Atlantic Wind Lease Sale 6 (ATLW-6) for Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore New York-Proposed Sale Notice, 36336-36344 [2016-13164]
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36336
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 108 / Monday, June 6, 2016 / Notices
collection; (iii) for reasons other than to
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charge, upon request. We also will post
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Dated: May 26, 2016.
Gregory J. Gould,
Director, Office of Natural Resources
Revenue.
BILLING CODE 4335–30–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Natural Resources Revenue
[Docket No. ONRR–2011–0019; DS63642000
DR2000000.CH7000 167D0102R2]
Major Portion Prices and Due Date for
Additional Royalty Payments on Indian
Gas Production in Designated Areas
Not Associated With an Index Zone
Office of Natural Resources
Revenue (ONRR).
ACTION: Withdrawal.
AGENCY:
On April 28, 2016, ONRR
published (at 81 FR 25419) a notice of
the due date for industry to pay
additional royalties based on the major
portion prices, titled ‘‘Major Portion
Prices and Due Date for Additional
Royalty Payments on Indian Gas
Production in Designated Areas Not
Associated with an Index Zone.’’
Unfortunately, due to an incorrect date
in said notice, it is necessary to
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Dated: May 25, 2016.
Gregory J. Gould,
Director, Office of Natural Resources
Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2016–13207 Filed 6–3–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4335–30–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM–2016–0027;
MMAA104000]
Atlantic Wind Lease Sale 6 (ATLW–6)
for Commercial Leasing for Wind
Power on the Outer Continental Shelf
Offshore New York—Proposed Sale
Notice
Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM or ‘‘the Bureau’’),
Interior.
ACTION: Proposed Sale Notice for
Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on
the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore
New York.
AGENCY:
This document is the
Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) for the sale
of one commercial wind energy lease on
the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
offshore New York, pursuant to 30 CFR
585.216. BOEM proposes to offer Lease
OCS–A 0512 for sale using an ascending
bidding auction format. In this PSN, you
will find information pertaining to the
area available for leasing, proposed
lease provisions and conditions, auction
details, the lease form, criteria for
evaluating competing bids, award
procedures, appeal procedures, and
lease execution. BOEM invites public
comment during a 60-day comment
period following publication of this
notice. The issuance of a lease resulting
from this proposed sale would not
constitute an approval of projectspecific plans to develop offshore wind
energy resources. Such plans, expected
to be submitted by the auction winner,
will be subject to subsequent
environmental and technical reviews
prior to a decision to proceed with
development.
DATES: Comments should be submitted
electronically or postmarked no later
than August 5, 2016. All comments
received or postmarked during the
SUMMARY:
[FR Doc. 2016–13206 Filed 6–3–16; 8:45 am]
SUMMARY:
withdraw the notice and re-publish a
corrected version. This notice
withdraws the April 28, 2016, notice in
question.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
questions on technical issues, contact
Mr. Luis Aguilar, Regulatory Specialist,
ONRR, telephone (303) 231–3418, or
email Luis.Aguilar@onrr.gov.
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comment period will be made available
to the public and considered prior to
publication of the Final Sale Notice
(FSN).
All entities interested in participating
in the lease sale who have not
previously been qualified by BOEM to
participate in this lease sale must
submit the required qualification
materials by the end of the 60-day
comment period for this notice. All
qualification materials must be
postmarked no later than August 5,
2016. Entities that have already been
qualified to participate in this lease sale
are not required to take any additional
action to affirm their interest.
ADDRESSES: Potential auction
participants, Federal, state, and local
government agencies, tribal
governments, and other interested
parties are requested to submit their
written comments on the PSN in one of
the following ways:
1. Electronically: https://
www.regulations.gov. In the entry
entitled, ‘‘Enter Keyword or ID’’, enter
BOEM–2016–0027 then click ‘‘search.’’
Follow the instructions to submit public
comments.
2. Written Comments: In written form,
delivered by hand or by mail, enclosed
in an envelope labeled, ‘‘Comments on
New York PSN’’ to: BOEM Office of
Renewable Energy Programs, 45600
Woodland Road, VAM–OREP, Sterling,
Virginia 20166, (703) 787–1320.
3. Qualifications Materials: Those
submitting qualifications materials
should contact Erin C. Trager, BOEM
Office of Renewable Energy Programs,
45600 Woodland Road, VAM–OREP,
Sterling, Virginia 20166, (703) 787–
1320, or Erin.Trager@boem.gov. If you
wish to protect the confidentiality of
your qualification materials, clearly
mark the relevant sections and request
that BOEM treat them as confidential.
Please label privileged or confidential
information with the caption ‘‘Contains
Confidential Information’’ and consider
submitting such information as a
separate attachment. Treatment of
confidential information is addressed in
the section of this PSN entitled
‘‘Protection of Privileged or Confidential
Information.’’ Information that is not
labeled as privileged or confidential will
be regarded by BOEM as suitable for
public release.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin
C. Trager, BOEM Office of Renewable
Energy Programs, 45600 Woodland
Road, VAM–OREP, Sterling, Virginia
20166, (703) 787–1320 or Erin.Trager@
boem.gov.
Authority: This PSN is published pursuant
to subsection 8(p) of the OCS Lands Act (43
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U.S.C. 1337(p)) (OCSLA) and the
implementing regulations at 30 CFR part 585,
including 30 CFR 585.211 and 585.216.
Background
The area described for leasing in this
PSN is the same as the area described
in the New York Call for Information
and Nominations (79 FR 30645) and
announced as the New York Wind
Energy Area (WEA) on March 16, 2016.
This Area Identification (Area ID)
announcement is available at: https://
www.boem.gov/New-York/. Detailed
information regarding the lease area is
provided in the section entitled,
‘‘Proposed Area for Leasing.’’
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Call for Information and Nominations
On May 28, 2014, BOEM published a
Call for Information and Nominations
(Call) to seek additional nominations
from companies interested in
commercial wind energy leases within
the Call Area offshore New York. BOEM
also sought public input on the
potential for wind development in the
Call Area, including comments on site
conditions, resources, and existing uses
of the area that would be relevant to
BOEM’s wind energy development
authorization process. In response to the
Call, BOEM received three expressions
of interest and 27 comment
submissions, links to which are
available at https://www.boem.gov/NewYork/. Topics addressed in the
comments included mitigation measures
to protect wildlife and habitat; support
for offshore wind’s potential for job
creation and as mitigation for climate
change; concern about the potential
impact of future development on
maritime navigation, regional fisheries,
and other competing uses; and desire for
analysis at the leasing stage of potential
environmental impacts of construction
and operation of a wind facility, rather
than just site assessment and
characterization. BOEM considered
these comments carefully during the
Area ID process. To date, seven entities
have expressed commercial interest in
developing all or parts of the New York
WEA.
Environmental Reviews
On May 28, 2014, BOEM published a
Notice of Intent (NOI) to Prepare an
Environmental Assessment (EA) for
commercial wind lease issuance and
approval of site assessment activities on
the Atlantic OCS offshore New York
with a 45-day public comment period
(79 FR 30643). In response to the NOI,
BOEM received 32 comment
submissions, a link to which is available
at https://www.boem.gov/New-York/. The
comments addressed the same general
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topic categories as those addressed in
the comment submissions in response to
the Call. BOEM considered these
comments in determining the scope of
issues and alternatives analyzed in the
EA.
Concurrent with the publication of
this notice, BOEM is publishing the EA
for public comment. The EA is available
at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.
For the issuance of a commercial
lease, BOEM considers the
environmental consequences of
associated site characterization
activities (e.g., biological, archeological,
geological and geophysical surveys, and
core samples) and site assessment
activities (i.e., installation of a
meteorological tower and/or buoy on
the lease). Mitigation measures designed
to reduce or eliminate impacts from
survey activities are included as the
terms, conditions, and stipulations in
Addendum ‘‘C’’ of the proposed lease
(OCS–A 0512). Given ongoing
development of the EA and associated
consultations described below, the
terms and conditions included in
Addendum ‘‘C’’ are primarily based on
the best available science and BOEM’s
prior consultations, and may be
amended or revised and/or additional
stipulations may be included as a result
of our ongoing environmental review
and consultations. Additional
mitigation measures related to the
installation and operation of
meteorological towers and/or buoys will
be included as terms and conditions of
the eventual lessee’s Site Assessment
Plan (SAP) approval. BOEM will
continue to work with affected
stakeholders and assess ongoing and
future research relating to potential
survey and site assessment impacts,
including possible mitigation measures.
BOEM will complete consultations for
lease issuance under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) and the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (MSFCMA) to inform
the New York lease sale prior to
publishing the FSN. BOEM will initiate
consultations with the States of New
York and New Jersey under the Coastal
Zone Management Act (CZMA)
concurrent with the publication of this
PSN.
BOEM has determined that the
issuance of a commercial lease and
subsequent approval, approval with
modification, or disapproval of a
lessee’s plans constitute undertakings
subject to review under Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act.
BOEM is currently in consultation with
the State Historic Preservation Officers
of New York and New Jersey, the
Advisory Council on Historic
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Preservation, the Shinnecock Indian
Nation, and the National Park Service to
draft and execute a Programmatic
Agreement (PA) to fulfill the bureau’s
obligations under Section 106 for
renewable energy activities offshore
New Jersey and New York. This PA will
provide for consultation to continue
throughout BOEM’s staged decisionmaking process, and will establish the
process to determine and document the
area of potential effects for each
undertaking; identify historic properties
within the area of potential effects;
assess potential adverse effects; and
avoid, reduce, or mitigate any such
effects through the process set forth in
the agreement.
As the effort to execute the PA is
ongoing and BOEM has not yet initiated
consultation for the issuance of a
commercial lease, the draft lease
stipulations included in Addendum ‘‘C’’
of the proposed lease (OCS–A 0512)
may be amended or revised and/or
additional stipulations may be included
as a result of this consultation. BOEM
will continue to consult with affected
tribes government to government.
Once BOEM has completed the EA
and associated consultations, and if the
EA concludes that the proposed action
will not cause significant environmental
impacts, BOEM will publish a Finding
of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and
may proceed with a FSN. If BOEM
concludes that the proposed action
would cause significant environmental
impacts to the human environment,
then BOEM will prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
before proceeding with a FSN. If a lease
is issued, BOEM will prepare additional
environmental reviews upon receipt of
the lessee’s SAP and Construction and
Operations Plan (COP).
Additional Participation in the Lease
Sale: Any parties that have not already
been legally, financially and technically
qualified to hold a lease for commercial
wind development offshore New York
must submit the required qualification
materials by the end of the 60-day
comment period for this notice if they
wish to participate in the proposed New
York lease sale. Guidelines to
prospective lessees on meeting BOEM’s
requirements to qualify for and hold a
renewable energy lease on the OCS—
and the type of information that should
be submitted to demonstrate your legal,
technical and financial qualifications—
can be found at: https://www.boem.gov/
National-and-Regional-Guidelines-forRenewable-Energy-Activities/. Any
submitted documentation must be
provided to BOEM in both paper and
electronic formats. BOEM considers an
Adobe PDF file stored on a storage
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media device to be an acceptable format
for submitting an electronic copy.
Please note: that it may take a number of
weeks for BOEM to assess a potential
bidder’s legal, technical, and financial
qualifications. BOEM advises potential
bidders who plan to participate in a sale to
establish their qualifications promptly. It is
not uncommon for BOEM to request
additional materials establishing
qualifications following an initial review of
the qualifications package. BOEM cannot
determine a potential bidder to be qualified
without a complete qualification package.
Potential bidders, whom BOEM has not
determined to be qualified before the FSN is
published, will not be allowed to participate
in the sale.
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Deadlines and Milestones for Bidders:
This section describes the major
deadlines and milestones in the auction
process from publication of this PSN to
lease execution, should BOEM decide to
proceed with a sale for Lease OCS–A
0512. This process is organized into five
stages: (1) The PSN comment period; (2)
from the end of PSN comment period to
publication of the FSN; (3) the FSN
waiting period; (4) conducting the
Auction; and (5) from the Auction to
Lease Execution.
The PSN Comment Period:
• Submit Comments: The public is
invited to submit comments during this
60-day period, which will expire on
August 5, 2016.
