State of California Acting by and Through Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., the California Coastal Commission, the California Air Resources Board, the California Resources Agency, and the California Department of Conservation v. James G. Watt, Secretary of the Interior and the United States Department of the Interior, American Petroleum Institute, Intervenors. State of Alaska v. James G. Watt, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, United States Department of the Interior, American Petroleum Institute, Intervenors. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., Sierra Club, Conservation Law Foundation of New England, Inc., and Friends of the Earth v. James G. Watt, Secretary of the Interior, and the United States Department of the Interior, American Petroleum Institute, Intervenors. North Slope Borough, Jacob Adams, Mayor of the North Slope Borough, and Lloyd Ahvakana v. James G. Watt, Secretary of the Interior and the United States Department of the Interior, American Petroleum Institute, Intervenors

Petitioners have filed four consolidated petitions challenging the five year program for oil and gas leasing prepared by Secretary of Interior Andrus pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as amended. The leasing program, developed under section 18 of the Act, serves as an outline for the leasing of drilling rights on the outer continental shelf (OCS) for the years 1980-1985 and consists of a schedule of proposed lease sales and related planning steps for those sales. Petitioners1 claim that the Secretary prepared the leasing program in violation of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the Administrative Procedure Act,2 the National Environmental Policy Act,3 and a special trust responsibility allegedly owed to Alaskan natives. The new Secretary of the Interior is now revising the leasing program, and petitioners seek a remand of the present program for revision in a manner consistent with statutory requirements. For the reasons stated below, we grant that request and remand the record for consideration of those parts of the leasing program that are not affirmed.

Congress enacted the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act4 in 1953 to extend "(t)he Constitution and laws and civil and political jurisdiction of the United States ... to the subsoil and seabed of the Outer Continental Shelf."5 The 1953 Act authorized the Secretary of Interior to grant leases by competitive bidding in order to explore and develop the oil and gas deposits of the shelf's submerged lands,6 and empowered him to promulgate regulations to administer the provisions of the Act.7 Congress has since described this "very general"8 mandate as "essentially a carte blanche delegation of authority to the Secretary of Interior."9

Exploitation of OCS resources under the 1953 Act proceeded at first at a relatively slow pace, with development activity concentrated off the coastal states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and in one small area off southern California in the Santa Barbara Channel.10 During this period, OCS activities were localized in impact and received little national scrutiny.11

Two major events, however, changed all that and moved OCS development into the forefront of the national consciousness. The first was the blowout of an OCS drilling project in the Santa Barbara Channel on January 28, 1969, resulting in the "largest oil spill in U.S. history",12 and highlighting the environmental dangers associated with OCS exploitation. The second was the Arab oil embargo of 1973, which dramatically underscored the nation's dependence on foreign sources of oil.13 In response to the latter, President Nixon directed on January 23, 1974, that 10 million acres of the OCS be leased in 1975.14 This announcement was significant not only because it proposed leasing an amount of territory in one year almost equal to that which had been leased since the OCS program began in the early 1950's,15 but also because it envisioned moving into previously undeveloped or "frontier" areas off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and off Alaska.16

The announcement crystallized growing concern over the impact of OCS activities and the adequacy of the 1953 Act.17 Although the need to develop national energy independence was clear, state and local governments feared damaging impacts to their coastlines from oil spills and the onshore development which accompanies offshore drilling.18 Commercial and recreational fishing interests expressed concern over the possible effects on their livelihoods and leisure activities,19 while environmental and citizens groups raised questions about the effect of OCS activities on the ecology.20 These interests accordingly sought a role in the offshore leasing policy decisions which had previously been committed to the virtually unlimited discretion of the Secretary.21

These pressures led to the introduction of legislation in 1974 to overhaul the 1953 Act, and culminated four years later in the passage of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978.22 The 1978 Amendments23 were intended to provide a comprehensive framework for the

expeditious and orderly development (of the OCS), subject to environmental safeguards, in a manner which is consistent with the maintenance of competition and other national needs.24

In greater detail, the purposes of the 1978 Amendments are to:25

(1) establish policies and procedures for managing the oil and natural gas resources of the Outer Continental Shelf which are intended to result in expedited exploration and development of the Outer Continental Shelf in order to achieve national economic and energy policy goals, assure national security, reduce dependence on foreign sources, and maintain a favorable balance of payments in world trade;

