Bureau of Ocean Energy Management July 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The purpose of this public notice is to: (1) Describe the proposal submitted to BOEM by the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) to acquire an OCS lease for wind energy research activities; (2) solicit indications of interest in a renewable energy lease in the area identified by DMME for substantially similar wind energy activities; and (3) solicit public input regarding the proposal, its potential environmental consequences, and the use of the area in which the proposed project would be located. On February 13, 2013, BOEM received an unsolicited request for a research lease from DMME. The objective of DMME is to obtain a lease under 30 CFR 585.238 for renewable energy research activities, including wind turbine installation and operational testing and the installation of metocean monitoring equipment. The objective of the DMME proposal is to design, develop, and demonstrate a grid-connected 12 megawatt (MW) offshore wind test facility on the OCS off the coast of Virginia. This RFCI is published pursuant to subsection 8(p)(3) of the OCS Lands Act, as amended by section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3)), and the implementing regulations at 30 CFR Part 585.

BOEM has prepared a Record of Decision (ROD) for WPA Lease Sale 233 on the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2013-2014; Western Planning Area Lease Sale 233, and Central Planning Area Lease Sale 231; Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (WPA 233/ CPA 231 Supplemental EIS). WPA Lease Sale 233, scheduled for August 28, 2013, is the second WPA lease sale scheduled in the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program: 2012-2017. The lease sale is in the Gulf of Mexico's WPA off the States of Texas and Louisiana. In making its decision, BOEM considered alternatives to the proposed action and the potential impacts as presented in the WPA 233/ CPA 231 Supplemental EIS and all comments received throughout the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The WPA 233/CPA 231 Supplemental EIS evaluated the environmental and socioeconomic impacts for WPA Lease Sale 233.

Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) (NEPA), BOEM is announcing its intent to prepare a Supplemental EIS for proposed WPA lease sales beginning with Lease Sale 238 (WPA Lease Sales 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental EIS). Lease Sale 238 is the next proposed lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico's WPA off the States of Texas and Louisiana. The WPA Lease Sales 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental EIS will update the environmental and socioeconomic analyses in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2012-2017; Western Planning Area Lease Sales 229, 233, 238, 246, and 248; Central Planning Area (CPA) Lease Sales 227, 231, 235, 241, and 247, Final Environmental Impact Statement (OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2012-019) (WPA/CPA Multisale EIS) and the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2013-2014; Western Planning Area Lease Sale 233; Central Planning Area Lease Sale 231-Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2013-0118) (WPA 233/CPA 231 Supplemental EIS). The WPA/CPA Multisale EIS was completed in July 2012. The WPA 233/CPA 231 Supplemental EIS was completed in April 2013. A Supplemental EIS is deemed appropriate to supplement the NEPA documents cited above for these lease sales in order to consider possible new circumstances and information arising from, among other things, the Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil spill, and response. The WPA Lease Sales 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental EIS analysis will focus on updating the baseline conditions and potential environmental effects of oil and natural gas leasing, exploration, development, and production in the WPA. The WPA Lease Sales 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental EIS analysis will focus on the potential environmental effects of oil and natural gas leasing, exploration, development, and production in the WPA identified through the Area Identification procedure as the proposed lease sale area. In addition to the no action alternative (i.e., canceling the proposed sale), other alternatives may be considered for the proposed lease sales, including WPA Lease Sale 238, such as deferring certain areas from the proposed lease sales.