Commercial Wind Leasing and Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Massachusetts, 5830-5832 [2012-2649]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 24 (Monday, February 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5830-5832]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2649]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2011-0116]


Commercial Wind Leasing and Site Assessment Activities on the 
Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Massachusetts

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment.

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SUMMARY: This Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment 
(Notice) is being published as an initial step for the purpose of 
involving Federal agencies, states, tribes, local governments, offshore 
wind energy developers, and the public in the Department of the 
Interior's (DOI) ``Smart from the Start'' wind energy initiative 
offshore Massachusetts. The purpose of the ``Smart from the Start'' 
wind energy initiative is to identify areas that may be most suitable 
for wind energy leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), and to 
obtain public and expert input that will inform the Department's 
decision-making with regard to issuing leases and approving site 
assessment activities in these areas, in accordance with applicable DOI 
regulations and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations 
implementing the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
    On November 23, 2010, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar 
announced the ``Smart from the Start'' renewable energy initiative to 
accelerate the responsible development of renewable energy resources on 
the Atlantic OCS. The initiative focuses on the identification and 
refinement of areas on the OCS that are most suitable for renewable 
energy development, known as Wind Energy Areas (WEAs), and utilizes 
coordinated environmental studies, large-scale planning processes, and 
expedited review procedures within these areas to achieve an efficient 
and responsible renewable energy leasing process.
    In consultation with other Federal agencies and the Massachusetts 
Renewable Energy Task Force, BOEM has identified an area for 
consideration for potential future wind energy leasing offshore 
Massachusetts (Call Area). This Call Area is identified in the document 
entitled Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer Continental 
Shelf Offshore Massachusetts-Call for Information and Nominations 
(Call), which is being published concurrently with this Notice. This is 
the first public step in the potential leasing process which requires 
several more opportunities for public involvement before leasing can 
occur, including a proposed sale notice. A commercial lease gives the 
lessee the exclusive right to subsequently seek BOEM approval for the 
development of the leasehold. The lease does not grant the lessee the 
right to construct any facilities; rather, the lease grants the lessee 
the right to use the leased area to develop its plans, which BOEM must 
approve before the lessee can move on to the next stage of the process. 
See 30 CFR 585.600 and 585.601.
    More information on the renewable energy task forces and the 
``Smart from the Start'' initiative can be found at: http:boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/Smart-from-the-Start/Index.aspx and at: https://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Launches-Smart-from-the-Start 
Initiative-to-Speed-Offshore-Wind-Energy-Development-off-the-Atlantic-
Coast.cfim.
    BOEM intends to prepare an environmental assessment (EA), which is 
the subject of this Notice, that will consider the environmental 
consequences associated with issuing commercial wind leases and 
approving site assessment activities on those leases (within all or 
some of this Call Area). If a lessee proposes development activity, the 
specific proposal will be given full environmental review at that time. 
BOEM is seeking public input regarding the identification of the 
alternatives to be considered in the EA, as well as the environmental 
and/or socioeconomic issues to be analyzed.
    Furthermore, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
(16 U.S.C. 470f), and it's implementing regulations (36 CFR 800), 
require Federal agencies to consider the effects of their actions on 
historic properties. Therefore, BOEM will conduct Section 106 review 
for the issuance of leases and approval of site assessment activities 
within some or all of the Call Area, in coordination with its 
environmental review. As part of this Section 106 review, BOEM will 
initiate consultation with state historic preservation officers, tribal 
officials, and others. BOEM is now reaching out to the general public 
for comments regarding the identification of historic properties or 
potential effects to historic properties from leasing and site 
assessment activities in the Call Area. Submitted information will 
allow BOEM to consider the views of the public and document historic 
preservation concerns early in the Section 106 process.

    Authority:  This Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental 
assessment is published pursuant to 43 CFR 46.305.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Morin, BOEM Office of 
Renewable Energy Programs, 381 Elden Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia 
20170-4817, (703) 787-1340 or michelle.morin@BOEM.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. The OCS Wind Energy Leasing and Development Process

    There are three key phases in the wind energy leasing and 
development process on the OCS: (1) Lease issuance; (2) approval of a 
site assessment plan (SAP); and (3) approval of a construction and 
operation plan (COP). The first phase, issuance of a commercial 
renewable energy lease, gives the lessee an exclusive right to apply 
for approval of subsequent plans, the approval of which is necessary 
for a lessee to advance to the next stage of the renewable energy 
development process. We are at the beginning of this phase offshore 
Massachusetts. The second phase is the applicant's submission and 
BOEM's subsequent review and approval of a SAP. Approval of a SAP 
allows the lessee to construct