(2) preserve, protect, and develop oil and natural gas resources in the Outer Continental Shelf in a manner which is consistent with the need (A) to make such resources available to meet the Nation's energy needs as rapidly as possible, (B) to balance orderly energy resource development with protection of the human, marine, and coastal environments, (C) to insure the public a fair and equitable return on the resources of the Outer Continental Shelf, and (D) to preserve and maintain free enterprise competition;

(3) encourage development of new and improved technology for energy resource production which will eliminate or minimize risk of damage to the human, marine, and coastal environments;

(4) provide States, and through States, local governments, which are impacted by Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas exploration, development, and production with comprehensive assistance in order to anticipate and plan for such impact, and thereby to assure adequate protection of the human environment;

(5) assure that States, and through States, local governments, have timely access to information regarding activities on the Outer Continental Shelf, and opportunity to review and comment on decisions relating to such activities, in order to anticipate, ameliorate, and plan for the impacts of such activities;

(6) assure that States, and through States, local governments, which are directly affected by exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas are provided an opportunity to participate in policy and planning decisions relating to management of the resources of the Outer Continental Shelf;

(7) minimize or eliminate conflicts between the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas, and the recovery of other resources such as fish and shellfish;

(8) establish an oilspill liability fund to pay for the prompt removal of any oil spilled or discharged as a result of activities on the Outer Continental Shelf and for any damages to public or private interests caused by such spills or discharges;

(9) insure that the extent of oil and natural gas resources of the Outer Continental Shelf is assessed at the earliest practicable time; and

(10) establish a fishermen's contingency fund to pay for damages to commercial fishing vessels and gear due to Outer Continental Shelf activities.

To achieve the expeditious but orderly development of OCS resources, the 1978 Amendments provide structure for every conceivable step to be taken on this path, from promulgation of a five-year leasing program,26 to the lease sale stage,27 to the exploration process,28 to development and production,29 to sale of recovered minerals,30 to ensure that the Secretary takes into account all relevant policy considerations and the views of all interested persons, the 1978 Amendments provide for participation in the OCS process by Congress,31 affected state and local governments,32 relevant federal agencies,33 and the public.34

A. An overview of section 18.

As is apparent from the foregoing brief summary, the procedures embodied in the 1978 Amendments are pyramidic in structure, proceeding from broad-based planning to an increasingly narrower focus as actual development grows more imminent. The first important step in this process is the one with which we are primarily concerned today-preparation of the five-year leasing program pursuant to section 18.

Section 18 "establishes a process which will permit the Secretary of Interior to weigh energy potential, and other benefits against environmental and other risks in determining how, when and where oil and gas should be made available from the various Outer Continental Shelf areas to meet national energy needs."35 It requires the Secretary to prepare, maintain and periodically revise a leasing program consisting of a schedule of proposed sales, indicating, "as precisely as possible, the size, timing and location of leasing activity which he determines will best meet national energy needs for the five-year period following its approval or reapproval."36 The Secretary must prepare and maintain the program consistent with four basic principles:(1) Management of the outer Continental Shelf shall be conducted in a manner which considers economic, social, and environmental values of the renewable and nonrenewable resources contained in the outer Continental Shelf, and the potential impact of oil and gas exploration on other resource values of the outer Continental Shelf and the marine, coastal, and human environments.

(2) Timing and location of exploration, development, and production of oil and gas among the oil- and gas-bearing physiographic regions of the outer Continental Shelf shall be based on a consideration of-

(A) existing information concerning the geographical, geological, and ecological characteristics of such regions;

(B) an equitable sharing of developmental benefits and environmental risks among the various regions;

(C) the location of such regions with respect to, and the relative needs of, regional and national energy markets;

(D) the location of such regions with respect to other uses of the sea and seabed, including fisheries, navigation, existing or proposed sealanes, potential sites of deepwater ports, and other anticipated uses of the resources and space of the outer Continental Shelf;

(E) the interest of potential oil and gas producers in the development of oil and gas resources as indicated by exploration or nomination;

(F) laws, goals, and policies of affected States which have been specifically identified by the Governors of such States as relevant matters for the Secretary's consideration;

(G) the relative environmental sensitivity and marine productivity of different areas of the outer Continental Shelf; and

(H) relevant environmental and predictive information for different areas of the outer Continental Shelf.

