Environmental Monitoring

Lease Sale Measures

The Alaska Region has adopted a number of mitigating measures to protect sensitive habitat and resources. Mitigation measures in the form of lease stipulations are added to the lease terms and are therefore enforceable. Stipulations are developed for a specific lease sale area. For example, following is a list of the lease stipulations adopted for Beaufort Sea OCS Lease Sale 195:

	Stipulation No. 1. Protection of Biological Resources
	Stipulation No. 2. Orientation Program
	Stipulation No. 3. Transportation of Hydrocarbons
	Stipulation No. 4. Industry Site-Specific Bowhead Whale-Monitoring Program
	Stipulation No. 5. Conflict Avoidance Mechanisms to Protect Subsistence Whaling and Other Subsistence-Harvesting Activities
	Stipulation No. 6. Pre-Booming Requirements for Fuel Transfers
	Stipulation No. 7. Lighting of Lease Structures to Minimize Effects to Spectacled and Steller’s Eiders

A lease sale notice also includes Information to Lessees (ITL) that provides additional direction and guidance to operators to protect sensitive habitat and resources. For example, the OCS Lease Sale 195 notice included an ITL advising operators of sensitive habitats and resources to be considered in developing oil spill contingency plans. In another ITL, lessees are referred to guidelines developed by Alaska Native Communities that identify local concerns and customs, and the lessees are advised to incorporate this information into environmental orientation programs.

The Alaska Region reviews each OCS plan to ensure that the operator has incorporated lease stipulations and ITL advisories into their plan.

A complete list of stipulations and ITLs for Beaufort OCS Lease Sale 195 is available at http://www.BOEMRE.gov/alaska/cproject/beaufortsale/FNOS195Package/FNOS195pac kage.htm. A discussion of the objectives and effectiveness of these measures can be found in the Beaufort Sea Multiple-Sale Final Environmental Impact Statement OCS EIS/EA BOEMRE 2003-001. A complete list of stipulations and ITLs for Cook Inlet OCS Lease Sales 191 & 199 is available at: http://www.BOEMRE.gov/alaska/cproject/Cook_Inlet/CI191FNOSPackage/CI191Stips.pdf

Information about Cook Inlet OCS Lease Sales 191 & 199 is located at: http://www.BOEMRE.gov/alaska/cproject/Cook_Inlet/Cook Inlet Sale.htm