2.3 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 



After trac^ selection, -BLM prepares a draft-Envirnnmental Impact 

 Statement (EIS) required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

 [57]. It utilizes the information received during the Federal "in-house" 

 evaluation, and the comments received during the "Call for Nominations." 

 BLM must revise the draft EIS based on agency and public comments received 

 during a review process. The revisions are incorporated in a final EIS. 

 BLM follows strict time schedules in coordinating the EIS with public 

 hearings and comment required by the OCS Lands Act and regulations [58]. 

 (See Table 6) 



The FWS reviews the draft EIS for a lease sale in the same Regional 

 Office that participates in tract selection. The OCS Coordinator's staff 

 checks these regional comments in the context of FWS policies and consoli- 

 dates them with comments that may come from other divisions of FWS (e.g.. 

 Rare and Endangered Species, Wildlife Refuges, etc.). The Director then 

 forwards the consolidated comments to BLM. These procedures are similar 

 to EIS procedures for other types of Federal action requiring an impact 

 statement {601. 



The FWS participates in two related activities. First, BLM coordinates 

 the results of public hearings with the draft EIS review. FWS representa- 

 tives attend these hearings tO' review technical contributions and to advance 

 FWS policy positions. When controversial Issues are presented, both the 

 OCS Coordinator and the Regional staff may attend. 



Second, BLM may redraft lease stipulations based on comments and 

 information from the EIS process [61]. The lease stipulation is the 

 legal tool that controls individual lease operations and is an important 

 factor in industry's evaluation of necessary environmental safeguards. 

 The Bureau of Land Management is assisted by the USGS, NPS, and the FWS 

 with USGS providing technical information from the physical sciences. 

 The FWS plays a key role in this important process, representing the 

 biological sciences under the procedures outlined in S.O. 2974. 



2.4 DEPARTMENTAL DECISION PROCESS 



BLM recommends which tracts to lease under existing law; the 

 Secretary of the Interior acts on this recommendation. To aid in the 

 .decision process, BLM prepares a Program Decision Option Document (PDOD), 

 which summarizes economic, social and physical resource issues not 

 previously examined in the environmental impact statement, to assist the 

 final decision. This 30-60 page Issue Paper serves as the primary 

 decision document in lease sale offerings. The document draws on ttie 

 information assembled by FWS, USGS and other agencies and on the EIS. 

 Because the scope of environmental argument in the PDOD is limited, FWS 

 contributions are usually tied to specific fish and wildlife resource 

 problems, though they may range over other related issues [62]. 



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