• Public Seminar: BOEM will host a
public seminar to discuss the lease sale
process and the auction format. The
time and place of the seminar will be
announced by BOEM and published on
the BOEM Web site at https://
www.boem.gov/New-York/. No
registration or RSVP is required to
attend.
• Submit Qualifications Materials:
All qualifications materials must be
received by BOEM by the end of the 60day PSN comment period, August 5,
2016. This includes materials sufficient
to establish a company’s legal,
technical, and financial qualifications
pursuant to 30 CFR 585.106 and 107.
End of PSN Comment Period to FSN
Publication
• Review Comments: BOEM will
review all comments submitted in
response to the PSN during the
comment period.
• Finalize Qualifications Reviews:
BOEM will complete any outstanding
reviews of bidder qualifications
materials submitted during the PSN
comment period prior to the publication
of the FSN. The final list of eligible
bidders will be published in the FSN.
• Prepare the FSN: If BOEM
continues with the lease sale, BOEM
will prepare the FSN, and will update
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information contained in the PSN where
necessary.
• Publish FSN: If BOEM continues
with the lease sale, BOEM will publish
the FSN in the Federal Register.
FSN Waiting Period: During this
period, qualified bidders must take
several steps before participating in the
Auction.
• Bidder’s Financial Form (BFF):
BOEM must receive each qualified
bidder’s completed and signed BFF no
later than the date listed in the FSN.
Typically, this deadline is
approximately 14 calendar days after
publication of the FSN in the Federal
Register. BOEM will consider
extensions to this deadline only if
BOEM determines that the failure to
timely submit the BFF was caused by
events beyond the bidder’s control.
Blank BFFs can be found at: https://
www.boem.gov/New-York/. Once the
BFF has been processed, bidders may
log into pay.gov and submit bid
deposits. BOEM will only accept an
originally executed paper copy of the
BFF, and will not consider for this
auction BFFs submitted for previous
lease sales. The BFF must be executed
by an authorized representative as
shown on the bidder’s legal
qualifications. Each bidder is required
to sign the self-certification in the BFF,
in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 1001
(Fraud and False Statements).
• Bid Deposits: Each qualified bidder
must submit a bid deposit of $450,000
no later than the date listed in the FSN.
Typically, this deadline is
approximately 30 calendar days after
the publication of the FSN. BOEM will
consider extensions to this deadline
only if BOEM determines that the
failure to timely submit the bid deposit
was caused by events beyond the
bidder’s control.
• Mock Auction: BOEM will hold an
online Mock Auction that is open only
to qualified bidders who have met the
requirements and deadlines for auction
participation, including submission of
the bid deposit. Final details of the
Mock Auction will be provided in the
FSN.
Conduct the Auction: BOEM, through
its contractor, will hold an auction as
described in the FSN. The auction will
take place no sooner than 30 days
following publication of the FSN in
Federal Register. The estimated
timeframes described in this PSN
assume the auction will take place
approximately 45 days after publication
of the FSN.
From Auction to Lease Execution.
There are several steps between the
conclusion of the auction and execution
of the lease.
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• Bid Deposit Refund: BOEM will
refund the bid deposit of any bidder that
did not win the lease. BOEM will
provide a written explanation as to why
the bidder did not win.
• Department of Justice (DOJ) Review:
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has 30
days to conduct an antitrust review of
the auction in consultation with the
Federal Trade Commission, pursuant to
43 U.S.C 1337(c).
• Delivery of the Lease: BOEM will
send three lease copies to the winner,
with instructions on how to sign the
lease. The first year’s rent is due 45 days
after the winner receives the lease
copies for execution.
• Return the Lease: Within 10
business days of receiving the lease
copies, the auction winner must post
financial assurance, pay any
outstanding balance of their bonus bid
(i.e., winning monetary bid minus bid
deposit), and sign and return the three
signed lease copies.
• Execution of the Lease: Once BOEM
has received the lease copies and
verified that it has received all other
required materials, BOEM will execute
the lease, if appropriate.
Area Proposed for Leasing: The area
available for sale will be auctioned as
one lease, Lease OCS–A 0512. The
proposed New York lease area consists
of approximately 81,130 acres. A
description of the proposed New York
lease area can be found in Addendum
‘‘A’’ of the proposed lease, which BOEM
has made available with this notice on
its Web site at: https://www.boem.gov/
New-York/.
Map of the Area Offered for Leasing:
A map of the proposed New York lease
area, GIS spatial files, and a table of the
boundary coordinates in X, Y (eastings,
northings) UTM Zone 18, NAD83
Datum, and geographic X, Y (longitude,
latitude), NAD83 Datum can be found
on BOEM’s Web site at: https://
www.boem.gov/New-York/.
A large-scale map of the area, showing
boundaries of the area with numbered
blocks, is available from BOEM upon
request at the following address: Bureau
of Ocean Energy Management, Office of
Renewable Energy Programs, 45600
Woodland Road, VAM–OREP, Sterling,
Virginia 20166, Phone: (703) 787–1300,
Fax: (703) 787–1708.
Potential Mitigation Measures and
Restrictions on Development
During the Area ID process, BOEM
analyzed three potential concerns
associated with development of the New
York WEA: (1) Navigational safety, (2)
commercial fishing, and (3) visual
impacts to historic properties. Although
BOEM did not remove any areas from
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leasing consideration during Area ID,
potential bidders should be aware that
future analysis of these issues could
result in required mitigation measures
and/or development restrictions within
the proposed New York lease area. In
addition, mitigation measures and/or
development restrictions could result
from future BOEM environmental
reviews and consultations (e.g., future
consultations under the Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act
or future government-to-government
consultations with federally recognized
tribes). It is possible that some
mitigation measures/development
restrictions could have the same effect
as removal of areas from leasing.
Navigational Safety: Potential bidders
should note that future mitigation
measures may be applied to
development within all or portions of
the New York proposed lease area to
ensure navigation safety and the U.S.
Coast Guard’s ability to maintain
mission readiness.
The New York proposed lease area
has been delineated to accommodate a
setback of 1 nautical mile (nmi) from the
adjacent Traffic Separation Schemes
(TSSs) for the Port of New York and
New Jersey. This setback is consistent
with BOEM’s delineation of other lease
areas that are in close proximity to TSSs
(e.g., the areas offshore Massachusetts,
Rhode Island/Massachusetts, Delaware,
and Maryland; and the Wilmington
West area offshore North Carolina), and
is based on input provided by the U.S.
Coast Guard (USCG) as a member of the
BOEM New York Renewable Energy
Task Force during development of the
2013 Request for Interest (RFI). As noted
in the RFI, the proposed lease area
includes aliquots that are transected by
the 1 nmi setback line, and BOEM will
require that no structures be installed on
portions of those aliquots located within
the setback.
In September 2015, BOEM received
additional input from USCG
recommending a larger setback of 2 nmi
from the TSSs. USCG’s correspondence
to BOEM, which explains the
recommendation, is available on
BOEM’s Web site at https://
www.boem.gov/New-York/. In addition,
on March 22, 2016, USCG released the
Final Report for its Atlantic Coast Port
Access Route Study (ACPARS),
available for review at https://
www.uscg.mil/lantarea/acpars. The
USCG’s Marine Planning Guidelines,
included as Enclosure 2 of the ACPARS,
are consistent with their September
2015 recommendation to BOEM.
Although BOEM did not adopt the
USCG’s recommendation during Area
ID, BOEM may determine at a later stage
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in the process (e.g., after evaluating a
Navigational Safety Risk Assessment
that is submitted as a part of a COP) that
portions of the proposed lease area
would be inappropriate for the
installation of wind facilities due to
navigational safety concerns.
Commercial Fishing: Potential bidders
should note that future mitigation
measures/development restrictions may
be applied to development within all or
portions of the proposed New York
lease area due to the use of the area as
a fishery.
BOEM received fishery-related
comments in response to the RFI, Call,
and NOI from National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS); New England Fishery
Management Council (NEFMC); and the
Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF), a group
representing members of the sea scallop
fishery. BOEM also received comments
from commercial squid fishery operators
during BOEM’s November 2015
fisheries workshops. A meeting
summary of BOEM’s November 2015
fisheries workshops and comments
associated with these workshops are
available on BOEM’s Web site at https://
www.boem.gov/New-York/, along with
those comments received in response to
BOEM’s Federal Register notices
relating to commercial fishing activities
within the proposed New York lease
area.
Through a joint study with NMFS,
BOEM has also gathered information
regarding the use of the lease area as a
fishery. This data, specific to the
proposed New York lease area, is
available on BOEM’s Web site at https://
www.boem.gov/Fishing-Revenue-NYCall-Area/. The full dataset is available
at https://www.boem.gov/RenewableEnergy-GIS-Data/. Potential bidders
should be aware that BOEM will be
gathering additional data and may
develop plan-specific mitigation
measures/development restrictions to
mitigate, minimize, or avoid impacts.
In addition, between 2012 and 2016,
BOEM collaborated with numerous
stakeholders in the fishing and offshore
wind industries to develop best
management practices (BMPs) in
furtherance of its goal of eliminating or
minimizing potential multiple use
conflicts between offshore renewable
energy developers and the fishing
industry. As a result of this effort,
BOEM recommends that lessees
facilitate cooperation with the fishing
industry by utilizing a fisheries liaison
and fisheries representative during the
development of their plans. BOEM has
issued guidance to lessees for providing
information on fisheries social and
economic conditions for renewable
energy development on the Atlantic
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Outer Continental Shelf: https://
www.boem.gov/Social-and-EconomicConditions-Fishery-CommunicationGuidelines/.
Visual Impacts to Historic Properties:
Potential bidders should note that the
National Park Service (NPS) and New
York State Historic Preservation Office
(NY SHPO) have expressed concern
regarding the potential for wind energy
development within the New York WEA
to cause adverse effects to onshore
historic properties. Correspondence
outlining these concerns is available for
reference on BOEM’s Web site at https://
www.boem.gov/New-York/.
During the summer and fall of 2015,
OREP conducted stakeholder outreach
with the NPS, NY SHPO, and the New
Jersey State Historic Preservation Office.
OREP also completed a study entitled,
‘‘Renewable Energy Viewshed Analysis
and Visualization Simulation for the
New York Outer Continental Shelf Call
Area’’ to assist in this outreach effort
and to provide scientific and technical
information about visual impacts to
inform the Area ID decision. Results
from this study are available under the
header ‘‘Visual Simulations’’ at the
following link: https://www.boem.gov/
New-York/.
Withdrawal of Blocks: BOEM reserves
the right to withdraw portions of the
proposed lease area prior to its
execution of the lease, based upon
relevant information provided to the
Bureau.
Lease Terms and Conditions: BOEM
has made available proposed terms,
conditions, and stipulations for the OCS
commercial wind lease to be offered
through this sale. After the lease is
issued, BOEM reserves the right to
require compliance with additional
terms and conditions associated with
approval of a SAP or COP. The
proposed lease is on BOEM’s Web site
at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.
The lease includes the following
seven attachments:
• Addendum ‘‘A’’ (Description of
Leased Area and Lease Activities);
• Addendum ‘‘B’’ (Lease Term and
Financial Schedule);
• Addendum ‘‘C’’ (Lease Specific
Terms, Conditions, and Stipulations);
• Addendum ‘‘D’’ (Project Easement);
• Addendum ‘‘E’’ (Rent Schedule
post COP approval);
• Appendix A to Addendum ‘‘C’’:
(Incident Report: Protected Species
Injury or Mortality); and
• Appendix B to Addendum ‘‘C’’:
(Required Data Elements for Protected
Species Observer Reports).
Addenda ‘‘A,’’ ‘‘B,’’ and ‘‘C’’ provide
detailed descriptions of lease terms and
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for commercial operations, i.e., not
generating electricity. However, instead
of geographically dividing the lease area
into acreage that is ‘‘generating’’ and
‘‘non-generating,’’ the fraction of the
lease accruing rent will be based on the
fraction of the total nameplate capacity
of the project that is not yet in
operation. This fraction is calculated by
dividing the nameplate capacity not yet
authorized for commercial operations at
the time payment is due by the
anticipated nameplate capacity after full
installation of the project (as described
in the COP). The annual rent due for a
given year is then derived by
multiplying this fraction by the amount
of rent that would have been due for the
lessee’s entire lease area at the rental
rate of $3 per acre.
