The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) for Shell’s Ancillary Activities to take place in federal waters in the Chukchi Sea during the 2013 open water season. These activities include:
- Offshore Ice Gouge Surveys- approximately 621 mi (1,000 km) of ice gouge surveys
- Site Clearance and Shallow Hazards Surveys-a total of approximately 1,988 mi (3,200 km) of tracklines in three survey areas
BOEM is inviting the public to comment on issues that should be considered by BOEM in preparing the EA.
BOEM received Shell’s Ancillary Activities Notice for operations in federal waters on April 19, 2013. This notice is available at:Shell Exploration & Production Ancillary Activity Notice of Intent for Marine Surveys in the Chukchi Sea, Alaska, During 2013
BOEM is only accepting and considering public comments submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov, docket number BOEM-2013-0032). The deadline to receive these comments is June 5, 2013 (12:00 midnight, EST). BOEM cautions that before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask BOEM (prominently at the beginning of your submission) to withhold your personal identifying information from public view, BOEM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so. BOEM will not consider anonymous comments.