Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is issuing a Call for Information and Nominations (Call) covering up to ten proposed Region-wide oil and gas lease sales in the available portions of the Western, Central, and Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas (WPA, CPA, and EPA, respectively), as included in the 2019-2024 National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program (2019-2024 National Draft Proposed Program), which BOEM announced on January 4, 2018.

Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing the availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Construction and Operation Plan (COP) submitted by Vineyard Wind LLC (Vineyard Wind). The Draft EIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action described in the Vineyard Wind COP and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action. This Notice of Availability (NOA) announces the start of the public review and comment period, as well as the dates and locations of public hearings on the Draft EIS. After BOEM holds the public hearings and addresses comments on the Draft EIS, BOEM will prepare a Final EIS.

Pursuant to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regulatory restrictions on joint bidding, the Director of the BOEM is publishing a List of Restricted Joint Bidders. Each entity within one of the following groups is restricted from bidding with any entity in any of the other following groups at Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease sales to be held during the bidding period November 1, 2018, through April 30, 2019.

Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the review of a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) submitted by Deepwater Wind South Fork, LLC (DWSF) that would allow it to construct and operate up to 15 turbines, an electric service platform offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts and an export cable to East Hampton, New York. This Notice of Intent (NOI) serves to announce the EIS scoping process for the DWSF COP. Detailed information about the proposed wind energy facility, including the COP, can be found on BOEM's website at: https://www.boem.gov/South-Fork/.

This document is the Final Sale Notice (FSN) for the sale of commercial wind energy leases on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Massachusetts. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will offer three leases: Lease OCS-A 0520, Lease OCS-A 0521, and Lease OCS-A 0522 (Lease Areas), which are located within the former Leases OCS-A 0502 and Lease OCS-A 0503 that were unsold during the Atlantic Wind Lease Sale-4 (ATLW-4) on January 29, 2015. BOEM will use an ascending bidding auction format. The FSN contains information pertaining to the areas available for leasing, certain provisions and conditions of the leases, auction details, the lease form, criteria for evaluating competing bids, award procedures, appeal procedures, and lease execution. The issuance of the lease(s) resulting from this sale would not constitute an approval of project-specific plans to develop offshore wind energy. Such plans, if submitted by the lessee, would be subject to subsequent environmental, technical, and public reviews prior to a decision on whether the proposed development should be authorized.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Liberty Development and Production Plan (DPP) in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area. The FEIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action described in the Liberty DPP and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) invites public input on the identification of historic properties or potential impacts to historic properties from a comprehensive research program of sand resource and borrow area identification on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Sand resources are identified using geophysical and geological (G&G) surveys, which constitute undertakings subject to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

On Wednesday, August 15, 2018, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will open and publicly announce bids received for blocks offered in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Region-wide Oil and Gas Lease Sale 251 (GOM Region-wide Sale 251), in accordance with the provisions of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), as amended, and the implementing regulations issued pursuant thereto. The GOM Region-wide Sale 251 Final Notice of Sale (NOS) package contains information essential to potential bidders.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is proposing to renew an information collection.

Pursuant to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regulatory restrictions on joint bidding, the Director of the BOEM is publishing a List of Restricted Joint Bidders. Each entity within one of the following groups is restricted from bidding with any entity in any of the other following groups at Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease sales to be held during the bidding period May 1, 2018, through October 31, 2018.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) invites the submission of information and nominations for commercial wind leases that would allow a lessee to propose the construction of a wind energy project on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the New York Bight, and to develop one or more projects, if approved, after further environmental review. Although this announcement is not itself a leasing announcement, the areas described herein, or portions thereof, may be available for future leasing. BOEM will use responses to this Call for Information and Nominations (hereinafter referred to as ``Call'' or ``notice'') to gauge specific interest in acquiring commercial wind leases in some or all of the Call Areas, as required by law. Parties wishing to submit a nomination in response to this Call should submit detailed and specific information in response to the requirements described in the section entitled, ``Required Nomination Information.'' This announcement also requests comments and information from interested and affected parties about site conditions, resources, and multiple uses in close proximity to, or within, the Call Areas that would be relevant to BOEM's review of any nominations submitted and/or to BOEM's possible subsequent decision to offer all or part of the Call Areas for commercial wind leasing. The information that BOEM is requesting is described in the section of this Call entitled, ``Requested Information from Interested or Affected Parties.''

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) invites the public to contribute to the development of a path forward for future renewable leasing offshore the United States Atlantic Coast. Thus far, BOEM has issued 13 commercial leases on the Atlantic from North Carolina to Massachusetts. BOEM is now conducting a high-level assessment of all waters offshore the United States Atlantic Coast for potential additional lease locations. BOEM proposes to rely on various factors described below to help it assess which geographic areas along the Atlantic are the most likely to have highest potential for successful offshore wind development in the next three to five years. BOEM is seeking input on all aspects of its proposed path forward, but particularly on the merits of these factors and any other factors BOEM should consider. This Atlantic assessment is intended to inform future area identification processes, not replace them. Accordingly, after reviewing the comments it receives pursuant to this notice, BOEM plans to coordinate with its intergovernmental renewable energy task forces, and conduct further stakeholder outreach as a part of its continuing area identification efforts.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announces the availability of the Proposed Notice of Sale (NOS) for the proposed Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Region-wide Lease Sale 251 (GOM Region-wide Sale 251). This Notice is published pursuant to BOEM's regulations. With regard to oil and gas leasing on the OCS, the Secretary of the Interior, pursuant to section 19 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, provides Governors of affected states the opportunity to review and comment on the Proposed NOS. The Proposed NOS sets forth the proposed size, timing, and location of the sale, including lease stipulations, terms and conditions, minimum bids, royalty rates, and rental rates.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is issuing this Call for Information and Nominations (Call) covering a proposed sale in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area in late 2019, as included in the 2019- 2024 National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program (2019-2024 National Draft Proposed Program), which BOEM announced on January 4, 2018. The purpose of this Call is to solicit industry nominations for areas of leasing interest and to gather comments and information on the area included in the Call for consideration in planning for this proposed OCS oil and gas lease sale. Because this lease sale is proposed to occur in 2019, and given the long lead time needed to prepare for a proposed sale, the planning process must begin now or the option of a lease sale in 2019 would be precluded. However, this Call is not a decision to lease and is not a prejudgment by the Secretary concerning any area that may be made available for leasing under the 2019-2024 National Program.

This final rule implements the 2018 adjustment of the level of the maximum civil monetary penalties contained in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regulations pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (FCPIA of 2015), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance. The 2018 adjustment multiplier of 1.02041 accounts for one year of inflation spanning the period from October 2016 through October 2017.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing the availability of a Record of Decision for proposed Gulf of Mexico (GOM) region-wide oil and gas Lease Sale 250. This Record of Decision identifies BOEM's selected alternative for proposed Lease Sale 250, which is analyzed in the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Lease Sale: Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 2018 (2018 GOM Supplemental EIS).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is proposing to renew an information collection with revisions.

BOEM is announcing the availability of, and requests comments on, the Draft Proposed Program (DPP) for the 2019-2024 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (2019-2024 Program or Program). BOEM is also announcing its decision to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the 2019-2024 Program (Programmatic EIS) and the initiation of the formal scoping process.