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CHAPTER V

CONSULTATION

AND

COORDINATION

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Proposed OCS Sale No. 111 is one of 41 proposed OCS sales included in the Five Year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Schedule. Coordination with other governmental agencies, industry, and the public regarding this proposal began with the publication of a Call for Information, published in the Federal Register on October 20, 1983. Responses were received from six petroleum companies, eight states, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). For a detailed description of these responses and the issues raised, see Chapter I, Section C. The process involved in the indentification of the sale area is described in Chapter I, Section B.

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Technical Working Group was briefed on these issues at a meeting on March 28, 1984. At this time, alternatives to the proposal, development scenarios, and mitigating measures to be considered in the DEIS were discussed with this advisory group.

Development of the DEIS

During preparation of the DEIS, Federal, State, and local agencies, industry, and the public were consulted in order to obtain descriptive information and to identify significant issues, effective mitigating measures, and reasonable alternatives to the proposal. Information and written comments received during the development of the proposal were used in preparation of the DEIS. A description of the scoping process and its

results can be found in Section I.C.

Pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, formal consultation between MMS, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) was initiated in June 1984. For prior OCS Sale No. 76, both FWS and NMFS issued regional biological opinions in which they determined that OCS leasing and exploration activities would not jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species in the mid-Atlantic region. The FWS continues to support their opinion for Sale No. 111 (See Appendix F). The NMFS has not yet provided an update of their existing regional biological opinion.

Agencies and organizations that were contacted or contributed to the development of the proposal and the DEIS:

Federal Agencies

Marine Mammal Commission
National Science Foundation
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Forest Service

U.S. Department of Commerce
Bureau of the Census

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Office of Coastal Zone Management

National Ocean Survey

National Marine Fisheries Service

U.S. Department of Defense

Army

Army Corps of Engineers

Air Force

Navy

U.S. Department of Energy

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

U.S. Department of Energy

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Department of the Interior

Fish and Wildlife Service

Geological Survey

National Park Service

U.S. Department of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics

U.S. Department of State

U.S. Department of Transportation

Coast Guard

Federal Aviation Administration

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

State and Local Government Agencies

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Delaware

Maryland

Virginia Council on the Environment

City of Virginia Beach, Virginia

Local Planning Agencies

Cape May County (New Jersey) Planning Board
Southeastern Virginia Planning District Commission

Private Interest Groups and Industry

National Resources Defense Council

Committee to Preserve Assateague Island, Inc.
Digicon, Inc.

Private Citizen

Prof. D. J. Zinn, University of Rhode Island

Review of the DEIS

The DEIS will be available for review for a period of 60 days by Federal, State, and local governments and the public, and public hearings will be held on the proposal in December 1984. All comments and information are due in the Atlantic OCS Office by January 8, 1985, in order to be considered during preparation of the DEIS.

The DEIS will be distributed to those Federal agencies with interest or expertise pertinent to OCS oil and gas leasing, to State and local governments in the affected States, to organizations and individuals having an interest in the proposal, and will be available to the public on request from the MMS's Atlantic OCS Office and Washington Office.

Federal Agencies and States from which comments will be requested include the following:

U.S. Department of Commerce

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Marine Fisheries Service

National Ocean Survey
Maritime Administration

U.S. Department of Defense

Army Corps of Engineers

Naval Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility, Virginia Capes U.S. Department of Energy

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Office of Leasing Policy Development

U.S. Department of State

U.S. Department of the Interior

Fish and Wildlife Service

Geological Survey

National Park Service

Bureau of Mines

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