Federal Agencies must prepare Environmental Assessments (EAs) for proposed actions in accordance with National Environmental Policy Act regulations (40 CFR 1500-1508). An EA analyzes the environmental effects of a proposed activity to determine the significance of potential impacts. Any significant impacts identified in an EA must be analyzed in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). An EA also documents the potential environmental impacts of proposals that do not require an EIS, and identifies as early as possible mitigation measures that BOEM may require to avoid or minimize adverse effects of a proposal.
We assume that the proposal evaluated in an EA includes mitigation required by lease stipulations, regulations, other Federal and State environmental laws, and specific measures committed to in writing by the lessee, operator, or applicant prior to completion of the EA. Mitigation measures not identified in the proposal may be evaluated in the EA to determine whether such measures, if approved as part of the proposal, would reduce impacts to a less-than-significant level.