For example, an 81,130 acre lease (the
size of the entire proposed New York
lease area) will have a rent payment of
$243,390 per year if no portion of the
leased area is authorized for commercial
operations. If 300 megawatts (MW) of a
project’s nameplate capacity is
operating (or authorized for operation),
and the approved COP specifies a
maximum project size of 500 MW, the
rent payment will be $97,356. This
payment is based on the 200 MW of
nameplate capacity BOEM has not yet
authorized for commercial operations.
For the above example, this would be
calculated as follows: 200MW/500MW ×
($3/acre × 81,130 acres) = $97,356.
If the lessee submits an application
for relinquishment of a portion of its
lease area within the first 45 calendar
days following the date that the lease is
received by the lessee for execution, and
BOEM approves that application, no
rent payment will be due on that
relinquished portion of the lease area.
Later relinquishments of any portion of
the lease area will reduce the lessee’s
rent payments starting in the year
following BOEM’s approval of the
relinquishment.
The lessee also must pay rent for any
project easement associated with the
lease, commencing on the date that
BOEM approves the COP (or
modification thereof) that describes the
project easement. Annual rent for a
project easement that is 200 feet wide
and centered on the transmission cable
is $70 per statute mile. For any
additional acreage required, the lessee
must also pay the greater of $5 per acre
per year or $450 per year.
Operating Fee: For purposes of
calculating the initial annual operating
fee payment and pursuant to 30 CFR
585.506, an operating fee rate is applied
to a proxy for the wholesale market
value of the electricity expected to be
generated from the project during its
first twelve months of operations. This
initial payment will be prorated to
reflect the period between the
commencement of commercial
operations and the Lease Anniversary.
The initial annual operating fee
payment is due within 45 days of the
commencement of commercial
operations. Thereafter, subsequent
annual operating fee payments are due
on or before each Lease Anniversary.
The subsequent annual operating fee
payments are calculated by multiplying
the operating fee rate by the imputed
wholesale market value of the projected
annual electric power production for the
project. For the purposes of this
calculation, the imputed market value is
the product of the project’s annual
nameplate capacity, the total number of
hours in the year (8,760), the capacity
factor, and the annual average price of
electricity derived from a historical
regional wholesale power price index.
For example, the annual operating fee
for a 100 MW wind facility operating at
a 40% capacity (i.e., capacity factor of
0.4) with a regional wholesale power
price of $50/MWh and an operating fee
rate of 0.02 would be calculated as
follows:
Operating Fee Rate: The operating fee
rate is the share of imputed wholesale
market value of the projected annual
electric power production due to BOEM
as an annual operating fee. For the
proposed New York lease area, BOEM
will set the fee at 0.02 (i.e., 2%) during
the entire life of commercial operations.
Nameplate Capacity: Nameplate
capacity is the maximum rated electric
output, expressed in MW, that the
turbines of the wind facility under
commercial operations can produce at
their rated wind speed as designated by
the turbine’s manufacturer. The lessee
will specify in its COP the nameplate
capacity available at the start of each
year of commercial operations on the
lease. For example, if the lessee
specifies 20 turbines in its COP, and
each is rated by the design manufacturer
at 5 MW, the nameplate capacity of the
wind facility would be 100 MW.
Capacity Factor: The capacity factor
compares the amount of energy
delivered to the grid during a period of
time to the amount of energy the wind
facility would have produced at full
capacity. The amount of power
delivered will always be less than the
theoretical 100% capacity, largely
because of the variability of wind
speeds, transmission line loss, and
down time for maintenance or other
purposes.
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conditions. As discussed above, given
ongoing development of the EA and
associated consultations, the mitigation
measures included in Addendum ‘‘C’’
may be amended or revised, and/or
additional stipulations may be included
prior to publication of the FSN.
Addendum ‘‘D’’ will be completed at
the time of COP approval or approval
with modifications. Addendum ‘‘E’’ will
be completed after COP approval or
approval with conditions.
BOEM is soliciting comments on the
provisions of Addendum ‘‘C’’ that
require the submission of SAP and COP
survey plans. Specifically, BOEM is
interested in whether potential lessees
and other stakeholders find the
timeframes associated with those
requirements to be reasonable, and
whether those provisions could be
written in a manner that better describes
the realities associated with offshore
wind survey efforts (e.g., referring to
survey mobilizations as opposed to
‘‘SAP’’ surveys and ‘‘COP’’ surveys
specifically).
Plans: Pursuant to 30 CFR 585.601,
the leaseholder must submit a SAP
within 12 months of lease issuance and
a COP at least 6 months before the end
of the site assessment term of the lease.
Financial Terms and Conditions: This
section provides an overview of the
annual payments required of a lessee
that are described in the proposed lease,
and the financial assurance
requirements that will be associated
with the lease if it is awarded.
Rent: Pursuant to 30 CFR 585.224(b)
and 585.503, the first year’s rent
payment of $3 per acre is due within 45
days of the date the lessee receives the
lease for execution. Thereafter, annual
rent payments are due on the
anniversary of the Effective Date of the
lease (the ‘‘Lease Anniversary’’). Once
commercial operations under the lease
begin, BOEM will charge rent only for
the portions of the lease not authorized
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The capacity factor is expressed as a
decimal between zero and one, and
represents the share of anticipated
generation of the wind facility that is
delivered to the interconnection grid
(i.e., where the lessee’s facility
interconnects with the electric grid)
relative to the wind facility’s generation
at continuous full power operation at
nameplate capacity. For the proposed
lease area, BOEM has set the capacity
factor for the year in which commercial
operations commence and the six full
years thereafter at 0.4 (i.e., 40%). At the
end of the sixth year, BOEM may adjust
the capacity factor to reflect the
performance over the previous five
years based upon the actual metered
electricity generation at the delivery
point to the electrical grid. BOEM may
make similar adjustments to the
capacity factor once every five years
thereafter. The maximum change in the
capacity factor from one period to the
next will be limited to plus or minus 10
percent of the previous period’s value.
Wholesale Power Price Index:
Pursuant to 30 CFR 585.506(c)(2)(i), the
wholesale power price, expressed in
dollars per MW-hour, is determined at
the time each annual operating fee
payment is due, based on the weighted
average of the inflation-adjusted peak
and off-peak spot price indices for the
NYC Zone J (NYISO) electric region for
the most recent year of spot price data
available. The wholesale power price is
adjusted for inflation from the year
associated with the published spot price
indices to the year in which the
operating fee is to be due, based on the
Lease Anniversary and using annual
implicit price deflators as reported by
the U.S. Department of Commerce
Bureau of Economic Analysis.
BOEM proposes to use the NYC Zone
J power price as the price in its
operating fee formula due to its
geographic proximity to the proposed
lease area. BOEM is soliciting further
comments on the merits of other electric
power prices, including Long Island
Zone K, that may be used in lieu of or
in combination with the current
proposed power price. In particular,
BOEM would like to know if and why
other electric power prices may be
preferred over NYC Zone J.
Financial Assurance: Within 10
business days after receiving the lease
copies and pursuant to 30 CFR 585.515–
.516, the provisional winner of the New
York lease area must provide an initial
lease-specific bond or other approved
means of meeting the lessor’s initial
financial assurance requirements. The
provisional winner may meet financial
assurance requirements by posting a
surety bond or by setting up an escrow
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account with a trust agreement giving
BOEM the right to withdraw the money
held in the account on demand. BOEM
encourages the provisional winner to
discuss the financial assurance
requirement with BOEM as soon as
possible after the auction has
concluded.
BOEM will base the amount of all
SAP, COP, and decommissioning
financial assurance requirements on
cost estimates for meeting all accrued
lease obligations at the respective stages
of development. The required amount of
supplemental and decommissioning
financial assurance will be determined
on a case-by-case basis.
The financial terms described above
can be found in Addendum ‘‘B’’ of the
proposed lease, which BOEM has made
available with this notice on its Web site
at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.
Bid Deposit: A bid deposit is an
advance cash payment submitted to
BOEM in order to participate in the
auction. Each qualified bidder must
submit a bid deposit of $450,000 no
later than the deadline provided in the
FSN. Any qualified bidder who fails to
submit the bid deposit by this deadline
may be disqualified from participating
in the auction. Bid deposits will be
accepted online via pay.gov.
Following the auction, bid deposits
will be applied against bonus bids or
other obligations owed to BOEM. If the
bid deposit exceeds a bidder’s total
financial obligation, the balance of the
bid deposit will be refunded to the
bidder. BOEM will refund bid deposits
to non-winners.
Bidder Financial Form: Each bidder
must fill out the BFF referenced in this
PSN. BOEM has also made a copy of the
form available with this notice on its
Web site at: https://www.boem.gov/NewYork/. BOEM recommends that each
bidder designate an email address in its
BFF that the bidder will then use to
create an account in pay.gov (if it has
not already done so). Bidders may then
use the BFF on the pay.gov Web site to
leave a deposit.
BOEM will not consider BFFs
submitted by qualified bidders for
previous lease sales to satisfy the
requirements of the proposed New York
lease sale. BOEM will also only consider
BFFs submitted after the deadline if
BOEM determines that the failure to
timely submit the BFF was caused by
events beyond the bidder’s control.
BOEM will only accept an original,
executed paper copy of the BFF. The
BFF must be executed by an authorized
representative who has been identified
in the qualifications package on file
with BOEM as authorized to bind the
company.
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Minimum Bid: The minimum bid is
the lowest price BOEM will accept as a
winning bid. BOEM has established a
minimum bid per acre of $2.00, or
$162,260, for the proposed lease sale.
Auction Procedures: Following is a
summary of the auction procedures that
BOEM intends to use if it proceeds with
the proposed New York lease sale.
Summary of Auction Format
As authorized under 30 CFR
585.220(a)(2) and 585.221(a)(1), BOEM
intends to conduct the proposed lease
sale using an ascending format with
cash as the bid variable. Using an online
bidding system to host the auction,
BOEM sets an initial asking price for
Lease OCS–A 0512 and increases that
price incrementally based on the
number of active bidders in each round
until no more than one active bidder
remains in the auction. A bid submitted
at the full asking price for the lease in
a particular round is referred to as a live
bid. During each round, active bidders
may: (1) Submit a live bid indicating
that they are interested in acquiring the
lease at the current round’s stated
asking price, (2) submit an exit bid (see
below for discussion of exit bids), or (3)
exit the auction. All bids are
considering binding until BOEM has
determined the winning bid.
A bidder remains active in the auction
as long as it continues to meet BOEM’s
asking price in each round. If more than
one live bid is received in a round,
BOEM increases the asking price
incrementally and conducts another
auction round. BOEM plans to raise the
asking price following any round in
which two or more bidders submitted
live bids. The auction concludes at the
end of the round in which the number
of live bids received falls to one or zero.
Asking price increments are in
BOEM’s sole discretion. They will be
determined round-by-round, based on a
number of factors, including, but not
necessarily limited to, the expected time
needed to conduct the auction and the
number of rounds that have already
occurred. BOEM reserves the right to
increase or decrease bidding increments
as necessary.
Between rounds, BOEM will disclose
to all bidders eligible to bid in the next
round: (1) The number of live bids in
the previous round of the auction (i.e.,
the level of demand); and (2) the asking
price in the upcoming round of the
auction.
If a bidder is not willing to meet the
asking price in the upcoming round, the
bidder may submit an exit bid and then
exit the auction. Bidders exiting the
auction are allowed to submit one exit
bid at an offer price greater than the
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asking price in the previous round but
less than the asking price in the current
round. Exit bids allow bidders to
express precisely the maximum price
they are willing to offer and minimize
the chance of ties. If a bidder exits the
auction by placing an exit bid or by not
submitting a live bid in the current
round, it will no longer be allowed to
submit bids in any subsequent round. If
a bidder leaves the auction without
submitting an exit bid, BOEM will treat
the previous round’s asking price as the
bidder’s exit bid in the current round.
BOEM will not consider exit bids for the
purpose of determining whether to
increase the asking price or to end the
auction.
BOEM will determine the
provisionally winning bidder to be the
bidder with the highest bid, whether the
bid was a live bid or an exit bid. If there
is a tie, BOEM will resolve the tie by
randomized means. The provisional
winner may be disqualified if it is
subsequently found to have violated
auction rules or otherwise engaged in
conduct detrimental to the integrity of
the competitive auction.
