The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management has released the environmental assessment of the application from Kaktovik Inupiat Corp. to conduct seismic exploration within the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, according to a notice filed Dec. 16 in the Federal Register.
The Marsh Creek East 3D survey is proposed for the 2020-21 winter season, to encompass approximately 350,000 acres of private Alaska Native corporation and federally managed public lands in the eastern portion of the ANWR 1002 Area.
BLM said public scoping for the application and plan of operations generated more than 100,000 comment submissions, which were considered in the analysis.
Federal, state and tribal partners provided substantial input, said BLM Alaska State Director Chad Padgett, adding, “It’s important that we are responsive to our community’s needs while providing a responsible path forward for economic opportunities for our North Slope communities.”
Seismic exploration over the last 12 years in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska and Cook Inlet - including lands within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge - was analyzed through environmental assessments, which determined there would only be minimal impacts, BLM said.
“Modern seismic techniques in the Arctic are well understood and have evolved to include technologies and practices that minimize impacts” said BLM Arctic District Manager Shelly Jones. “These techniques continue to be successfully used in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, an environment similar to the Coastal Plain, with no significant impacts, including to wildlife, subsistence or vegetation.”
SAE to conduct survey
The proposed seismic exploration, sponsored by KIC, would be conducted by third-party acquisition company SAExploration Inc.
Surveys would begin when frost and snow cover are at sufficient depths to protect tundra and would continue through the winter season until tundra travel has been closed, the assessment said. Mobilization to the project area would begin in January, after forward looking infrared radar surveys had been conducted to detect polar bear den sites.
Known polar bear den sites would be avoided with a 1-mile buffer in all directions from the beginning of operations through April or until a female with cubs abandons an area.
A polar bear awareness training project will be provided to all workers prior to the start of operations, and polar bear awareness refresher briefings will be a part of regular safety briefings.
BLM said the program area is little used by overwintering caribou overall, so direct impacts during winter activities would likely be negligible. Summer cleanup activities will be shifted to late summer to avoid caribou calving times.
KIC has commissioned a cultural resource study of historic and cultural resources in the project area, the assessment said. A licensed archaeologist will work with the North Slope Borough, State of Alaska and the refuge manager to review existing records of all known existing cultural studies in the project area. All cultural or historic sites would be avoided and have 500-foot non-activity zone buffers placed around them.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 directed the secretary of the Interior, through BLM, to establish and administer a competitive program for the leasing, development, production, and transportation of oil and gas in and from the Coastal Plain. The act also directed BLM to issue any rights of way across the Coastal Plain for exploration, development, and/or production, including seismic exploration activities.
The EA and draft finding of no new significant impact are available for a 14-day review period, at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2003258/510.
