Notice2022-09036
Call for Information and Nominations-Commercial Leasing for Wind Power Development on the Central Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 29, 2022
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentOcean Energy Management Bureau
Abstract
This call for information and nominations (Call or notice) invites public comment on and assesses interest in possible commercial wind energy leasing on the OCS offshore the U.S. central Atlantic coast. BOEM will consider information received in response to this Call to determine whether to schedule a competitive lease sale or to issue a noncompetitive lease for any portion of the area described in this Call (Call Area). Those interested in providing comments and information regarding site conditions, resources, and multiple uses in close proximity to or within the Call Areas should provide the information requested in section 7, "Requested Information from Interested or Affected Parties," under Supplementary Information. 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 the Supplementary Information heading of this Call. 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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 83 (Friday, April 29, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 83 (Friday, April 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25539-25545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09036]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM-2022-0023]
Call for Information and Nominations--Commercial Leasing for Wind
Power Development on the Central Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.
ACTION: Call for information and nominations; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This call for information and nominations (Call or notice)
invites public comment on and assesses interest in possible commercial
wind energy leasing on the OCS offshore the U.S. central Atlantic
coast. BOEM will consider information received in response to this Call
to determine whether to schedule a competitive lease sale or to issue a
noncompetitive lease for any portion of the area described in this Call
(Call Area). Those interested in providing comments and information
regarding site conditions, resources, and multiple uses in close
proximity to or within the Call Areas should provide the information
requested in section 7, ``Requested Information from Interested or
Affected Parties,'' under Supplementary Information. 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 the Supplementary Information heading
of this Call. 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.
DATES: Submit your interest in or comments on commercial leasing within
the Call Area no later than June 28, 2022. Late submissions may not be
considered.
ADDRESSES: Please submit nomination information for commercial leasing
as discussed in section 8 entitled ``Required Nomination Information''
via U.S. Postal Service, Fedex, UPS, or
[[Page 25540]]
another mail carrier to: Bridgette Duplantis, Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management, Office of Leasing and Plans, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard,
New Orleans, Louisiana 70123. In addition to a paper copy, include an
electronic copy on a digital data storage device. Do not submit
nominations via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. BOEM will list the
parties that submitted nominations and the aggregated locations of
nominated areas on the BOEM website after BOEM has completed its review
of the nominations.
Please submit all other comments and information by either of the
following two methods:
1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. In the
search box at the top of the web page, enter BOEM-2022-0023 and then
click ``search.'' Follow the instructions to submit public comments and
to view supporting and related materials.
2. U.S. Postal Service or other mail delivery service. Send your
comments and other information to the following address: Bridgette
Duplantis, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Leasing and
Plans, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123.
For information about submitting public comments, please see the
section 9 under Supplementary Information entitled ``Protection of
Privileged, Personal, or Confidential Information.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bridgette Duplantis, Project
Coordinator, Office of Leasing and Plans, Leasing and Financial
Responsibility Section, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans,
Louisiana 70123, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c785b5aea3a0a2b3b3a2e983b2b7aba6a9b3aeb487a5a8a2aae9a0a8b1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e2a0908b868587969687cca697928e838c968b91a2808d878fcc858d94">[email protected]</span></a>.
For information regarding qualification requirements to hold a
BOEM-issued lease, contact Gina Best, BOEM Office of Renewable Energy
Programs, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b8dfd1d6d996daddcbccf8dad7ddd596dfd7ce"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dfb8b6b1bef1bdbaacab9fbdb0bab2f1b8b0a9">[email protected]</span></a> or 703-787-1341.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Authority
This Call is published under subsection 8(p)(3) of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), 43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3), and its
implementing regulations at 30 CFR 585.210 and 585.211.
2. Purpose
An essential part of BOEM's renewable energy leasing process is
working closely with state and local governments, Tribes, industry and
ocean users to identify areas that may be suitable for potential
offshore wind development to power the nation. This Call for
Information and Nominations serves two important purposes. The first is
to collect information and feedback on site conditions, resources and
ocean uses within the identified area. The second is to help BOEM
determine competitive interest. BOEM has not yet determined which
areas, if any, within the Call Area may be offered for lease. Your
input is essential and will help BOEM determine areas that may be
suitable for offshore wind development. While this is not the only
opportunity to provide feedback, it is an important one. There will be
multiple opportunities to provide feedback throughout the renewable
energy process including if BOEM receives any proposed projects in the
future. An explanation of the Call Areas and their detailed
descriptions may be found below in Section 6. For more information
about BOEM's competitive and noncompetitive leasing process, please see
Section 4.
