BLM and Fish and Wildlife present draft SEIS with new, more protective Alternative D and set comment, review schedule

The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the agencies’ joint presentation described key updates in the draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, including a new action alternative designed to address legal deficiencies identified by the Secretary of the Interior.

BLM Alaska State Director Steve Cohen said the SEIS work follows a department review that found analytical gaps in the 2019 environmental impact statement and the record of decision. Cohen said the supplemental analysis was ordered to address those deficiencies and that the agencies sought to “balance the five statutory purposes” of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge while responding to the legal findings that triggered the SEIS process.

The draft SEIS presents four alternatives, labeled A through D. Alternative A is the no-action baseline and would not offer federal minerals in the Coastal Plain for future lease sales. Alternative B estimates up to 2,000 acres of surface disturbance and would allow seismic exploration across the program area, while Alternative C reduces the reasonably foreseeable surface disturbance to about 1,464 acres and applies more no-surface-occupancy stipulations in many areas. The newly developed Alternative D was described by agency presenters as the most protective action alternative: it incorporates more protective lease stipulations and required operating procedures, designates the most acreage with no surface occupancy, and estimates roughly 1,040 acres of surface disturbance under its reasonably foreseeable development scenario.

Serena Sweet, a project manager for BLM, clarified a frequently asked legal point: the SEIS analyzes a range of reasonably foreseeable development scenarios that vary by alternative but does not change the statutory 2,000-acre ceiling cited in the tax act (Public Law 115-97). The agencies said the SEIS updates include a more comprehensive greenhouse-gas analysis, a new ANILCA Section 810 subsistence evaluation, and updated consideration of subsistence and indigenous knowledge.

The agencies listed procedural milestones and public participation opportunities. The public review and comment period runs September 8 through October 23, 2023. Officials said the final SEIS is expected in winter 2024, a record of decision in spring 2024, and that the second legislatively mandated lease sale must be held no later than December 2024.

Why it matters: The new Alternative D responds directly to legal and analytical concerns raised by the Department of the Interior and the secretary’s review, and its emphasis on no-surface-occupancy stipulations would shape how and where future on‑the‑ground proposals (exploration, pads, roads) could be sited or restricted. The SEIS itself does not authorize ground‑disturbing activities; any site‑specific proposals would require additional NEPA review, consultations, and permitting.

Authorities and legal background cited by agency presenters included Public Law 115-97 (the tax act), Secretarial Order 3401 (June 1, 2021), Executive Order 13990, and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). The agencies said they conducted scoping beginning August 2021, received about 105,000 public comments during scoping, and compiled updated scientific and indigenous information into the draft.

Next steps: Written comments may be submitted on the BLM ePlanning webpage through Oct. 23, 2023. Agency presenters encouraged commenters to cite specific analyses or appendices (for example, appendix B) when asking the agencies to re-evaluate reasonably foreseeable development assumptions, stipulations, or subsistence considerations.