August 13, 2015
Contact: Caryl.Fagot@boem.gov
504-736-2590
As part of our Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program: 2012-2017 (Five-Year Program), BOEM intends to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) for this Program's last proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas lease sale in the Central Planning Area (CPA) of the Gulf of Mexico. Proposed CPA Lease Sale 247 is tentatively scheduled to be held in 2017.
BOEM proposes to offer for oil and gas leasing approximately 46 million acres in the CPA, with the exception of the whole and portions of blocks deferred by the Gulf of Mexico Security Act of 2006 and the blocks that are beyond the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone in the area known as the northern portion of the Eastern Gap.
As part of the scoping process, BOEM's public scoping meetings will be held at the following places and times:
- Mobile, Alabama: Tuesday, September 1, 2015, Hilton Garden Inn Mobile West, 828 West I-65 Service Road South, Mobile, Alabama 36609, one meeting beginning at 4:00 p.m. CDT;
- Gulfport, Mississippi: Wednesday, September 2, 2015, Courtyard by Marriott, Gulfport Beachfront MS Hotel, 1600 East Beach Boulevard, Gulfport, Mississippi 39501, one meeting beginning at 6:00 p.m. CDT; and
- New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, September 3, 2015, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123, one meeting beginning at 1:00 p.m. CDT.
If you are unable to attend a meeting and would like to submit comments in writing, you may send an email to cpa247@boem.gov.
You may mail or hand deliver comments in an envelope labeled "Scoping Comments for the CPA 247 Supplemental EIS" to Mr. Gary D. Goeke, Chief, Environmental Assessment Section, Office of Environment (GM 623E), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394.
Beginning August 17, 2015, you may also go to the regulations.gov web portal and search for "Central Planning Area Lease Sale 247" (note: it is important to include the quotation marks in your search terms). Click on the "Comment Now!" button to the right of the document link. Enter your information and comment, then click "Submit."
Comments should specifically address factors related to the scope of the proposed CPA 247 Supplemental EIS. The deadline for submitting a comment is September 16, 2015.
BOEM does not consider anonymous comments and makes all comments, including names and addresses, available for public review. If you wish to have your name or address withheld, you must state your preference at the beginning of your comment and we will try, but cannot guarantee, to accommodate that request.
If you have questions, please call Mr. Gary D. Goeke at 504-736-3233.