5560 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 23 / Friday, February 3, 2012 / Notices 

characterize and map these 

communities. 

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 entity (for example, the 

name of your company), or (2) the list 

of whole or partial blocks that you are 

nominating. Finally, 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, 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. 

Dated: December 2, 2011. 

Tommy P. Beaudreau, 

Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2012–2497 Filed 2–2–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–VH–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

[Docket No. BOEM–2011–0088] 

Commercial Wind Lease Issuance and 

Site Assessment Activities on the 

Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) 

Offshore New Jersey, Delaware, 

Maryland, and Virginia 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM), Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of the Availability (NOA) 

of an Environmental Assessment (EA) 

and a Finding of No Significant Impact. 

SUMMARY: BOEM has prepared an EA 

considering the environmental impacts 

of issuing renewable energy leases and 

authorizing site characterization 

activities (geophysical, geotechnical, 

archaeological, and biological surveys 

needed to develop specific project 

proposals on those leases) in identified 

Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) on the OCS 

offshore New Jersey, Delaware, 

Maryland, and Virginia. This final EA 

also considers the reasonably 

foreseeable environmental impacts 

associated with the approval of site 

assessment activities (including the 

installation and operation of 

meteorological towers and buoys) on the 

leases that may be issued. 

As a result of its analysis in the final 

EA, BOEM issued a Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI). The FONSI 

concluded that the environmental 

impacts associated with the preferred 

alternative would not significantly 

impact the environment; therefore, the 

preparation of an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) is not required. 

The purpose of this notice is to inform 

the public of the availability of the EA 

and FONSI, which can be accessed 

online at: http://www.boem.gov/ 

Renewable-Energy-Program/Smart-fromthe-Start/Index.aspx. 

Authority: This NOA of an EA and FONSI 

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: 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. 

One of the focuses of the initiative is the 

identification and refinement of areas 

on the OCS that appear to be suitable for 

renewable energy development (WEAs), 

within which BOEM will focus its 

leasing efforts. In consultation with 

other Federal agencies and BOEM’s 

Intergovernmental Renewable Energy 

Task Forces, BOEM identified WEAs on 

the OCS offshore New Jersey, Delaware, 

Maryland, and Virginia. 

On February 9, 2011, BOEM 

identified these WEAs in a Notice of 

Intent (NOI) to prepare an EA for MidAtlantic WEAs (76 FR 7226). The NOI 

requested public input to identify the 

important environmental issues 

associated with leasing and site 

assessment within the identified WEAs, 

and alternatives to be considered in the 

EA. BOEM considered these public 

comments in drafting the alternatives 

and assessing the reasonably foreseeable 

environmental impacts associated with 

each alternative. Comments received in 

response to the NOI can be viewed at 

http://www.regulations.gov, by 

searching for Docket ID BOEM–2010– 

0077. 

On July 12, 2011, BOEM published in 

the Federal Register a NOA of a draft of 

the EA for Mid-Atlantic WEAs (76 FR 

40925). Public comments on the draft 

EA were considered in the preparation 

of this final EA and in determining 

whether the proposed activities would 

lead to significant environmental 

impacts. Comments received in 

response to the NOA can be viewed at 

http://www.regulations.gov, by 

searching for Docket ID BOEM–2011– 

0053. 

BOEM will use this EA to inform 

decisions to issue leases in the refined 

WEAs, and to subsequently approve site 

assessment plans (SAPs) on those 

leases. BOEM may issue one or more 

commercial wind energy leases in the 

WEAs. The competitive lease process is 

set forth at 30 CFR 585.210–585.225, 

and the noncompetitive process is set 

forth at 30 CFR 585.230–585.232 (as 

amended by a rulemaking effective as of 

June 15, 2011). 

A commercial lease, whether issued 

through a competitive or noncompetitive process, 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 

right to use the leased area to develop 

its plans, which BOEM must approve 

before the lessee may proceed to the 

next stage of the process. See 30 CFR 

585.600 and 585.601. In the event that 

a particular lease is issued, and the 

lessee subsequently submits a SAP, 

BOEM would then determine whether 

the EA adequately considers the 

environmental consequences of the 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 23 / Friday, February 3, 2012 / Notices 5561 

activities proposed in the lessee’s SAP. 

