BLM and Fish and Wildlife Service detail updated SEIS alternatives and schedule for Arctic Coastal Plain

The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service outlined an updated Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain, emphasizing revised alternatives and new analyses as the agencies seek public input through Nov. 7, 2023.

BLM Alaska State Director Steve Cohen told attendees the Tax Act initially directed BLM to administer Coastal Plain leasing and that a 2021 Departmental review found legal deficiencies in the 2019 Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision. "That new direction has gotten us to this stage in the process where we are seeking your input on the Draft SEIS," Cohen said.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Sarah Borio said the Service, as surface manager of the Refuge, considered all five statutory purposes of the Refuge and relied on new data, science and tribal knowledge. "Throughout the supplemental EIS process, our team has worked hard to ensure that all of the purposes of the Refuge were considered," Borio said.

The agencies described four alternatives: Alternative A (No Action), which would offer no federal minerals for future lease sales and serve as a NEPA baseline; Alternative B, which would make the entire program area available with an estimated 2,000 acres of surface disturbance; Alternative C, which would limit leasable areas and estimate about 1,464 acres of disturbance; and a newly developed Alternative D, which the agencies said is the most protective and has a Reasonably Foreseeable Development Scenario estimating about 1,040 acres of disturbance.

The SEIS team also said it updated the Reasonably Foreseeable Development Scenario (described in Appendix B), conducted a more comprehensive greenhouse gas analysis, and reanalyzed subsistence information including an ANILCA Section 810 evaluation. The agencies stressed that the SEIS evaluates impacts of different leasing scenarios and stipulations but does not itself authorize on‑the‑ground exploration or development; future site‑specific proposals would require further NEPA step‑down analyses.

BLM Project Manager Stephanie Kuhns reminded the public the draft was released in early September and that the public comment period runs through Nov. 7, 2023. She said the final SEIS was targeted for winter 2024, with a Record of Decision expected in spring 2024 and a congressional deadline for a second lease sale by December 2024.

The agencies encouraged public participation through the BLM ePlanning portal, in writing by mail, or by attending additional planned meetings in Utqiagvik and Kaktovik. Comment instructions and supporting documents were posted on ePlanning.

What happens next: the agencies will review written and verbal comments received during the review period and incorporate responses and any necessary changes into the Final Supplemental EIS and subsequent Record of Decision.