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southern sea otter, occur in the lease sale area. In the 

 Commission's judgment, the DEIS provided an incomplete and, 

 in some cases, contradictory assessment of possible direct 

 and indirect effects on marine mammals, and it suggested, 

 among other things, that the impact assessment be expanded 

 to: provide a more comprehensive synthesis and evaluation 

 of available information on the southern sea otter population; 

 consider an additional alternative of deleting certain 

 tracts in order to minimize the probability of an oil spill 

 contacting areas inhabited by sea otters; consider possible 

 effects on U.S. positions and obligations for managing 

 northern fur seals under the Interim Convention on Conservation 

 of North Pacific Fur Seals; and provide better assessments 

 of possible adverse effects of the proposed action on non- 

 endangered and non-threatened as well as endangered and 

 threatened species and populations of marine mammals. 



The Commission noted that preparation of a second draft 

 of at least those sections of the DEIS concerning marine 

 mammals may be necessary to address concerns such as those 

 above, and it recommended that the Minerals Management 

 Service consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 and the Fish and Wildlife Service to get a more realistic 

 assessment of the possible direct and indirect effects of 

 the proposed action and, if necessary, prepare and distribute 

 a second DEIS for review and comment. 



The Service's Final Environmental Impact Statement 

 (FEIS) on Proposed Sale #73 was distributed in June 1983. 

 With respect to recommended consultations with other Federal 

 agencies, the Service noted that it was currently working 

 with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service in an effort to resolve problems noted in 

 the Commission's comments. However, litigation brought by 

 the California Coastal Commission and certain environmental 

 groups resulted in a delay of Sale #73 and, as of the end of 

 1983, future activities in the leasing area were uncertain. 



Proposed PCS Lease Sale #80 

 Offshore Southern California 



This proposed lease sale covers those unleased blocks 

 in waters off southern California between Point Conception 

 and the California-Mexico border. The sale was originally 

 scheduled for February 1984, but has been postponed indefinitely, 

 pending review. Total area involved is approximately 11.6 

 million acres. Deleted from the offering are blocks in the 

 Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and the Santa 

 Barbara Channel Ecological Reserve (including an associated 

 buffer zone) . 



