Proposed PCS Lease Sale #76 

 Mid-Atlantic 



This lease sale tentatively is scheduled for March 

 1983 and consists of 4,325 blocks (approximately 24.6 

 million acres) of submerged OCS lands off the mid-Atlantic 

 coast of the United States. The Commission was consulted 

 during the planning phase for this lease sale and, as noted 

 on pages 73 and 74 of its Annual Report for Calendar Year 

 1981, advised the Bureau of Land Management that: twenty- 

 five species of marine mammals have been reported to occur 

 in, or migrate through, the proposed lease sale area; six of 

 these species are listed as "endangered" under the Endangered 

 Species Act; the habitat requirements and habitat use patterns 

 of these species are not well documented; and available 

 information on the possible effects of disturbance, noise, 

 oil, and other pollutants is insufficient to accurately 

 predict how marine mammals and their habitats might be 

 affected by exploration or development activities. The 

 Commission recommended, among other things, that the Bureau 

 consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service to identify 

 information, lease stipulations, detection and monitoring 

 programs, or other measures that may be needed to assure 

 that marine mammals would not be affected adversely by the 

 proposed action. 



The Commission, in consultation with its Committee of 

 Scientific Advisors, subsequently reviewed the Draft Environmental 

 Impact Statement for Proposed OCS Lease Sale #76. This 

 document reflected many of the Commission's earlier comments, 

 but did not provide adequate descriptions or assessments of 

 planned research programs and the possible effects of the 

 proposed action on the endangered North Atlantic right whale 

 population. Therefore, by letter of 20 September 19 82, the 

 Commission suggested that the DEIS be modified to provide: 

 (1) additional discussion and analysis of the possible 

 effects of the proposed action on the endangered North 

 Atlantic right whale population; and (2) an expanded 

 description of the research programs and administrative 

 procedures that will be used to assure that' the best possible 

 environmental information will be available to lease managers. 



Proposed OCS Lease Sale #78 

 South Atlantic 



This lease sale, originally scheduled for January 1984, 

 has been rescheduled for July 1983 and consists of 5,733 

 blocks (approximately 33 million acres) off the South Atlantic 

 coast of the United States. As with OCS Sale #76, the 

 Commission commented on this sale during the initial planning 

 phases (see pages 74 and 75 in the Commission's Annual 

 Report for Calendar Year 1981) . 



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