(3) The Secretary shall select the timing and location of leasing, to the maximum extent practicable, so as to obtain a proper balance between the potential for environmental damage, the potential for the discovery of oil and gas, and the potential for adverse impact on the coastal zone.

(4) Leasing activities shall be conducted to assure receipt of fair market value for the lands leased and the rights conveyed by the Federal Government.37

Section 18 also establishes a mechanism whereby state governments, among others, are authorized to offer suggestions and comments on the development of the leasing program. Under section 18(c), the Secretary is required, when preparing a proposed leasing program, to "invite and consider suggestions for such program" from the Governors of any state which might be affected thereby.38 The Secretary is also obliged, after he has drawn up the proposed program and at least sixty days before he publishes it in the Federal Register, to submit it to the Governor of each affected state for review and comment.39 If any such Governor submits timely comments requesting modification of the proposed program, the Secretary must reply in writing, granting or denying the request in whole or in part, "and stating his reasons therefor."40 Under section 18(d), states may also submit comments and recommendations as to any aspect of the proposed program within ninety days after it is published in the Federal Register.41 The Secretary must then submit the proposed program and any comments received thereon to the Congress and the President at least sixty days before he approves it, indicating why any specific recommendation of a state government was not accepted.42

Once the Secretary approves the leasing program, it achieves important practical and legal significance. No lease may be issued for any area unless the area is included in the approved leasing program and unless the lease contains provisions consistent with the approved program.43 The approved program also becomes the basis for future planning by all affected entities, from federal, state and local governments to the oil industry itself. Compliance with the mandates of section 18, therefore, is extremely important to the expeditious but orderly exploitation of OCS resources.

B. Development of the 1980-1985 Leasing Program.

The leasing program challenged in this litigation was developed over a 20-month period. The major stages in this development were preparation of two Draft Proposed Programs (March and May 1979), a Proposed Program (June 1979), a Proposed Final Program (April 1980), and a Final Program (June 1980). An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was also prepared, the draft of which was issued in August 1979 and the final statement in January 1980.

Development of the first Draft Proposed Program began in October 1978, when the Secretary, pursuant to section 18(c)(1), requested information from interested Governors, federal agencies, and private parties. Pursuant to section 18(c)(2), the Secretary then submitted his first Draft Proposed Program, proposing 26 sales over five years, to the Governors of affected states in early March 1979.44

In April 1979, President Carter delivered his second Energy Message to the nation and directed the Secretary to increase the amount of proposed acreage over that contained in the first Draft Proposed Program.45 Shortly thereafter the Secretary directed his staff to develop alternative leasing schedules to meet the President's directive,46 resulting in the development of the second Draft Proposed Program in May, 1979. In June 1979, the Secretary submitted his proposed Program, calling for a total of 30 sales and an acceleration of leasing in frontier areas, to the Governors of affected states and other interested persons.47 Extensive Comments were then received by Secretary Andrus on the Proposed Program.

In August, 1979, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement was issued on the Proposed Program. In January 1980, the staff of the House Ad Hoc Select Committee on the OCS issued a study entitled "Offshore Oil and Gas in the Five-Year Leasing Program and Implementation of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978."48 In this study, which was endorsed by the Committee Chairman and ranking member, the Committee staff recommended a leasing schedule involving more sales and earlier entry into frontier areas than the Secretary's June 1979 Proposed Program.49 The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FES) was also issued in January, 1980.

Materials to assist the Secretary in making his decision on the Final Program were then assembled in February 1980 and submitted to the Secretary. These included, among other things, a Secretarial Issue Document (SID), describing 12 alternative leasing schedules and pertinent decisional information;50 the Federal Environmental Impact Statement; and a summary of the comments received on the Proposed Program, and on the draft and final environmental impact statements.