3. Background
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 amended OCSLA by adding subsection
8(p)(1)(C), which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to grant
leases, easements, and rights-of-way (ROWs) on the OCS for activities
that are not otherwise authorized by law and that produce or support
production, transportation, or transmission of energy from sources
other than oil or gas, including renewable energy sources. The
Secretary delegated this authority to the BOEM director. On April 29,
2009, the Department of the Interior published regulations entitled
``Renewable Energy and Alternate Uses of Existing Facilities on the
Outer Continental Shelf,'' which were subsequently re-codified at 30
CFR part 585 in October 2011 and which can be found at: <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-585">https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-585</a>.
In March 2021, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Secretary of
Commerce Gina Raimondo, and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm
jointly established the goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind
energy capacity by 2030. BOEM is committed to this ambitious goal by
responsibly fostering the growth of offshore wind energy capacity and
participating in collaborative, data-based planning to inform decisions
involving shared ocean resources and the many users that depend on
them.
BOEM appreciates the importance of coordinating its planning with
other OCS users, regulators, and relevant Federal agencies--including,
but not limited to, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National
Park Service, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Department of Defense (DOD).
BOEM also regularly coordinates with and requests input from the Mid-
Atlantic Committee on the Ocean and the Northeast Regional Ocean
Council, both of which include Federal and State agencies, federally
recognized Tribes, and fishery management councils. BOEM also uses
information contained in the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal \1\ in its
decision-making, among other sources of information, because the portal
includes maps of marine life, habitat areas, cultural resources,
transportation links, fishing areas, and other human uses that must be
considered when offshore energy or other infrastructure projects are
proposed.
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\1\ The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal (maintained by the Mid-
Atlantic Committee on the Ocean <a href="http://portal.midatlanticocean.org">http://portal.midatlanticocean.org</a>)draws upon data from the
<a href="http://MarineCadastre.gov">MarineCadastre.gov</a> national data portal, which was developed through
a partnership between NOAA and BOEM. <a href="http://MarineCadastre.gov">MarineCadastre.gov</a> is an
integrated marine information system that provides data, tools, and
technical support for ocean and Great Lakes planning, designed
specifically to support renewable energy siting on the OCS, but also
used for other ocean-related efforts and recognized by regional
ocean governance groups as the central place for authoritative
Federal ocean data, metadata, and map services.
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In 2020 and 2021, BOEM received letters from the Commonwealth of
Virginia and the State of Maryland, respectively, requesting the
formation of a regional renewable energy task force that could start
the process that may lead to a lease sale. In response, BOEM
established the Central Atlantic Intergovernmental Renewable Energy
Task Force to facilitate coordination among relevant Federal agencies
and affected State, local, and Tribal governments throughout the
leasing process. The first task force meeting was held virtually on
February 16, 2022. Materials from the task force meeting are available
on the BOEM website at: <a href="https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/central-atlantic-activities">https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/central-atlantic-activities</a>.
4. BOEM's Planning and Leasing Process
a. Determination of Competitive Interest
Subsection 8(p)(3) of OCSLA states that ``the Secretary shall issue
a lease, easement, or right-of-way . . . on a competitive basis unless
the Secretary determines after public notice of a proposed lease,
easement, or right-of-way that there is no competitive interest.''
Accordingly, BOEM must first determine whether there is competitive
[[Page 25541]]
interest in acquiring a lease to develop offshore wind energy within
the Call Area. At the conclusion of this Call's comment period, BOEM
will review the nominations received and determine if competitive
interest exists in any part of the Call Area.
For areas with two or more valid nominations, BOEM may consider
proceeding with competitive leasing as described in the section of this
Call entitled ``Competitive Leasing Process.'' For areas where BOEM
determines that there is only one interested entity, BOEM may consider
proceeding with noncompetitive leasing, as described in the section
entitled ``Noncompetitive Leasing Process.'' However, BOEM may also
determine there is competitive interest in an area with only a single
nomination based on input received in response to this notice, market
conditions, and the amount of area available for leasing.
If BOEM determines that competitive interest exists in areas BOEM
identifies as appropriate to lease, BOEM may hold one or more
competitive lease sales for those areas. If BOEM holds a lease sale,
all qualified bidders, including bidders that did not submit a
nomination in response to this Call, will be able to participate in the
lease sale.
