All,

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is pleased to announce the availability of the Effects of Oil and Gas Activities in the Arctic Ocean Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Supplemental DEIS).  The Supplemental DEIS is now available on the project website: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/eis/arctic.htm. 

The purpose of the EIS is to evaluate, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of implementing the alternative approaches for authorizing the take of marine mammals incidental to oil and gas exploration activities in the Arctic Ocean pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act.  The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is a cooperating agency on this EIS, and as such, this EIS also evaluates the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of implementing the alternative approaches for authorizing geological and geophysical surveys and ancillary activities under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act in the Arctic Ocean.  The North Slope Borough is also a cooperating agency on this EIS.

After releasing the initial draft environmental impact statement for public comment in December 2011, NNMFS and BOEM broadened the scope of analysis in light of comments from stakeholders. The initial EIS analyzed the effects of up to two exploratory drilling programs per year in both the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. The supplemental draft EIS analyzes the effects of up to four drilling programs per year in each area. The revised draft also expands discussion of mitigation measures designed to reduce the effects of offshore oil and gas activities on marine mammals and marine mammal subsistence users.

NMFS approved the Supplemental DEIS for public review, and the Notice of Availability (NOA) will be published in the Federal Register on March 29, 2013. Once published, a link to the NOA can be found on the project website listed above.

Public Comment Period: Comments on the Effects of Oil and Gas Activities in the Arctic Ocean Supplemental DEIS will be accepted during the public comment period until May 28, 2013.  Comments on the EIS should be identified by NOAA-NMFS-2013-0054 and can be submitted by any of the following methods:

• Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal, enter NOAA-NMFS-2013-0054 in the keyword search.  Locate the document you wish to comment on from the resulting list and click on the "Comment Now" icon on the right of that line.  (Please note that this method for commenting will not be available until the Notice of Availability publishes in the Federal Register on Friday, March 29).
• Mail: Director, Office of Protected Resources, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910
• Fax: (301) 713-0376 attn: Candace Nachman
  

We request that you include background documents to support your comments as appropriate.

THE DEADLINE FOR PROVIDING COMMENTS IS MAY 28, 2013.

The Supplemental DEIS may be viewed online at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/eis/arctic.htm.

To obtain a paper copy of the Supplemental DEIS, please send a written request to Candace Nachman at Candace.Nachman@noaa.gov with your physical address. The document will be provided within 10 days of processing the request.

To read the press release about this DEIS go to:

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/mediacenter/2013/03/03_nmfs_arctic_drilling_eis.html