The Secretary then decided upon a Proposed Final Program, which he transmitted to the President and Congress, as required by section 18(d)(2), on April 4, 1980. The program scheduled 36 proposed lease sales for the period from June 1980 through May 1985, covering virtually the entire Outer Continental Shelf, with the exception of the Florida Straits, the Southern Aleutian Shelf in Alaska, and the area seaward of the Washington and Oregon coasts. All these excluded areas possessed a very low industry rating for hydrocarbon potential.51

During the 60-day statutory period that the program was before Congress, oversight hearings were held by the House Ad Hoc Select Committee on the OCS. The committee chairman and the ranking minority member both expressed the view that the leasing was "inadequate" because it was not as aggressive as the Select Committee Staff had recommended in its January 1980 report.52

On June 16, 1980, after the expiration of the 60-day congressional consideration period specified in section 18(d)(2), the Secretary approved the Final Program. Its leasing schedule is essentially the same as that contained in the April 1980 Proposed Final Program, specifying 11 proposed sales in the Gulf of Mexico, 6 in the Atlantic, 4 off California, 10 off Alaska, and 5 reoffering sales.53

(c)(1) Any action of the Secretary to approve a leasing program pursuant to § 1344 of this Title shall be subject to judicial review only in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

(6) The Court of Appeals conducting a proceeding pursuant to this subsection shall consider the matter under review solely on the record made before the Secretary. The findings of the Secretary, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive. The court may affirm, vacate, or modify any order or decision or may remand the proceedings to the Secretary for such further action as it may direct.54

Relying upon this language, petitioners contend that the "substantial evidence" test exclusively controls this case. The Secretary and intervenors, however, contend that the substantial evidence standard is inapplicable because section 18 does not require the Secretary to make any "findings." In their view, the "arbitrary and capricious" test exclusively governs our scrutiny of the leasing program. We reject both of these extremes and conclude that section 23(c)(6) calls for a hybrid standard of review, at least insofar as section 18 is concerned.

The issue before us is not as clear the the language of section 23(c)(6) would appear to make it because of the somewhat peculiar relationship between section 18 and section 23(c)(6). Section 18 establishes a decision-making process quite similar to informal rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act. It provides the Secretary with broad standards to govern promulgation of the leasing program-it must best meet national energy needs and be consistent with enumerated principles-but leaves it to the Secretary to devise a program satisfying these broad standards. Section 18 also directs that the program be developed through a procedure resembling informal rulemaking; the Secretary is instructed to develop a proposed leasing program, to publish it in the Federal Register, to accept comments thereon from affected or interested parties, to respond to those comments, and to then approve a final leasing program setting forth a schedule of proposed lease sales for the next five years. The underlying record consists in large parts of studies, raw empirical data, predictive analyses, and descriptive information. Elements of the adversary process, such as the rules of evidence, the opportunity for cross-examination and the like, are not provided for in section 18 and were not used by the Secretary. Somewhat surprisingly, however, section 23(c)(6) provides for review of the leasing program under a standard traditionally associated with adjudicatory or formal rulemaking proceedings-the substantial evidence test. Our task, therefore, is to reconcile these seemingly contradictory provisions in a manner which takes into account the nature of the underlying administrative proceeding but which also fully effectuates Congress' intent.

Fortunately, we have travelled down this path once before. In Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIO v. Hodgson,55 we considered the scope of review of health standards promulgated under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1979 (OSHA). Because we find Judge McGowan's discussion in Hodgson applicable to the present case, we quote therefrom at some length:

OSHA sets forth general policy objectives and establishes the basic procedural framework for the promulgation of standards, but the formulation of specific substantive provisions is left largely to the Secretary. The Secretary's task thus contains "elements of both a legislative policy determination and an adjudicative resolution of disputed facts." Mobil Oil Corp. v. FPC, 157 U.S.App.D.C. 235, 254, 483 F.2d 1238, 1257 (1973). Although in practice these elements may so intertwine as to be virtually inseparable, they are conceptually distinct and can only be regarded as such by a reviewing court.

From extensive and often conflicting evidence, the Secretary in this case made numerous factual determinations. With respect to some of those questions, the evidence was such that the task consisted primarily of evaluating the data and drawing conclusions from it. The court can review that data in the record and determine whether it reflects substantial support for the Secretary's findings. But some of the questions involved in the promulgation of these standards are on the frontiers of scientific knowledge, and consequently as to them insufficient data is presently available to make a fully informed factual determination. Decision making must in that circumstance depend to a greater extent upon policy judgments and less upon purely factual analysis.18 Thus, in addition to currently unresolved factual issues, the formulation of standards involves choices that by their nature require basic policy determinations rather than resolution of factual controversies. Judicial review of inherently legislative decisions of this sort is obviously an undertaking of different dimensions.

