(SitNews) - Tuesday, President Obama withdrew certain areas of the Alaskan Arctic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from future oil and gas leasing due to their importance for subsistence use by Alaska Natives as well as for their unique and sensitive environmental resources.

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper announced Tuesday the next step in the development of the nation's Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017-2022.

The Draft Proposed Program (DPP) includes 14 potential lease sales in eight planning areas – three sales off the coast of Alaska, ten sales in the Gulf of Mexico, and one in a portion of the Mid- and South Atlantic.

“The safe and responsible development of our nation’s domestic energy resources is a key part of the President’s efforts to support American jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said Secretary Jewell. “This is a balanced proposal that would make available nearly 80 percent of the undiscovered technically recoverable resources, while protecting areas that are simply too special to develop.”

The Department of the Interior said the release of the draft is an early step in a multi-year process to develop a final offshore leasing program for 2017-2022. Before the program is finalized, the public will continue to have multiple opportunities to provide input. Tuesday’s draft proposal was informed by more than 500,000 comments from a wide variety of stakeholders and states.

“The draft proposal prioritizes development in the Gulf of Mexico, which is rich in resources and has well-established infrastructure to support offshore oil and gas programs,” added Jewell. “We continue to consider oil and gas exploration in the Arctic and propose for further consideration a new area in the Atlantic Ocean, and we are committed to gathering the necessary science and information to develop resources the right way and in the right places. We look forward to continuing to hear from the public as we work to finalize the proposal.”

The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a five-year program that includes a schedule of potential oil and gas lease sales and indicates the size, timing and location of proposed leasing activity as determined to best meet national energy needs, while addressing a range of economic, environmental and social considerations.

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) currently manages about 6,000 active OCS leases, covering more than 32 million acres – the vast majority in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2013, OCS oil and gas leases accounted for about 18 percent of domestic oil production and 5 percent of domestic natural gas production. This production generates billions of dollars in revenue for state and local governments and the U.S. taxpayer, while supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs.

A REGIONALLY TAILORED APPROACH

The draft proposal reflects a continuation of the regionally tailored leasing strategies employed in the current 2012-2017 Program that are specific to each planning area. The options in the draft proposal involve sales in offshore areas that have the highest oil and gas resource potential, highest industry interest, or are off the coasts of states that expressed a strong interest in potential energy exploration, while still considering potential environmental impacts, stakeholder concerns, and competing uses of ocean and coastal areas.

OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Alaska Region
http://www.boem.gov/2017-2022-DPP-Alaska-Program-Areas/

In Alaska, the draft proposal continues to take a careful approach by utilizing the targeted leasing strategy set forth in the current program, which recognizes the substantial environmental, social and ecological concerns in the Arctic. The draft proposal proposes one sale each in the Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea, and Cook Inlet areas.

Also Tuesday, President Obama – using his authorities under the OCS Lands Act – designated portions of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas as off limits from consideration for future oil and gas leasing in order to protect areas of critical importance to subsistence use by Alaska Natives, as well as for their unique and sensitive environmental resources. In December, President Obama used this same authority to place the waters of Bristol Bay off limits to oil and gas development, protecting an area known for its world-class fisheries and stunning beauty.

“We know the Arctic is an incredibly unique environment, so we’re continuing to take a balanced and careful approach to development,” said Jewell. “At the same time, the President is taking thoughtful action to protect areas that are critical to the needs of Alaska Natives and wildlife.”

Four of the five areas withdrawn Tuesday by President Obama were previously excluded from leasing in the current 2012-2017 oil and gas program; three of the five were also excluded by the prior Administration. Those areas include the Barrow and Kaktovik whaling areas in the Beaufort Sea, and a 25-mile coastal buffer and subsistence areas in the Chukchi Sea. The withdrawal also includes the biologically rich Hanna Shoal area in the Chukchi Sea, which has not previously been excluded from leasing. Extensive scientific research has found this area to be of critical importance to many marine species, including Pacific walruses and bearded seals.

The proposed Alaska sales would be scheduled late in the program to provide additional opportunity to gather and evaluate information regarding environmental issues, subsistence use needs, infrastructure capabilities, and results from any exploration activity associated with existing leases from previous sales.

This action is a good start towards protecting subsistence resources and access, and important ecological areas in both seas says Audubon Alaska.

“Audubon appreciates this first step toward protecting the Arctic Ocean from the impacts of oil and gas development. We have more to do to ensure protection for the Arctic Ocean’s astonishing birds and wildlife and we look forward to rolling up our sleeves and working with the Administration to get it done.” said Jim Adams, Policy Director for Audubon Alaska.

There are 10 globally-significant Important Bird Areas in the Arctic Ocean and along its shoreline in the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea lease areas. The Chukchi and Beaufort seas are also home to polar bears, walrus, seals and several species of whales. The areas the Administration chose to withdraw are important for subsistence, and provide key habitat for birds and wildlife. A number of other very important areas in the Arctic Ocean remain open to drilling.

“Ultimately, we don’t believe drilling anywhere in the Arctic Ocean can be done safely,” said Jim Adams, “the risk of a spill is high and the chances of an effective clean-up are flat out zero. The best way to protect this spectacular place is not to drill at all.”

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) criticized the Obama administration Tuesday for its continued campaign to shut down oil and natural gas activity in Alaska.