The auction winner for the proposed
lease sale will have 10 business days
from receiving the lease copies in which
to post financial assurance, pay any
outstanding balance of its bonus bid,
and sign and return three copies of the
lease. BOEM reserves the right to not
issue the lease to the provisionally
winning bidder if that bidder fails to
timely sign and pay for the lease or
otherwise fails to comply with
applicable regulations or terms of the
FSN. In that case, that bidder will forfeit
its bid deposit. BOEM may consider
failure of a bidder to timely pay the full
amount due an indication that the
bidder is no longer financially qualified
to participate in other lease sales under
BOEM’s regulations at 30 CFR 585.106
and 585.107. If a winning bidder does
not sign the lease pursuant to the
proposed lease sale, BOEM reserves the
right to identify the next best bid
submitted during the proposed lease
sale and offer the lease pursuant to this
next highest bid.
sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Additional Information Regarding the
Auction Format
Bidder Authentication
For the proposed online auction,
BOEM will require two-factor
authentication. Prior to the auction, the
Auction Manager will send several
bidder authentication packages to the
bidders shortly after BOEM has
processed the BFFs. One package will
contain digital authentication tokens for
each authorized individual allowing
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access to the auction Web site. The
tokens will be mailed to the Primary
Point of Contact indicated on the BFF.
This individual is responsible for
distributing the tokens to the
individuals authorized to bid for that
company. Bidders are to ensure that
each token is returned within three
business days following the auction. An
addressed, stamped envelope will be
provided to facilitate this process. In the
event that a bidder fails to submit a bid
deposit or does not participate in the
proposed auction, BOEM will deactivate that bidder’s token and login
information, and the bidder will be
asked to return its tokens.
The second package contains login
credentials for authorized bidders. The
login credentials will be mailed to the
address provided in the BFF for each
authorized individual. Bidders can
confirm these addresses by calling 703–
787–1320. This package will contain
user login information and instructions
for accessing the Auction System
Technical Supplement and Alternative
Bidding Form. The login information,
along with the tokens, will be tested
during the Mock Auction.
Timing of Auction
The FSN will provide specific
information regarding when bidders can
enter the auction system and when the
proposed auction will start. Once
bidders have logged in they should
review the auction schedule, which lists
the start, end, and recess times of each
round in the auction. Each round is
structured as follows:
• Round bidding begins;
• Bidders enter their bids;
• Round bidding ends and the recess
begins;
• During the recess, the number of
live bids received in the previous round
and the next round’s asking price are
posted;
• Bidders review the previous round
results and prepare their next round
bids (or exit bids, as applicable);
• Next round bidding begins.
The first round will last about 30
minutes, though subsequent rounds may
be shorter. Recesses are anticipated to
last approximately 10 minutes. The
descriptions of the auction schedule and
asking price increments included in the
PSN and FSN are tentative. Bidders
should consult the auction schedule on
the bidding Web site just before and
during the auction for updated times.
BOEM anticipates the auction will last
one or two business days, but bidders
are advised to prepare to continue
bidding for additional business days as
necessary to resolve the auction.
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BOEM and the auction contractors
will use the auction platform messaging
service to keep bidders informed on
issues of interest during the proposed
auction. BOEM will use the messaging
system for auction schedule changes
and other updates during the auction.
Bidders may place bids at any time
during the round. At the top of the
bidding page, a countdown clock will
show how much time remains in the
round. Bidders have until the scheduled
ending time to place bids. Bidders
should bid according to the procedures
described in both the FSN and the
Auction System Technical Supplement.
No information about bidding during
the round is available until the round
has closed and results have been posted,
so there is no tactical advantage to
placing bids early or late in the round.
The timing of the auction will be
elaborated on and clarified in the
Auction System Technical Supplement
available on BOEM’s Web site at: https://
www.boem.gov/New-York/ if and when
the FSN is published in the Federal
Register. The Auction System Technical
Supplement will describe auction
procedures that are incorporated by
reference into the FSN. All bidders are
required to comply with any rules or
instructions in the Auction System
Technical Supplement, except in the
unexpected circumstance that any of the
information in the Auction System
Technical Supplement is inconsistent
with the FSN, in which case, the
provisions of the FSN will take
precedence.
Alternate Bidding Procedures
Alternate Bidding Procedures enable a
bidder who is having difficulties
accessing the Internet to submit its bid
via fax using an Alternate Bidding Form
available on BOEM’s Web site at: https://
www.boem.gov/New-York/.
In order to be authorized to use an
Alternative Bidding Form, a bidder
must call the help desk number listed in
the Auction Manual before the end of
the round. BOEM will authenticate the
caller to ensure he/she is authorized to
bid on behalf of the company. The
bidder must explain the reasons for
which he/she cannot place a bid using
the online bidding platform. BOEM
may, in its sole discretion, permit or
refuse to accept a request for the
placement of a bid using the Alternate
Bidding Procedures.
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If Bidders Need To Submit an Alternate
Bidding Form, They Are Strongly
Encouraged To Do so Before the Round
Ends
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Consideration of Potential NonMonetary Factor
BOEM has received a request to
recognize a non-monetary credit for any
bidder who has an executed power
purchase agreement (PPA) term sheet
with a potential power purchaser
involving offshore wind energy
generated from the proposed New York
lease area. While a PPA term sheet is
not typically a fully binding contract
and may differ in that respect from other
non-monetary factors that BOEM has
credited to date, BOEM is considering
whether to add this element to the
auction in a fashion similar to prior
BOEM offshore wind lease sales (e.g.,
Maryland, New Jersey). It is BOEM’s
policy to offer non-monetary credits in
an auction only for factors that (1) can
be simply and objectively identified,
and (2) reflect a true development
advantage for the recipient. BOEM is
soliciting comments on the merits of
adopting a PPA term sheet as a nonmonetary credit for this auction, as well
as the specific parameters of such an
instrument.
In particular, BOEM would like to
know what key commercial terms
should be included in a qualifying PPA
term sheet to qualify for a credit;
whether BOEM should only provide a
credit for PPA term sheets that are
executed with specific types of entities
(e.g., electric utility, municipality,
government agency); whether the public
utility commission of New York or a
nearby state should be a party to or
otherwise endorse a qualifying PPA
term sheet; and whether and to what
extent such a qualifying PPA term sheet
should be binding on the signatories.
BOEM is also soliciting comments on
what percentage of the monetary bid
would be appropriate for this bidding
credit. At this time, should BOEM find
it appropriate to add this element to the
auction, BOEM would potentially
consider offering a 5% credit for a
qualifying PPA term sheet. BOEM is
interested in receiving feedback on
whether a 5% credit would sufficiently
reflect the value of an executed PPA
term sheet. Based on the comments that
BOEM receives, BOEM will decide
whether, and in what amount, to
provide for this type of non-monetary
credit in the FSN.
Rejection or Non-Acceptance of Bids:
BOEM reserves the right and authority
to reject any and all bids that do not
satisfy the requirements and rules of the
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proposed auction, the FSN, or
applicable regulations and statutes.
Anti-Competitive Review: This sale is
subject to Federal antitrust laws.
Accordingly, following the auction but
before the acceptance of the bid and the
issuance of the lease, BOEM will ‘‘allow
the Attorney General, in consultation
with the Federal Trade Commission, 30
days to review the results of the lease
sale.’’ 43 U.S.C. 1337(c). If a
provisionally winning bidder is found
to have engaged in anti-competitive
practices in connection with this sale,
BOEM may reject its bid.
Anti-competitive practices may
include, but are not limited to:
• An express or tacit agreement
among bidders to not bid in an auction,
or to bid at a particular price;
• An agreement among bidders not to
bid against each other; and
• Other agreements among bidders
that have the potential to affect the final
auction price.
BOEM will decline to award the lease
if the Attorney General, in consultation
with the Federal Trade Commission,
determines that doing so would be
inconsistent with the antitrust laws. See
43 U.S.C. 1337(c).
For more information on whether
specific communications or agreements
could constitute a violation of Federal
antitrust law, please see https://
www.justice.gov/atr/public/businessresources.html, or consult legal counsel.
Process for Issuing the Lease: Once all
post-auction reviews have been
completed to BOEM’s satisfaction,
BOEM will issue three unsigned copies
of the lease to the provisionally winning
bidder. Within 10 business days after
receiving the lease copies, the
provisionally winning bidder must:
1. Sign the lease on the bidder’s
behalf;
2. File financial assurance, as required
under 30 CFR 585.515–537; and
3. Pay by electronic funds transfer
(EFT) the balance (if any) of the bonus
bid (winning bid less the bid deposit).
BOEM requires bidders to use EFT
procedures (not pay.gov, the Web site
bidders used to submit bid deposits) for
payment of the balance of the bonus bid,
following the detailed instructions
contained in the ‘‘Instructions for
Making Electronic Payments’’ available
on BOEM’s Web site at: https://
www.boem.gov/New-York/.
BOEM will not execute a lease until
the three requirements above have been
satisfied, BOEM has accepted the
provisionally winning bidder’s financial
assurance pursuant to 30 CFR 585.515,
and BOEM has processed the
provisionally winning bidder’s
payment.
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If BOEM determines the delay was
caused by events beyond the provisional
winning bidder’s control, BOEM may
extend the ten business day deadline for
executing the lease on the bidder’s
behalf, filing the required financial
assurance, and/or paying the balance of
the bonus bid.
If the provisionally winning bidder
does not meet these requirements or
otherwise fails to comply with
applicable regulations or the terms of
the FSN, BOEM reserves the right to not
issue the lease to that bidder. In such a
case, the provisionally winning bidder
will forfeit its bid deposit.
Within 45 days of the date that the
provisionally winning bidder receives
copies of the lease, it must pay the first
year’s rent using the pay.gov Renewable
Energy Initial Rental Payment form,
available at: https://pay.gov/paygov/
forms/formInstance.html?
agencyFormId=27797604. Subsequent
annual rent payments must be made
following the detailed instructions
contained in the ‘‘Instructions for
Making Electronic Payments,’’ available
on BOEM’s Web site at: https://
www.boem.gov/New-York/.
Non-Procurement Debarment and
Suspension Regulations: Pursuant to
regulations at 43 CFR part 42, subpart C,
an OCS renewable energy lessee must
comply with the Department of the
Interior’s non-procurement debarment
and suspension regulations at 2 CFR 180
and 1400. The lessee must also
communicate this requirement to
persons with whom the lessee does
business relating to this lease, by
including this term as a condition in
their contracts and other transactions.
Force Majeure: The Program Manager
of BOEM’s Office of Renewable Energy
Programs has the discretion to change
any auction details specified in the FSN,
including the date and time, in case of
a force majeure event that the Program
Manager deems may interfere with a fair
and proper lease sale process. Such
events may include, but are not limited
to: Natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes,
hurricanes, floods, blizzards), wars,
riots, acts of terrorism, fire, strikes, civil
disorder or other events of a similar
nature. In case of such events, BOEM
will notify all qualified bidders via
email, phone, or through the BOEM
Web site at: https://www.boem.gov/
Renewable-Energy-Program/index.aspx.
Bidders should call 703–787–1320 if
they have concerns.
Appeals: The appeals procedures are
provided in BOEM’s regulations at 30
CFR 585.225 and 585.118(c). Pursuant
to 30 CFR 585.225:
(a) If BOEM rejects your bid, BOEM
will provide a written statement of the
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36344
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 108 / Monday, June 6, 2016 / Notices
reasons and refund any money
deposited with your bid, without
interest.
(b) You will then be able to ask the
BOEM Director for reconsideration, in
writing, within 15 business days of bid
rejection, under 30 CFR 585.118(c)(1).
We will send you a written response
either affirming or reversing the
rejection.
The procedures for appealing final
decisions with respect to lease sales are
described in 30 CFR 585.118(c).
Protection of Privileged or
Confidential Information: BOEM will
protect privileged or confidential
information that you submit as required
by the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA). Exemption 4 of FOIA applies to
‘‘trade secrets and commercial or
financial information that you submit
that is privileged or confidential.’’ 5
U.S.C. 552(b)(4). If you wish to protect
the confidentiality of such information,
clearly mark it ‘‘Contains Privileged or
Confidential Information’’ and consider
submitting such information as a
separate attachment. BOEM will not
disclose such information, except as
required by FOIA. Information that is
not labeled as privileged or confidential
will be regarded by BOEM as suitable
for public release.
