The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board
(C-NLOPB) is inviting the public to comment on the Draft Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Update Report.

A SEA is a broad-based approach to environmental assessment that systematically examines the potential environmental implications of proposed program or policy decisions. The results of a SEA are used to assist the Board in its decision to issue licences for marine areas within the Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area.

In December 2005, the Board published a SEA for a portion of the Gulf of St. Lawrence referred to as the Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area and amended it in November 2007 to extend the geographic coverage to include additional lands southwest of the original 2005 SEA Area. The reports associated with these initiatives are available on the Board’s website.

The Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area SEA is being updated with the assistance of a Working Group consisting of representatives from federal and provincial government departments and agencies and One Ocean; a liaison organization for the fishing and petroleum sectors. The preparation of the Draft SEA Update report was guided by the February 2012 Scoping Document as well as public and stakeholder consultation and engagement sessions held in the Atlantic Provinces and Quebec. Comments received in relation to the Scoping Document are posted on the Board’s website.

The Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area SEA Update will be considered in the Board’s 2013 Call for Bids. The bids for this area close 120 days after the completion of the SEA Update. Information on the Call for Bids can also be found on the Board’s website. The results of the SEA will be considered in decisions relating to the potential issuance of exploration licences.

The Draft Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area SEA Update report, as well as its Summary Report, are available in English and French and may be viewed on the Board’s website or written copies are available upon request.

Written comments on the Draft SEA Update will be accepted no later than Monday, August 5, 2013. Comments must be sent to the address below or via email to information@cnlopb.nl.ca.

All responses will be posted to the C-NLOPB website. The responses will not be treated as being confidentially submitted and will be posted in the official language in which they were provided. All identifying information will be removed except the name under which the documents were submitted.

If a third party is to be referenced in the documentation, the respondent should first obtain the consent of any third party before making the submission to the C-NLOPB.

The C-NLOPB takes no responsibility in relation to the content of the documentation provided by respondents.

The Board reserves the right to withhold from publication comments that are deemed to be spam or unrelated to the Western NL Offshore Area SEA Update.

Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board
5th Floor, TD Place
140 Water Street
St. John’s, NL
A1C 6H6

Media Contact:
Sean Kelly M.A.,APR, FCPRS
Manager of Public Relations
(709) 778-1418
(709) 689-0713 (cell)
skelly@cnlopb.nl.ca