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

BOEM is extending the public comment period to submit comments on the proposed rule entitled ``Air Quality Control, Reporting, and Compliance,'' which was published in the Federal Register on April 5, 2016. The original public comment period to submit comments on this rulemaking would have ended on June 6, 2016. However, BOEM has received public comments requesting an extension of the comment period. BOEM has reviewed the extension requests and has determined that a 14-day comment period extension to June 20, 2016, is appropriate. The proposed rule specified a separate, shorter period to submit comments to the Office of Management and Budget on the information collection (IC) burden in this rulemaking. That comment period ended on May 5, 2016, and will not be extended.

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is notifying the public that we have submitted an information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This ICR concerns the paperwork requirements in the regulations under ``Renewable Energy and Alternate Uses of Existing Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf.'' This notice provides the public a second opportunity to comment on the paperwork burden of this collection.

BOEM is announcing the dates, locations, and times of rescheduled meetings in Washington, DC; Houston, TX; and New Orleans, LA, to elicit comments on the OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2017-2022 Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Draft Programmatic EIS), which has been prepared by BOEM to support the Proposed OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017-2022 (2017-2022 Program).

This proposed rule would amend existing BOEM regulations related to air quality measurement, evaluation, and control with respect to oil, gas, and sulphur operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the United States (U.S.), in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and the area offshore the North Slope Borough of the State of Alaska, as part of the BOEM approval process for offshore oil and gas exploration and development plans, right-of-use and easement (RUE), pipeline rights-of-way (ROW), and lease term pipeline applications. The proposed rule would: (1) Fulfill BOEM's statutory responsibility under section 5(a)(8) of Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) by addressing all relevant criteria and major precursor air pollutants and by cross-referencing BOEM standards and benchmarks for those pollutants to those of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA); (2) change the manner in which lessees would evaluate and model vessel emissions attributed to OCS facilities; (3) change the methods for measuring and evaluating air emissions including measuring their impacts over State submerged lands; (4) provide a process by which exemption thresholds are established and updated; (5) change the circumstances when emission reduction measure(s) (ERM), including Best Available Control Technology (BACT), are required, and establish new criteria for the application of ERM; (6) formalize requirements for the consolidation of emissions from multiple facilities; (7) consistent with BOEM's existing regulatory authority, articulate a schedule and requirements for ensuring that all plans, including those previously approved, will remain compliant on an ongoing basis with these updated regulations; and (8) include an air quality component in the submission of RUE, ROW, and lease term pipeline applications. Key policy changes include the following: (1) Aligning the list of pollutants that are subject to an air quality review with the current National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and cross-referencing the ambient air quality standards and benchmarks (AAQSB) for those pollutants to those of the USEPA; (2) formalizing the concept and application of the term ``attributed emissions;'' (3) changing the locations where air emissions will be measured and evaluated; and (4) modifying the process by which exemption thresholds are established and updated. This rulemaking would be the first major re-write of the OCS air quality regulations in 35 years.

This final rule updates and streamlines the existing Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing regulations and clarifies implementation of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996, which amended the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (FOGRMA). The final rule reorganizes leasing requirements to more effectively communicate the leasing process as it has evolved over the years. The final rule makes changes to regulations which relate to the oil, gas, and sulfur leasing requirements. The final rule does not, however, include substantive changes to regulations which relate to bonding, which will be the subject of a separate new proposed rulemaking.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BOEM announces the availability of the OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2017- 2022 Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Programmatic EIS) prepared by BOEM to support the Proposed OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017-2022. This notice initiates the public review and comment period and also serves to announce public meetings on the Draft Programmatic EIS. After the public meetings and written comments on the Draft Programmatic EIS have been reviewed and considered, a Final Programmatic EIS will be prepared.

BOEM is announcing the availability of a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas Central Planning Area (CPA) Lease Sale 247 (CPA Lease Sale 247). CPA Lease Sale 247 is tentatively scheduled for March 2017. The Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement provides a discussion of potential significant impacts of the proposed action and provides an analysis of reasonable alternatives to the proposed action. It also considers new information made available since the completion of earlier EISs related to CPA Lease Sale 247. The prior 2012-2017 Gulf of Mexico EISs are available on BOEM's Web site at https://www.boem.gov/nepaprocess/. This Notice of Availability also serves to announce the beginning of the public comment period for the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. In keeping with the Department of the Interior's mission to protect natural resources and to limit costs, while ensuring availability to the public, the Draft Supplemental EIS and associated information are available on BOEM's Web site at https://www.boem.gov/nepaprocess/. BOEM will also distribute digital copies of the Draft Supplemental EIS on compact discs. BOEM will print and distribute a limited number of paper copies. You may request a digital or paper copy of the Draft Supplemental EIS from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, Public Information Office (GM 250C), 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, Room 250, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394 (1-800- 200-GULF).

