BLM Alaska Releases Draft NPR-A Regional Mitigation Strategy
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Today the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the draft Regional Mitigation Strategy (RMS) for the Northeastern National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) and is inviting public comment on the document. By providing a robust 90-day comment period, the BLM hopes to continue working with all interested parties to develop a transparent, balanced, workable, and reasonable mitigation framework.
Studies show that future oil and gas development in the NPR-A could result in unavoidable impacts primarily to the Iñupiat people in the region, their subsistence activities, the ecosystems upon which they depend for subsistence, and their culture. These unavoidable impacts are referred to as residual impacts—those impacts that can’t be avoided or minimized to acceptable levels by established practices.
“The intent of the RMS is to provide a well-balanced mitigation framework that will increase consistency, predictability, and certainty for future oil and gas development, while providing for environmentally responsible development of resources within the Northeastern NPR-A,” said BLM State Director Bud Cribley. “Once the RMS is finalized, it will be an important step towards ensuring the sustainability of natural resources in the Arctic, including important subsistence wildlife populations.”
The BLM is developing the RMS through a collaborative process with representatives from the oil industry, Federal and state government, Alaska Native interest groups, North Slope communities, conservation groups, the NPR-A Working Group, and other interested stakeholders. During three workshops with stakeholder groups the BLM presented draft elements of a process to determine whether and how to compensate for impacts from the proposed Greater Mooses Tooth One (GMT1) project and future oil and gas developments in the Northeast NPR-A.
In the workshops, stakeholder groups identified specific mitigation actions that could be considered during the environmental analysis of future development to help offset residual impacts. Potential mitigation actions could include improvements to subsistence activities, preservation of Iñupiat culture, and environmental restoration. By integrating mitigation actions early in future development project proposals, the environmental analysis would be more comprehensive in its initial phase, the permitting process time decreased, and the overall impacts reduced.
The RMS, along with best management practices and mitigation measures required by the NPR-A Integrated Activity Plan, was part of the Record of Decision authorizing the development of GMT1. The RMS will allow the BLM to shift focus from project-by-project mitigation management to a proactive regional-scale planning perspective.
The development of a Regional Mitigation Strategy builds on a history of planning, management, and permitting for the NPR-A region. Any proposed mitigation actions that result from the strategy would be analyzed through a separate environmental analysis, following the National Environmental Policy Act and established procedures of public input.
For more information or to submit comments, please contact Stacie McIntosh, Arctic Office Manager, at s05mcint@blm.gov or by phone at (907) 474-2310; or Serena Sweet, Supervisory Planning & Environmental Coordinator, at ssweet@blm.gov or by phone at (907) 271-4543. Mailed comments can be sent to RMS Comments (Attn: Serena Sweet), 222 W. 7th Ave. #13, Anchorage, AK 99513.
The complete draft of the strategy can be found here.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.