In response to a federal court order, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has released its Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 193.
BOEM prepared this revised analysis in accordance with the April 24, 2014, remand order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. The original EIS for Lease Sale 193 was published in 2007 and the sale was conducted in 2008. Subsequent legal challenges and federal court decisions remanded the sale back to BOEM for further analysis, specifically related to the agency’s estimates of production levels from likely offshore oil fields that might be developed in the Chukchi Sea.
Earlier in 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement suspended operations for all Chukchi leases issued in Lease Sale 193, which stops the lease term from running while BOEM completes this supplemental environmental review. The suspension remains in effect until BOEM completes its environmental review, as directed by the court.
The Notice of Availability for the Draft Supplemental EIS will publish in the Federal Register on Friday, Nov. 7, initiating a 45-day public comment period, which will end Monday, Dec. 22. During this time, BOEM will hold seven public hearings in Alaska, will conduct government-to-government consultation meetings with Alaska Native tribes, and will also accept public comments
The Draft Supplemental EIS is available at: www.boem.gov/ak193/
The public hearing schedule is:
(All hearings scheduled for 7 p.m. Alaska Time.)
| Date | Location | Date | Location |
| Nov. 17 | Kotzebue(NWAB Assm Chambers) | Dec. 1 | Anchorage (Loussac Library) |
| Nov. 18 | Pt. Hope (Qalgi Center) | Dec. 3 | Barrow (Ilisagvik College) |
| Nov. 19 | Pt. Lay (Comm Cntr) | Dec. 4 | Fairbanks (Westmark Hotel) |
| Nov. 20 | Wainwright (R. James Comm Cntr) |