“This administration is determined to shut down oil and gas production in Alaska’s federal areas – and this offshore plan is yet another example of their short-sighted thinking,” said Murkowski, the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “The president’s indefinite withdrawal of broad areas of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas is the same unilateral approach this administration is taking in placing restrictions on the vast energy resources in ANWR and the NPR-A.”

Murkowski’s comments come on the heels of the release of the Interior Department’s new five-year offshore oil and natural gas leasing plan, which bans exploration in large portions of Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas.

Interior’s draft plan does include three proposed leases sales in Alaska’s federal waters - one each in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, and one in Cook Inlet - but Murkowski said there is no guarantee those sales will ever be held.

“This administration is once again promising Alaskans that it will allow exploration sometime in the future – but not right now,” Murkowski said. “I think we all know what promises from this administration are worth. They promised Alaska multiple lease sales under the current five-year plan, but so far there have been none, as sales continue to be postponed even past when the president will no longer be in office. Promises will not fill the trans-Alaska pipeline.”

The draft 2017-2022 plan also includes a proposal to open a portion of the Atlantic to leasing off the coasts of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia.

“The proposed lease sales we’re talking about right now aren’t scheduled until after President Obama is out of office,” Murkowski said. “Forgive me for remaining skeptical about this administration’s commitment to our energy security. I look forward to working with the next administration to ensure that Americans have access to abundant and affordable energy.”

Alaskan Congressman Don Young, a senior member of the House Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement Tuesday in response to the Obama Administration’s Draft Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017 to 2022, which places massive portions of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas off limits to future oil and gas leases.

“With [Tuesday's] announcement, the Obama Administration’s assault on Alaska moves from blocking development opportunities on millions of acres of land to taking enormous portions of the Arctic offshore off the table," said Congressman Young. "In defiance of all statewide elected officials and the Alaska legislature, this President has once again thumbed his nose at the Alaskan people as he opens another front in his ongoing war against our people, our communities, and our social and economic future. It’s becoming undeniably clear, that this Administration does not view Alaska as a sovereign state, but rather as an eco-theme park for the most extreme environmentalist allies of the President and his party.”

According to Young, the 5-year proposal announced Tuesday by the Obama Administration represents the lowest number of lease sales in the history of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program, further stalling America’s energy potential and slowing opportunities for job growth.

Alaska Senate Majority leaders responded to what they are callilng another federal assault on Alaska’s rights as a state after President Barack Obama announced Tuesday he will move to block development in 9.8 million acres within the Beaufort and Chukchi seas as part of a new five-year oil and gas leasing program.

In a prepared statement, Senate President Kevin Meyer (R-Anchorage) said, “The president’s latest move to shelve even more our resources shows his indifference and ignorance about the State of Alaska. Blocking off wide swaths of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas to drilling for oil and gas further hurts our families and communities by delivering a severe blow to the future of our economy."

Meyer said, "As a state, we have some of the strictest environmental standards and regulations in the Nation. If the president had bothered to visit the North Slope or ANWR, he would have seen how well we manage our resources and may have decided differently. We demand to be able to exercise the rights granted to us at Statehood to responsibly develop our resources, build a strong economy and provide for the people of our state. We are a state of this Union and we deserve to define our own economic destiny, just as any state in the Union. We will not be treated like a colony.”

The office of Senate Majority Leader John Coghill encourages interested Alaskans to be aware the Citizens’ Advisory Commission on Federal Areas (CACFA) which is meeting in Juneau on Friday, January 30th and Saturday, January 31st to discuss Federal land management issues in the State of Alaska and to discover additional ways to fight back against violations of the Alaska Statehood Compact, ANCSA, and ANILCA. http://dnr.alaska.gov/commis/cacfa/

NEXT STEPS

“Public input is a critical part of our process and we encourage citizens and groups to provide comments to help guide our decisions,” said Hopper, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director. “We anticipate robust dialogue with stakeholders in the coming months that will help us prepare a program that emphasizes protection of the marine environment and coastal economies and uses the best available science and technology to inform our decision-making.”

In conjunction with the announcement of the DPP, the Department is also publishing a Notice of Intent to Develop a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Following significant public comment and environmental review, the Department will prepare a Draft EIS and Proposed Program, and a Final EIS with the Proposed Final Program (PFP).

The Request for Information, published on June 16, 2014, began a process of broad consideration of all 26 areas of the OCS that are available for leasing and gradually narrows as a result of many stages of public comment and environmental analysis. This DPP is the first such narrowing. Prior to any individual lease sale in the future, BOEM will continue to incorporate new scientific information and stakeholder feedback in its environmental reviews to further refine the geographic scope of the lease areas.

The Draft Proposed Program and the Notice of Intent to Develop a Draft Environmental Impact Statement will be available for public comment for 60 days following the publication of the documents in the Federal Register.

Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

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SitNews - January 26, 2015

On the Web:

2017-2022 Draft Proposed Program (DPP) and Area Maps
http://www.boem.gov/2017-2022-DPP-Program-Area-Maps/

Source of News: 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
http://www.boem.gov

Office of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski
www.murkowski.senate.gov.

Office of Congressman Don Young
www.donyoung.house.gov

SitNews ©2015
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Ketchikan, Alaska

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