BOEM is announcing the availability of a Record of Decision for proposed oil and gas CPA Lease Sale 241. This Record of Decision identifies the Bureau's selected alternative for proposed CPA Lease Sale 241, which is analyzed in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2016 and 2017; Central Planning Area Lease Sales 241 and 247; Eastern Planning Area Lease Sale 226; Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (CPA 241/EPA 226 Supplemental EIS). The Record of Decision and associated information are available on the agency Web site at https://www.boem.gov/nepaprocess/.

On Wednesday, March 23, 2016, BOEM will open and publicly announce bids received for blocks offered in the Central Planning Area (CPA) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Lease Sale 241 (CPA Sale 241), in accordance with the provisions of the OCS Lands Act (OCSLA, 43 U.S.C. 1331-1356, as amended) and the implementing regulations issued pursuant thereto (30 CFR parts 550 and 556). The CPA Sale 241 Final Notice of Sale (NOS) Package (Final NOS Package) contains information essential to potential bidders. Bidders are charged with knowing the contents of the documents contained in the Final NOS Package.

BOEM is announcing the availability of a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for proposed GOM OCS Oil and Gas WPA Lease Sale 248. The Final SEIS provides a discussion of the potential significant impacts of the proposed action, provides an analysis of reasonable alternatives to the proposed action, and identifies the Bureau's preferred alternative. The Final SEIS is available on BOEM's Web site at https:// www.boem.gov/nepaprocess/. BOEM will primarily distribute digital copies of the Final SEIS on compact discs. You may request a paper copy or the location of a library with a digital copy of the Final SEIS from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, Public Information Office (GM 250C), 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, Room 250, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394 (1-800-200-GULF).

In this final rule, the Department of the Interior moves the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006's Phase I regulations from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) chapter V to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue's (ONRR) title 30 CFR chapter XII and clarifies and adds minor definition changes to these current revenue- sharing regulations. Additionally, ONRR amends these regulations concerning the distribution and disbursement of qualified revenues from certain leases on the Gulf of Mexico's Outer Continental Shelf, under the provisions of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. These regulations set forth formulas and methodologies for calculating and allocating revenues to the States of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas; their eligible coastal political subdivisions; the Land and Water Conservation Fund; and the United States Treasury.

On September 25, 2015, BOEM published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Liberty Development and Production Plan (DPP) in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area (80 FR 57873). The September 25 notice provided for a 60-day comment period, which is scheduled to end on November 24, 2015. During BOEM's scoping, the pubic recommended extending the comment period. To further the intent of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to collect information to define the scope of issues to be addressed in depth in the analyses that will be included in the EIS, and to provide additional opportunity for interested and affected parties to comment, BOEM is extending the scoping comment period for an additional 60 days to January 26, 2016.

The Department of the Interior has decided to cancel Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 237, which was scheduled to occur in 2016 under the 2012-2017 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program. Sale 237 is being canceled due to lack of industry interest; current market conditions (e.g., low oil prices); and the unavailability of many of the most attractive tracts, which are already under lease at this time.

BOEM is announcing its intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) for potential commercial wind leasing and site assessment activities on the Atlantic OCS offshore South Carolina. The EA will address environmental and socioeconomic effects related to the proposed action, issuance of commercial wind energy leases, and approval of site assessment activities on those leases. This notice serves to announce the beginning of the formal scoping process. The scope of the EA is the range of issues, alternatives, impacts, and mitigation measures to be considered. Scoping will help identify reasonable alternatives and focus the analysis in the EA on potentially significant issues and eliminate from detailed consideration those issues that are insignificant, irrelevant, or that have not changed from previous analyses. BOEM will also use the scoping process to seek public comment and input under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Additional information on the proposed action may be found at https://www.boem.gov/South-Carolina/.

BOEM has issued a wind energy research lease to the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy for an area situated on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore Virginia. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability of the executed lease, Renewable Energy Lease No. OCS-A-0497. Proposed activities on the lease include the installation and operation of wind turbine generators and resource assessment devices, as well as associated offshore substation platforms, interarray cables, and subsea export cables. The total acreage of the lease area is approximately 2,135 acres. The lease area is comprised of six aliquots (i.e., sub-blocks) lying within Official Protraction Diagram Currituck Sound NJ18-11 Blocks 6061 and 6111. The lease and supporting documentation, including required environmental compliance documentation and notices that solicited competitive interest, can be found online at: https://www.boem.gov/VOWTAP/.

