The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has cancelled the public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Cook Inlet OCS Oil & Gas Lease Sale 258, off Alaska's southcentral coast. Due to cancellation of the public comment period, the virtual meetings previously scheduled for February are also canceled.

On Jan. 27, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14008, titled "Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.' Among other things, this order directs federal agencies to 'pause new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters pending completion of a comprehensive review and reconsideration of Federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices."

A Federal Register notice formally canceling the comment period and public meetings is forthcoming.

Background:

The 2017-2022 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Program provides for one lease sale in the federal submerged lands of Cook Inlet.

In September 2020, BOEM announced that it would begin preparation of an EIS to analyze the potential environmental impacts of the proposed sale. A Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register Jan. 15. The publication of the notice launched a 45-day comment period, during which the bureau offered the public opportunities to comment on the Draft EIS. The comment period, formerly scheduled to close March 1, and all public meetings identified in the notice are now canceled, effective immediately.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: BOEM