BOEM will not treat as confidential
aggregate summaries of otherwise
confidential information or comments
not containing such information.
Additionally, BOEM will not treat as
confidential the legal title of the
commenting entity (e.g., the name of
your company).
Abigail Ross Hopper,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management.
[FR Doc. 2016–13164 Filed 6–3–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM–2016–0038]
Environmental Assessment for
Commercial Wind Lease Issuance and
Site Assessment Activities on the
Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
Offshore New York; MMAA104000
Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY:
BOEM is announcing the
availability of an Environmental
Assessment (EA) for commercial wind
lease issuance, site characterization
activities (geophysical, geotechnical,
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:36 Jun 03, 2016
Jkt 238001
archaeological, and biological surveys),
and site assessment activities (including
the installation and operation of a
meteorological tower and/or buoys) on
the Atlantic OCS offshore New York.
The EA considers the potential impacts
of the proposed action and an analysis
of reasonable alternatives to the
proposed action (excluding the area
within two nautical miles of the traffic
separation schemes, and no action).
This Notice of Availability (NOA) also
serves to announce the beginning of the
public comment period on the EA. The
EA and associated information are
available on BOEM’s Web site at https://
www.boem.gov/New-York/.
Should a lessee propose to construct
a commercial wind facility through
submission of a Construction and
Operations Plan, BOEM would conduct
a separate site- and project-specific
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) analysis, likely an
Environmental Impact Statement, and
would provide additional opportunities
for public involvement pursuant to
NEPA and the CEQ regulations at 40
CFR parts 1500–1508.
DATES: Comments on this EA will be
accepted until July 6, 2016. See public
meeting dates in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michelle Morin, BOEM Office of
Renewable Energy Programs, 45600
Woodland Road, Sterling, Virginia
20166, (703) 787–1340 or
michelle.morin@boem.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Availability: BOEM will
consider public comments on the EA in
determining whether to issue a Finding
of No Significant Impact, or conduct
additional analysis under NEPA.
Federal, state, tribal, and local
governments and/or agencies and the
public may submit written comments on
this EA through the following methods:
1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. In the field
entitled ‘‘Enter Keyword or ID,’’ enter
BOEM–2016–0038, and then click
‘‘search.’’ Follow the instructions to
submit public comments and view
supporting and related materials
available for this notice;
2. In written form, delivered by hand
or by mail, enclosed in an envelope
labeled ‘‘Commercial Wind Lease
Issuance and Site Assessment Activities
on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf
Offshore New York Environmental
Assessment’’ and addressed to Program
Manager, Office of Renewable Energy,
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,
45600 Woodland Road, Sterling,
Virginia 20166. Comments must be
PO 00000
Frm 00091
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
received or postmarked no later than
July 6, 2016.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address or other personal
identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment, including your
personal identifying information, may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comments
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Public Meetings: BOEM will also hold
public meetings to explain the proposed
activities analyzed in the EA and to
provide additional opportunity for
public comment on the EA. The
meetings are scheduled as follows:
• Monday June 20, 2016; Long Branch
Middle School (Auditorium), 404
Indiana Avenue, Long Branch, New
Jersey 07740; 6:00–8:00 p.m.
• Tuesday June 21, 2016; Hofstra
University (MPR Room), 900 Fulton
Avenue, Hempstead, New York 11549;
6:00–8:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, June 22, 2016;
Westhampton Beach High School, 49
Lilac Road, Westhampton Beach, New
York 11978; 6:00–8:00 p.m.
• Thursday, June 23, 2016; University
of Rhode Island, Narragansett Bay
Campus, Coastal Institute Building
(Hazard Rooms A & B), 215 S Ferry
Road, Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882;
6:00–8:00 p.m.
Authority: This Notice of Availability
(NOA) is published pursuant to the
regulations (43 CFR 46.305) implementing
the provisions of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (1988)).
Dated: May 31, 2016.
Abigail Ross Hopper,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management.
[FR Doc. 2016–13170 Filed 6–3–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
[RR83550000, 167R5065C6,
RX.59389832.1009676]
Quarterly Status Report of Water
Service, Repayment, and Other WaterRelated Contract Actions
Bureau of Reclamation,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
Notice is hereby given of
contractual actions that have been
proposed to the Bureau of Reclamation
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\06JNN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 108 (Monday, June 6, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36336-36344]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13164]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM-2016-0027; MMAA104000]
Atlantic Wind Lease Sale 6 (ATLW-6) for Commercial Leasing for
Wind Power on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore New York--Proposed
Sale Notice
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM or ``the Bureau''),
Interior.
ACTION: Proposed Sale Notice for Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on
the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore New York.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document is the Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) for the sale
of one commercial wind energy lease on the Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS) offshore New York, pursuant to 30 CFR 585.216. BOEM proposes to
offer Lease OCS-A 0512 for sale using an ascending bidding auction
format. In this PSN, you will find information pertaining to the area
available for leasing, proposed lease provisions and conditions,
auction details, the lease form, criteria for evaluating competing
bids, award procedures, appeal procedures, and lease execution. BOEM
invites public comment during a 60-day comment period following
publication of this notice. The issuance of a lease resulting from this
proposed sale would not constitute an approval of project-specific
plans to develop offshore wind energy resources. Such plans, expected
to be submitted by the auction winner, will be subject to subsequent
environmental and technical reviews prior to a decision to proceed with
development.
DATES: Comments should be submitted electronically or postmarked no
later than August 5, 2016. All comments received or postmarked during
the comment period will be made available to the public and considered
prior to publication of the Final Sale Notice (FSN).
All entities interested in participating in the lease sale who have
not previously been qualified by BOEM to participate in this lease sale
must submit the required qualification materials by the end of the 60-
day comment period for this notice. All qualification materials must be
postmarked no later than August 5, 2016. Entities that have already
been qualified to participate in this lease sale are not required to
take any additional action to affirm their interest.
ADDRESSES: Potential auction participants, Federal, state, and local
government agencies, tribal governments, and other interested parties
are requested to submit their written comments on the PSN in one of the
following ways:
1. Electronically: https://www.regulations.gov. In the entry
entitled, ``Enter Keyword or ID'', enter BOEM-2016-0027 then click
``search.'' Follow the instructions to submit public comments.
2. Written Comments: In written form, delivered by hand or by mail,
enclosed in an envelope labeled, ``Comments on New York PSN'' to: BOEM
Office of Renewable Energy Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP,
Sterling, Virginia 20166, (703) 787-1320.
3. Qualifications Materials: Those submitting qualifications
materials should contact Erin C. Trager, BOEM Office of Renewable
Energy Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP, Sterling, Virginia
20166, (703) 787-1320, or Erin.Trager@boem.gov. If you wish to protect
the confidentiality of your qualification materials, clearly mark the
relevant sections and request that BOEM treat them as confidential.
Please label privileged or confidential information with the caption
``Contains Confidential Information'' and consider submitting such
information as a separate attachment. Treatment of confidential
information is addressed in the section of this PSN entitled
``Protection of Privileged or Confidential Information.'' Information
that is not labeled as privileged or confidential will be regarded by
BOEM as suitable for public release.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin C. Trager, BOEM Office of
Renewable Energy Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP, Sterling,
Virginia 20166, (703) 787-1320 or Erin.Trager@boem.gov.
Authority: This PSN is published pursuant to subsection 8(p) of
the OCS Lands Act (43
[[Page 36337]]
U.S.C. 1337(p)) (OCSLA) and the implementing regulations at 30 CFR
part 585, including 30 CFR 585.211 and 585.216.
Background
The area described for leasing in this PSN is the same as the area
described in the New York Call for Information and Nominations (79 FR
30645) and announced as the New York Wind Energy Area (WEA) on March
16, 2016. This Area Identification (Area ID) announcement is available
at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/. Detailed information regarding the
lease area is provided in the section entitled, ``Proposed Area for
Leasing.''
Call for Information and Nominations
On May 28, 2014, BOEM published a Call for Information and
Nominations (Call) to seek additional nominations from companies
interested in commercial wind energy leases within the Call Area
offshore New York. BOEM also sought public input on the potential for
wind development in the Call Area, including comments on site
conditions, resources, and existing uses of the area that would be
relevant to BOEM's wind energy development authorization process. In
response to the Call, BOEM received three expressions of interest and
27 comment submissions, links to which are available at https://www.boem.gov/New-York/. Topics addressed in the comments included
mitigation measures to protect wildlife and habitat; support for
offshore wind's potential for job creation and as mitigation for
climate change; concern about the potential impact of future
development on maritime navigation, regional fisheries, and other
competing uses; and desire for analysis at the leasing stage of
potential environmental impacts of construction and operation of a wind
facility, rather than just site assessment and characterization. BOEM
considered these comments carefully during the Area ID process. To
date, seven entities have expressed commercial interest in developing
all or parts of the New York WEA.
Environmental Reviews
On May 28, 2014, BOEM published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to Prepare
an Environmental Assessment (EA) for commercial wind lease issuance and
approval of site assessment activities on the Atlantic OCS offshore New
York with a 45-day public comment period (79 FR 30643). In response to
the NOI, BOEM received 32 comment submissions, a link to which is
available at https://www.boem.gov/New-York/. The comments addressed the
same general topic categories as those addressed in the comment
submissions in response to the Call. BOEM considered these comments in
determining the scope of issues and alternatives analyzed in the EA.
Concurrent with the publication of this notice, BOEM is publishing
the EA for public comment. The EA is available at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.
For the issuance of a commercial lease, BOEM considers the
environmental consequences of associated site characterization
activities (e.g., biological, archeological, geological and geophysical
surveys, and core samples) and site assessment activities (i.e.,
installation of a meteorological tower and/or buoy on the lease).
Mitigation measures designed to reduce or eliminate impacts from survey
activities are included as the terms, conditions, and stipulations in
Addendum ``C'' of the proposed lease (OCS-A 0512). Given ongoing
development of the EA and associated consultations described below, the
terms and conditions included in Addendum ``C'' are primarily based on
the best available science and BOEM's prior consultations, and may be
amended or revised and/or additional stipulations may be included as a
result of our ongoing environmental review and consultations.
Additional mitigation measures related to the installation and
operation of meteorological towers and/or buoys will be included as
terms and conditions of the eventual lessee's Site Assessment Plan
(SAP) approval. BOEM will continue to work with affected stakeholders
and assess ongoing and future research relating to potential survey and
site assessment impacts, including possible mitigation measures.
BOEM will complete consultations for lease issuance under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA) to inform the New York lease
sale prior to publishing the FSN. BOEM will initiate consultations with
the States of New York and New Jersey under the Coastal Zone Management
Act (CZMA) concurrent with the publication of this PSN.
BOEM has determined that the issuance of a commercial lease and
subsequent approval, approval with modification, or disapproval of a
lessee's plans constitute undertakings subject to review under Section
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. BOEM is currently in
consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officers of New York
and New Jersey, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the
Shinnecock Indian Nation, and the National Park Service to draft and
execute a Programmatic Agreement (PA) to fulfill the bureau's
obligations under Section 106 for renewable energy activities offshore
New Jersey and New York. This PA will provide for consultation to
continue throughout BOEM's staged decision-making process, and will
establish the process to determine and document the area of potential
effects for each undertaking; identify historic properties within the
area of potential effects; assess potential adverse effects; and avoid,
reduce, or mitigate any such effects through the process set forth in
the agreement.
As the effort to execute the PA is ongoing and BOEM has not yet
initiated consultation for the issuance of a commercial lease, the
draft lease stipulations included in Addendum ``C'' of the proposed
lease (OCS-A 0512) may be amended or revised and/or additional
stipulations may be included as a result of this consultation. BOEM
will continue to consult with affected tribes government to government.
Once BOEM has completed the EA and associated consultations, and if
the EA concludes that the proposed action will not cause significant
environmental impacts, BOEM will publish a Finding of No Significant
Impact (FONSI) and may proceed with a FSN. If BOEM concludes that the
proposed action would cause significant environmental impacts to the
human environment, then BOEM will prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) before proceeding with a FSN. If a lease is issued,
BOEM will prepare additional environmental reviews upon receipt of the
lessee's SAP and Construction and Operations Plan (COP).
