Gulf of America Regional OCS Oil and Gas Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

Availability of the Draft GOA Oil and Gas Programmatic EIS

On Dec. 6, 2024, BOEM announced a Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Gulf of America Regional Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Lease Sales: Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (GOA Oil and Gas Programmatic EIS) would be published on Dec. 13, 2024.  The EIS analyzes the potential impacts of a representative oil and gas lease sale in available OCS areas of the Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas and the associated potential site and activity specific approvals resulting from a proposed OCS oil and gas lease sale. 

Tentative Programmatic EIS Schedule

Publication of the Notice of Intent: Oct. 2, 2023 
Publication of the Draft Programmatic EIS: Dec. 13, 2024
Public Comment Period on the Draft Programmatic EIS: Dec. 13, 2024 - Jan. 27, 2025
Publication of the Final Programmatic EIS: September 2025

BOEM held three virtual public meetings to inform the public about the Draft GOA Oil and Gas Programmatic EIS and to provide comments on the analysis.:

Below is the meeting agenda for the Draft GOA Oil and Gas Programmatic EIS.  The agenda is available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Below is the presentation for the Draft GOA Oil and Gas Programmatic EIS.  

Below are some posters summarizing material from the Draft GOA Oil and Gas Programmatic EIS.  These posters are available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

On Oct. 2, 2023, the Department of the Interior and BOEM issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (Programmatic EIS) to analyze the potential impacts of a representative oil and gas lease sale in available Outer Continental Shelf areas of the Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas and the associated potential site- and activity-specific approvals resulting from a proposed OCS oil and gas lease sale. The National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (2024-2029 PFP) includes proposed OCS oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of America (GOA).

The NOI also announced the scoping process that BOEM used to identify significant issues and potential alternatives for consideration in the GOA Oil and Gas Programmatic EIS.  The comment period closed on Nov. 1, 2023.  ICF International analyzed submissions received in response to the NOI and developed a report of comment excerpts sorted by issue.

Through Nov. 3, 2023, BOEM received a total of 13 public comment submissions in response to the NOI (Docket BOEM-2023-0046).  In addition, four submissions were received during a public meeting, but these submissions were not added to the docket.  However, they were included in the analysis in this report for a total of 17 submissions analyzed.  Of the 17 total public submissions, all have been identified as unique and are reflected in the Programmatic EIS Scoping Summary.

Virtual Scoping Meetings

During the scoping period, BOEM held two virtual scoping meetings where the public learned more about the environmental review process and had an opportunity to ask questions and provide scoping comments for the Draft GOA Oil and Gas Programmatic EIS.  Information from each virtual scoping meeting is shown below. 

Programmatic Description of the Potential Effects from Gulf of America OCS Oil- and Gas-Related Activities: A Supporting Information Document 

  • This document is intended to provide subject-matter experts, decisionmakers, and the public with a broad characterization of the Gulf of America OCS, the potential activities associated with oil and gas leasing on the Gulf of America OCS, other activities and environmental factors not associated with OCS oil and gas leasing, and how these various activities and factors might interact with resources in the physical, biological, and human environments. This document is intended to assist with streamlining future environmental documents prepared by BOEM under NEPA, such as Gulf oil and gas leasing EISs by providing supporting information that can be incorporated by reference, consistent with the Council on Environmental Quality’s NEPA implementing regulations. The Area of Analysis includes the Federal OCS waters of the Gulf that are within BOEM’s Gulf WPA, CPA, and EPA.  The Area of Analysis also includes the State waters and coastal regions of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. This document analyzes the potential effects to air and water quality; coastal, benthic, and pelagic habitats and communities; fishes and invertebrates; birds; marine mammals; sea turtles; commercial fisheries; recreational fishing; recreational resources; archaeological resources; economics; land use; and other social factors. 

Biological Environmental Background Report for the Gulf of America 

  • This document compiles information that describes the biological resources of the GOA region and then explores these resources’ vulnerability to BOEM-regulated activities associated with the exploration and development of oil and gas, marine minerals, and renewable energy. This background report may inform future internal and external efforts to describe GOA habitats and associated biological resources. This document will also inform future potential impact assessments of BOEM’s programmatic activities prepared under NEPA. BOEM intends to use this document to inform future outreach processes with other Federal agencies and Tribal governments. Importantly, this document does not replace the NEPA process or obligations to consult. BOEM will only use this document as a more in-depth and technical reference for public NEPA documents. 

Gulf of America OCS Regulatory Framework Technical Report

  • The objective of this document is to establish a current, comprehensive discussion describing the regulations that govern the environmental reviews for BOEM and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s offshore activities involving oil, natural gas, renewable energy, and marine minerals in the GOA. It provides a framework of regulations and policies addressed in NEPA documents required for the OCS oil and gas leasing program. Historically, these regulations and policies were discussed in past NEPA documents for BOEM’s oil and gas lease sales, which contributed to lengthy documents. 

Essential Fish Habitat Technical Report

  • This Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Assessment serves as the initiation of a Programmatic EFH Consultation between BOEM’s New Orleans Office and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for oil- and gas-related activities on the Gulf of America OCS. Pursuant to Section 305(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Federal agencies are required to consult with NMFS on any action that may result in adverse effects to EFH. The NMFS published the final rule implementing the EFH provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (50 CFR part 600) on January 17, 2002. Certain OCS activities authorized by BOEM may result in adverse effects to EFH and require consultation. 

