Bureau of Ocean Energy Management August 16, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This is the Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) for the sale of one commercial wind energy lease on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, pursuant to 30 CFR 585.216. BOEM proposes to offer Lease OCS-A 0508 for sale using an ascending-bid auction. 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 the proposed lease resulting from this sale would not constitute an approval of project- specific plans to develop offshore wind energy. Such plans, expected to be submitted by the auction winner, would be subject to subsequent environmental and technical reviews prior to a decision to proceed with development. This document is also a Request for Interest (RFI), pursuant to 30 CFR 585.212, to assess if there has been a change in competitive interest in the area encompassing proposed lease OCS-A 0508 since the publication of the North Carolina Call for Information and Nominations (Call) (77 FR 74204) on December 13, 2012. If BOEM determines that competitive interest in the proposed lease area (OCS-A 0508) still exists, BOEM will proceed with the competitive process set forth in 30 CFR 585.211 through 585.225. If BOEM determines competitive interest in the proposed lease area (OCS-A 0508) no longer exists because only one potential lessee is interested in the area, BOEM may proceed with the non-competitive process set forth in 30 CFR 585.231(d)-(i) following the receipt of the acquisition fee specified in 30 CFR 585.502(a).