BOEM publishes second final SEIS for 2008 Chukchi Sea lease sale

Feb. 13, 2015
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management published a fresh supplemental environmental impact statement for a Chukchi Sea federal oil and gas sale originally held in 2008 after a federal appeals court threw out the first SEIS on Jan. 22, 2014.

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management published a fresh supplemental environmental impact statement for a Chukchi Sea federal oil and gas sale originally held in 2008 after a federal appeals court threw out the first SEIS on Jan. 22, 2014.

US Sec. of the Interior Sally Jewell said the updated analysis was a major step toward resolving leases from that 2008 sale that have been tied up in courts for years. Comments will be taken on this latest SEIS following its publication in the Federal Register on Feb. 20.

The agency prepared the first SEIS following the US District Court for Alaska’s July 21, 2010, decision that what was then the US Minerals Management Service’s original EIS for the 2008 sale did not analyze potential impacts of natural gas development despite industry interest and specific lease incentives, or impacts of any oil and gas activity there on wildlife and subsistence populations.

BOEM, which was the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement at the time, published the first SEIS in August 2011. After the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Apr. 24, 2014, reversal of the Alaska District Court’s decision denying a legal challenge calling for new potential production estimates, BOEM released a revised draft SEIS, held six public hearings, and took more than 400,000 comments on it, and released the second final SEIS on Feb. 12.

“After carefully analyzing the comments, best available science and additional information, BOEM has developed a comprehensive analysis to address the court’s concerns,” said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper. “We appreciate the input from Alaska Native tribes, federal, state and local partners and the public in developing this updated assessment.”

BOEM said the new final SEIS is based on the best available data—including actual leasing records and current geological information—to estimate the highest amount of production that could reasonably result from OCS Lease Sale 193.

Based upon the appeals court’s findings, as well as a better understanding about existing geologic structures in the region and improved information about where industry operators are likely to focus their development activities, the agency evaluated a higher exploration and production scenario than in its previous analyses. It said the new FSEIS is being filed consistent with the schedule identified by the courts.

BOEM’s sister agency, the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, suspended all leases awarded in the 2008 lease sale in early 2014. Those suspensions remain in effect until BOEM issues a new record of decision on Lease Sale 193. If the lease sale is affirmed, BOEM and BSEE would need to review a company’s specific exploration plan, drilling permit application, and other materials before any exploration could occur.

Several environmental groups immediately condemned BOEM’s fresh final SEIS for Lease Sale 193.

Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].