Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on Proposed Seismic Surveys in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas; Notice of Withdrawal

On November 17, 2006, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), NOAA Fisheries and the Minerals Management Service (MMS) announced our intent to prepare a Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DPEIS) that would describe and analyze the potential significant environmental impacts related to reasonably foreseeable proposed geophysical exploration using seismic surveys in the waters of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. A Notice of Availability (NOA) for the DPEIS and a schedule of public hearings was published on April 6, 2007. Since that date, new information has become available that may affect aspects of the analysis in the DPEIS and potentially the document's scope and range of alternatives. Therefore, NMFS and MMS are withdrawing the 2007 DPEIS and initiating a new NEPA process that will consider and incorporate this new information.