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Comment sought on OCS sale program
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has announced a series of meetings to be held in February to gather public comments on the scope of the programmatic environmental impact statement for the agency’s proposed 2012-17 outer continental shelf oil and gas lease sale program. BOEMRE says that the PEIS will include lease sales in the central Gulf of Mexico, the western Gulf of Mexico and a small portion of the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Lease sales in Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas will also be considered, the agency said.
Alaska meetings scheduled In Alaska, BOEMRE has scheduled meetings in Kotzebue, Point Hope, Point Lay, Wainwright, Barrow, Nuiqsut, Kaktovik and Anchorage. People can also submit written comments on the PEIS to BOEMRE by March 31.
“As we look to the future and identify areas to offer for oil and gas development under the next five year program, we will make decisions based upon the best scientific information available,” said BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich on Jan.3 when announcing the public meeting schedule. “We strongly encourage public participation in this process to ensure we are reviewing all of the relevant and important information about these areas. This PEIS will inform our decisions on when and where to offer leases and will help identify specific requirements that may be needed to ensure potential risks to the environment are appropriately managed and mitigated.”
—Alan Bailey
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