The Hollister office of the Bureau of Land Management has
announced it completed an environmental assessment for a proposed
oil and gas lease sale for Fresno and Monterey counties Sept.
14.
The Hollister office of the Bureau of Land Management has announced it completed an environmental assessment for a proposed oil and gas lease sale for Fresno and Monterey counties Sept. 14. The following is the statement released by the BLM:
The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Hollister Field Office has completed the environmental assessment (EA) for a proposed competitive oil and gas lease sale scheduled for September 14. A 30-day public review and comment period runs through April 30.
The EA was prepared to analyze the environmental impacts of leasing the mineral estate for oil and gas exploration and development. The lands considered for competitive lease auction are located in Fresno and Monterey counties.
The EA is available online at: http://www.blm.gov/ca/hollister, or contact Sky Murphy, planning and environmental coordinator in the BLM Hollister Field Office, at (831) 630-5039, email Sk********@bl*.gov.
After the 30-day public comment period closes, the BLM’s Hollister Field Office will review the EA based on substantive issues and concerns identified in public comments. If, based on the recommendations of the EA, the proposed lease sale moves forward, the BLM’s California State Office will post a notice 90 days prior to the competitive lease sale scheduled for September 14. A 30-day public protest period will begin the day the sale notice is posted.
To enable California BLM to comply with and implement BLM’s policy for Oil and Gas Leasing Reform for Land Use Planning and Lease Parcel Reviews announced on May 17, 2010, Interdisciplinary Parcel Review (IDPR) teams have been established in Field Offices to review lease sale parcels and ensure compliance with National Environmental Policy Act and other legal and policy requirements.
The effects of oil and gas exploration and development are analyzed more generally in BLM’s EA’s for proposed lease sales and then more specifically at the lease development, or application to drill (APD), stage. Using site-specific information provided in APD’s, the Hollister Field Office’s IDPR team can identify Best Management Practices including endangered species stipulations, no surface occupancy requirements, offsite mitigation, and air quality mitigation measures.