BOEM reserves the rights to not offer for lease areas that are
nominated as a result of this Call and to modify nominated areas from
their proposed form before offering them for lease.
b. Competitive Leasing Process
BOEM will follow the steps required by 30 CFR 585.211 through
585.225 if it decides to proceed with the competitive leasing process
after analyzing the responses to this Call. Those steps are:
(1) Area Identification: Based on the information received in
response to this Call, BOEM will determine the level of commercial
interest and identify the areas that are appropriate to analyze for
potential leasing. Those areas will constitute wind energy areas (WEA)
and will be subject to environmental analysis in consultation with
appropriate Federal agencies, federally recognized Tribes, State and
local governments, and other interested parties.
(2) Proposed Sale Notice (PSN): If BOEM decides to proceed with a
competitive lease sale within the WEA after completion of its
environmental analysis and consultations, BOEM will publish a PSN in
the Federal Register with a comment period of 60 days. The PSN will
describe the areas BOEM intends to offer for leasing, the proposed
conditions of a lease sale, the proposed auction format of the lease
sale, and the lease instrument, including lease addenda. Additionally,
the PSN will describe the criteria and process for evaluating bids in
the lease sale.
(3) Final Sale Notice (FSN): After considering the comments on the
PSN, if BOEM decides to proceed with a competitive lease sale, it will
publish an FSN in the Federal Register at least 30 days before the date
of the lease sale.
(4) Bid Submission and Evaluation: Following publication of the FSN
in the Federal Register, BOEM will offer the lease areas through a
competitive sale process, using procedures specified in the FSN. BOEM
will review the sale, including bids and bid deposits, for technical
and legal adequacy. BOEM will ensure that bidders have complied with
all applicable regulations. BOEM reserves the right to reject any or
all bids and to withdraw an offer to lease an area, even after bids
have been submitted.
(5) Issuance of a Lease: Following identification of the winning
bidder on a lease area, BOEM will notify that bidder and provide the
lease documents for signature. BOEM requires a winning bidder to sign
and return the lease documents, pay the remainder of its bid, if
applicable, and file the required financial assurance within 10-
business days of receiving the lease documents. Upon receipt of the
required payments, financial assurance, and signed lease documents,
BOEM may execute a lease with the winning bidder.
c. Noncompetitive Leasing Process
BOEM's noncompetitive leasing process includes the following steps
under 30 CFR 585.231 and 585.232:
(1) Determination of No Competitive Interest: If, after evaluating
all relevant information, including responses to this Call, BOEM
determines there is no competitive interest in all or a portion of the
Call Area, it may proceed with the noncompetitive lease issuance
process. BOEM will determine if the sole respondent, who nominated a
particular area, intends to proceed with acquiring the lease; if so,
the respondent must submit the acquisition fee. After receiving the
acquisition fee, BOEM will publish a determination of no competitive
interest in the Federal Register.
(2) Review of Lease Request: BOEM will coordinate and consult, as
appropriate, with relevant Federal agencies, federally recognized
Tribes, affected State and local governments, and other affected or
interested parties in reviewing the noncompetitive leasing request and
in formulating lease terms, conditions, and stipulations. BOEM also
will complete the appropriate environmental analysis to inform its
decision-making.
(3) Lease Issuance: After completing its review of the lease
request and environmental analysis, BOEM may offer a noncompetitive
lease. Within 10-business days of receiving the lease, the respondent
must execute it and provide a $100,000 bond to guarantee compliance
with all terms and conditions of the lease. Within 45 days of receiving
the lease, the lessee must pay the first 12 months' rent.
5. Development of the Call Area
BOEM delineated the Call Area in consultation with several Federal
agencies and State and Tribal governments through the Central Atlantic
Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force. BOEM also held multiple
meetings to gather information from the maritime, fishing, and wind
energy industries and environmental organizations. The Call Area
identifies portions of the OCS for further analysis. That analysis
includes commercial nominations and public comments submitted in
response to this Call so that potential use conflicts can be analyzed
during the next step in the leasing process, designation of specific
wind energy areas (Area Identification). BOEM's analysis during Area
Identification will evaluate the appropriateness of the Call Area for
offshore wind energy development, balanced against potential ocean user
conflicts. BOEM will consider information from environmental reviews,
consultations, public comments, and continued coordination with the
Central Atlantic Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force.
