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

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announces the availability of the draft environmental assessment (EA) to analyze the reasonably foreseeable impacts from additional site assessment plan (SAP) activities in Lease Area OCS-A 0520 offshore Massachusetts. Beacon Wind, LLC (Beacon Wind), the leaseholder, requests to conduct additional site assessment activities in the lease area that were not analyzed in the initial EA titled ``Commercial Wind Lease Issuance and Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Massachusetts'' (2014 EA). The draft EA analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the proposed site assessment activities, which consist of 35 deployments and removals of a single suction bucket foundation at 26 locations within the Lease Area to gather information to support the engineering design of wind turbine and offshore substation foundations that would potentially be installed within the Lease Area for a future Beacon Wind project. This notice of availability (NOA) announces the start of the public review and comment period, as well as the dates and times for public meetings on the draft EA. After BOEM holds the public meetings and addresses public comments submitted during the review period, BOEM will publish a final EA. The EA will inform BOEM's decision whether to approve the site assessment plan amendment for additional site assessment activities.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has finalized revisions to its bid adequacy procedures to ensure the receipt of fair market value from Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas lease sales. BOEM intends to assess bids using the revised procedures beginning with the first lease sale under the 2024-2029 National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The revised procedures and BOEM's response to public comments on the draft procedures are available at https://www.boem.gov/Fair-Market-Value.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announces the availability of the draft programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) to analyze the potential impacts of wind energy development in six lease areas of the New York (NY) Bight. The PEIS also identifies possible changes in those impacts that could result from adopting certain avoidance, minimization, mitigation, and monitoring (AMMM) measures (the Proposed Action). This notice of availability (NOA) announces the start of the public review and comment period and the dates and times for public meetings on the draft PEIS. After the public comment period and meetings, BOEM will address the issues raised and will publish a final PEIS. The final PEIS will inform BOEM's decision whether to adopt certain AMMM measures at this stage that would potentially be required as conditions of approval for activities proposed by NY Bight lessees in their construction and operations plans (COPs) or defer the decision to adopt such measures to each project- specific environmental review.

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.

On Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 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) Oil and Gas Lease Sale 261 (GOM Lease Sale 261), in accordance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), as amended, and its implementing regulations. This revised GOM Lease Sale 261 Final Notice of Sale (Final NOS) package contains information essential to potential bidders and comprises this notice, Information to Lessees, and Lease Stipulations. Bids submitted under the Revised Final NOS published on October 6, 2023 (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below) will be held and opened on December 20, 2023, unless the bidders withdraw their bid or bids in accordance with the bid withdrawal procedures described in Section VIII``Bid Withdrawal.''

With this notice, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing that it is postponing Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 261 pending further action by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. To comply with an injunction sought and obtained by the State of Louisiana and other plaintiffs from the district court, as well as a subsequent order from the Fifth Circuit, BOEM had previously provided notice of its intent to hold Lease Sale 261 on November 8, 2023. On October 26, 2023, however, the Fifth Circuit stayed the relevant injunction and order pending the merits panel's decision on appeal. To avoid preempting the Fifth Circuit's decision, and avoid duplication of effort, BOEM is now deferring Lease Sale 261 pending disposition of the appeal that is before the Fifth Circuit. Therefore, BOEM will not open and announce bids for the sale on November 8, 2023. BOEM will make future announcements regarding when and under what terms Lease Sale 261 will be held after the Court issues its ruling or provides additional direction to BOEM. Additional information and announcements will be made available on BOEM's website prior to the sale date. See https://www.boem.gov/sale-261.

BOEM announces the availability of the joint ROD on the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the construction and operations plan (COP) submitted by Virginia Electric and Power Company (dba Dominion Energy) for its proposed Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial Project (Project), offshore Virginia Beach, Virginia. The joint ROD includes the Department of the Interior's (DOI) decision regarding the COP and NMFS' plans for decision, pending completion of all statutory processes, regarding Dominion Energy's requested Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of Authorization (LOA) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). NMFS has adopted the final EIS to support its decision of whether or not to issue the requested ITR under the MMPA. The joint ROD concludes the National Environmental Policy Act process for each agency.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes this information collection request (ICR) to renew Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 1010-0191.

Pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 and BOEM's regulatory restrictions on joint bidding, BOEM is publishing this 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 groups listed below at Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease sales held during the bidding period of November 1, 2023, through April 30, 2024.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is amending its renewable energy regulations to update the definition of Outer Continental Shelf and add the definition of State in conformity with the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issues this Call for Information and Nominations (Call) covering proposed Gulf of Mexico 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). Those sales are described in the 2024-2029 National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program (2024-2029 National OCS Program), which BOEM announced on September 29, 2023. This Call solicits industry nominations of acreage for possible inclusion in future sales and requests information from the public on the Call Area for lease sale planning. Specifically, BOEM seeks information on geological conditions, archaeological sites, potential use conflicts, areas of special concern, and other socioeconomic, biological, and environmental information. This Call is not a final decision to lease and does not prejudge any future secretarial decisions concerning leasing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BOEM announces its intent to prepare a Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Regional Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (GOM Oil and Gas PEIS). The GOM Oil and Gas PEIS will analyze the potential impacts of a representative oil and gas lease sale in available OCS areas of the Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas (Proposed Action) and the associated potential site and activity-specific approvals resulting from a sale. This NOI announces the scoping process BOEM will use to identify significant issues and potential alternatives for consideration in the GOM Oil and Gas PEIS. The draft PEIS will include a summary of all alternatives, information, and analyses submitted during the scoping process for consideration by BOEM and the cooperating agencies.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes this information collection request (ICR) to renew Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 1010-0057.

BOEM announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Lease Sale 261 (GOM Lease Sale 261). This ROD identifies the selected alternative for GOM Lease Sale 261, which is analyzed in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales 259 and 261: Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (GOM Lease Sales 259 and 261 Supplemental EIS).

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is extending the public comment period on our notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), ``Risk Management and Financial Assurance for Outer Continental Shelf Lease and Grant Obligations,'' by 10 days. Comments previously submitted do not need to be resubmitted and will be fully considered.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes a new information collection request (ICR).

BOEM announces the availability of the draft environmental assessment (EA) for the potential issuance of a wind energy research lease to the State of Maine. The draft EA analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the site characterization and site assessment activities that are expected to take place should this research lease be issued. This notice of availability (NOA) announces the start of the public review and comment period, as well as the dates and times for public meetings on the draft EA. After BOEM holds the public meetings and addresses public comments submitted during the review period, BOEM will publish a final EA. The EA will inform BOEM's decision whether to issue the research lease.

This Final Sale Notice (FSN) contains information pertaining to the areas available for commercial wind energy leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Specifically, this FSN details certain provisions and conditions of the leases, auction details, the lease form, criteria for evaluating competing bids, and procedures for award, appeal, and lease execution. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will offer three leases for sale using a multiple-factor bidding auction format: Lease OCS-G 37334, Lease OCS- G37335, and Lease OCS-G37336 (Lease Areas). The issuance of any lease resulting from this sale will not constitute approval of project- specific plans to develop offshore wind energy. Such plans, if submitted by the Lessee, will be subject to environmental, technical, and public reviews prior to a BOEM decision on whether the proposed activity should be authorized.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes this information collection request (ICR) to renew with revisions Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 1010-0151.

Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BOEM announces its intent to prepare an EIS for a construction and operations plan (COP) submitted by Beacon Wind LLC (Beacon Wind). This NOI initiates the public scoping and comment process under NEPA and also seeks public comments under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and its implementing regulations. Beacon Wind proposes to construct and operate an offshore wind facility located in Renewable Energy Lease Area OCS-A 0520 (Lease Area), which is approximately 128,811 acres and 17 nautical miles (nm) south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and 52 nm east of Montauk, New York. Beacon Wind, a joint venture owned by Equinor U.S. Holdings, Inc. and BP Wind Energy North America, Inc., proposes to develop the entire Lease Area in two wind farms, known as Beacon Wind 1 (BW1) and Beacon Wind 2 (BW2) (collectively, the Project).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes this information collection request (ICR) to renew Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 1010-0081.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes this information collection request (ICR) to renew Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 1010-0191.

Pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 and BOEM's regulatory restrictions on joint bidding, BOEM is publishing this 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 groups listed below at Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease sales held during the bidding period of May 1, 2023, through October 31, 2023.

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.