[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 24 (Monday, February 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5830-5832]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2649]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM-2011-0116]
Commercial Wind Leasing and Site Assessment Activities on the
Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Massachusetts
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment.
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SUMMARY: This Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment
(Notice) is being published as an initial step for the purpose of
involving Federal agencies, states, tribes, local governments, offshore
wind energy developers, and the public in the Department of the
Interior's (DOI) ``Smart from the Start'' wind energy initiative
offshore Massachusetts. The purpose of the ``Smart from the Start''
wind energy initiative is to identify areas that may be most suitable
for wind energy leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), and to
obtain public and expert input that will inform the Department's
decision-making with regard to issuing leases and approving site
assessment activities in these areas, in accordance with applicable DOI
regulations and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations
implementing the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
On November 23, 2010, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
announced the ``Smart from the Start'' renewable energy initiative to
accelerate the responsible development of renewable energy resources on
the Atlantic OCS. The initiative focuses on the identification and
refinement of areas on the OCS that are most suitable for renewable
energy development, known as Wind Energy Areas (WEAs), and utilizes
coordinated environmental studies, large-scale planning processes, and
expedited review procedures within these areas to achieve an efficient
and responsible renewable energy leasing process.
In consultation with other Federal agencies and the Massachusetts
Renewable Energy Task Force, BOEM has identified an area for
consideration for potential future wind energy leasing offshore
Massachusetts (Call Area). This Call Area is identified in the document
entitled Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer Continental
Shelf Offshore Massachusetts-Call for Information and Nominations
(Call), which is being published concurrently with this Notice. This is
the first public step in the potential leasing process which requires
several more opportunities for public involvement before leasing can
occur, including a proposed sale notice. A commercial lease gives the
lessee the exclusive right to subsequently seek BOEM approval for the
development of the leasehold. The lease does not grant the lessee the
right to construct any facilities; rather, the lease grants the lessee
the right to use the leased area to develop its plans, which BOEM must
approve before the lessee can move on to the next stage of the process.
See 30 CFR 585.600 and 585.601.
More information on the renewable energy task forces and the
``Smart from the Start'' initiative can be found at: http:boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/Smart-from-the-Start/Index.aspx and at: http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Launches-Smart-from-the-Start
Initiative-to-Speed-Offshore-Wind-Energy-Development-off-the-Atlantic-
Coast.cfim.
BOEM intends to prepare an environmental assessment (EA), which is
the subject of this Notice, that will consider the environmental
consequences associated with issuing commercial wind leases and
approving site assessment activities on those leases (within all or
some of this Call Area). If a lessee proposes development activity, the
specific proposal will be given full environmental review at that time.
BOEM is seeking public input regarding the identification of the
alternatives to be considered in the EA, as well as the environmental
and/or socioeconomic issues to be analyzed.
Furthermore, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
(16 U.S.C. 470f), and it's implementing regulations (36 CFR 800),
require Federal agencies to consider the effects of their actions on
historic properties. Therefore, BOEM will conduct Section 106 review
for the issuance of leases and approval of site assessment activities
within some or all of the Call Area, in coordination with its
environmental review. As part of this Section 106 review, BOEM will
initiate consultation with state historic preservation officers, tribal
officials, and others. BOEM is now reaching out to the general public
for comments regarding the identification of historic properties or
potential effects to historic properties from leasing and site
assessment activities in the Call Area. Submitted information will
allow BOEM to consider the views of the public and document historic
preservation concerns early in the Section 106 process.
Authority: This Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental
assessment is published pursuant to 43 CFR 46.305.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Morin, BOEM Office of
Renewable Energy Programs, 381 Elden Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia
20170-4817, (703) 787-1340 or michelle.morin@BOEM.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. The OCS Wind Energy Leasing and Development Process
There are three key phases in the wind energy leasing and
development process on the OCS: (1) Lease issuance; (2) approval of a
site assessment plan (SAP); and (3) approval of a construction and
operation plan (COP). The first phase, issuance of a commercial
renewable energy lease, gives the lessee an exclusive right to apply
for approval of subsequent plans, the approval of which is necessary
for a lessee to advance to the next stage of the renewable energy
development process. We are at the beginning of this phase offshore
Massachusetts. The second phase is the applicant's submission and
BOEM's subsequent review and approval of a SAP. Approval of a SAP
allows the lessee to construct
[[Page 5831]]
and install equipment on the leasehold, such as a meteorological tower
and/or buoys, to perform site assessment functions. See 30 CFR 585.600-
585.601; 585.605-585.618. Although BOEM does not authorize site
characterization activities (i.e., geological and geophysical surveys
and core samples), a lessee must submit the results of such surveys
with the supporting data in its SAP. See 30 CFR 585.610. The submission
of a SAP is separate from the submission of a COP. After the lessee has
collected the further site characterization and assessment data
necessary for a COP, the lessee may submit its COP, the approval of
which could authorize the actual construction and operation of a
renewable energy facility on the lease. See 30 CFR 585.620-585.629.