Consequently, BOEM anticipates designating specific WEAs within the
Call Area and developing lease terms and conditions to mitigate any
possible adverse impacts from leasing, site assessment, construction,
and operational activities.
a. Coordination With DOD
The DOD conducts offshore testing, training, and operations within
portions of the Call Area. BOEM intends to refine the Call Area during
the Area Identification process based on DOD's assessment of
compatibility between commercial offshore wind energy development and
DOD activities. BOEM is working with DOD to update the Central
Atlantic's offshore wind energy compatibility assessment. That
assessment identifies wind energy exclusion areas and areas that may
require site-specific conditions and stipulations to ensure offshore
wind energy facilities are compatible with
[[Page 25542]]
DOD activities. These stipulations may include, among others: Hold and
save harmless agreements; mandatory coordination with DOD on specified
activities; restrictions on electromagnetic emissions; and evacuation
procedures from the lease area for safety reasons when notified by the
DOD. BOEM may remove from leasing consideration any OCS blocks
identified as incompatible with DOD's activities in the updated
assessment.
b. Coordination With USCG
BOEM is aware of potential conflicts with preliminary USCG shipping
fairways. BOEM is working closely with USCG to ensure the WEAs and
fairways are deconflicted during Area Identification.
c. Deep-Sea Coral and Hardbottom Habitats
BOEM is aware that deep-sea corals likely occur within the deeper
waters of the Call Area. BOEM has removed from the Call Area submarine
canyons where discreet, deep-sea corals have been identified. BOEM
recently funded a study that synthesized data and modeled deep-sea
coral and hardbottom habitats on the OCS offshore the U.S. southeast
Atlantic coast, including the deep-sea portions of the Call Area. BOEM
will consider this study during Area Identification.
6. Description of Call Area
The Call Area comprises six distinct areas located seaward of the
Submerged Lands Act boundary on the OCS offshore the U.S. central
Atlantic coast, bounded on the north by areas within the Salisbury
(NJ18-05) Official Protraction Diagram east of existing commercial
leasehold OCS-A 0482 and northeast of existing commercial leasehold
OCS-A 0490, bounded on the east by areas within Wilmington Canyon
(NJ18-06) and Currituck Sound (NJ18-11) Official Protraction Diagrams,
bounded on the south by areas northeast and southeast of existing
commercial leasehold OCS-A 0508 within the Currituck (NJ18-11) and
Manteo (NI18-02) Official Protraction Diagrams. The area for potential
wind energy leasing consists of approximately 3.9 million acres (figure
1).
[[Page 25543]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN29AP22.000
The Call Area is located offshore the Commonwealth of Virginia and
the States of Delaware, Maryland, and North Carolina and comprises
areas A-F in figure 1. These six areas include 496 whole OCS blocks and
298 partial blocks and comprise approximately 3,897,388 acres
(1,577,217 hectares). The list of blocks and sub-blocks included in the
Call Area, a map of the Call Area, and associated geographic
information files, which are located in Geographic Coordinate System
NAD 1983 Datum, are incorporated by reference into this Call and are
available at <a href="https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/central-atlantic-activities">https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/central-atlantic-activities</a>.
<bullet> Call Area A: The boundary of Call Area A begins
approximately 20 nautical miles (nmi) offshore of Delaware and Maryland
and extends eastward to the Sea Scallop Rotational Area and the
proposed USCG's Port Access Route Studies (PARS) fairways. The area at
its widest points is about 12 nmi from east to west and about 29 nmi
from north to south. Call Area A does not include the Del-Jersey
artificial reef and comprises approximately 235,222 acres (95,191
hectares).
<bullet> Call Area B: The boundary of Call Area B begins
approximately 21 nmi offshore of Maryland and Virginia and extends
eastward to the 60-meter bathymetric contour and the proposed PARS
fairways. The area at its widest points is about 14 nmi from east to
west and about 69 nmi from north to south. Call Area B comprises
approximately 652,218 acres (263,943 hectares).
<bullet> Call Area C: The boundary of Call Area C begins
approximately 35 nmi offshore of Virginia and extends
[[Page 25544]]
eastward to the 60-meter bathymetric contour. The area is about 21 nmi
from east to west and about 10 nmi from north to south. Call Area C
comprises approximately 183,907 acres (74,425 hectares).
<bullet> Call Area D: The boundary of Call Area D begins
approximately 24 nmi offshore of Virginia and North Carolina and
extends eastward to the 60-meter bathymetric contour. The area at its
widest points is about 28 nmi from east to west and about 40 nmi from
north to south. Call Area D comprises approximately 442,553 acres
(179,095 hectares).
