Alaska State Office
| Contacts: | Karen Laubenstein, 907-271-3318, klaubens@blm.gov | |||
| Thom Jennings, 907-271-3335, tjenning@blm.gov |
EPA Publishes NOA of Final IAP/EIS for National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
ANCHORAGE — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published today the Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Final Integrated Activity Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (IAP/EIS) for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). Today's publication of the EPA NOA will start a minimum review period of 30 days prior to the issuance of a record of decision by the Secretary.
The Final IAP/EIS is the first management plan that covers the entire Reserve, including 9.2 million acres in the southwest area. Previous plans covered the northeast and northwest planning areas only. This comprehensive blueprint will allow for access to oil and gas resources on 11.8 million acres, which are estimated to hold 549 million barrels of economically recoverable oil and 8.7 trillion cubic feet of economically recoverable natural gas.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. In Fiscal Year 2012, activities on public lands generated $4.6 billion in revenue, much of which was shared with the States where the activities occurred. In addition, public lands contributed more than $112 billion to the U.S. economy and helped support more than 500,000 jobs.
Alaska State Office 222 W. 7th Ave., #13 Anchorage, AK 99513-7504