BOEM invites public comment on the aspects of BOEM's renewable energy program that stakeholders have found to be successful, and those program areas where there appear to be opportunities for improvement.

This document is the Final Sale Notice (FSN) for the sale of two commercial wind energy leases on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore New Jersey, pursuant to BOEM's regulations at 30 CFR 585.216. BOEM is offering two leases for sale using a multiple-factor auction format: Lease OCS-A 0498 and Lease OCS-A 0499. The two lease areas (LAs) are identical to those announced in the Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) for Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Offshore New Jersey that was published in the Federal Register on July 21, 2014, with a 60-day public comment period (79 FR 42361). This FSN contains information pertaining to the areas available for leasing, proposed lease provisions and conditions, auction details, lease form, criteria for evaluating competing bids, award procedures, appeal procedures, and lease execution. The issuance of the proposed leases 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 auction winners, will be subject to subsequent environmental and technical reviews prior to a decision to proceed with development.

In this rule, BOEM amends its existing regulations by: Updating address locations; removing an outdated Web site address and correcting a form number; changing the term ``Associate Director'' to ``Deputy Director'' in the regulations; and other housekeeping changes, such as removing reference to a URL hyperlink for a Web page that no longer exists.

BOEM announces the availability of the Proposed Notice of Sale (NOS) for the proposed Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area (EPA) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Lease Sale 226 (EPA Sale 226). This Notice is published pursuant to 30 CFR 556.29(c) as a matter of information to the public. With regard to oil and gas leasing on the OCS, the Secretary of the Interior, pursuant to section 19 of the OCS Lands Act, provides affected States the opportunity to review the Proposed NOS. The Proposed NOS sets forth the proposed terms and conditions of the sale, including minimum bids, royalty rates, and rental rates.

Notice is hereby given of the availability of certain NAD 27- based Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Official Protraction Diagrams (OPDs) and Supplemental Official OCS Block Diagrams (SOBDs) depicting geographic areas located in the Gulf of Mexico. BOEM, in accordance with its authority and responsibility under the OCS Lands Act, is announcing the availability of maps used for the description of renewable energy, mineral, and oil and gas lease sales in the geographic areas they represent. The following twelve (12) OPDs (dated October 1, 2014) have been revised to reflect coast line data of the Gulf Coast of Florida that was originally approved by the U.S. Baseline Committee in 1999. Specifically, the coast line, Submerged Lands Act boundary, and the OCS Lands Act ``Section 8(g) Zone'' boundary have been revised. Eight (8) SOBDs (dated October 1, 2014) located within OPD NH16-05 (Pensacola) have been revised to reflect the intersection of the Submerged Lands Act and Section 8(g) Zone boundaries for the States of Florida and Alabama (known as the ``Florida wrap-around''). Two (2) SOBDs (dated October 1, 2014) also located within OPD NH16-05 (Pensacola) have been revised to reflect the intersection of the Submerged Lands Act and Section 8(g) Zone boundaries with the ``Military Mission Line.'' BOEM is also publishing a total of six hundred ninety-two (692) SOBDs that were generated by the Minerals Management Service (a predecessor bureau of BOEM) using coast line data that was originally approved by the U.S. Baseline Committee in 1999. These SOBDs (dated March 1, 1999) reflect the Submerged Lands Act and the Section 8(g) Zone boundaries adjacent to the Gulf Coast of Florida. In 2000, the SOBDs were submitted to the State of Florida for signature, indicating their concurrence with the MMS depiction of the boundaries. Although Florida did not sign the SOBDs, the diagrams reflect the current Federal position of these boundaries, and will eventually be superseded by diagrams with an updated format and BOEM logo. BOEM will continue working with Florida to resolve any areas of boundary discrepancy.