Additional Participation in the Lease Sale: Any parties that have
not already been legally, financially and technically qualified to hold
a lease for commercial wind development offshore New York must submit
the required qualification materials by the end of the 60-day comment
period for this notice if they wish to participate in the proposed New
York lease sale. Guidelines to prospective lessees on meeting BOEM's
requirements to qualify for and hold a renewable energy lease on the
OCS--and the type of information that should be submitted to
demonstrate your legal, technical and financial qualifications--can be
found at: https://www.boem.gov/National-and-Regional-Guidelines-for-Renewable-Energy-Activities/. Any submitted documentation must be
provided to BOEM in both paper and electronic formats. BOEM considers
an Adobe PDF file stored on a storage
[[Page 36338]]
media device to be an acceptable format for submitting an electronic
copy.
Please note: that it may take a number of weeks for BOEM to
assess a potential bidder's legal, technical, and financial
qualifications. BOEM advises potential bidders who plan to
participate in a sale to establish their qualifications promptly. It
is not uncommon for BOEM to request additional materials
establishing qualifications following an initial review of the
qualifications package. BOEM cannot determine a potential bidder to
be qualified without a complete qualification package. Potential
bidders, whom BOEM has not determined to be qualified before the FSN
is published, will not be allowed to participate in the sale.
Deadlines and Milestones for Bidders: This section describes the
major deadlines and milestones in the auction process from publication
of this PSN to lease execution, should BOEM decide to proceed with a
sale for Lease OCS-A 0512. This process is organized into five stages:
(1) The PSN comment period; (2) from the end of PSN comment period to
publication of the FSN; (3) the FSN waiting period; (4) conducting the
Auction; and (5) from the Auction to Lease Execution.
The PSN Comment Period:
Submit Comments: The public is invited to submit comments
during this 60-day period, which will expire on August 5, 2016.
Public Seminar: BOEM will host a public seminar to discuss
the lease sale process and the auction format. The time and place of
the seminar will be announced by BOEM and published on the BOEM Web
site at https://www.boem.gov/New-York/. No registration or RSVP is
required to attend.
Submit Qualifications Materials: All qualifications
materials must be received by BOEM by the end of the 60-day PSN comment
period, August 5, 2016. This includes materials sufficient to establish
a company's legal, technical, and financial qualifications pursuant to
30 CFR 585.106 and 107.
End of PSN Comment Period to FSN Publication
Review Comments: BOEM will review all comments submitted
in response to the PSN during the comment period.
Finalize Qualifications Reviews: BOEM will complete any
outstanding reviews of bidder qualifications materials submitted during
the PSN comment period prior to the publication of the FSN. The final
list of eligible bidders will be published in the FSN.
Prepare the FSN: If BOEM continues with the lease sale,
BOEM will prepare the FSN, and will update information contained in the
PSN where necessary.
Publish FSN: If BOEM continues with the lease sale, BOEM
will publish the FSN in the Federal Register.
FSN Waiting Period: During this period, qualified bidders must take
several steps before participating in the Auction.
Bidder's Financial Form (BFF): BOEM must receive each
qualified bidder's completed and signed BFF no later than the date
listed in the FSN. Typically, this deadline is approximately 14
calendar days after publication of the FSN in the Federal Register.
BOEM will consider extensions to this deadline only if BOEM determines
that the failure to timely submit the BFF was caused by events beyond
the bidder's control. Blank BFFs can be found at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/. Once the BFF has been processed, bidders may log into
pay.gov and submit bid deposits. BOEM will only accept an originally
executed paper copy of the BFF, and will not consider for this auction
BFFs submitted for previous lease sales. The BFF must be executed by an
authorized representative as shown on the bidder's legal
qualifications. Each bidder is required to sign the self-certification
in the BFF, in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 1001 (Fraud and False
Statements).
Bid Deposits: Each qualified bidder must submit a bid
deposit of $450,000 no later than the date listed in the FSN.
Typically, this deadline is approximately 30 calendar days after the
publication of the FSN. BOEM will consider extensions to this deadline
only if BOEM determines that the failure to timely submit the bid
deposit was caused by events beyond the bidder's control.
Mock Auction: BOEM will hold an online Mock Auction that
is open only to qualified bidders who have met the requirements and
deadlines for auction participation, including submission of the bid
deposit. Final details of the Mock Auction will be provided in the FSN.
Conduct the Auction: BOEM, through its contractor, will hold an
auction as described in the FSN. The auction will take place no sooner
than 30 days following publication of the FSN in Federal Register. The
estimated timeframes described in this PSN assume the auction will take
place approximately 45 days after publication of the FSN.
From Auction to Lease Execution. There are several steps between
the conclusion of the auction and execution of the lease.
Bid Deposit Refund: BOEM will refund the bid deposit of
any bidder that did not win the lease. BOEM will provide a written
explanation as to why the bidder did not win.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Review: The Department of
Justice (DOJ) has 30 days to conduct an antitrust review of the auction
in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, pursuant to 43 U.S.C
1337(c).
Delivery of the Lease: BOEM will send three lease copies
to the winner, with instructions on how to sign the lease. The first
year's rent is due 45 days after the winner receives the lease copies
for execution.
Return the Lease: Within 10 business days of receiving the
lease copies, the auction winner must post financial assurance, pay any
outstanding balance of their bonus bid (i.e., winning monetary bid
minus bid deposit), and sign and return the three signed lease copies.
Execution of the Lease: Once BOEM has received the lease
copies and verified that it has received all other required materials,
BOEM will execute the lease, if appropriate.
Area Proposed for Leasing: The area available for sale will be
auctioned as one lease, Lease OCS-A 0512. The proposed New York lease
area consists of approximately 81,130 acres. A description of the
proposed New York lease area can be found in Addendum ``A'' of the
proposed lease, which BOEM has made available with this notice on its
Web site at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.
Map of the Area Offered for Leasing: A map of the proposed New York
lease area, GIS spatial files, and a table of the boundary coordinates
in X, Y (eastings, northings) UTM Zone 18, NAD83 Datum, and geographic
X, Y (longitude, latitude), NAD83 Datum can be found on BOEM's Web site
at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.
A large-scale map of the area, showing boundaries of the area with
numbered blocks, is available from BOEM upon request at the following
address: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Renewable Energy
Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP, Sterling, Virginia 20166,
Phone: (703) 787-1300, Fax: (703) 787-1708.
Potential Mitigation Measures and Restrictions on Development
During the Area ID process, BOEM analyzed three potential concerns
associated with development of the New York WEA: (1) Navigational
safety, (2) commercial fishing, and (3) visual impacts to historic
properties. Although BOEM did not remove any areas from
[[Page 36339]]
leasing consideration during Area ID, potential bidders should be aware
that future analysis of these issues could result in required
mitigation measures and/or development restrictions within the proposed
New York lease area. In addition, mitigation measures and/or
development restrictions could result from future BOEM environmental
reviews and consultations (e.g., future consultations under the Section
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act or future government-to-
government consultations with federally recognized tribes). It is
possible that some mitigation measures/development restrictions could
have the same effect as removal of areas from leasing.
Navigational Safety: Potential bidders should note that future
mitigation measures may be applied to development within all or
portions of the New York proposed lease area to ensure navigation
safety and the U.S. Coast Guard's ability to maintain mission
readiness.
The New York proposed lease area has been delineated to accommodate
a setback of 1 nautical mile (nmi) from the adjacent Traffic Separation
Schemes (TSSs) for the Port of New York and New Jersey. This setback is
consistent with BOEM's delineation of other lease areas that are in
close proximity to TSSs (e.g., the areas offshore Massachusetts, Rhode
Island/Massachusetts, Delaware, and Maryland; and the Wilmington West
area offshore North Carolina), and is based on input provided by the
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) as a member of the BOEM New York Renewable
Energy Task Force during development of the 2013 Request for Interest
(RFI). As noted in the RFI, the proposed lease area includes aliquots
that are transected by the 1 nmi setback line, and BOEM will require
that no structures be installed on portions of those aliquots located
within the setback.
In September 2015, BOEM received additional input from USCG
recommending a larger setback of 2 nmi from the TSSs. USCG's
correspondence to BOEM, which explains the recommendation, is available
on BOEM's Web site at https://www.boem.gov/New-York/. In addition, on
March 22, 2016, USCG released the Final Report for its Atlantic Coast
Port Access Route Study (ACPARS), available for review at https://www.uscg.mil/lantarea/acpars. The USCG's Marine Planning Guidelines,
included as Enclosure 2 of the ACPARS, are consistent with their
September 2015 recommendation to BOEM. Although BOEM did not adopt the
USCG's recommendation during Area ID, BOEM may determine at a later
stage in the process (e.g., after evaluating a Navigational Safety Risk
Assessment that is submitted as a part of a COP) that portions of the
proposed lease area would be inappropriate for the installation of wind
facilities due to navigational safety concerns.
Commercial Fishing: Potential bidders should note that future
mitigation measures/development restrictions may be applied to
development within all or portions of the proposed New York lease area
due to the use of the area as a fishery.
BOEM received fishery-related comments in response to the RFI,
Call, and NOI from National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); New
England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC); and the Fisheries Survival
Fund (FSF), a group representing members of the sea scallop fishery.
BOEM also received comments from commercial squid fishery operators
during BOEM's November 2015 fisheries workshops. A meeting summary of
BOEM's November 2015 fisheries workshops and comments associated with
these workshops are available on BOEM's Web site at https://www.boem.gov/New-York/, along with those comments received in response
to BOEM's Federal Register notices relating to commercial fishing
activities within the proposed New York lease area.
Through a joint study with NMFS, BOEM has also gathered information
regarding the use of the lease area as a fishery. This data, specific
to the proposed New York lease area, is available on BOEM's Web site at
https://www.boem.gov/Fishing-Revenue-NY-Call-Area/. The full dataset is
available at https://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-GIS-Data/. Potential
bidders should be aware that BOEM will be gathering additional data and
may develop plan-specific mitigation measures/development restrictions
to mitigate, minimize, or avoid impacts.
In addition, between 2012 and 2016, BOEM collaborated with numerous
stakeholders in the fishing and offshore wind industries to develop
best management practices (BMPs) in furtherance of its goal of
eliminating or minimizing potential multiple use conflicts between
offshore renewable energy developers and the fishing industry. As a
result of this effort, BOEM recommends that lessees facilitate
cooperation with the fishing industry by utilizing a fisheries liaison
and fisheries representative during the development of their plans.
BOEM has issued guidance to lessees for providing information on
fisheries social and economic conditions for renewable energy
development on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf: https://www.boem.gov/Social-and-Economic-Conditions-Fishery-Communication-Guidelines/.
Visual Impacts to Historic Properties: Potential bidders should
note that the National Park Service (NPS) and New York State Historic
Preservation Office (NY SHPO) have expressed concern regarding the
potential for wind energy development within the New York WEA to cause
adverse effects to onshore historic properties. Correspondence
outlining these concerns is available for reference on BOEM's Web site
at https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.
During the summer and fall of 2015, OREP conducted stakeholder
outreach with the NPS, NY SHPO, and the New Jersey State Historic
Preservation Office. OREP also completed a study entitled, ``Renewable
Energy Viewshed Analysis and Visualization Simulation for the New York
Outer Continental Shelf Call Area'' to assist in this outreach effort
and to provide scientific and technical information about visual
impacts to inform the Area ID decision. Results from this study are
available under the header ``Visual Simulations'' at the following
link: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.
Withdrawal of Blocks: BOEM reserves the right to withdraw portions
of the proposed lease area prior to its execution of the lease, based
upon relevant information provided to the Bureau.
Lease Terms and Conditions: BOEM has made available proposed terms,
conditions, and stipulations for the OCS commercial wind lease to be
offered through this sale. After the lease is issued, BOEM reserves the
right to require compliance with additional terms and conditions
associated with approval of a SAP or COP. The proposed lease is on
BOEM's Web site at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.
The lease includes the following seven attachments:
Addendum ``A'' (Description of Leased Area and Lease
Activities);
Addendum ``B'' (Lease Term and Financial Schedule);
Addendum ``C'' (Lease Specific Terms, Conditions, and
Stipulations);
Addendum ``D'' (Project Easement);
Addendum ``E'' (Rent Schedule post COP approval);
Appendix A to Addendum ``C'': (Incident Report: Protected
Species Injury or Mortality); and
Appendix B to Addendum ``C'': (Required Data Elements for
Protected Species Observer Reports).
