Subject to AS 38.05.850, the Northern Regional Office, Land Section has received an application for the following:
APPLICANT: Shell Exploration & Production Company
PROJECT NAME: LAS 30103
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION: Near Goodhope Bay in Kotzebue Sound, approximately 53 miles southwest of Kotzebue, AK.
LEGAL DESCRIPTION:
- 66.227633, -163.468967 Section 36, T10N, R23W KRM
- 66.216433, -163.466483 Section 1, T9N, R23W KRM
- 66.217283, -163.438417 Section 31, T10N, R22W KRM
- 66.228400, -163.442050 Section 31, T10N, R22W KRM
REQUESTED ACTIVITY: The application has proposed the placement of four primary mooring buoys within Kotzebue Sound. Buoys will be used for mooring support vessels (supply and spill containment) to Shell’s open water exploration activities in the Chukchi and Bering Seas. The four turret-mooring buoys utilize a three-point, removable anchor system with a radius of 550ft, and will be arranged approximately 4,000ft apart in water depths of 40-45ft. During inactive periods, anchors and chains will be wet stored on the sea floor until activity resumes in the following season. Beyond the placement of the anchors, no modification is proposed to the sea floor, and all anchoring materials will be removed at the conclusion of the permitted activities. The proposed duration of the permit is for 2015 through 2019 during ice-free active periods of June through October. To minimize conflicts with subsistence activities in the Kotzebue Sound, Shell maintains subsistence advisors in the villages of Kotzebue, Deering and Buckland to inform the program of subsistence activities to be avoided in the area.
PROPOSED DATES OF USE:
Start: June 16, 2015
End: October 31, 2019
DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS: April 30, 2015
The public is invited to comment on the proposed activity. To ensure consideration, written comments must be received by the Division of Mining, Land and Water at 3700 Airport Way, Fairbanks, Alaska 99709 on or before 5:00 p.m. on the date noted above. Questions concerning this proposal should be directed to Adam Leland, Telephone: (907) 451-2722; Fax: (907) 451-2751 or e-mail: adam.leland@alaska.gov.
After review and adjudication, we may issue a permit with stipulations for the activity. The activity may be modified during the review and adjudication process.
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources complies with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Individuals with disabilities who may need auxiliary aids, services or special modifications to comment should contact Adam Leland by phone at (907) 451-2722 or TDD (907) 451-2770.
The DNR/DMLW, reserves the right to waive technical defects in this notice.
/s/ Jeanne Proulx, Regional Manager
Northern Regional Office, Land Section
Division of Mining, Land and Water