Interior lets BLM skip environmental assessments for qualifying NPR-A winter exploration

The Interior Department on Thursday established a categorical exclusion that lets the Bureau of Land Management approve qualifying winter oil and gas exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska without a separate environmental assessment. It takes effect Friday, Oct. 9.

A categorical exclusion covers types of projects that an agency has determined don't typically have significant environmental impacts, so they don't need a full environmental review, according to BLM. The reserve covers roughly 23 million acres of the North Slope.

The exclusion covers vibroseis seismic surveys, ice roads and snow routes, ice pads and camps, water withdrawals, exploration and delineation wells, flow tests, well plugging and next-summer helicopter cleanup. It sets no numerical limit on wells or survey acreage.

BLM must still check each project for extraordinary circumstances, which can require a full assessment. Interior's list of those circumstances includes public health, cultural resources, wetlands, listed species, sacred sites, and highly uncertain or precedent-setting effects, among others.

Subsistence is not on that list. The exclusion does not remove the separate subsistence-evaluation requirement under Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. But the notice does not explain how BLM will document that evaluation for projects approved under the new exclusion.

Why Interior made the change

Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary Troy Finnegan signed the notice, which says: "Improving the efficiency of environmental review is especially important in the NPR-A, where seasonal restrictions and severe weather can constrain when oil and gas companies can pursue construction and operations as authorized by the BLM."

To justify the exclusion, BLM reviewed 47 environmental assessments for winter exploration projects approved over the past 28 years, the notice says. All ended in findings of no significant impact or no new significant impact, which the notice says were verified through post-implementation review.

In announcing the change, BLM said winter exploration relies on temporary ice roads, ice pads and snow routes, and that "the only potential sign of exploration after the snow melts is generally the well-head, if drilled."

Public comment

When BLM reviewed a ConocoPhillips exploration proposal last November, it took public comment for seven days. A comparable project now would not need an environmental assessment unless extraordinary circumstances apply.

Interior said it consulted the White House Council on Environmental Quality in developing the exclusion. Its NEPA rules, finalized in February, do not require public comment before establishing a new exclusion.

The exclusion is separate from BLM's proposed 60-day production pad approval rule, which is open for comment until Nov. 9.