Regardless of the manner in which the task of judicial review is articulated, policy choices ... are not susceptible to the same type of verification or refutation by reference to the record as are some factual questions. Consequently, the court's approach must necessarily be different no matter how the standards of review are labeled. That does not mean that such decisions escape exacting scrutiny, for, as this court has stated in a similar context:

This exercise need be no less searching and strict in its weighing of whether the agency has performed in accordance with the Congressional purposes, but, because it is addressed to different materials, it inevitably varies from the adjudicatory model. The paramount objective is to see whether the agency, given an essentially legislative task to perform, has carried it out in a manner calculated to negate the dangers of arbitrariness and irrationality in the formulation of rules for general application in the future.

Automotive Parts & Accessories Ass'n v. Boyd, 132 U.S.App.D.C. 200, 407 F.2d 330, 338 (1968).

We do not understand Congress to have in this instance nullified this approach for all purposes by directing substantial evidence review. As noted above, that provision is important as an indication of how we should approach certain kinds of questions and what kind of record we should demand of the Secretary. But it is surely not to be taken as a direction by Congress that we treat the Secretary's decision making ... as something different from what it is, namely, the exercise of delegated power to make within certain limits decisions that Congress normally makes itself, and by processes, as the courts have long recognized and accepted, peculiar to itself. A due respect for the boundaries between the legislative and the judicial function dictates that we approach our reviewing task with a flexibility informed and shaped by sensitivity to the diverse origins of the determinations that enter into a legislative judgment.

What we are entitled to at all events is a careful identification by the Secretary, when his proposed standards are challenged, of the reasons why he chooses to follow one course rather than another. Where that choice purports to be based on the existence of certain determinable facts, the Secretary must, in form as well as substance, find those facts from evidence in the record. By the same token, when the Secretary is obliged to make policy judgments where no factual certainties exist or where facts alone do not provide the answer, he should so state and go on to identify the considerations he found persuasive.56

Applying the principles set forth in Hodgson to a section 18 leasing program, we think the standard of review may be fairly summarized as follows. When reviewing findings of ascertainable fact made by the Secretary, the substantial evidence test guides our inquiry. When reviewing the policy judgments made by the Secretary, including those predictive and difficult judgmental calls the Secretary is called upon to make, we will subject them to searching scrutiny to ensure that they are neither arbitrary nor irrational-in other words, we must determine whether "the decision is based on a consideration of the relevant factors and whether there has been a clear error of judgment."57

Finally, in reviewing the leasing program, the Secretary's interpretation of section 18 or its component provisions may be in issue. In passing thereon, we adhere to the principle that the interpretation of a statute by those entrusted with its administration is entitled to substantial deference.58 We also bear in mind, however, that the interpretation of statutes is a matter which ultimately lies in the province of the judiciary.59 As the Supreme Court has declared,

the courts are the final authorities on issues of statutory construction, FTC v. Colgate-Palmolive Co., 380 U.S. 374, 385, (85 S.Ct. 1035, 1042, 13 L.Ed.2d 904) and "are not obliged to stand aside and rubberstamp their affirmance of administrative decisions that they deem inconsistent with a statutory mandate or that frustrate the Congressional policy underlying a statute." NLRB v. Brown, 380 U.S. 278, 291, 85 S.Ct. 980, 988, 13 L.Ed.2d 839.60

An administrative interpretation of a statute which does not effectuate the intent of Congress must fall.61

IV. DID THE SECRETARY COMPLY WITH SECTION 18 IN PREPARING

THE LEASING PROGRAM?

