Outer continental shelf natural gas and oil resource management: comprehensive program, 1992-1997: final environmental impact statement

This draft environmental impact statement considers the adoption of a schedule of sales indicating, as precisely as possible, the size, timing, and location of leasing activities, consistent with the requirements of Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 344, for the period of mid-1992 through mid-1997. The proposed action is to create a plan to lease areas of the Federal OCS for natural gas and oil exploration and development. This document analyzes the potential consequences of a leasing program which would consider 23 sales in 12 of the 26 Outer Continental Shelf planning areas. Alternatives which would modify this schedule of sales have also been analyzed. Hypothetical scenarios were developed to estimate the level of routine exploration and development activities and accidental events (such as, oil spills) which might result if the areas considered for lease were actually leases and then developed. The impacts to the environmental resources represent the aggregation of all the potential changes which might result from these routine activities or accidental events.