2. Proposed Action and Scope of Analysis
The proposed action that will be the subject of the EA is the
issuance of renewable energy leases within all or some of the Call Area
described in this Notice, and the approval of site assessment
activities on those leases (i.e., Phases l and 2 of the wind energy
leasing and development process). BOEM will also consider in the EA the
environmental impacts associated with the site characterization
activities that it anticipates lessees might eventually undertake to
fulfill the SAP and COP information requirements at 30 CFR 585.610 and
585.626, respectively.
Additional analysis under NEPA will be required before any future
decision is made regarding the approval of the construction or
operation of any wind energy facility on leases that may be issued
within all or some of this Call Area. If and when a lessee is ready to
begin this third phase of renewable energy development, it will submit
a COP. BOEM is not currently considering any such COP, nor has any COP
been submitted for this Call Area. If, in the future, a COP is
submitted for a particular project on a lease, a separate site- and
project-specific NEPA analysis would be prepared. This specific NEPA
analysis would likely take the form of an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) and would provide additional opportunities for public
involvement pursuant to NEPA and the CEQ regulations at 40 CFR Parts
1500-1508. Such an EIS process would provide the public and Federal
officials with comprehensive site- and project-specific information,
and the EIS would consider the reasonably foreseeable environmental
impacts of the specific project the lessee is proposing. These
potential impacts will be taken into account when deciding whether to
approve, approve with modification, or deny the COP pursuant to 30 CFR
585.628.
Based on the information submitted in response to this Notice and
the Call, BOEM would identify the areas within the Call Area in which
interest exists, and which will be subject to environmental analysis in
consultation with appropriate Federal agencies, states, local
governments, tribes and other interested parties. The areas identified
will constitute WEA(s) under the ``Smart from the Start'' initiative,
and will be the area(s) analyzed in the EA.
The EA will consider the environmental consequences associated with
reasonably foreseeable leasing scenarios (not development itself),
reasonably foreseeable site characterization scenarios within these
lease areas (including geophysical, geotechnical, archaeological, and
biological surveys), and reasonably foreseeable site assessment
scenarios (including the installation and operation of meteorological
towers and buoys) on the leases that may be issued within all or some
of the Call Area. At a minimum, two alternatives will be considered: no
action (i.e., no issuance of leases or approval of site assessment
activities); and the issuance of leases and approval of site assessment
activities within the identified portion(s) of the Call Area. BOEM is
therefore soliciting input on these and/or other alternatives, and on
the environmental and socioeconomic issues to be considered in the EA
related to the potential environmental effects of the activities listed
above.
Federal, state, and local government agencies, tribal governments,
and other interested parties may assist BOEM in determining the issues,
and any additional alternatives, to be analyzed in the EA. Input is
also requested on measures (e.g., limitations on activities based on
technology, distance from shore, or timing) that could mitigate impacts
to environmental resources and socioeconomic conditions that could
result from leasing, site characterization, and site assessment
activities taking place in the Call Area or from support activities
taking place outside the Call Area itself. Consultation with other
Federal agencies, tribal governments, and affected states will be
carried out during the EA process and will be completed before a final
decision is made on whether any particular lease will be issued or site
assessment activities on those leases approved.
