The NewsRoom
Release: #3473
Date: March 6, 2006
Minerals Management
Service Schedules Public Meetings on Development of OCS Oil and Gas
Leasing Program Environmental Impact Statement
Washington, DC – The Interior Department’s
Minerals Management Service (MMS) announced today it will hold a
series of public scoping meetings in March and April 2006 on the
Draft
Proposed 5-Year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing
Program for 2007-2012. The meetings will be held in key
coastal cities in the Gulf of Mexico, mid-Atlantic, and Alaska.
In accordance with the National Environmental
Policy Act, the MMS will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the 2007-2012 OCS oil and gas 5-year leasing program. The
EIS will address the potential impacts of the adoption of the
proposed 5-year program, which was issued for review and comment in
draft form in a February 10, 2006, Federal Register notice.
“We invite and encourage public participation in
these important meetings,” said MMS Director Johnnie Burton. “Public
input will ensure that MMS fully considers all aspects of the
development of the vast domestic oil and gas resources off our
coasts will allow us to do so in an environmentally sensitive
manner.”
The meetings will provide an opportunity for
interested citizens and organizations to provide input on the scope,
significant issues, and alternatives to be considered in the
environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Proposed 2007-2012 OCS
Oil and Gas Leasing Program.
The proposed sales will constitute a significant
element of the national energy strategy. The MMS requests comments
on information regarding issues and alternatives that should be
evaluated in the EIS, including significant environmental issues
concerning OCS oil and gas leasing, exploration, and development.
The comments will be reviewed by the MMS to determine the scope of
the EIS.
MMS will accept
written comments on the EIS for the Proposed 2007-2012 OCS Oil and
Gas Leasing Program through April 11, 2006. You may submit your
comments electronically through MMS’s
Public Connect on-line
commenting system or by mail to Mr. James Bennett,
Chief, Branch of Environmental Assessment, Minerals Management
Service, 381 Elden Street, Mail Stop 4042, Herndon, Virginia 20170.
MMS, an agency of the
U.S. Department of the Interior, manages offshore oil and gas
exploration as well as renewable and alternative energy sources such
as wind, wave, and solar on 1.76 billion acres of the Outer
Continental Shelf while protecting the human, marine, and coastal
environments. The OCS provides 30 percent of oil and 21 percent of
natural gas produced domestically, and sand used for coastal
restoration. MMS collects, accounts for, and disburses mineral
revenues from Federal and American Indian lands, and contributes to
the Land and Water Conservation Fund and other special use funds,
with Fiscal Year 2005 disbursements of approximately $9.9 billion
and more than $153 billion since 1982.
The public scoping meetings for the development of
the proposed 5-year OCS leasing program EIS are scheduled as
follows:
Alaska
|
March 6, 2006 – Inupiat Heritage Center,
Barrow, Alaska, 7:00 p.m. |
|
March 7, 2006 – Qargi Center, Kaktovik,
Alaska, 7:00 p.m.
|
|
March 8, 2006 – Kisik Community Center,
Nuiqsut, Alaska, 6:00 p.m. |
|
March 9, 2006 – Arctic Slope Native
Association Building, Wainwright, Alaska, 3:00 p.m. |
|
March 13, 2006 – City of Dillingham Council
Chambers, Dillingham, Alaska, 7:00 p.m. |
|
March 21, 2006 – King Salmon Civic Center,
King Salmon, Alaska, 7:00 p.m. |
|
March 22, 2006 – City of Sand Point Council
Chambers, Sand Point, Alaska, 7:00 p.m. |
|
March 23, 2006 – Cold Bay Community Center,
Cold Bay, Alaska, 7:00 p.m. |
|
April 5, 2006 – Suite 101, 3801 Centerpoint
Dr., Anchorage, Alaska, 5:00 p.m. |
Gulf of Mexico
|
March 28, 2006 – Wyndham Greenspoint, 12400
Greenspoint Drive, Houston, Texas, 1:00 p.m. |
|
March 29, 2006 – Hampton Inn and Suites, New
Orleans-Elmwood, 5150 Mounes Street, |
|
Harahan, Louisiana, 1:00 p.m. |
|
March 30, 2006 – Riverview Plaza Hotel, 64
South Water Street, Mobile, Alabama, 7:00 p.m. |
Mid-Atlantic
|
April 4, 2006 – Doubletree Hotel, 880
Military Hwy., Norfolk, Virginia, 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. |
Relevant Web
Sites:
MMS Main Website
Draft
Proposed 5-Year Plan for OCS and Gas Leasing Program
Media Contact:
Nicolette Nye 703-787-1011
MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for
America
U.S. Department of the Interior
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