2024–2029 Proposed Final Program 

  • The Proposed Final Program phase of the National OCS Program provides a final national analysis of the potential lease sales in the 2024-2029 Program, which the Secretary can consider in making future decisions. 

2024–2029 National OCS Program Programmatic EIS (Volume I and Volume II)

  • This final programmatic environmental impact statement (Final Programmatic EIS) describes and analyzes the potential environmental impacts that could result from leasing, exploration, production, and decommissioning associated with lease sales contemplated in the 2024-2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (Proposed Final Program). This document was prepared in accordance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq.) and implementing regulations. This analysis encompasses the 25 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management OCS oil and gas planning areas included in the Draft Proposed Program (released in January 2018) and considers a range of alternatives, as analyzed in the Draft Programmatic EIS (released in July 2022). The Final Programmatic EIS informed the Secretary’s Third Proposal and Proposed Final Program, which was released concurrently with the 2024–2029 National OCS Program Programmatic EIS. 

What is the OCS Leasing Process and where are we?

BOEM Ntnl OCS Oil and Gas Leasing map

How does Lease Sale 262 fit into the 2024 – 2029 National Program?

On September 29, 2023, the Proposed Final Program (PFP) was published. The PFP covers the 5-year period starting on July 1, 2024, and continues through June 30, 2029. The PFP schedules three potential oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of America (GOA) Program Area. Sixty days after the transmittal of the PFP to the President and Congress, the Secretary approved the 2024–2029 Program via a combined decision memo and Record of Decision. The three GOA sales are scheduled to occur over the 5 years of the 2024–2029 Program, with one sale each in 2025, 2027, and 2029. The Secretary retains discretion at the lease sale stage to determine whether, when, and under what terms a lease sale should be held and the precise acreage to be offered.  More information on the National Program can be found here:  https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/national-program/national-ocs-oil-and-gas-leasing-program
 

What does the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) do?

BOEM is the agency in the Department of the Interior that oversees science-informed management of oil and gas, renewable energy, and mineral resources on the OCS. BOEM currently manages more than 2,000 active OCS oil and gas leases, covering nearly 11 million acres — the vast majority of which are in the Gulf of America.

What is the Outer Continental Shelf?

The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) consists of all submerged lands (the seafloor) lying seaward of State waters. The OCS consists of about 2.5 billion acres, which is more than the total land area of the entire United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. BOEM divides the OCS into 26 planning areas. Planning areas are administrative divisions used as the initial basis for considering what areas to lease.

A lease sale is the process by which BOEM provides qualified bidders the right to bid for and obtain a lease on the OCS. BOEM may hold oil and gas lease sales within an approved National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program at the Secretary’s discretion. In accordance with BOEM’s regulations and 30 CFR part 556, and the procedures set forth in a Final Notice of Sale (which is published at least 30 days prior to a lease sale), bids are submitted to BOEM in advance in a sealed envelope; on sale day, the high bids on each block are read aloud publicly. No bids are accepted or rejected by BOEM at that time. After the sale day, BOEM has 90 days to evaluate the bids to ensure the receipt of fair market value, and the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission conduct an anti-trust review of the lease sale.  If all requirements are met, BOEM can then issue leases to the winning bidders. A lease is an agreement issued pursuant to the OCS Lands Act that authorizes exploration for, and development and production of, oil, gas, and other mineral resources such as sulfur, sand, gravel, and salt. Oil and gas leases are offered competitively as OCS blocks, which are 9 square miles (3 miles on a side). Before conducting a lease sale or authorizing any activities conveyed through an issued lease, BOEM conducts a review under NEPA and numerous other environmental laws to ensure that the activities will be conducted in a safe and environmentally sound manner, and that the interests of key stakeholders are considered. Additional information is available at https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/leasing.



The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was passed in 1970 and requires Federal agencies to consider potential environmental impacts of and alternatives to any major action they propose. These regulations were updated in April 2022 (87 FR 23453).  The NEPA process includes opportunities for public review and comment on these evaluations. 

BOEM conducted a region-specific NEPA review in the Gulf by preparing a Gulf of America Regional Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (GOA Oil and Gas Programmatic EIS). This Programmatic EIS analyzed the potential impacts of a representative oil and gas lease sale and the potential associated site- and activity-specific OCS oil- and gas-related activity approvals from a representative single lease sale in available areas of the WPA, CPA, and EPA of the GOA.

The planning areas are for administrative purposes only. They originated with the first program (1980-1985) after the 1978 Amendments to the OCS Lands Act called for a Program. Before that, lease sales were strictly individually based, and the areas offered were due to industry nominations or as BOEM (then the Minerals Management Service) deemed necessary. A very limited number of blocks were offered for lease in a lease sale. When the OCS Lands Act required a way to compare areas that may or may not be smaller than regions, planning areas were created. Not all of the OCS had a planning area in the beginning, and some have changed names and area boundaries over time. 

For more information, refer to BOEM’s Gulf of America OCS Regulatory Framework technical report.