[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 246 (Friday, December 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75656-75658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30829]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM-2012-0079]
Research Lease for Renewable Energy on the Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS) Offshore Virginia, Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI)
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.
ACTION: Public Notice of an Unsolicited Request for an OCS Research
Lease; Request for Competitive Interest; and Request for Public
Comment.
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SUMMARY: The purpose of this public notice is to: (1) Describe the
proposal submitted to BOEM by the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department
of Mines Minerals and Energy (DMME) to acquire an OCS lease for wind
energy research activities; (2) solicit public input regarding the
proposal, its potential environmental consequences, and the use of the
area in which the proposed project would be located; and (3) solicit
indications of competitive interest for a research lease in the area
identified by DMME for activities that would support future, potential
commercial wind development.
On June 1, 2012, BOEM received an unsolicited request for a
research lease from DMME. The objective of DMME is to obtain a lease
under 30 CFR 585.238 for renewable energy research activities,
including the siting of two meteorological and ocean monitoring
platforms for pre-and post-construction collection of resource data,
including wind velocities, water levels, waves, and bird and bat
activities, to support the future production of renewable energy within
and around the Wind Energy Area (WEA) offshore Virginia, identified by
BOEM.
This RFCI is published pursuant to subsection 8(p)(3) of the OCS
Lands Act, as amended by section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
(EPAct) (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3)), and the implementing regulations at 30
CFR Part 585.
DATES: If you are a Federal agency or a state entity submitting an
indication of interest in acquiring a research lease for the area
proposed by DMME, your submission must be sent by mail, postmarked no
later than January 22, 2013 for your submission to be considered. If
you are providing comments or other submissions of information, you may
send them by mail, postmarked by this same date, or you may submit them
through the Federal Rulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov,
also by this same date.
[[Page 75657]]
Submission Procedures: Federal agencies and state entities wishing
to obtain a research lease for the area requested by DMME should submit
detailed and specific information as described in the section entitled
``Required Indication of Interest Information.'' If you are submitting
an indication of competitive interest for a research lease or comments,
please submit it by mail to the following address: Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, 381 Elden
Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia 20170. Submissions must be
postmarked by January 22, 2013 to be considered by BOEM for the
purposes of determining competitive interest. In addition to a paper
copy of your submission, include an electronic copy on a compact disc.
BOEM will list the parties that submit indications of competitive
interest on the BOEM Web site after the 30-day comment period has
closed.
If you wish to protect the confidentiality of your submissions or
comments, clearly mark the relevant sections and request that BOEM
treat them as confidential. Please label privileged or confidential
information ``Contains Confidential Information'' and consider
submitting such information as a separate attachment. Treatment of
confidential information is addressed in the section of this notice
entitled, ``Privileged or Confidential Information.'' BOEM will post
all comments on regulations.gov unless labeled as confidential.
Information that is not labeled as privileged or confidential will be
regarded by BOEM as suitable for public release.
If you are submitting comments and other information concerning the
proposed research lease area, you may use either of the following two
methods:
1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the
entry entitled ``Enter Keyword or ID,'' enter BOEM-2012-0079, and then
click ``search.'' Follow the instructions to submit public comments and
view supporting and related materials available for this notice.
2. Alternatively, comments may be submitted by mail to the
following address: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of
Renewable Energy Programs, 381 Elden Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia
20170.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Casey Reeves, Renewable Energy
Program Specialist, BOEM, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, 381
Elden Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia 20170; phone (703) 787-1320.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose of the RFCI
Responses to this public notice will allow BOEM to determine,
pursuant to 30 CFR 585.238, whether or not there is competitive
interest in acquiring an OCS research lease in the area requested by
DMME. At this time, BOEM is only soliciting indications of interest in
obtaining a research lease in the area described in this notice. If
BOEM receives no competing indications of interest for a research lease
in response to this notice, BOEM may decide to move forward with the
research leasing process using the non-competitive procedures described
in 30 CFR 585.238(d).
BOEM previously solicited nominations for commercial wind
development in the Virginia WEA through the publication of a notice, on
February 3, 2012, entitled, ``Commercial Leasing for Wind Power
Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Offshore Virginia--
Call for Information and Nominations'' (77 FR 5545). In that notice,
BOEM identified the area that DMME had proposed for potential research
activities, and BOEM requested the any entity submitting a nomination
for a potential commercial lease area that overlapped with DMME's
potential research lease area include in their nomination information
relating to potential interaction between the nominating entity's
proposed activities and DMME's proposed activities. Specifically, BOEM
asked whether the nominating entity would consider the proposed DMME
activities to be compatible with its commercial wind activities
proposed for the Virginia WEA. BOEM also stated that if the nominating
entity believed it would be necessary to exclude or restrict DMME's
proposed activities from occurring in the commercial lease area, then
the nominating entity should provide an explanation. No nominating
entities indicated that there would be potential incompatibilities with
the proposed DMME research activities. Therefore, BOEM determined that
it would be appropriate to move forward with DMME's research lease
application and publish this RFCI.
This notice also provides an opportunity for interested
stakeholders to comment on the proposed lease area and the proposed
DMME research project and any potential impacts that the project may
have. BOEM will consider comments submitted when deciding whether and
how to move forward with the research leasing process.