If BOEM determines during the EA process that issuing leases and
conducting site characterization and assessment activities within the
Call Area would result in significant environmental impacts, BOEM will
publish a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the issuance of
renewable energy leases and approval of site assessment activities
within all or some of this Call Area. If BOEM determines during the EA
process that issuing leases and conducting site characterization and
assessment activities within the Call Area would not result in
significant environmental impacts, BOEM will issue a Finding of No
Significant Impact (FONSI). After either a FONSI is issued or the EIS
process is completed, BOEM may issue one or more renewable energy
leases within all or some of this Call Area. In the event that a
particular lease is issued, and the lessee submits a SAP, BOEM will
determine whether the EA adequately considers the environmental impacts
of the activities proposed in the lessee's SAP. If the analysis in the
EA adequately addresses these impacts, then no further NEPA analysis
would be required before the SAP is approved. If the EA analysis is
inadequate, additional NEPA analysis would be conducted before the SAP
could be approved.
3. Information That Will Be Incorporated Into the EA
On November 6, 2007, BOEM published a Notice of Availability (NOA)
in the Federal Register (72 FR 62,672) of the Programmatic EIS for
Alternative Energy Development and Production and Alternate Use of
Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf, Final EIS (OCS Report MMS
2007-046) (Programmatic EIS). On June 26, 2009, BOEM published a NOA in
the Federal Register (74 FR 30,616) of the EA for Issuance of Leases
for Wind Resource Data Collection on the Outer Continental Shelf
Offshore Delaware and New Jersey (OCS EIS/EA MMS 2009-025) (Interim
Policy EA), which addressed activities similar to those to be addressed
in the EA for which this Notice is being published.
BOEM will incorporate the environmental and socioeconomic analyses
of site characterization and assessment activities from the
Programmatic EIS, Interim Policy EA, and other public information to
help inform its analysis in the EA. The EA will be developed using the
principles of coastal and marine spatial planning, such as
comprehensive interagency coordination, to identify information
necessary for future decision making regarding wind energy development.
[[Page 5832]]
4. Description of the Call Area
A detailed description of the Call Area can be found in the Call
that is being published concurrently with this Notice.
Map of the Call Area
A map of the Call Area can be found at the following URL: http://boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/State-Activities/Massachusetts.aspx
A large-scale map of the Call Area showing its boundaries and with
numbered blocks is available from BOEM at the following address: Bureau
of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, 381
Elden Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817, Phone: (703) 787-
1320.
5. Cooperating Agencies
BOEM invites Federal, state, and local government agencies, as well
as tribal governments, to consider becoming cooperating agencies in the
preparation of this EA. CEQ regulations implementing the procedural
provisions of NEPA define cooperating agencies as those with
``jurisdiction by law or special expertise'' (40 CFR 1508.5). Potential
cooperating agencies should consider their authority and capacity to
assume the responsibilities of a cooperating agency and remember that
an agency's role in the environmental analysis neither enlarges nor
diminishes the final decision-making authority of any other agency
involved in the NEPA process.
Upon request, BOEM will provide potential cooperating agencies with
a draft Memorandum of Agreement that includes a schedule with critical
action dates and milestones, mutual responsibilities, designated points
of contact, and expectations for handling predecisional information.
Agencies should also consider the ''Factors for Determining Cooperating
Agency Status'' in Attachment 1 to CEQ's January 30, 2002, Memorandum
for the Heads of Federal Agencies: Cooperating Agencies in Implementing
the Procedural Requirements of the NEPA. A copy of this document is
available at: http://ceg.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/cooperating/cooperatingagenciesmemorandum.html and at: http://ceg.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/cooperating/cooperatingagencymemofactors.html.
BOEM, as the lead agency, will not provide financial assistance to
cooperating agencies. Even if an organization is not a cooperating
agency, opportunities will exist to provide information and comments to
BOEM during the normal public input phases of the NEPA/EA process.
6. Comments
Federal, state, local government agencies, tribal governments, and
other interested parties are requested to send their written comments
regarding environmental issues and the identification of reasonable
alternatives related to the proposed action described in this Notice in
one of the following ways:
1. Electronically: http://www.regulations.gov. In the entry titled
``Enter Keyword or ID,'' enter BOEM-2011-0116, then click ``search.''
Follow the instructions to submit public comments and view supporting
and related materials available for this document.
2. In written form, delivered by hand or by mail, enclosed in an
envelope labeled ``Comments on Massachusetts EA'' to Program Manager,
Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,
381 Elden Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817. Comments
should be submitted no later than March 22, 2012.
Dated: February 1, 2012.
Tommy P. Beaudreau,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2012-2649 Filed 2-3-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-VH-P