[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 103 (Friday, May 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29996-29997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13111]
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COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Review of MMS NEPA Policies, Practices, and Procedures for OCS
Oil and Gas Exploration and Development
AGENCY: Council on Environmental Quality.
ACTION: Notice of Review and Request for Public Comment.
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SUMMARY: On May 17, 2010, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
informed the Department of the Interior (DOI) that CEQ was conducting a
30 day review National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) policies,
practices, and procedures for the Minerals Management Service (MMS)
decisions for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas exploration and
development.
This review of MMS NEPA policies, practices and procedures is being
conducted as a result of the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon well
and drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of this review is
to ascertain how MMS applies NEPA in its management of Outer
Continental Shelf oil and gas exploration and development and make
recommendations for revisions. The scope of the review is intended to
be holistic, i.e. from leasing decisions to drilling and production.
In line with CEQ's effort to engage the public in the NEPA process
and the President's Open Government Initiative, this notice is also a
solicitation for public comment on the review process undertaken by CEQ
as well as on current MMS NEPA policies, practices, and procedures
regarding Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas exploration and
development. Public participation in this review effort will benefit
this specific review process, the MMS NEPA implementation, CEQ's
overall effectiveness in overseeing NEPA, and the environmental and
social consequences of government activity.
DATES: Comments should be submitted as soon as possible on the CEQ
review, recognizing that the review is to be completed June 17, 2010.
ADDRESSES: All relevant information related to MMS NEPA procedures and
the review process is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/initiatives/nepa. Comments on the procedures and review should be
submitted electronically at the above URL or to [email protected]
or in writing to Associate Director for NEPA Oversight, Council on
Environmental Quality, 722 Jackson Place NW., Washington, DC 20503.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Horst Greczmiel, Associate Director
for NEPA Oversight, Council on Environmental Quality, at (202) 395-
5750.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
NEPA and Offshore Drilling
Enacted in 1970, NEPA mandates that Federal agencies consider the
environmental impacts of their proposed actions during all stages of
decision making, from planning to implementation. NEPA is a fundamental
decision-making tool used to harmonize our economic, environmental, and
social aspirations and is a cornerstone of our Nation's efforts to
protect the environment. NEPA applies to every stage of Federal
decision making related to offshore oil and gas exploration and
development. When an agency proposes an action, it must determine if
the action has the potential to affect the quality of the human
environment. Agencies then apply one of three levels of NEPA analysis.
They may: Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) when the
agency projects the proposed action has the potential for significant
environmental impacts; apply a Categorical Exclusion (CE) when the
agency has previously established a CE based on its determination that
proposed action falls within the categories of actions described in the
CE which the agency has found do not typically result in individually
or cumulatively significant environmental effects or impacts; or the
agency prepares an Environmental Assessment (EA) to determine whether
it can make a Finding of No Significant Impact or proceed to prepare an
EIS.
Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, MMS has implemented a
process for oil and gas development consisting of the following stages:
(1) Preparing a nationwide 5-year oil and gas development program, (2)
planning for and holding a specific lease sale, (3) approving a
company's exploration plan, and (4) approving a company's development
and production plan. MMS is required to apply NEPA during each of these
stages, beginning with the initial planning of outer continental shelf
leasing and ending with a decision on a specific well. The sequence of
NEPA analyses is informed by the CEQ Regulations Implementing the
Procedural Requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, 40
CFR parts 1500-1508 available at http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/ceq_regulations/regulations.html. Specifically, 40 CFR 1502.20, discusses
``tiering,'' a strategy used to avoid repetitive discussions of
[[Page 29997]]
the same issues, and to prevent unnecessary duplication of work by
reviewers, as the NEPA reviews progress from a broad program to a site
specific action. In the case of the Gulf of Mexico leases, MMS prepared
several tiered NEPA analyses (see NEPA environmental review documents
available at http://www.mms.gov/5-year/2007-2012BackgroundDocs.htm and
http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/environ/nepa/nepaprocess.html).
Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), the most intensive level of
analysis, were prepared at two decision points. First, in April 2007,
MMS prepared a broad ``programmatic'' EIS on the Outer Continental
Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2007-2012. Also, in April 2007,
MMS prepared an EIS for the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales
in the Western and Central Planning Areas, the ``multi-sale'' EIS.
In October 2007, MMS completed another NEPA analysis, an
Environmental Assessment (EA), under the multi-sale EIS, for Central
Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 206. This is the sale in which the lease was
issued for the location that includes the Deepwater Horizon well. MMS
previously approved BP's development operations based on a programmatic
EA that MMS prepared in December 2002.