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 an Environmental Impact Statement (2017-2022 Gulf of Mexico Multisale EIS) on the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) oil and gas lease sales tentatively proposed in the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program (2017-2022 Draft Proposed Program). This Notice of Intent (NOI) serves to announce the EIS scoping process and scoping meetings for the 2017- 2022 Gulf of Mexico Multisale EIS. Due to the lead time to prepare an EIS, BOEM will begin preparation of the 2017-2022 Gulf of Mexico Multisale EIS prior to the 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program being finalized. Should the GOM lease sales ultimately included in the 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program differ substantially from those proposed in the 2017-2022 Draft Proposed Program, BOEM will incorporate those changes into the 2017-2022 Gulf of Mexico Multisale EIS, as appropriate. 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, setting forth a five-year schedule of lease sales designed to best meet the Nation's energy needs. The lease sales proposed in the GOM in the 2017-2022 Draft Proposed Program are region-wide sales comprised of the Western, Central, and a small portion of the Eastern Planning Areas in the GOM not subject to Congressional moratorium. These planning areas are located offshore the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Should the 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program include GOM-wide sales, any individual lease sale could still be scaled back during the pre-lease sale process to offer a smaller area should circumstances warrant. For example, an individual lease sale could offer an area that conforms more closely to the separate planning area model used in the 2012-2017 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program.

BOEM and BSEE are extending the public comment period on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking entitled, ``Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations on the Outer Continental ShelfRequirements for Exploratory Drilling on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf,'' which was published in the Federal Register on February 24, 2015, (80 FR 9916). The original public comment period would have ended on April 27, 2015. However, BOEM and BSEE have received public comments requesting an extension of the comment period. BOEM and BSEE have reviewed the extension requests and determined that a 30-day comment period extension to May 27, 2015, is appropriate.

Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) (NEPA), BOEM is announcing its intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed Western Planning Area (WPA) Lease Sale 248 in the Gulf of Mexico (WPA 248 Supplemental EIS). The WPA 248 Supplemental EIS will update the environmental and socioeconomic analyses in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2012-2017; Western Planning Area Lease Sales 229, 233, 238, 246, and 248; Central Planning Area Lease Sales 227, 231, 235, 241, and 247, Final Environmental Impact Statement (2012-2017 WPA/CPA Multisale EIS; OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2012-019); Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2013-2014; Western Planning Area Lease Sale 233; Central Planning Area Lease Sale 231, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (WPA 233/CPA 231 Supplemental EIS; OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2013-0118); Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2014-2016; Western Planning Area Lease Sales 238, 246, and 248, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (WPA 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental EIS; OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2014-009); and Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2015 and 2016; Western Planning Area Lease Sales 246 and 248, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (WPA 246 and 248 Supplemental EIS; OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2015-008). The WPA 248 Supplemental EIS will supplement the NEPA documents cited above for the proposed lease sale in order to consider new circumstances and information arising from, among other things, the Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil spill, and response. It will focus on updating the baseline conditions and any new information on the potential environmental effects of oil and natural gas leasing, exploration, development, and production in the WPA identified through the Area Identification procedure as the proposed lease sale area. In addition to the no action alternative (i.e., canceling the proposed lease sale), other alternatives may be considered for the proposed WPA lease sale, such as deferring certain areas from the proposed lease sale area.

BOEM has prepared a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas Lease Sales 246 and 248, which are tentatively scheduled to be held in August 2015 and 2016, respectively, in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Western Planning Area (WPA) offshore the States of Texas and Louisiana. This Final Supplemental EIS updates the environmental and socioeconomic analyses for proposed WPA Lease Sales 246 and 248 evaluated in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2012-2017; Western Planning Area Lease Sales 229, 233, 238, 246, and 248; Central Planning Area Lease Sales 227, 231, 235, 241, and 247, Final Environmental Impact Statement (2012-2017 WPA/CPA Multisale EIS; OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2012-019); Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2013-2014; Western Planning Area Lease Sale 233; Central Planning Area Lease Sale 231, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (WPA 233/CPA 231 Supplemental EIS; OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2013-0118); and Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2014-2016; Western Planning Area Lease Sales 238, 246, and 248, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (WPA 238/246/248 Supplemental EIS; OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2014-009). The 2012-2017 WPA/CPA Multisale EIS was completed in July 2012. The WPA 233/CPA 231 Supplemental EIS was completed in April 2013. The WPA 238/246/248 Supplemental EIS was completed in March 2014.

On February 6, 2015, BOEM published in the Federal Register the Final Notice of Sale (FNOS) for CPA Sale 235 (80 FR 6758). The FNOS refers to documents entitled ``List of Blocks Available for Leasing'' and ``Unleased Split Blocks.'' The referenced list and map were included in the FNOS Package, and the FNOS Package was made available at the BOEM address and Web site set forth in the FNOS. The list and map identifies blocks to be offered in CPA Sale 235; however, due to a clerical error, one block, South Marsh Island Area, North Addition, Block Number 242, was inadvertently omitted from the list and map.