Addenda ``A,'' ``B,'' and ``C'' provide detailed descriptions of lease
terms and
[[Page 36340]]
conditions. As discussed above, given ongoing development of the EA and
associated consultations, the mitigation measures included in Addendum
``C'' may be amended or revised, and/or additional stipulations may be
included prior to publication of the FSN. Addendum ``D'' will be
completed at the time of COP approval or approval with modifications.
Addendum ``E'' will be completed after COP approval or approval with
conditions.
BOEM is soliciting comments on the provisions of Addendum ``C''
that require the submission of SAP and COP survey plans. Specifically,
BOEM is interested in whether potential lessees and other stakeholders
find the timeframes associated with those requirements to be
reasonable, and whether those provisions could be written in a manner
that better describes the realities associated with offshore wind
survey efforts (e.g., referring to survey mobilizations as opposed to
``SAP'' surveys and ``COP'' surveys specifically).
Plans: Pursuant to 30 CFR 585.601, the leaseholder must submit a
SAP within 12 months of lease issuance and a COP at least 6 months
before the end of the site assessment term of the lease.
Financial Terms and Conditions: This section provides an overview
of the annual payments required of a lessee that are described in the
proposed lease, and the financial assurance requirements that will be
associated with the lease if it is awarded.
Rent: Pursuant to 30 CFR 585.224(b) and 585.503, the first year's
rent payment of $3 per acre is due within 45 days of the date the
lessee receives the lease for execution. Thereafter, annual rent
payments are due on the anniversary of the Effective Date of the lease
(the ``Lease Anniversary''). Once commercial operations under the lease
begin, BOEM will charge rent only for the portions of the lease not
authorized for commercial operations, i.e., not generating electricity.
However, instead of geographically dividing the lease area into acreage
that is ``generating'' and ``non-generating,'' the fraction of the
lease accruing rent will be based on the fraction of the total
nameplate capacity of the project that is not yet in operation. This
fraction is calculated by dividing the nameplate capacity not yet
authorized for commercial operations at the time payment is due by the
anticipated nameplate capacity after full installation of the project
(as described in the COP). The annual rent due for a given year is then
derived by multiplying this fraction by the amount of rent that would
have been due for the lessee's entire lease area at the rental rate of
$3 per acre.
For example, an 81,130 acre lease (the size of the entire proposed
New York lease area) will have a rent payment of $243,390 per year if
no portion of the leased area is authorized for commercial operations.
If 300 megawatts (MW) of a project's nameplate capacity is operating
(or authorized for operation), and the approved COP specifies a maximum
project size of 500 MW, the rent payment will be $97,356. This payment
is based on the 200 MW of nameplate capacity BOEM has not yet
authorized for commercial operations. For the above example, this would
be calculated as follows: 200MW/500MW x ($3/acre x 81,130 acres) =
$97,356.
If the lessee submits an application for relinquishment of a
portion of its lease area within the first 45 calendar days following
the date that the lease is received by the lessee for execution, and
BOEM approves that application, no rent payment will be due on that
relinquished portion of the lease area. Later relinquishments of any
portion of the lease area will reduce the lessee's rent payments
starting in the year following BOEM's approval of the relinquishment.
The lessee also must pay rent for any project easement associated
with the lease, commencing on the date that BOEM approves the COP (or
modification thereof) that describes the project easement. Annual rent
for a project easement that is 200 feet wide and centered on the
transmission cable is $70 per statute mile. For any additional acreage
required, the lessee must also pay the greater of $5 per acre per year
or $450 per year.
Operating Fee: For purposes of calculating the initial annual
operating fee payment and pursuant to 30 CFR 585.506, an operating fee
rate is applied to a proxy for the wholesale market value of the
electricity expected to be generated from the project during its first
twelve months of operations. This initial payment will be prorated to
reflect the period between the commencement of commercial operations
and the Lease Anniversary. The initial annual operating fee payment is
due within 45 days of the commencement of commercial operations.
Thereafter, subsequent annual operating fee payments are due on or
before each Lease Anniversary.
The subsequent annual operating fee payments are calculated by
multiplying the operating fee rate by the imputed wholesale market
value of the projected annual electric power production for the
project. For the purposes of this calculation, the imputed market value
is the product of the project's annual nameplate capacity, the total
number of hours in the year (8,760), the capacity factor, and the
annual average price of electricity derived from a historical regional
wholesale power price index. For example, the annual operating fee for
a 100 MW wind facility operating at a 40% capacity (i.e., capacity
factor of 0.4) with a regional wholesale power price of $50/MWh and an
operating fee rate of 0.02 would be calculated as follows:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN06JN16.000
Operating Fee Rate: The operating fee rate is the share of imputed
wholesale market value of the projected annual electric power
production due to BOEM as an annual operating fee. For the proposed New
York lease area, BOEM will set the fee at 0.02 (i.e., 2%) during the
entire life of commercial operations.
Nameplate Capacity: Nameplate capacity is the maximum rated
electric output, expressed in MW, that the turbines of the wind
facility under commercial operations can produce at their rated wind
speed as designated by the turbine's manufacturer. The lessee will
specify in its COP the nameplate capacity available at the start of
each year of commercial operations on the lease. For example, if the
lessee specifies 20 turbines in its COP, and each is rated by the
design manufacturer at 5 MW, the nameplate capacity of the wind
facility would be 100 MW.
Capacity Factor: The capacity factor compares the amount of energy
delivered to the grid during a period of time to the amount of energy
the wind facility would have produced at full capacity. The amount of
power delivered will always be less than the theoretical 100% capacity,
largely because of the variability of wind speeds, transmission line
loss, and down time for maintenance or other purposes.
[[Page 36341]]
The capacity factor is expressed as a decimal between zero and one,
and represents the share of anticipated generation of the wind facility
that is delivered to the interconnection grid (i.e., where the lessee's
facility interconnects with the electric grid) relative to the wind
facility's generation at continuous full power operation at nameplate
capacity. For the proposed lease area, BOEM has set the capacity factor
for the year in which commercial operations commence and the six full
years thereafter at 0.4 (i.e., 40%). At the end of the sixth year, BOEM
may adjust the capacity factor to reflect the performance over the
previous five years based upon the actual metered electricity
generation at the delivery point to the electrical grid. BOEM may make
similar adjustments to the capacity factor once every five years
thereafter. The maximum change in the capacity factor from one period
to the next will be limited to plus or minus 10 percent of the previous
period's value.
Wholesale Power Price Index: Pursuant to 30 CFR 585.506(c)(2)(i),
the wholesale power price, expressed in dollars per MW-hour, is
determined at the time each annual operating fee payment is due, based
on the weighted average of the inflation-adjusted peak and off-peak
spot price indices for the NYC Zone J (NYISO) electric region for the
most recent year of spot price data available. The wholesale power
price is adjusted for inflation from the year associated with the
published spot price indices to the year in which the operating fee is
to be due, based on the Lease Anniversary and using annual implicit
price deflators as reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau
of Economic Analysis.
BOEM proposes to use the NYC Zone J power price as the price in its
operating fee formula due to its geographic proximity to the proposed
lease area. BOEM is soliciting further comments on the merits of other
electric power prices, including Long Island Zone K, that may be used
in lieu of or in combination with the current proposed power price. In
particular, BOEM would like to know if and why other electric power
prices may be preferred over NYC Zone J.
Financial Assurance: Within 10 business days after receiving the
lease copies and pursuant to 30 CFR 585.515-.516, the provisional
winner of the New York lease area must provide an initial lease-
specific bond or other approved means of meeting the lessor's initial
financial assurance requirements. The provisional winner may meet
financial assurance requirements by posting a surety bond or by setting
up an escrow account with a trust agreement giving BOEM the right to
withdraw the money held in the account on demand. BOEM encourages the
provisional winner to discuss the financial assurance requirement with
BOEM as soon as possible after the auction has concluded.
BOEM will base the amount of all SAP, COP, and decommissioning
financial assurance requirements on cost estimates for meeting all
accrued lease obligations at the respective stages of development. The
required amount of supplemental and decommissioning financial assurance
will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
The financial terms described above can be found in Addendum ``B''
of the proposed lease, which BOEM has made available with this notice
on its Web site at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.
Bid Deposit: A bid deposit is an advance cash payment submitted to
BOEM in order to participate in the auction. Each qualified bidder must
submit a bid deposit of $450,000 no later than the deadline provided in
the FSN. Any qualified bidder who fails to submit the bid deposit by
this deadline may be disqualified from participating in the auction.
Bid deposits will be accepted online via pay.gov.
Following the auction, bid deposits will be applied against bonus
bids or other obligations owed to BOEM. If the bid deposit exceeds a
bidder's total financial obligation, the balance of the bid deposit
will be refunded to the bidder. BOEM will refund bid deposits to non-
winners.
Bidder Financial Form: Each bidder must fill out the BFF referenced
in this PSN. BOEM has also made a copy of the form available with this
notice on its Web site at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/. BOEM
recommends that each bidder designate an email address in its BFF that
the bidder will then use to create an account in pay.gov (if it has not
already done so). Bidders may then use the BFF on the pay.gov Web site
to leave a deposit.
BOEM will not consider BFFs submitted by qualified bidders for
previous lease sales to satisfy the requirements of the proposed New
York lease sale. BOEM will also only consider BFFs submitted after the
deadline if BOEM determines that the failure to timely submit the BFF
was caused by events beyond the bidder's control. BOEM will only accept
an original, executed paper copy of the BFF. The BFF must be executed
by an authorized representative who has been identified in the
qualifications package on file with BOEM as authorized to bind the
company.
Minimum Bid: The minimum bid is the lowest price BOEM will accept
as a winning bid. BOEM has established a minimum bid per acre of $2.00,
or $162,260, for the proposed lease sale.
Auction Procedures: Following is a summary of the auction
procedures that BOEM intends to use if it proceeds with the proposed
New York lease sale.
Summary of Auction Format
As authorized under 30 CFR 585.220(a)(2) and 585.221(a)(1), BOEM
intends to conduct the proposed lease sale using an ascending format
with cash as the bid variable. Using an online bidding system to host
the auction, BOEM sets an initial asking price for Lease OCS-A 0512 and
increases that price incrementally based on the number of active
bidders in each round until no more than one active bidder remains in
the auction. A bid submitted at the full asking price for the lease in
a particular round is referred to as a live bid. During each round,
active bidders may: (1) Submit a live bid indicating that they are
interested in acquiring the lease at the current round's stated asking
price, (2) submit an exit bid (see below for discussion of exit bids),
or (3) exit the auction. All bids are considering binding until BOEM
has determined the winning bid.
A bidder remains active in the auction as long as it continues to
meet BOEM's asking price in each round. If more than one live bid is
received in a round, BOEM increases the asking price incrementally and
conducts another auction round. BOEM plans to raise the asking price
following any round in which two or more bidders submitted live bids.
The auction concludes at the end of the round in which the number of
live bids received falls to one or zero.
Asking price increments are in BOEM's sole discretion. They will be
determined round-by-round, based on a number of factors, including, but
not necessarily limited to, the expected time needed to conduct the
auction and the number of rounds that have already occurred. BOEM
reserves the right to increase or decrease bidding increments as
necessary.
Between rounds, BOEM will disclose to all bidders eligible to bid
in the next round: (1) The number of live bids in the previous round of
the auction (i.e., the level of demand); and (2) the asking price in
the upcoming round of the auction.
If a bidder is not willing to meet the asking price in the upcoming
round, the bidder may submit an exit bid and then exit the auction.
Bidders exiting the auction are allowed to submit one exit bid at an
offer price greater than the
[[Page 36342]]
asking price in the previous round but less than the asking price in
the current round. Exit bids allow bidders to express precisely the
maximum price they are willing to offer and minimize the chance of
ties. If a bidder exits the auction by placing an exit bid or by not
submitting a live bid in the current round, it will no longer be
allowed to submit bids in any subsequent round. If a bidder leaves the
auction without submitting an exit bid, BOEM will treat the previous
round's asking price as the bidder's exit bid in the current round.
