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

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Oil and Gas Lease Sales for 2018
Document Number: 2016-19861
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-08-19
Agency: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), BOEM is announcing its intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed GOM Lease Sales 250 and 251 (2018 GOM Lease Sales 250 and 251 Supplemental EIS) as scheduled in the 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Program (2017-2022 Proposed Program). This Notice of Intent (NOI) serves to announce the EIS scoping process for the 2018 GOM Lease Sales 250 and 251 Supplemental EIS. The 2018 GOM Lease Sales 250 and 251 Supplemental EIS will tier from the 2017-2022 GOM Multisale EIS. Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) requires the development of an OCS oil and gas leasing program every five years. The Program sets forth a schedule of lease sales designed to best meet the Nation's energy needs. The lease sales proposed in the GOM in the 2017- 2022 Proposed Program are areawide sales encompassing both the Western and Central Planning Areas, and a portion of the Eastern Planning Area not subject to Congressional moratorium. These planning areas are located off the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. By proposing lease sales that offer all available GOM acreage, BOEM seeks to provide more opportunity for industry to bid on rejected, relinquished, or expired OCS lease blocks and facilitate better planning to explore resources that straddle the U.S./Mexico boundary. During the pre-lease sale process, the size of any individual lease sale could be reduced, and a smaller area offered for leasing, should circumstances warrant. For example, an individual lease sale could be focused on a single GOM Planning Area as in the 2012-2017 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program.
Potential Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Offshore California-Request for Interest
Document Number: 2016-19349
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-08-18
Agency: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
The purpose of this public notice is to: (1) Describe the unsolicited proposal submitted to BOEM by Trident Winds, LLC (Trident Winds) to acquire an OCS commercial wind lease; (2) solicit submissions of indications of interest in acquiring a commercial lease for wind energy development on the OCS offshore California in the area described in this notice; and (3) solicit public input regarding the area described in this notice, the potential environmental consequences associated with wind energy development in the area, and existing and planned multiple uses of the area. On January 14, 2016, BOEM received an unsolicited request from Trident Winds for a commercial wind lease on the OCS. Trident Winds' proposed project would consist of a utility-scale floating wind energy facility offshore Morro Bay, California that would interconnect with the California electrical grid at the existing Morro Bay Power Plant. The project would be located, at its closest point, approximately 15 nautical miles (nmi) offshore Point Piedras Blancas in water depths of approximately 2,900 feet. Additional information on Trident Winds' unsolicited lease request can be viewed at https://www.boem.gov/ California/. This RFI is published pursuant to subsection 8(p)(3) of the OCS Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3), and BOEM's implementing regulations at 30 CFR part 585. Subsection 8(p)(3) of the OCS Lands Act requires that OCS renewable energy leases, easements, and rights-of-way be issued ``on a competitive basis unless the Secretary [of the Interior] determines after public notice of a proposed lease, easement, or right- of-way that there is no competitive interest.'' This RFI provides public notice for the area requested by Trident Winds (the Proposed Lease Area) that is described below in the section ``Description of the Proposed Lease Area,'' and invites the submission of indications of interest in acquiring a commercial wind lease within the Proposed Lease Area. Parties wishing to indicate competitive interest in the Proposed Lease Area should submit detailed and specific information as described in the section entitled ``Required Indication of Interest Information.'' BOEM will consider the responses to this public notice to determine whether competitive interest exists in the Proposed Lease Area. This announcement also requests that interested and affected parties comment and provide information about site conditions and any existing or planned multiple uses within the Proposed Lease Area that may be relevant to the proposed project or its potential impacts.
Atlantic Wind Lease Sale 7 (ATLW-7) for Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore North Carolina (Kitty Hawk)-Proposed Sale Notice and Request for Interest; MMAA104000
Document Number: 2016-19552
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-08-16
Agency: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
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).
Information Collection: Oil Spill Financial Responsibility for Offshore Facilities; Proposed Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request MMAA104000
Document Number: 2016-19310
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-08-15
Agency: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is inviting comments on a collection of information that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The information collection request (ICR) concerns the paperwork requirements for 30 CFR 553, Oil Spill Financial Responsibility for Offshore Facilities, as well as the associated forms. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has assigned control number 1010-0106 to this information collection.
Environmental Assessment for Commercial Wind Leasing and Site Assessment Activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Offshore the Island of Oahu, Hawaii; Extension of Comment Period MMAA104000
Document Number: 2016-18528
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-08-04
Agency: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
BOEM is extending the comment period for the Notice of Intent entitled, ``Environmental Assessment for Commercial Wind Leasing and Site Assessment Activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Offshore the Island of Oahu, Hawaii,'' which appeared in the Federal Register on June 24, 2016, (81 FR 41334). The Environmental Assessment will address environmental impacts and socioeconomic effects related to the issuance of future commercial wind energy leases and approval of site assessment activities on those leases offshore the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The comment period has been extended an additional 30 days to September 7, 2016.
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