NPR-A REGIONAL MITIGATION STRATEGY
In February 2015, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved development of the Greater Mooses Tooth Unit One project (GMT1), opening the way for the first production of oil and gas from the federally managed National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A).
The Record of Decision for GMT1 incorporated a robust package of mitigation requirements – including a contribution from ConocoPhillips, Alaska, Inc., into a compensatory mitigation fund to offset identified impacts, including major impacts to subsistence uses that cannot be fully mitigated by avoidance or minimization. The fund will be used to develop a landscape-level Regional Mitigation Strategy (RMS) and to finance mitigation projects identified in that strategy.
The Regional Mitigation Strategy for the northeast NPR-A is being developed through a transparent, stakeholder-driven process to identify projects or other measures that will offset unavoidable impacts to subsistence uses, that cannot be fully mitigated by established avoidance and minimization measures and best management practices. The strategy will serve as a “roadmap” for mitigating impacts from the GMT1 project, as well as future projects enabled or assisted by the existence of GMT1.
Draft Regional Mitigation Strategy Released
The BLM released the draft Regional Mitigation Strategy and draft Technical Companion for the Northeastern NPR-A and is inviting public comment on the document.
The BLM is providing a robust 90-day comment period beginning Sept. 30, 2016. For more information or to submit comments, please contact Stacie McIntosh, Arctic Office Manager, at s05mcint@blm.gov or by phone at (907) 474-2310; or Serena Sweet, Supervisory Planning & Environmental Coordinator, at ssweet@blm.gov or by phone at (907) 271-4543. Mailed comments can be sent to RMS Comments (Attn: Serena Sweet), 222 W. 7th Ave. #13, Anchorage, AK 99513.