[[Page 5831]]

and install equipment on the leasehold, such as a meteorological tower 
and/or buoys, to perform site assessment functions. See 30 CFR 585.600-
585.601; 585.605-585.618. Although BOEM does not authorize site 
characterization activities (i.e., geological and geophysical surveys 
and core samples), a lessee must submit the results of such surveys 
with the supporting data in its SAP. See 30 CFR 585.610. The submission 
of a SAP is separate from the submission of a COP. After the lessee has 
collected the further site characterization and assessment data 
necessary for a COP, the lessee may submit its COP, the approval of 
which could authorize the actual construction and operation of a 
renewable energy facility on the lease. See 30 CFR 585.620-585.629.

2. Proposed Action and Scope of Analysis

    The proposed action that will be the subject of the EA is the 
issuance of renewable energy leases within all or some of the Call Area 
described in this Notice, and the approval of site assessment 
activities on those leases (i.e., Phases l and 2 of the wind energy 
leasing and development process). BOEM will also consider in the EA the 
environmental impacts associated with the site characterization 
activities that it anticipates lessees might eventually undertake to 
fulfill the SAP and COP information requirements at 30 CFR 585.610 and 
585.626, respectively.
    Additional analysis under NEPA will be required before any future 
decision is made regarding the approval of the construction or 
operation of any wind energy facility on leases that may be issued 
within all or some of this Call Area. If and when a lessee is ready to 
begin this third phase of renewable energy development, it will submit 
a COP. BOEM is not currently considering any such COP, nor has any COP 
been submitted for this Call Area. If, in the future, a COP is 
submitted for a particular project on a lease, a separate site- and 
project-specific NEPA analysis would be prepared. This specific NEPA 
analysis would likely take the form of an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) and would provide additional opportunities for public 
involvement pursuant to NEPA and the CEQ regulations at 40 CFR Parts 
1500-1508. Such an EIS process would provide the public and Federal 
officials with comprehensive site- and project-specific information, 
and the EIS would consider the reasonably foreseeable environmental 
impacts of the specific project the lessee is proposing. These 
potential impacts will be taken into account when deciding whether to 
approve, approve with modification, or deny the COP pursuant to 30 CFR 
585.628.
    Based on the information submitted in response to this Notice and 
the Call, BOEM would identify the areas within the Call Area in which 
interest exists, and which will be subject to environmental analysis in 
consultation with appropriate Federal agencies, states, local 
governments, tribes and other interested parties. The areas identified 
will constitute WEA(s) under the ``Smart from the Start'' initiative, 
and will be the area(s) analyzed in the EA.
    The EA will consider the environmental consequences associated with 
reasonably foreseeable leasing scenarios (not development itself), 
reasonably foreseeable site characterization scenarios within these 
lease areas (including geophysical, geotechnical, archaeological, and 
biological surveys), and reasonably foreseeable site assessment 
scenarios (including the installation and operation of meteorological 
towers and buoys) on the leases that may be issued within all or some 
of the Call Area. At a minimum, two alternatives will be considered: no 
action (i.e., no issuance of leases or approval of site assessment 
activities); and the issuance of leases and approval of site assessment 
activities within the identified portion(s) of the Call Area. BOEM is 
therefore soliciting input on these and/or other alternatives, and on 
the environmental and socioeconomic issues to be considered in the EA 
related to the potential environmental effects of the activities listed 
above.
    Federal, state, and local government agencies, tribal governments, 
and other interested parties may assist BOEM in determining the issues, 
and any additional alternatives, to be analyzed in the EA. Input is 
also requested on measures (e.g., limitations on activities based on 
technology, distance from shore, or timing) that could mitigate impacts 
to environmental resources and socioeconomic conditions that could 
result from leasing, site characterization, and site assessment 
activities taking place in the Call Area or from support activities 
taking place outside the Call Area itself. Consultation with other 
Federal agencies, tribal governments, and affected states will be 
carried out during the EA process and will be completed before a final 
decision is made on whether any particular lease will be issued or site 
assessment activities on those leases approved.
    If BOEM determines during the EA process that issuing leases and 
conducting site characterization and assessment activities within the 
Call Area would result in significant environmental impacts, BOEM will 
publish a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the issuance of 
renewable energy leases and approval of site assessment activities 
within all or some of this Call Area. If BOEM determines during the EA 
process that issuing leases and conducting site characterization and 
assessment activities within the Call Area would not result in 
significant environmental impacts, BOEM will issue a Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI). After either a FONSI is issued or the EIS 
process is completed, BOEM may issue one or more renewable energy 
leases within all or some of this Call Area. In the event that a 
particular lease is issued, and the lessee submits a SAP, BOEM will 
determine whether the EA adequately considers the environmental impacts 
of the activities proposed in the lessee's SAP. If the analysis in the 
EA adequately addresses these impacts, then no further NEPA analysis 
would be required before the SAP is approved. If the EA analysis is 
inadequate, additional NEPA analysis would be conducted before the SAP 
could be approved.