Petitioners argue that the Secretary's compliance with section 18 was flawed in several respects. First, they argue that he failed to specify the location of two proposed lease sales on the leasing program with the precision required by section 18(a). Second, they contend that the leasing program is not consistent with the principles set forth in sections 18(a)(2) and (a)(3), in that the Secretary 1) either misinterpreted or failed to consider certain factors enumerated in section 18(a)(2);62 2) failed to actually base the leasing program upon the section 18(a)(2) factors; and 3) failed to select the timing and location of the proposed lease sales so as to achieve a proper balance among the potential for discovery of oil and gas, environmental damage, and adverse impact on the coastal zone as required by section 18(a)(3).63 Finally, petitioners contend that the Secretary failed to respond to their comments and recommendations in the manner required by sections 18(c) and (d). We address these arguments seriatim.

A. Specificity of the Program.

The leasing program designates 1983's proposed lease sale 73 and 1984's proposed lease sale 80 as simply "California." Petitioners contend that this designation violates the requirement of section 18(a) that the leasing program indicate the location of leasing activity "as precisely as possible." Petitioners point out that California has 1100 miles of coastline, consisting of a largely rural, undeveloped coast in the northern and central parts of the state and a highly urbanized coast in the southern part. Because of the great diversity in the environmental and socioeconomic characteristics of these areas, as recognized by the final environmental impact statement prepared in connection with the program,64 petitioners argue that the Secretary must identify the location of these two proposed sales with greater specificity. They note that greater precision is possible, because the Secretary designated the 1981 and 1982 proposed sales as taking place in either "Central and Northern California" or "Southern California."65

The Secretary concedes that it was indeed possible to make a more limited area designation for sales 73 and 80.66 He asserts, however, that a more precise designation would not have served national energy needs, for it would have deprived him of the "flexibility" to assess at a later date which areas off California should be opened for leasing in 1983 and 1984. The Secretary also notes that the program's scheduling of proposed lease sales for simply the "Gulf of Mexico," an area which encompasses more territory than the designation "California," has not been challenged as violative of section 18(a).

We turn first, as we must, to the language of the statute, "the most important manifestation of Congressional intent."67 It unambiguously directs the Secretary to specify the location of leasing activity "as precisely as possible." Although this language implicitly recognizes that absolute precision is unattainable at the program stage, it also reflects that Congress intended the Secretary to strive to achieve that goal to the extent he can at the program stage. As the Secretary acknowledges,68 section 18(a)'s specificity requirement serves to notify state and local governments and other affected or interested groups of impending OCS activities off their shores in order to enable them to prepare and plan for its arrival and accompanying dislocations. Although the Secretary argues that the use of unnecessarily expansive area designations does not interfere with this purpose because such designations provide notice to every person located therein, we find this argument unpersuasive. First, the very breadth of the designation diminishes the possibility that any particular locality will be affected, and reduces the significance of any notice accordingly. Second, use of unnecessarily broad area designations may actually hinder participation and planning by affected entities, since they may be unable or unwilling to devote their limited resources to participation and planning on the basis of a signal so broad and undifferentiated that it may, in the end, portend no impact on their locality at all. Third, this argument, taken to its logical conclusion, would sanction a leasing program consisting of a schedule of proposed lease sales designated as merely "Atlantic," "Pacific," "Alaska," and "Gulf of Mexico." While these designations may indeed, in some sense, place the entire nation on notice; they hardly satisfy the requirement that the location of leasing activity be specified "as precisely as possible."

Regarding the Secretary's expressed need for future flexibility, if he presently concludes that a basis therefor must currently be established, he should at this time designate additional leasing areas as precisely as present information supports.

We need not attempt to define today, however, the degree of exactitude compelled by section 18(a). It is enough to decide this case that the Secretary concedes greater specificity is possible, and has employed greater specificity in designating the other proposed sales scheduled for the waters off California. Sales 73 and 80 should be identified with commensurate precision.

B. Consistency with the Principle of Sections 18(a)(2).

Petitioners contend that the Secretary failed to prepare the leasing program in a manner consistent with the principle of section 18(a)(2). Before we can treat this argument in detail, however, we must first determine the precise manner in which section 18(a)(2) applies to the preparation of a leasing program.

As noted above, section 18(a) states that "the leasing program shall be prepared ... in a manner consistent with the ( ) principle ( ) (that):

....

(2) Timing and location of exploration, development, and production of oil and gas among the oil- and gas-bearing physiographic regions of the outer Continental Shelf shall be based on a consideration of (the following eight factors). "69

P