Department of the Interior November 23, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing the availability of the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (``Proposed Final Program'' or ``PFP''). This proposal is the last of three proposals for the 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program that will succeed the current, 2012-2017 Program. The PFP provides information and analyses to inform the Secretary of the Interior's (Secretary) decision on the size, timing, and location of leasing in the 2017-2022 Program. Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) specifies a multi-step process of consultation and analysis that must be completed before the Secretary may approve a new OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program, commonly known as the Five-Year Program. The required steps following this notice include a minimum 60-day period after the submission of the PFP to the President and Congress before the Secretary may approve the 2017-2022 Program. Concurrently with this notice, and pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BOEM is publishing a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the 2017-2022 Program.

The Departments of Agriculture, the Interior, and Commerce are jointly issuing final rules for procedures for expedited trial-type hearings and the consideration of alternative conditions and fishway prescriptions required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The hearings are conducted to expeditiously resolve disputed issues of material fact with respect to conditions or prescriptions developed for inclusion in a hydropower license issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under the Federal Power Act. The final rules make no changes to existing regulations that have been in place since the revised interim rules were published on March 31, 2015, and took effect on April 30, 2015. At the time of publication of the revised interim rules, the Departments also requested public comments on additional ways the rules could be improved. The Departments now respond to the public comments received on the revised interim rules by providing analysis and clarifications in the preamble. The Departments have determined that no revisions to existing regulations are warranted at this time.