<bullet> Call Area E: The boundary of Call Area E begins
approximately 56 nmi offshore of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia and
extends eastward to between the 2,500 and 2,600-meter bathymetric
contour. The area at its widest points is about 35 nmi from east to
west and about 84 nmi from north to south. Call Area E comprises is
approximately 1.6 million acres (655,590 hectares).
<bullet> Call Area F: The boundary of Call Area F begins
approximately 44 nmi offshore of Virginia and North Carolina and
extends eastward to between the 2,500 and 2,600-meter bathymetric
contour. The area at its widest points is about 20 nmi from east to
west and about 66 nmi from north to south. Call Area F comprises
approximately 763,491 acres (308,974 hectares).
7. Requested Information From Interested or Affected Parties
BOEM requests comments regarding the following features,
activities, mitigations, or concerns within or around the Call Area.
Commenters should be as specific and detailed as possible to help BOEM
understand and address the comments. Where applicable, this information
should be submitted as a spatial file compatible with ArcGIS 10.8.1 in
a geographic coordinate system (NAD 83) in addition to your hard copy
submittal.
a. Geological, geophysical, and biological bathymetric conditions
(including bottom and shallow hazards and whether seafloor is covered
with living organisms).
b. Known archaeological and cultural resource sites on the seabed.
c. Information regarding the identification of historic properties
or potential effects to historic properties from leasing, site
assessment activities (including the construction of meteorological
towers or the installation of meteorological buoys), or commercial wind
energy development in the Call Area. This includes potential offshore
archaeological sites or other historic properties within the areas
described in this notice and onshore historic properties that could
potentially be affected by renewable energy activities within the Call
Area. This information will inform BOEM's review of future undertakings
under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and
under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
d. Information about potentially conflicting uses of the Call Area,
including navigation (in particular, commercial shipping and
recreational vessel use), recreation, and fisheries (commercial and
recreational). Additional information regarding recreational and
commercial fisheries including, but not limited to, the use of the
areas, the types of fishing gear used, seasonal use, and
recommendations for reducing use conflicts.
e. Information relating to visual resources and aesthetics, the
potential impacts of wind turbines and associated infrastructure to
those resources, and potential strategies to help mitigate or minimize
any visual effects.
f. Information regarding the potential for interference with radar
systems covering the Call Area, including, but not limited to, the use
of coastal oceanographic radar observations for offshore search and
rescue operations and for environmental monitoring.
g. Information on the constraints and advantages of possible
electrical cable transmission routes, including onshore landing and
interconnection points for cables connecting offshore wind energy
facilities to the onshore electrical grid and future demand for
electricity in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region.
h. General interest by developers in constructing a backbone
transmission system that would transport electricity generated by wind
projects in the Call Area to the onshore grid, including a general
description of the transmission system's proposed path and potential
interconnection points.
i. Information regarding the size and number of WEAs, taking into
consideration the offshore wind energy goals of States bordering the
Call Area. BOEM is also seeking further information on what additional
factors should be considered in this process.
j. BOEM is aware that there may be technoeconomic feasibility
concerns with areas beyond 1,300 meters in water depth. However, BOEM
seeks feedback on the viability of constructing a wind energy facility
in these frontier areas including: consideration of available floating
technology; site characterization and assessment technologies,
equipment, and methodologies likely to be employed; transmission
distance; water depth; seafloor conditions; and operations and
maintenance feasibility and costs.
k. Habitats that may require special attention during siting and
construction.
l. Information regarding the identification of protected species,
federally designated (or proposed) critical habitat, essential fish
habitat, or areas that are environmentally sensitive or crucial to
marine productivity and are State or federally managed for their
conservation value.
m. Other relevant socioeconomic, cultural, biological, and
environmental data and information.
8. Required Nomination Information
If you wish to nominate one or more areas for a commercial wind
energy lease within the Call Area, you must provide the following
information for each nomination:
a. The BOEM protraction name, number, and the specific whole or
partial OCS blocks within the Call Area that you are interested in
leasing. Each area you identify should be sized appropriately to
accommodate the development of a reasonable wind energy facility. For
context, BOEM would consider the nomination of an area comprising
approximately 80,000 acres reasonable, as it would likely be able to
support an 800-megawatt wind energy facility (assuming a power density
of 0.01 megawatts per acre). Nominations that considerably exceed
approximately 80,000 acres, such as a nomination for all of the Call
Area, may be deemed unreasonable and not accepted by BOEM. This
information should be submitted as a spatial file compatible with
ArcGIS 10.8.1 in a geographic coordinate system (NAD 83) in addition to
your hard copy submittal. If your nomination includes one or more
partial blocks, please describe those partial blocks in terms of
sixteenths (i.e., sub-block) of an OCS block.