3. Information That Will Be Incorporated Into the EA

    On November 6, 2007, BOEM published a Notice of Availability (NOA) 
in the Federal Register (72 FR 62,672) of the Programmatic EIS for 
Alternative Energy Development and Production and Alternate Use of 
Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf, Final EIS (OCS Report MMS 
2007-046) (Programmatic EIS). On June 26, 2009, BOEM published a NOA in 
the Federal Register (74 FR 30,616) of the EA for Issuance of Leases 
for Wind Resource Data Collection on the Outer Continental Shelf 
Offshore Delaware and New Jersey (OCS EIS/EA MMS 2009-025) (Interim 
Policy EA), which addressed activities similar to those to be addressed 
in the EA for which this Notice is being published.
    BOEM will incorporate the environmental and socioeconomic analyses 
of site characterization and assessment activities from the 
Programmatic EIS, Interim Policy EA, and other public information to 
help inform its analysis in the EA. The EA will be developed using the 
principles of coastal and marine spatial planning, such as 
comprehensive interagency coordination, to identify information 
necessary for future decision making regarding wind energy development.

[[Page 5832]]

4. Description of the Call Area

    A detailed description of the Call Area can be found in the Call 
that is being published concurrently with this Notice.

Map of the Call Area

    A map of the Call Area can be found at the following URL: https://boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/State-Activities/Massachusetts.aspx
    A large-scale map of the Call Area showing its boundaries and with 
numbered blocks is available from BOEM at the following address: Bureau 
of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, 381 
Elden Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817, Phone: (703) 787-
1320.

5. Cooperating Agencies

    BOEM invites Federal, state, and local government agencies, as well 
as tribal governments, to consider becoming cooperating agencies in the 
preparation of this EA. CEQ regulations implementing the procedural 
provisions of NEPA define cooperating agencies as those with 
``jurisdiction by law or special expertise'' (40 CFR 1508.5). Potential 
cooperating agencies should consider their authority and capacity to 
assume the responsibilities of a cooperating agency and remember that 
an agency's role in the environmental analysis neither enlarges nor 
diminishes the final decision-making authority of any other agency 
involved in the NEPA process.
    Upon request, BOEM will provide potential cooperating agencies with 
a draft Memorandum of Agreement that includes a schedule with critical 
action dates and milestones, mutual responsibilities, designated points 
of contact, and expectations for handling predecisional information. 
Agencies should also consider the ''Factors for Determining Cooperating 
Agency Status'' in Attachment 1 to CEQ's January 30, 2002, Memorandum 
for the Heads of Federal Agencies: Cooperating Agencies in Implementing 
the Procedural Requirements of the NEPA. A copy of this document is 
available at: https://ceg.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/cooperating/cooperatingagenciesmemorandum.html and at: https://ceg.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/cooperating/cooperatingagencymemofactors.html.
    BOEM, as the lead agency, will not provide financial assistance to 
cooperating agencies. Even if an organization is not a cooperating 
agency, opportunities will exist to provide information and comments to 
BOEM during the normal public input phases of the NEPA/EA process.

6. Comments

    Federal, state, local government agencies, tribal governments, and 
other interested parties are requested to send their written comments 
regarding environmental issues and the identification of reasonable 
alternatives related to the proposed action described in this Notice in 
one of the following ways:
    1. Electronically: https://www.regulations.gov. In the entry titled 
``Enter Keyword or ID,'' enter BOEM-2011-0116, then click ``search.'' 
Follow the instructions to submit public comments and view supporting 
and related materials available for this document.
    2. In written form, delivered by hand or by mail, enclosed in an 
envelope labeled ``Comments on Massachusetts EA'' to Program Manager, 
Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 
381 Elden Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817. Comments 
should be submitted no later than March 22, 2012.

    Dated: February 1, 2012.
Tommy P. Beaudreau,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2012-2649 Filed 2-3-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-VH-P