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

Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BOEM announces its intent to prepare a PEIS to analyze the potential impacts of floating offshore wind energy development on the five leased areas offshore Humboldt and Morro Bay, California. The PEIS also will identify programmatic protective mitigation measures that if adopted could lessen those impacts. This NOI announces the scoping process BOEM will use to identify significant issues and potential alternatives for consideration in the California offshore wind (OSW) PEIS.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes to hold Atlantic Wind Lease Sale 10 and offer one or more lease areas (Lease Areas) for commercial wind power development on the U.S. Central Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The Lease Areas are located in the previously identified wind energy areas (WEAs) A-2 and C-1 offshore the State of Delaware and the Commonwealth of Virginia. This proposed sale notice (PSN) contains information pertaining to the areas available for leasing, certain lease provisions and conditions, auction details, criteria for evaluating competing bids, and procedures for lease award, appeals, and lease execution. BOEM proposes a multiple factor bidding format using a simultaneous clock auction. BOEM will use new auction software for the lease sale, with attendant and minor changes in the auction rules used in previous OCS wind lease auctions. Any lease resulting from this sale does not constitute approval of any offshore wind energy facilities. Lessees must first submit project- specific plans to BOEM and obtain BOEM's approval before they may start any construction of an OCS wind energy facility. BOEM will subject such plans to environmental, technical, and public reviews prior to deciding whether the proposed development should be authorized.