The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a notice of availability of a draft Environmental Impact Statement, ahead of a 45-day public comment regarding a proposed Cook Inlet oil and gas lease sale. The 2017-2022 National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program has a lease sales scheduled for some time this year.
The release of the study in the Federal Register initiated a 45-day comment period, which will last through March 1. BOEM shared a virtual meeting room online, including a video presentation found below, and will be hosting future virtual meetings to allow the public to provide oral testimony.
The lease sale is not yet set in stone, as the current stage is simply a draft Environmental Impact Statement. The move opens the door to public comment on a potential sale that involves around one million acres of the Cook Inlet, and would be the first federal oil and gas lease sale in the Inlet in four years. Ultimately, the final decision to hold, modify or cancel the sale will be made by the Secretary of the Interior. The analyses contained in the Cook Inlet Lease Sale 258 Final EIS will help inform that decision.
The first meeting will be held on February 9 from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. The next will be February 10 from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., and the last will be on February 11 from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. More information about attending the meetings and submitting comments can be found on the virtual meeting room.
