Coastal Management Office

401 E. State Street, 7^th^ Floor

P.O. Box 418

Trenton, New Jersey 08625

609-633-2201

Fax: 609-292-4608

September 8, 2008

Ms. Amy White

Regulations and Standards Branch

Minerals Management Service

Department of the Interior

381 Elden Street, MS---4024

Herndon, VA 20170-4817

> RE: Alternative Energy and Alternate Uses of Existing Facilities on
> the Outer Continental Shelf, 1010-AD30

Dear Ms. White:

I am submitting the following comments on the proposed rule for
alternative energy and alternate uses of existing facilities on the
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) that were published in the Federal
Register on July 9, 2008. New Jersey is committed to encouraging the
development of renewable energy facilities. New Jersey's draft Energy
Master Plan calls for 1000 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2020. Toward
that end, in October 2007, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
issued a solicitation for grant applications to install a maximum
aggregate capacity of 350 MW in offshore renewable electricity
generating technology, offering a maximum grant award of \$19 million.
The Board of Public Utilities is now evaluating five proposals, with the
intent of selecting a proposal this fall. New Jersey supports the
creation of a program to provide for alternative energy uses on the OCS,
provided that the program is protective of marine resources and other
marine uses. With the revisions described below, the proposed
regulations can offer such a program. I am providing the following
comments on the proposed rule to ensure that the program is fully
protective of the environment.

**Coastal Zone Management Act Compliance**

A clearer link between the leasing process outlined in the proposed
regulations and the language of the federal consistency regulations is
needed. For example, § 930.71 of the Coastal Zone Management Act states
that the term 'federal license or permit activity described in detail'
means any activity requiring a federal license or permit, as defined in
§ 930.51, which the Secretary of the Interior determines must be
described in detail within an OCS plan. It remains unclear how these
terms relate to the terms used in the proposed regulations for the
alternative energy leasing program.

**Revenue Sharing**

The rule is difficult to understand with respect to revenue sharing. For
example, the definition of "project area" refers to the area that the
Federal government determines to be a source of the generation of income
subject to revenue payments. It is unclear how this is different from a
leased area, making it difficult to understand how revenue sharing will
be calculated in specific cases. The rule should be clarified prior to
adoption.

Minerals Management Service (MMS) asked for comments on designating
special project areas to alter compensation to eligible states in
certain circumstances, such as where the vast majority of project
activities are concentrated nearer one state than another. It is
suggested that, prior to adopting the rule, MMS establish a forum in
which affected states can participate in determining revenue sharing in
such circumstances, so that any revenue sharing process for special
project areas can be clearly defined in the rule. In addition, the rule
should be revised to include any state in which a cable or other
infrastructure from the alternative energy facility is landed as an
eligible state for purposes of revenue sharing.

**Plans and Information Requirements**

The sections on both Site Assessment Plans (SAP) and Construction and
Operations Plans (COP) indicate that the SAP or COP respectively must
make certain demonstrations, including not causing undue harm or damage
to natural resources, life, property or the marine, coastal, or human
environment. §285.606, 285.621. However, the sections addressing the
contents of the SAP or COP (§285.610, 285.626) do not clarify how this
will be accomplished. These sections should require an analysis of
compliance with these requirements. They should also require the
incorporation of the descriptive information into that analysis along
with an assessment of the impacts and demonstration of compliance.
Moreover, it is not clear that these are the standards by which the MMS
is guided in its decision making. §285.612, 285.628.

The COP should contain detailed information about a proposed alternative
energy facility for analysis of impacts. The proposed rules seem to
defer all details to the Facility Design Report, which the states will
not be able to review under the federal consistency provisions of the
Coastal Zone Management Act. For example, a proposed wind facility
should include in the COP specifics such as size of turbines, size and
type of pilings and anchoring system, scour protection, any proposed
closure of lease areas, and cable location, burial depth and
installation method.