b. A description of your objectives and the facilities that you
would use to achieve those objectives.
c. A preliminary schedule of proposed activities, including those
leading to commercial operations.
d. Available and pertinent data and information concerning
renewable energy resources and environmental conditions in each area
that you wish to lease, including energy and resource data and
information used to evaluate the area. Where applicable, spatial
information should be submitted in a format compatible with ArcGIS
10.8.1 in a geographic coordinate system (NAD 83).
e. Documentation demonstrating that you are legally, technically,
and
[[Page 25545]]
financially qualified to hold a lease, as set forth in 30 CFR
585.106-.107. Qualification materials should be developed in accordance
with the guidelines available at <a href="https://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Qualification-Guidelines/">https://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Qualification-Guidelines/</a>. Treatment of confidential information is
addressed in Section 9, entitled ``Protection of Privileged, Personal,
or Confidential Information.'' For examples of documentation
appropriate for demonstrating your legal qualifications and related
guidance, contact Gina Best, BOEM Office of Renewable Energy Programs,
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8deae4e3eca3efe8fef9cdefe2e8e0a3eae2fb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5e3937303f703c3b2d2a1e3c313b3370393128">[email protected]</span></a> or 703-787-1341.
9. Protection of Privileged, Personal, or Confidential Information
a. Freedom of Information Act
BOEM will protect privileged or confidential information that you
submit when required by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Exemption 4 of FOIA applies to trade secrets and commercial or
financial information that is privileged or confidential. If you wish
to protect the confidentiality of such information, clearly label it
and request that BOEM treat it as confidential. BOEM will not disclose
such information if BOEM determines under 30 CFR 585.113(b) that it
qualifies for exemption from disclosure under FOIA. Please label
privileged or confidential information ``Contains Confidential
Information'' and consider submitting such information as a separate
attachment.
BOEM will not treat as confidential any aggregate summaries of such
information or comments not containing such privileged or confidential
information. Additionally, BOEM will not treat as confidential the
legal title of the nominating entity (for example, the name of your
company) or the list of whole or partial blocks that you are
nominating. Information that is not labeled as privileged or
confidential may be regarded by BOEM as suitable for public release.
b. Personally Identifiable Information
BOEM does not consider anonymous comments; please include your name
and address as part of your comment. You should be aware that your
entire comment, including your name, address, and any personally
identifiable information (PII) included in your comment, may be made
publicly available. All submissions from identified individuals,
businesses, and organizations will be available for public viewing on
<a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a>. For BOEM to withhold your PII from disclosure, you
must identify any information contained in your comments that, if
released, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of your
personal privacy. You must also briefly describe any possible harmful
consequences of the disclosure of information, such as embarrassment,
injury, or other harm. Under the law, BOEM is unable to guarantee that
all information in your request will be withheld.
c. Section 304 of the NHPA (54 U.S.C. 307103(a))
After consultation with the Secretary, BOEM is required to withhold
the location, character, or ownership of historic resources if it
determines that disclosure may, among other things, risk harm to the
historic resources or impede the use of a traditional religious site by
practitioners. Tribal entities should designate information that falls
under section 304 of NHPA as confidential.
10. BOEM's Environmental Review Process
Before deciding whether leases may be issued, BOEM will prepare an
environmental assessment (EA) under NEPA (including public comment
periods to determine the scope of the EA and to review and comment on
the draft EA). The EA will analyze anticipated impacts from leasing
within the WEAs resulting from this Call and from site characterization
and assessment activities expected to take place after leases are
issued. Site characterization activities include geophysical,
geotechnical, archaeological, and biological surveys; and site
assessment activities include installation and operation of
meteorological buoys. BOEM also will conduct appropriate consultations
with Federal agencies and Tribal, State, and local governments during
the EA. These consultations include, but are not limited to, those
required by the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Endangered Species Act,
section 106 of the NHPA, and Executive Order 13175,``Consultation and
Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments.''
Before BOEM allows a lessee to begin construction of a wind energy
project in the Call Area, BOEM will consider the potential
environmental effects of the construction and operation of any wind
energy facility under a separate, project-specific analysis under NEPA.
This analysis will include additional opportunities for public
involvement and likely will result in the publication of an
environmental impact statement.
Amanda Lefton,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2022-09036 Filed 4-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 29, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.