Bureau of Ocean Energy Management June 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 Central Planning Area (CPA) Lease Sales 241 and 247, and Eastern Planning Area (EPA) Lease Sale 226 in the Gulf of Mexico (CPA 241 and 247/EPA 226 Supplemental EIS). Proposed Lease Sale 241 is the next proposed lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico's CPA off the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Proposed Lease Sale 226 is the next proposed lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico's EPA off the States of Alabama and Florida. The CPA 241 and 247/EPA 226 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 Lease Sales 227, 231, 235, 241, and 247, Final Environmental Impact Statement (OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2012-019) (2012-2017 WPA/CPA Multisale EIS); 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); and Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2015-2017; Central Planning Area Lease Sales 235, 241, and 247, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2014-010) (CPA 235, 241, and 247 Supplemental EIS). The 2012-2017 WPA/CPA Multisale EIS was completed in July 2012. The WPA 233/CPA 231 Supplemental EIS was completed in April 2013. The CPA 235, 241, and 247 Final Supplemental EIS was completed in March 2014. The CPA 241 and 247/EPA 226 Supplemental EIS will also update the environmental and socioeconomic analyses in the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program: 2012-2017; Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2012-030) (Five-Year Program EIS) and Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2014 and 2016; Eastern Planning Area Lease Sales 225 and 226, Final Environmental Impact Statement (OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2013-200) (EPA 225/226 EIS). The Five-Year Program EIS was completed in July 2012. The EPA 225/226 EIS was completed in October 2013. A Supplemental EIS is deemed appropriate to supplement the NEPA documents cited above for the proposed lease sales in order to consider new circumstances and information arising from, among other things, the Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil spill, and response. The CPA 241 and 247/EPA 226 Supplemental EIS analysis will focus on updating the baseline conditions. The CPA 241 and 247/EPA 226 Supplemental EIS analysis will focus on any new information on the potential environmental effects of oil and natural gas leasing, exploration, development, and production in the CPA and EPA identified through the Area Identification procedure as the proposed lease sale areas. In addition to the no action alternative (i.e., canceling a proposed lease sale), other alternatives may be considered for the proposed CPA and EPA lease sales, such as deferring certain areas from the proposed lease sale areas.

This document is the Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) for the sale of commercial wind energy leases on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Massachusetts, pursuant to BOEM's regulations at 30 CFR 585.216. BOEM proposes to offer for sale four leases: Lease OCS-A 0500, Lease OCS-A 0501, Lease OCS-A 0502, and Lease OCS-A 0503. BOEM proposes to use a multiple-factor auction format for the lease sale. In this PSN, you will find information pertaining to the areas 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 comments during a 60-day comment period following publication of this notice. The issuance of the leases that would result from this proposed sale would not constitute approval of project-specific plans to develop offshore wind energy. Such plans, expected to be submitted by successful lessees, will be subject to subsequent environmental and public review prior to a decision to proceed with development.

Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) requires the Department of the Interior (DOI) to invite and solicit information from interested and affected parties during the preparation of a Five Year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program (Five Year Program). The current Five Year Program became effective on August 27, 2012, and will expire on August 26, 2017 (2012-2017 Program). BOEM intends to prepare a new Five Year Program to succeed the current one and cover the period from July 2017 to June 2022 (2017-2022 Program). Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act requires the completion of a multi- step process of public consultation and analysis before the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) may approve a new Five Year Program. The process required by section 18 of the OCS Lands Act includes the following steps: (1) Issuance of a Request for Information and Comments (RFI); (2) development of a Draft Proposed Program (DPP), a Proposed Program (PP), and a Proposed Final Program (PFP); and (3) Secretarial approval of a Final Program. During the development of the new Five Year Program, BOEM will prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 43 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., in order to inform program decisions. The public will have opportunities to comment on the DPP, the Draft PEIS, and the PP.

Notice is hereby given that effective with this publication, the following NAD 27-based Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Official Protraction Diagrams (OPDs) and Supplemental Official OCS Block Diagrams (SOBDs) located in the Gulf of Mexico with revision date as indicated, are now available. The BOEM, in accordance with its authority and responsibility under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 USC 1331 et seq., is updating the basic record used for the description of renewable energy, mineral, and oil and gas lease sales in the geographic areas they represent. Specifically, the 1.4 nautical mile ``Area'' designation as described in Article IV, Paragraph 1, of the Treaty between the United States of America and the United Mexican States on the delimitation of the continental shelf in the Western Gulf of Mexico beyond 200 nautical miles, signed June 9, 2000, has been removed from the Keathley Canyon, Sigsbee Escarpment, and Amery Terrace OPDs and associated SOBDs. Other information associated with the ``Area'' has been removed as well. Article IV, Paragraph 1, prohibited exploration and development in the ``Area.'' Pursuant to a Note signed by the U.S. and Mexico on June 22, 2010, Article IV, Paragraph 1, of the 2000 Treaty was due to expire on January 17, 2014. The expiration date was extended by exchange of diplomatic notes on January 17, 2014, to July 17, 2014, or until the day the Agreement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States Concerning Transboundary Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico enters into force, whichever is sooner. Due to the upcoming expiration of Article IV, Paragraph 1, of the Treaty, BOEM is updating relevant OPDs and SOBDs accordingly.