*Baseline Environmental Surveys*

The location, migration, essential habitat and behavioral responses are
almost entirely unknown for many important species utilizing the ocean.
Therefore, we strongly agree with the need for baseline studies as part
of any OCS lease (e.g., §285.610) and note that multi-year data would be
best to capture natural variability from year to year. These data may be
gathered in various ways, including physical counts by boat and
airplane, remote sensing by radar and sonar, and historic record review.
Data collection should be designed to answer fundamental questions
regarding which species use what areas and to what degree, and collected
data should be made available to inform risk assessment and impact
analyses including cumulative impact analyses. Professionals in the
respective fields should design the data collection process using
standardized methods. This effort should determine areas most
appropriate to site offshore alternate energy development, while helping
to define site-specific compliance requirements.

In addition, given the lack of information on bird distribution and use
of offshore habitats and the potential impacts of alternative energy
development on avian resources, site-specific baseline surveys are an
essential requirement of the leasing process. It is recommended that
standardized avian monitoring, mitigation, and restoration guidelines be
incorporated into the regulations for commercial offshore wind energy
development projects on the OCS.

MMS should support the effort to improve our knowledge of regional
marine bird distribution by requiring standardized avian monitoring,
compiling existing distribution information, and supporting and
collaborating with ongoing research projects. MMS should include in
their regulations the requirement for standardized avian monitoring
activities for all commercial projects that could potentially impact
avian resources. At a minimum, guidelines should specify during each
project phase the required monitoring, mitigation and restoration
methods and reporting provisions. These guidelines should be developed
through consultation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and other
state, federal, academic, and industry experts in the field. They should
represent the best available techniques, with the understanding that
methods would be adaptive as the science of offshore monitoring,
mitigation and restoration grows.

Standardized monitoring, mitigation, and restoration guidelines should
also be developed for marine mammals and sea turtles for each type of
alternative energy.

*Cumulative and Secondary Impacts*

Because of the scale of alternative energy facilities needed to produce
viable individual commercial projects, and the need for a large
development effort to achieve the benefits associated with alternative
energy on the OCS, cumulative and secondary impacts may result from this
development. Although one location and/or technology may have little
impact on overall resources and uses of the OCS, multiple locations
could have a larger impact than the sum of the individual projects. An
analysis of cumulative and secondary impacts of alternative energy and
alternate uses of the OCS must be included in the lease sale process,
SAP and COP and taken into consideration in the MMS approval process.

**Facility Design, Fabrication, and Installation**

With regard to the incorporation of national design standards into the
regulations, perhaps regional standards are more appropriate, given the
difference in regional conditions and extreme weather events. For
example, with regard to cables, sediment types vary such that national
standards may not be appropriate. However, in regions where sediments
are such that burial can be accomplished, burial should be required and
cables should be routed around pockets of areas where burial is not
feasible.

**Decommissioning**

The standards for decommissioning of facilities on the OCS should be
revised to incorporate a presumption that all facilities, cables, and
obstructions will be removed. There are no standards for MMS to consider
in determining whether facilities may remain in place, only a list of
items to be considered in making the determination. §285.900. New
Jersey's experience with submarine cables in particular is that they
pose a long term obstruction for much of the fishing gear used on the
OCS, particularly clam dredges and that cables, even if buried when
installed, are subject to exposure over time due to weather conditions
and sediment movement. Furthermore, the limited removal impacts due to
short term disturbance should not be sufficient cause to leave
facilities in place.

**Rights-of-Use and Easement for Energy and Marine-Related Activities
That Use Existing Facilities on the OCS**

Section 285.1006 addresses the issuance of Alternate Use rights-of-use
and easements. The section should be revised to include among the
considerations for approval, the benefits of restoring the lease area to
uses, such as fishing, that pre-dated construction of the OCS facility
that is under consideration for reuse.

Thank you for considering these comments in finalizing the Offshore
Alternative Energy/Alternative Use Programs. We look forward to working
with you as the program advances.

Sincerely,

Ruth Ehinger

NJ Coastal Program Manager