U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico OCS Region

Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for
Proposed Eastern Planning Area Lease Sales 189 and 197
(OCS EIS/EA MMS 2003-020)

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service (MMS) announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed Eastern Planning Area (EPA) Lease Sales 189 and 197. This Final EIS addresses two proposed Federal actions that offer for lease areas on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the EPA that may contain economically recoverable oil and gas resources. Federal regulations allow for several related or similar proposals to be analyzed in one EIS (40 CFR 1502.4). Since each proposed lease sale and its projected activities are very similar, a single EIS has been prepared for the two proposed EPA lease sales scheduled in the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program: 2002-2007 (the 5-Year Program). Under the 5-Year Program, proposed Lease Sale 189 is scheduled for 2003, while proposed Lease Sale 197 is scheduled for 2005. At the completion of this EIS process, a decision will be made only for proposed Lease Sale 189. An additional National Environmental Policy Act review will be conducted in the year prior to proposed Lease Sale 197 to address any new information relevant to that proposed action.

You may obtain a copy of this Final EIS (either on CD or a printed version) from the Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, Attention: Public Information Office (MS 5034), 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, Room 114, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394 (1-800-200-GULF), or you may download or view the Final EIS on the MMS Internet website at http://www.gomr.mms.gov. A list of libraries along the Gulf Coast that have a copy of this Final EIS and their locations is also available on the MMS Internet website or by contacting MMS’s Public Information Office.

MMS is the Federal agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nation's oil, natural gas, and other mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in Federal offshore waters. The agency also collects, accounts for, and disburses mineral revenues from Federal and American Indian leases. These revenues totaled over $6 billion in 2002 and nearly $127 billion since the agency was created in 1982. Annually, nearly $1 billion from those revenues go into the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the acquisition and development of state and Federal park and recreation lands.

MMS Main Website:  www.mms.gov
Gulf of Mexico Website:  www.gomr.mms.gov