Bureau of Ocean Energy Management April 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This call for information and nominations (Call or notice) invites public comment on, and assesses interest in, possible commercial wind energy leasing on the U.S. OCS in the Gulf of Maine. On August 19, 2022, BOEM initiated the competitive leasing process by issuing a request for interest (RFI) to solicit indications of interest and other information for BOEM to determine whether competitive interest existed for scheduling lease sales. This Call represents the next step in the competitive leasing process. The Call area is identified and described in section 6 below. Those interested in providing comments or information regarding site conditions, resources, and multiple uses in close proximity to or within the Call area should provide the information requested in section 7, ``Requested Information from Interested or Affected Parties,'' under the ``Supplementary Information'' heading of this Call. Those interested in leasing within the Call area for a commercial wind energy project should provide the information described in section 8, ``Required Nomination Information,'' under ``Supplementary Information.'' BOEM may or may not offer a lease for a commercial offshore wind energy project within the Call area after further government consultations, public participation, and environmental analyses.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issues this final rule to adjust the offshore facility limit of liability for damages under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) to reflect the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since 2016. This rule increases the OPA offshore facility limit of liability for damages from $137,659,500 to $167,806,900. In addition to damages, responsible parties continue to be liable for all removal costs associated with any oil spill or discharge.

We, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), are extending the public comment period on our notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled ``Renewable Energy Modernization Rule'' by 30 days. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted and will be fully considered.