Hero Image
Download the Environmental Assessment

Pacific Oil and Gas Decommissioning Activities

Programmatic EIS

Welcome to the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Oil and Gas Decommissioning Activities on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Webpage

Introduction

Lessees and owners of operating rights must decommission their facilities, pipelines and other equipment or obstructions, in accordance with the governing regulations and lease conditions. There are currently 23 oil and gas platforms off the Southern California coast, installed between the late 1960s and 1990, and all are subject to eventual decommissioning.

On October 12, 2022, The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) announced the availability of the draft programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) for Oil and Gas Decommissioning Activities on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Release of the draft PEIS initiates a 45-day comment period to solicit further input from industry and the public. The PEIS will inform future decisions on decommissioning applications for offshore oil and gas platforms in federal waters off southern California. Twenty-three California OCS oil and gas platforms, all installed between the late 1960s and 1990, are subject to eventual decommissioning. 

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is assisting BSEE in the preparation of the environmental analysis and will maintain information about the PEIS on this website but has no role in approving decommissioning that requires analysis.

Pacific Decommissioning PEIS Schedule

Document

To Public

Public Draft PEIS

Oct 12, 2022

Public Comment Period (45+ days) ends

Jan 10, 2023

Public Final PEIS

May/June 2023

Decision Document

(potential ROD)

Summer 2023

 

Information and Background


 

 

BOEM hosted two virtual public meetings to share information about BOEM’s environmental review process and to solicit public input. Each meeting was recorded and will be posted to this site. All comments and questions received during the meetings are part of the public record.

Dates and Times

On July 23, 2021, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The NOI initiates a 45-day comment period to gather input on the scope of the PEIS and identify potentially relevant information, studies, and analyses to inform future decommissioning application decisions for offshore oil and gas platforms and associated infrastructure off the Southern California coast. At the request of several stakeholders, the comment period was re-opened to accept input through October 15, 2021.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is assisting BSEE in the preparation of the environmental analysis and will maintain information about the PEIS on this website but has no role in approving decommissioning that requires analysis.

Federal Register Notice - Notice of Intent to Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning of Oil and Gas Platforms off Southern California

Summary of Public Comments for the Scoping PeriodNovember 2021

  • Public comments can be viewed in full by navigating to Regulations.gov, searching for Docket No. BOEM-2021-0043, and clicking on the “Comments” tab. This record includes comments submitted during the comment periods for both the Scoping Period (July 23, 2021- October 15, 2021) and the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Oct 12, 2022- January 10, 2023).

News Release - BSEE Publishes Notice of Intent to Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Regarding Pacific Decommissioning