Bureau of Ocean Energy Management September 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

BOEM is announcing the availability of a revised Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the approval of the Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project (VOWTAP). The revised EA provides a discussion of potential impacts of the proposed action and an analysis of reasonable alternatives to the proposed action. As a result of the analysis in the revised EA, BOEM issued a FONSI concluding that the reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts associated with the proposed action and alternatives would not significantly impact the quality of the human environment. These documents and associated information are available on BOEM's Web site at https://www.boem.gov/VOWTAP/.

BOEM is announcing its intent to prepare an EIS for the Liberty Development and Production Plan (DPP) in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area. The DPP proposes several steps. A man-made gravel production island, known as the Liberty Drilling and Production Island (LDPI), would be established in Foggy Island Bay. Gravel for construction would come from a new mine west of the Kadleroshilik River. A pipeline would link the LDPI to the Badami Sales Oil Pipeline (Badami pipeline). The pipe-in-pipe pipeline would be buried along a route going south from the LPDI to the shoreline west of the Kadleroshilik River, transition to an above-ground pipeline, and continue south to tie into the existing Badami pipeline. Oil produced from the LDPI would be transported through the Badami pipeline to the existing common carrier pipeline system to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. This NOI also serves to announce the beginning of the scoping process. The scope of an EIS refers to the range of issues, alternatives, and mitigation measures to be considered. Public scoping assists the agency in focusing on significant issues and alternatives and eliminating from detailed consideration those issues that are insignificant, irrelevant or have been fully and adequately considered in prior analyses. No alternatives, other than the no-action alternative, have yet been identified. Through this notice, BOEM also invites public input regarding the identification of historic properties and potential effects from the proposed action to historic properties as defined by the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 306108), as provided for in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). Additional information related to the Liberty DPP, including the proposed plan itself, may be found at https:// www.boem.gov/Liberty.

BOEM is announcing the availability of a revised Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for commercial wind lease issuance, site characterization activities (geophysical, geotechnical, archaeological, and biological surveys), and site assessment activities (including the installation and operation of a meteorological tower and/or buoys) on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf offshore North Carolina. The revised EA provides a discussion of potential impacts of the proposed action and an analysis of reasonable alternatives to the proposed action. In accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508), BOEM issued a FONSI supported by the analysis in the revised EA. The FONSI concluded that the reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts associated with the proposed action and alternatives, as set forth in the EA, would not significantly impact the quality of the human environment; therefore, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is not required. These documents and associated information are available on BOEM's Web site at https:// www.boem.gov/North-Carolina/.

BOEM announces the availability of the Proposed Notice of Sale (NOS) for the proposed Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area (CPA) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Lease Sale 241 (CPA Sale 241). This Notice is published pursuant to 30 CFR 556.29(c) as a matter of information to the public. With regard to oil and gas leasing on the OCS, the Secretary of the Interior, pursuant to section 19 of the OCS Lands Act, provides affected States the opportunity to review the Proposed NOS. The Proposed NOS sets forth the proposed terms and conditions of the sale, including minimum bids, royalty rates, and rental rates.