Planning Area, and updates information already published,” said BOEM Director Tommy P. Beaudreau. “It is an important part of the decision-making process, and I strongly encourage the public to provide input on this document.”
Domestic oil production is currently higher than at any time in nearly a decade and natural gas production is at its highest level ever. Foreign oil imports now account for less than 50 percent of the oil consumed in the U.S – the lowest level since 1995. In fiscal year 2012, Interior paid out $12.15 billion in revenue generated from energy production on public lands and offshore areas – a $1 billion increase over the previous year.
The Five Year Program schedules 12 potential lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico.
For the Western and Central Planning Areas, the program schedules annual area wide sales of all available, unleased acreage, as has been the typical practice in these areas. Additionally, since a portion of the Eastern Planning Area (EPA) was made available for leasing under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, Lease Sales 225 and 226 are scheduled there. The remainder of the Eastern Planning Area is under congressional moratorium.
The EIS is available for review online
here. BOEM will begin accepting comments on the EIS following the publication date of the Notice of Availability in the
Federal Register.
BOEM will hold public hearings to solicit comments on the EIS from interested citizens and organizations. Comments will be used to prepare the final EIS for these proposed Eastern Planning Area oil and gas lease sales.
The public hearings will be held at the following locations:
•
Tallahassee, Fla.: March 26, Hilton Garden Inn Tallahassee Central, 1330 Blairstone Road, Tallahassee, FL 32301; one meeting beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT;
•
Panama City Beach, Fla.: March 27, Wyndham Bay Point Resort, 4114 Jan Cooley Drive, Panama City Beach, FL 32408; two meetings, the first beginning at 1:00 p.m. CDT and the second at 6:00 p.m. CDT;
•
Mobile, Ala.: March 28, Five Rivers—Alabama’s Delta Resource Center, 30945 Five Rivers Boulevard, Spanish Fort, AL 36527; one meeting beginning at 1:00 p.m. CDT;
•
Gulfport, Miss.: March 29, Courtyard by Marriott Gulfport Beachfront MS Hotel, 1600 East Beach Boulevard, Gulfport, MS 39501; one meeting beginning at 1:00 p.m. CDT; and
•
New Orleans: April 1, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70123, beginning at 1:00 p.m. CDT.
The comment period will be open for 45 days following the publication of the Notice of Availability of the Draft EPA 225/226 EIS in the
Federal Register. Comments may be submitted online at
boemegomeis@BOEM.gov. Written comments should be submitted in an envelope labeled “Comments on the EPA 225/226 Draft EIS” by mail (or hand carried) to Gary D. Goeke, Chief, Regional Assessment Section, Office of Environment (GM 623E), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70123-2394.
