[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 42 (Thursday, March 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11811-11812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4757]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement


Environmental Document Prepared in Support of Oil and Gas 
Activities on the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement 
(BOEMRE), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a recent Environmental Assessment and 
Finding of No Significant Impact prepared by

[[Page 11812]]

the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 
CFR parts 1500-1508), and the Department of the Interior regulations on 
NEPA (43 CFR part 46), BOEMRE announces the availability of an 
Environmental Assessment (EA) and a Finding of No Significant Impact 
(FONSI) prepared by BOEMRE for oil and gas activities proposed on the 
Alaska Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Loman, Deputy Regional 
Director, BOEMRE, Alaska OCS Region, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, 
Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5823; telephone 1-800-764-2627; e-mail 
[email protected].
    EA Availability: To obtain a copy of an EA and/or FONSI, you may 
contact BOEMRE or visit the BOEMRE Web site at http://alaska.boemre.gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is submitted to comply with BOEMRE 
procedure for EA/FONSI which states: ``Each OCS regional office shall 
prepare a quarterly Notice to be published in the Federal Register (FR) 
which lists all EAs and FONSIs prepared for OCS permitting activities 
in the Region during the 3-month period preceding the date that the 
Notice is submitted for publication (40 CFR 1506.6(b)). If no EAs and 
FONSIs were prepared for a 3-month period, no FR Notice is required.''
    BOEMRE prepares EAs that examine the potential environmental 
effects of proposals for activities to evaluate oil and gas resource 
potential on the Alaska OCS. Each EA examines the potential 
environmental effects of activities described in the proposals and 
presents BOEMRE conclusions regarding the level and significance of 
those effects. EAs are used as the basis for determining whether or not 
approvals of the proposals would significantly affect the quality of 
the human environment in the sense of NEPA Section 102(2)(C). A FONSI 
is prepared in those instances where BOEMRE finds that approval of the 
proposals will not result in significant effects on the quality of the 
human environment. This notice constitutes the notice of availability 
to the public of the following environmental documents:

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               Project name                          Location                   Project purpose          FONSI
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ION Geophysical, Inc., Beaufort and        Beaufort Sea and Chukchi      Conduct 2D Seismic Survey...   9/9/2010
 Chukchi Seas Seismic Survey, OCS EIS/EA    Sea, Alaska.
 MMS 2010-027.
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    BOEMRE has concluded that the proposed action would not 
significantly affect the quality of the human environment and that the 
preparation of an EIS was not required. Mitigation measures identified 
during the NEPA process would have been applied to the proposal to 
ensure environmental protection and safety if the action had occurred. 
The 2D seismic survey in the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea did not occur 
because the survey vessel was unavailable due to unanticipated 
maintenance.

    Dated: February 27, 2011.
L. Renee Orr,
Acting Associate Director for Offshore Energy and Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. 2011-4757 Filed 3-2-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P