MMS Initiates Oil and Gas Leasing
Process for Offshore Virginia
Initial
Information-Gathering Steps Begin for Proposed Sale 220
WASHINGTON, D.C.
— The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has taken the first step in
the multi-year leasing process to hold a sale for acreage offshore
Virginia. The
Call for
Information and Interest/Nominations and Notice of Intent (Call/NOI)
to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
will be published in the November 13th Federal
Register, beginning a 45-day public comment period.
The purpose of the
Call/NOI is to gather information to use for planning and analysis and
does not indicate a preliminary decision to hold a lease sale. The
final decision will be made at a later date only if the sale is in
compliance with applicable laws including all requirements of the
OCS Lands Act
and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
“At the request of
the Governor, MMS included the area offshore Virginia based on the
Commonwealth’s current energy policy and continued interest in knowing
what resources may be off its coastline,” said
MMS
Director Randall Luthi. The sale, referred to as
Lease Sale
220, is proposed to be held in 2011.
The area offshore
Virginia was initially included in the
Outer Continental Shelf Oil and
Gas Leasing Program: 2007-2012 but leasing was prohibited
due to an Executive withdrawal and a Congressional moratorium. In
July 2008, President Bush lifted the withdrawal and the
Congressional
moratoria expired on September 30, 2008. Both of these
actions allowed the option of the special interest lease sale.
“The EIS will
evaluate environmental resources and potential impacts in this part of
the mid-Atlantic, an area that has not held a lease sale since 1983,”
said Luthi. “Throughout the scoping process for the EIS, Federal,
state, and local governmental agencies, along with all other
interested parties, have the opportunity to aid MMS in determining the
significant issues and alternatives for analysis in the EIS we are
preparing under NEPA.”
Currently, the area
offshore Virginia being considered for leasing includes a 50-mile
buffer and a no-obstruction zone from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay,
as requested by the Governor. As with any sale, the public will have
multiple opportunities for input into the sale process.
Contact:
Eileen Angelico
504-736-2595
Caryl Fagot
504-736-2590
MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for America
U.S. Department of the Interior
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Last Updated:
01/20/2009,
08:51 AM
Central Time