BOEM will not consider exit bids for the purpose of determining whether
to increase the asking price or to end the auction.
BOEM will determine the provisionally winning bidder to be the
bidder with the highest bid, whether the bid was a live bid or an exit
bid. If there is a tie, BOEM will resolve the tie by randomized means.
The provisional winner may be disqualified if it is subsequently found
to have violated auction rules or otherwise engaged in conduct
detrimental to the integrity of the competitive auction.
The auction winner for the proposed lease sale will have 10
business days from receiving the lease copies in which to post
financial assurance, pay any outstanding balance of its bonus bid, and
sign and return three copies of the lease. BOEM reserves the right to
not issue the lease to the provisionally winning bidder if that bidder
fails to timely sign and pay for the lease or otherwise fails to comply
with applicable regulations or terms of the FSN. In that case, that
bidder will forfeit its bid deposit. BOEM may consider failure of a
bidder to timely pay the full amount due an indication that the bidder
is no longer financially qualified to participate in other lease sales
under BOEM's regulations at 30 CFR 585.106 and 585.107. If a winning
bidder does not sign the lease pursuant to the proposed lease sale,
BOEM reserves the right to identify the next best bid submitted during
the proposed lease sale and offer the lease pursuant to this next
highest bid.
Additional Information Regarding the Auction Format
Bidder Authentication
For the proposed online auction, BOEM will require two-factor
authentication. Prior to the auction, the Auction Manager will send
several bidder authentication packages to the bidders shortly after
BOEM has processed the BFFs. One package will contain digital
authentication tokens for each authorized individual allowing access to
the auction Web site. The tokens will be mailed to the Primary Point of
Contact indicated on the BFF. This individual is responsible for
distributing the tokens to the individuals authorized to bid for that
company. Bidders are to ensure that each token is returned within three
business days following the auction. An addressed, stamped envelope
will be provided to facilitate this process. In the event that a bidder
fails to submit a bid deposit or does not participate in the proposed
auction, BOEM will de-activate that bidder's token and login
information, and the bidder will be asked to return its tokens.
The second package contains login credentials for authorized
bidders. The login credentials will be mailed to the address provided
in the BFF for each authorized individual. Bidders can confirm these
addresses by calling 703-787-1320. This package will contain user login
information and instructions for accessing the Auction System Technical
Supplement and Alternative Bidding Form. The login information, along
with the tokens, will be tested during the Mock Auction.
Timing of Auction
The FSN will provide specific information regarding when bidders
can enter the auction system and when the proposed auction will start.
Once bidders have logged in they should review the auction schedule,
which lists the start, end, and recess times of each round in the
auction. Each round is structured as follows:
Round bidding begins;
Bidders enter their bids;
Round bidding ends and the recess begins;
During the recess, the number of live bids received in the
previous round and the next round's asking price are posted;
Bidders review the previous round results and prepare
their next round bids (or exit bids, as applicable);
Next round bidding begins.
The first round will last about 30 minutes, though subsequent
rounds may be shorter. Recesses are anticipated to last approximately
10 minutes. The descriptions of the auction schedule and asking price
increments included in the PSN and FSN are tentative. Bidders should
consult the auction schedule on the bidding Web site just before and
during the auction for updated times. BOEM anticipates the auction will
last one or two business days, but bidders are advised to prepare to
continue bidding for additional business days as necessary to resolve
the auction.
BOEM and the auction contractors will use the auction platform
messaging service to keep bidders informed on issues of interest during
the proposed auction. BOEM will use the messaging system for auction
schedule changes and other updates during the auction.
Bidders may place bids at any time during the round. At the top of
the bidding page, a countdown clock will show how much time remains in
the round. Bidders have until the scheduled ending time to place bids.
Bidders should bid according to the procedures described in both the
FSN and the Auction System Technical Supplement. No information about
bidding during the round is available until the round has closed and
results have been posted, so there is no tactical advantage to placing
bids early or late in the round.
The timing of the auction will be elaborated on and clarified in
the Auction System Technical Supplement available on BOEM's Web site
at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/ if and when the FSN is published in
the Federal Register. The Auction System Technical Supplement will
describe auction procedures that are incorporated by reference into the
FSN. All bidders are required to comply with any rules or instructions
in the Auction System Technical Supplement, except in the unexpected
circumstance that any of the information in the Auction System
Technical Supplement is inconsistent with the FSN, in which case, the
provisions of the FSN will take precedence.
Alternate Bidding Procedures
Alternate Bidding Procedures enable a bidder who is having
difficulties accessing the Internet to submit its bid via fax using an
Alternate Bidding Form available on BOEM's Web site at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.
In order to be authorized to use an Alternative Bidding Form, a
bidder must call the help desk number listed in the Auction Manual
before the end of the round. BOEM will authenticate the caller to
ensure he/she is authorized to bid on behalf of the company. The bidder
must explain the reasons for which he/she cannot place a bid using the
online bidding platform. BOEM may, in its sole discretion, permit or
refuse to accept a request for the placement of a bid using the
Alternate Bidding Procedures.
[[Page 36343]]
If Bidders Need To Submit an Alternate Bidding Form, They Are Strongly
Encouraged To Do so Before the Round Ends
Consideration of Potential Non-Monetary Factor
BOEM has received a request to recognize a non-monetary credit for
any bidder who has an executed power purchase agreement (PPA) term
sheet with a potential power purchaser involving offshore wind energy
generated from the proposed New York lease area. While a PPA term sheet
is not typically a fully binding contract and may differ in that
respect from other non-monetary factors that BOEM has credited to date,
BOEM is considering whether to add this element to the auction in a
fashion similar to prior BOEM offshore wind lease sales (e.g.,
Maryland, New Jersey). It is BOEM's policy to offer non-monetary
credits in an auction only for factors that (1) can be simply and
objectively identified, and (2) reflect a true development advantage
for the recipient. BOEM is soliciting comments on the merits of
adopting a PPA term sheet as a non-monetary credit for this auction, as
well as the specific parameters of such an instrument.
In particular, BOEM would like to know what key commercial terms
should be included in a qualifying PPA term sheet to qualify for a
credit; whether BOEM should only provide a credit for PPA term sheets
that are executed with specific types of entities (e.g., electric
utility, municipality, government agency); whether the public utility
commission of New York or a nearby state should be a party to or
otherwise endorse a qualifying PPA term sheet; and whether and to what
extent such a qualifying PPA term sheet should be binding on the
signatories. BOEM is also soliciting comments on what percentage of the
monetary bid would be appropriate for this bidding credit. At this
time, should BOEM find it appropriate to add this element to the
auction, BOEM would potentially consider offering a 5% credit for a
qualifying PPA term sheet. BOEM is interested in receiving feedback on
whether a 5% credit would sufficiently reflect the value of an executed
PPA term sheet. Based on the comments that BOEM receives, BOEM will
decide whether, and in what amount, to provide for this type of non-
monetary credit in the FSN.
Rejection or Non-Acceptance of Bids: BOEM reserves the right and
authority to reject any and all bids that do not satisfy the
requirements and rules of the proposed auction, the FSN, or applicable
regulations and statutes.
Anti-Competitive Review: This sale is subject to Federal antitrust
laws. Accordingly, following the auction but before the acceptance of
the bid and the issuance of the lease, BOEM will ``allow the Attorney
General, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, 30 days to
review the results of the lease sale.'' 43 U.S.C. 1337(c). If a
provisionally winning bidder is found to have engaged in anti-
competitive practices in connection with this sale, BOEM may reject its
bid.
Anti-competitive practices may include, but are not limited to:
An express or tacit agreement among bidders to not bid in
an auction, or to bid at a particular price;
An agreement among bidders not to bid against each other;
and
Other agreements among bidders that have the potential to
affect the final auction price.
BOEM will decline to award the lease if the Attorney General, in
consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, determines that doing
so would be inconsistent with the antitrust laws. See 43 U.S.C.
1337(c).
For more information on whether specific communications or
agreements could constitute a violation of Federal antitrust law,
please see https://www.justice.gov/atr/public/business-resources.html,
or consult legal counsel.
Process for Issuing the Lease: Once all post-auction reviews have
been completed to BOEM's satisfaction, BOEM will issue three unsigned
copies of the lease to the provisionally winning bidder. Within 10
business days after receiving the lease copies, the provisionally
winning bidder must:
1. Sign the lease on the bidder's behalf;
2. File financial assurance, as required under 30 CFR 585.515-537;
and
3. Pay by electronic funds transfer (EFT) the balance (if any) of
the bonus bid (winning bid less the bid deposit). BOEM requires bidders
to use EFT procedures (not pay.gov, the Web site bidders used to submit
bid deposits) for payment of the balance of the bonus bid, following
the detailed instructions contained in the ``Instructions for Making
Electronic Payments'' available on BOEM's Web site at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.
BOEM will not execute a lease until the three requirements above
have been satisfied, BOEM has accepted the provisionally winning
bidder's financial assurance pursuant to 30 CFR 585.515, and BOEM has
processed the provisionally winning bidder's payment.
If BOEM determines the delay was caused by events beyond the
provisional winning bidder's control, BOEM may extend the ten business
day deadline for executing the lease on the bidder's behalf, filing the
required financial assurance, and/or paying the balance of the bonus
bid.
If the provisionally winning bidder does not meet these
requirements or otherwise fails to comply with applicable regulations
or the terms of the FSN, BOEM reserves the right to not issue the lease
to that bidder. In such a case, the provisionally winning bidder will
forfeit its bid deposit.
Within 45 days of the date that the provisionally winning bidder
receives copies of the lease, it must pay the first year's rent using
the pay.gov Renewable Energy Initial Rental Payment form, available at:
https://pay.gov/paygov/forms/formInstance.html?agencyFormId=27797604.
Subsequent annual rent payments must be made following the detailed
instructions contained in the ``Instructions for Making Electronic
Payments,'' available on BOEM's Web site at: https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.
Non-Procurement Debarment and Suspension Regulations: Pursuant to
regulations at 43 CFR part 42, subpart C, an OCS renewable energy
lessee must comply with the Department of the Interior's non-
procurement debarment and suspension regulations at 2 CFR 180 and 1400.
The lessee must also communicate this requirement to persons with whom
the lessee does business relating to this lease, by including this term
as a condition in their contracts and other transactions.
Force Majeure: The Program Manager of BOEM's Office of Renewable
Energy Programs has the discretion to change any auction details
specified in the FSN, including the date and time, in case of a force
majeure event that the Program Manager deems may interfere with a fair
and proper lease sale process. Such events may include, but are not
limited to: Natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, hurricanes, floods,
blizzards), wars, riots, acts of terrorism, fire, strikes, civil
disorder or other events of a similar nature. In case of such events,
BOEM will notify all qualified bidders via email, phone, or through the
BOEM Web site at: https://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/index.aspx. Bidders should call 703-787-1320 if they have concerns.
Appeals: The appeals procedures are provided in BOEM's regulations
at 30 CFR 585.225 and 585.118(c). Pursuant to 30 CFR 585.225:
(a) If BOEM rejects your bid, BOEM will provide a written statement
of the
[[Page 36344]]
reasons and refund any money deposited with your bid, without interest.
(b) You will then be able to ask the BOEM Director for
reconsideration, in writing, within 15 business days of bid rejection,
under 30 CFR 585.118(c)(1). We will send you a written response either
affirming or reversing the rejection.
The procedures for appealing final decisions with respect to lease
sales are described in 30 CFR 585.118(c).
Protection of Privileged or Confidential Information: BOEM will
protect privileged or confidential information that you submit as
required by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Exemption 4 of FOIA
applies to ``trade secrets and commercial or financial information that
you submit that is privileged or confidential.'' 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4). If
you wish to protect the confidentiality of such information, clearly
mark it ``Contains Privileged or Confidential Information'' and
consider submitting such information as a separate attachment. BOEM
will not disclose such information, except as required by FOIA.
Information that is not labeled as privileged or confidential will be
regarded by BOEM as suitable for public release.
BOEM will not treat as confidential aggregate summaries of
otherwise confidential information or comments not containing such
information. Additionally, BOEM will not treat as confidential the
legal title of the commenting entity (e.g., the name of your company).
Abigail Ross Hopper,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2016-13164 Filed 6-3-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P