Finally, for the Deepwater Horizon well, MMS applied its existing
Categorical Exclusion Review (CER) process prior to the decision to
approve the Exploration Plan that included the drilling of the
Deepwater Horizon well. The Categorical Exclusion used by MMS for
Deepwater Horizon was established more than 20 years ago. Under section
11 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. section 1340,
MMS had 30 days to complete its environmental review and act on the
application to permit drilling. The Administration, in its supplemental
budget request sent to Congress on May 12, 2010, seeks to extend that
30-day timeline; however, this review will consider the existing
statutory requirements applicable to MMS decisions for OCS oil and gas
exploration and development.
The Role of CEQ in the NEPA Process
NEPA charges the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) with the
authority and responsibility to guide Federal agencies on their
implementation of the Act. In 1978, CEQ issued regulations implementing
the procedural provisions of NEPA. These regulations apply to all
Federal agencies and establish the basic framework for all NEPA
analyses (available at http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/ceq_regulations/regulations.html). The regulations require Federal agencies to
establish their own NEPA implementing procedures (see 40 CFR 1507.3),
and to ensure that they have the capacity, in terms of personnel and
other resources, to comply with NEPA (see 40 CFR 1507.2).
CEQ periodically issues guidance and other documents, such as
guides and handbooks for NEPA. CEQ also convenes meetings with Federal
NEPA contacts to present CEQ's interpretation of NEPA requirements and
focus on how agencies can improve their NEPA analyses and documents.
Through case law, the Federal courts and the Supreme Court have
established that the agencies can rely on CEQ's interpretation of, and
guidance on, NEPA.
Agencies establish their own NEPA implementing procedures which
tailor the CEQ requirements to a specific agency's authorities and
decisionmaking processes. MMS must comply with the Department of the
Interior NEPA regulations (available at http://www.doi.gov/oepc/nepafr.html) and the MMS NEPA implementing procedures found in the
Department of the Interior's Director's Manual 516 at Chapter 15
(available at http://elips.doi.gov/app_DM/act_getfiles.cfm?relnum=3625). CEQ provides assistance when agency-specific
procedures, such as these DOI and MMS NEPA implementing procedures, are
developed. An agency's NEPA procedures are not official until CEQ
reviews the proposed procedures and determines that they are in
conformity with NEPA and the CEQ regulations. Any subsequent revisions
or changes to the agency procedures are subject to the same oversight
process with CEQ. Periodically, CEQ also reviews the agency's NEPA
implementing regulations and procedures. CEQ does not review every
application of a Categorical Exclusion, every agency project, or the
NEPA review for every agency project. The CEQ review will review the
NEPA analyses conducted for the Deepwater Horizon well as well as the
overall NEPA process MMS uses for OCS oil and gas exploration and
development.
Discussion of the Request for Public Comment
NEPA itself emphasizes public involvement in government actions
affecting the environment by requiring that the environmental impacts
or effects associated with proposed actions be assessed and publicly
disclosed. NEPA is steeped in the principle that public accountability
and oversight makes government more effective. Public access to and
participation in specific agency NEPA actions illuminates areas where
agency reviewers may have overlooked or misinterpreted portions of a
submitted EIS or EA.
Public participation in this review process allows CEQ to similarly
tap into the collective wisdom of industry, academia, state, local, and
tribal governments, and the rest of the private sector. CEQ is
soliciting comments, questions, and other input about a number of
specific issues focused on the NEPA review of OCS oil and gas
exploration and development:
1. What are substantive issues and at what level should they be
analyzed in each of the tiered NEPA submissions, from National 5-Year
Oil and Gas Program to an individual well permit?
2. Does this sequence of permitting stages (and associate NEPA
submissions) allow for comprehensive evaluation of all relevant issues?
3. What have been past industry and agency experiences with the use
of categorical exclusions for OCS oil and gas activities?
4. Has the use of the CER process been an effective tool for
reducing unnecessary paperwork without compromising the robustness of
the NEPA analysis for OCS oil and gas activities?
5. To what degree has public engagement been a part of MMS NEPA
practice, particularly as it deals with categorical exclusions?
6. What resources are available in Federal, tribal, state, and
local government agencies with a stake in OCS oil and gas exploration
and development to participate in NEPA reviews?
In addition to input on the above issues, general comments and
questions are also welcome. Information relevant to this MMS NEPA
policy review can be found on the CEQ Web site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/initiatives/nepa.
Public comments are requested as soon as possible in light of the
June 17, 2010, deadline for the CEQ review.
Dated: May 25, 2010.
Nancy Sutley,
Chair, Council on Environmental Quality.
[FR Doc. 2010-13111 Filed 5-27-10; 8:45 am]
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