DMME's Proposed Research Activities
DMME's proposed research activities are described in their
unsolicited request for a research lease, which is available at the
following URL: http://www.boem.gov/uploadedFiles/BOEM/Renewable_Energy_Program/State_Activities/VA%20DMME%20Application%20for%20Sec238%20Research%20Lease1%202012-06-01.pdf.
Description of the Proposed Research Lease Area
The proposed research lease area consists of four OCS sub-blocks
(i.e., 1/16 of an OCS block). The table below describes the OCS lease
sub-blocks included within the area of interest.
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Protraction name Protraction No. Block No. Sub block
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Currituck Sound........................................ NJ18-11 6014 B,C
Currituck Sound........................................ NJ18-11 6164 N,O
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Map of the Area
A map of the area proposed by DMME and the area included in this
RFCI can be found at the following URL: http://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/State-Activities/Virginia.aspx.
A large scale map of the RFCI area showing boundaries of the area
with the 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. Phone:
(703) 787-1320, Fax: (703) 787-1708.
Required Indication of Interest Information
If you are a Federal agency or a state entity and you intend to
submit an indication of competitive interest for a research lease for
the area identified in this notice you must provide the following:
[[Page 75658]]
(1) A statement that you wish to acquire a research lease for the
proposed lease area (i.e., the entire area as described above). BOEM
will not consider indications of interest if they cover less than the
entire proposed research lease area. Any interest in an area located
outside of the proposed research lease area should be submitted
separately pursuant to 30 CFR 585.238;
(2) A general description of your objectives and the facilities
that you would use to achieve those objectives;
(3) A general schedule of proposed activities;
(4) Available and pertinent data and information concerning
renewable energy resources and environmental conditions in the area
that you wish to lease, including energy and resource data and
information used to evaluate the area of interest. Where applicable,
spatial information should be submitted in a format compatible with
ArcGIS 9.3 in a geographic coordinate system (NAD 83);
(5) Documentation demonstrating that you are legally qualified to
hold a research lease as set forth in 30 CFR 585.106 and 107. Examples
of the documentation appropriate for demonstrating your legal
qualifications and related guidance can be found in Chapter 2 and
Appendix B of the Guidelines for the Minerals Management Service
Renewable Energy Framework available at: http://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/Regulatory-Information/Index.aspx. Legal qualification
documents will be placed in an official file that may be made available
for public review. If you wish that any part of your legal
qualification documentation be kept confidential, clearly identify what
should be kept confidential, and submit it under separate cover (see
``Protection of Privileged or Confidential Information Section,''
below); and
(6) Documentation demonstrating that you are technically and
financially capable of constructing, operating, maintaining and
decommissioning the facilities described in your submission. Guidance
regarding the required documentation to demonstrate your technical and
financial qualifications can be found at: http://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/Regulatory-Information/Index.aspx.
It is critical that you provide a complete submission of
competitive interest including the items identified in (1) through (6)
so that BOEM may consider your submission in a timely manner. If BOEM
reviews your submission and determines that it is incomplete, BOEM will
inform you of this determination in writing and describe the
information that BOEM wishes you to provide in order for BOEM to deem
your submission complete. You will be given 15 business days from the
date of the letter to provide the information that BOEM found to be
missing from your original submission. If you do not meet this
deadline, or if BOEM determines your second submission is also
insufficient, BOEM may deem your submission invalid. In such a case,
BOEM would not consider your submission.
Environmental Review Process
On February 3, 2012, BOEM published an environmental assessment
(EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the issuance of
commercial and research leases and approval of a reasonably foreseeable
range of data collection devices in the WEAs offshore New Jersey,
Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. The EA and FONSI can be found at:
http://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/Smart-from-the-Start/Index.aspx. If BOEM issues a research lease to DMME, BOEM would
determine whether the EA adequately considers the environmental
consequences of the activities proposed in DMME's submitted plan, which
would include the results of the necessary site characterization
surveys. If the analysis in the EA adequately considers these
consequences, then no further National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
analysis would be required before the plan could be approved. If, on
the other hand, BOEM determines that the analysis in the EA is
inadequate for that purpose, BOEM would prepare an additional NEPA
analysis before approving the plan.
Protection of Privileged or Confidential Information
Freedom of Information Act
BOEM will protect privileged or confidential information that you
submit as required by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Exemption
4 of FOIA applies to trade secrets and commercial or financial
information that you submit that is privileged or confidential. If you
wish to protect the confidentiality of such information, clearly mark
it and request that BOEM treat it as confidential. BOEM will not
disclose such information, subject to the requirements of FOIA. Please
label privileged or confidential information, ``Contains Confidential
Information,'' and consider submitting such information as a separate
attachment.
However, BOEM will not treat as confidential any aggregate
summaries of such information or comments not containing such
information. Additionally, BOEM will not treat as confidential: (1) The
legal title of the nominating Federal or state agency; or (2) the
geographic location of facilities and the types of those facilities.
Information that is not labeled as privileged or confidential will be
regarded by BOEM as suitable for public release.
Section 304 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470w-
3(a))
BOEM is required, after consultation with the Secretary of the
Interior, to withhold the location, character, or ownership of historic
resources, if it determines that disclosure may, among other things,
cause a significant invasion of privacy, risk harm to the historic
resources or impede the use of a traditional religious site by
practitioners. Tribal entities and other interested parties should
designate information that they wish to be held as ``confidential.''
Dated: December 18, 2012.
Tommy P. Beaudreau,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2012-30829 Filed 12-20-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P