Alaska Outer Continental Shelf OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2015-020 Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. Revised Outer Continental Shelf Lease Exploration Plan Chukchi Sea, Alaska Burger Prospect: Posey Area Blocks 6714, 6762, 6764, 6812, 6912, 6915 Revision 2 (March 2015) ENVIRONMENTAL assessmeNT U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management May 2015 Alaska OCS Region This Page Intentionally Left Blank Alaska Outer Continental Shelf OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2015-020 Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. Revised Outer Continental Shelf Lease Exploration Plan Chukchi Sea, Alaska Burger Prospect: Posey Area Blocks 6714, 6762, 6764, 6812, 6912, 6915 Revision 2 (March 2015) ENVIRONMENTAL assessmeNT Prepared By: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Alaska OCS Region Office of Environment Cooperating Agencies: U.S. Department of this Interior Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Bureau of Land Management State of Alaska North Slope Borough U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management May 2015 Alaska OCS Region This Page Intentionally Left Blank Environmental Assessment 2015 Shell Chukchi Sea EP EA Acronyms and Abbreviations AAAQS .........................Alaska Ambient Air Quality Standards AAQS ............................Ambient Air Quality Standards ACP ...............................Arctic Coastal Plain ADEC ............................Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation ADF&G .........................Alaska Department of Fish and Game AEWC ...........................Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission ANS ...............................Alaska North Slope AQCR ............................air quality control regions ASRC ............................Arctic Slope Regional Corporation ASWG ...........................Alaska Shorebird Working Group atm .................................atmosphere (of pressure) BA .................................Biological Assessment BACT ............................Best Available Control Technology bbl ..................................barrels bbls/d .............................barrels per day BLM ..............................Bureau of Land Management BO .................................Biological Opinion BOEM ...........................Bureau of Ocean Energy Management BOEMRE ......................Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement BOP ...............................blowout preventer (system) B.P. ................................Before Present CBS ...............................Chukchi/Bering Seas stock of polar bears CEQ ...............................Council on Environmental Quality CFR ...............................Code of Federal Regulations CO .................................carbon monoxide COMIDA .......................Chukchi Offshore Monitoring in Drilling Area CSESP ...........................Chukchi Sea Environmental Studies Program (Industry) CWA ..............................Clean Water Act CZMA ...........................Coastal Zone Management Act EA..................................Environmental Assessment EFH ...............................Essential Fish Habitat EIS .................................Environmental Impact Statement EJ ...................................Environmental Justice EP ..................................Exploration Plan ESA ...............................Endangered Species Act FEIS ...............................Final Environmental Impact Statement Final SEIS .....................Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement FMP ...............................Fishery Management Plan FONSI ...........................Finding of No Significant Impact FR ..................................Federal Register FWS ...............................Fish and Wildlife Service G&G ..............................geological and geophysical Hz ..................................Hertz IHA ................................Incidental Harassment Authorization IPCC ..............................Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IWC ...............................International Whaling Commission ITA ................................Incidental Take Authorization ITL .................................Information to Lessees (Clauses) LA..................................Launch Area LOA ...............................Letter of Authorization LS ..................................Land Segment MAI ...............................Maximum Allowable Increase MAWP ..........................Maximum Allowable Working Pressure Acronyms and Abbreviations i 2015 Shell Chukchi Sea EP EA Environmental Assessment Mbbls ............................ thousand barrels MBTA .......................... Migratory Bird Treaty Act Mcf ............................... thousand cubic feet MLC ............................. mudline cellar MMbbls ........................ million barrels MMC ............................ Marine Mammal Commission MMcf ............................ million cubic feet MMPA .......................... Marine Mammal Protection Act MMS ............................. Minerals Management Service NAAQS ........................ National Ambient Air Quality Standards NAB .............................. Northwest Arctic Borough NEPA ............................ National Environmental Policy Act NHPA ........................... National Historic Preservation Act NMFS ........................... National Marine Fisheries Service NMML .......................... National Marine Mammal Laboratory NO2 .............................. nitrogen dioxide NOA ............................. Nearest Onshore Area NOAA .......................... National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration NOI ............................... Notice of Intent NOX .............................. nitrogen oxides NPDES ......................... National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NPFMC ........................ North Pacific Fisheries Management Council NRC .............................. National Research Council NSB .............................. North Slope Borough NSIDC .......................... National Snow and Ice Data Center NTL .............................. Notice to Lessees O3 .................................. ozone OCS .............................. Outer Continental Shelf OCSLA ......................... Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ODPCP ......................... Oil Discharge Prevention and Contingency Plan OSRP ............................ Oil Spill Response Plan PM ................................ particulate matter PM10 .............................. particulate matter equal to or less than 10 micrometers in diameter PM2.5 ............................. particulate matter equal to or less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter Ppm ............................... Parts per million PSD ............................... Prevention of Significant Deterioration’ PTS ............................... Permanent Threshold Shift ROV .............................. Remotely Operated Vehicle RUSALCA ................... Russian-American Long-term Census of the Arctic Lease Sale 193 .............. Chukchi Sea OCS Lease Sale 193 SBS ............................... southern Beaufort Sea stock of polar bears SEIS .............................. Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement SHPO ............................ State Historic Preservation Act SIP ................................ State Implementation Plan SOX ............................... sulfur oxides SO2 ................................ sulfur dioxide SO4 ................................ sulfate SS.................................. Subsea TOC .............................. Total organic carbon TTS ............................... temporary threshold shift TAPS ............................ Trans-Alaska Pipeline System TLUI ............................. Traditional Land Use Inventory ULSD ............................ ultra-low sulfur diesel USC. ............................. United States Code USDOC......................... U.S. Department of Commerce USDOI .......................... U.S. Department of the Interior ii Acronyms and Abbreviations Environmental Assessment 2015 Shell Chukchi Sea EP EA USEPA ..........................U.S. Environmental Protection Agency VLOS ............................very large oil spill VOC ..............................volatile organic compounds WAH .............................Western Arctic (caribou) Herd WCD ..............................Worst Case Discharge ZVSP .............................Zero-offset Vertical Seismic Profile Acronyms and Abbreviations iii This Page Intentionally Left Blank Environmental Assessment 2015 Shell Chukchi Sea EP EA Table of Contents 1.0 Purpose and Need ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.2. Purpose of the Proposed Action ............................................................................................. 1 1.3. Background ............................................................................................................................ 2 1.4. Previous Applicable Analyses ................................................................................................ 4 1.5. Statutory Framework .............................................................................................................. 5 2.0 Proposed Action and Alternatives ..................................................................................................