If BOEM determines that the analysis in 

the EA adequately considers these 

consequences, then no further analysis 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) would be required 

before BOEM could approve a SAP. If, 

on the other hand, BOEM determines 

that the analysis in this EA is 

inadequate for that purpose, BOEM 

would prepare additional NEPA 

analysis before it could approve the 

SAP. 

If a lessee is prepared to propose a 

wind energy generation facility on its 

lease, it would submit a construction 

and operations plan (COP). BOEM then 

would prepare a separate site- and 

project-specific NEPA analysis of the 

proposed project. This analysis would 

likely take the form of an EIS and would 

provide the public and Federal officials 

with comprehensive information 

regarding the reasonably foreseeable 

environmental impacts of the proposed 

project. In this NEPA analysis, BOEM 

would evaluate the potential 

environmental and socioeconomic 

consequences of the proposed project. 

This analysis would inform BOEM’s 

decision to approve, approve with 

modification, or disapprove a lessee’s 

COP pursuant to 30 CFR 585.628. This 

NEPA process also would provide 

additional opportunities for public 

involvement pursuant to NEPA and the 

White House Council on Environmental 

Quality’s regulations at 40 CFR Parts 

1500–1508. 

Dated: January 20, 2012. 

Walter D. Cruickshank, 

Deputy Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2012–2494 Filed 2–2–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–VH–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Safety and Environmental 

Enforcement 

[Docket ID No. BSEE–2011–0006; OMB 

Control Number 1014–NEW] 

Information Collection Activities: Oil, 

Gas, and Sulphur Operations in the 

Outer Continental Shelf, Subpart A, 

General; Submitted for Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

Review; Comment Request 

ACTION: 60-day Notice. 

SUMMARY: To comply with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), BSEE is inviting comments on a 

collection of information that we will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for review and approval. 

The information collection request (ICR) 

concerns a revision to the paperwork 

requirements in the regulations under 

‘‘Oil, Gas, and Sulphur Operations in 

the Outer Continental Shelf,’’ Subpart 

A, General. 

DATES: Submit comments by April 3, 

2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods listed 

below. 

• Electronically: go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. In the entry titled 

‘‘Enter Keyword or ID,’’ enter BSEE– 

2011–0006 then click search. Follow the 

instructions to submit public comments 

and view all related materials. We will 

post all comments. 

• Email: nicole.mason@bsee.gov. Mail 

or hand-carry comments to the 

Department of the Interior; Bureau of 

Safety and Environmental Enforcement; 

Regulations Development Branch; 

Attention: Nicole Mason; 381 Elden 

Street, MS–4024; Herndon, Virginia 

20170–4817. Please reference ICR 1014– 

NEW in your comment and include 

your name and return address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nicole Mason, Regulations Development 

Branch at (703) 787–1605 to request 

additional information about this ICR. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: 30 CFR part 250, Oil, Gas, and 

Sulphur Operations in the Outer 

Continental Shelf, Subpart A, General. 

Form(s): BSEE–0132, BSEE–0143, and 

BSEE–1832. 

OMB Control Number: 1014–NEW. 

Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf 

(OCS) Lands Act, as amended (43 U.S.C. 

1331 et seq. and 43 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), 

authorizes the Secretary of the Interior 

to prescribe rules and regulations 

necessary for the administration of the 

leasing provisions of the Act related to 

mineral resources on the OCS. Such 

rules and regulations will apply to all 

operations conducted under a lease, 

right-of-way, or a right-of-use and 

easement. Operations on the OCS must 

preserve, protect, and develop oil and 

natural gas resources in a manner that 

is consistent with the need to make such 

resources available to meet the Nation’s 

energy needs as rapidly as possible; to 

balance orderly energy resource 

development with protection of human, 

marine, and coastal environments; to 

ensure the public a fair and equitable 

return on the resources of the OCS; and 

to preserve and maintain free enterprise 

competition. Section 1332(6) states that 

‘‘operations in the [O]uter Continental 

Shelf should be conducted in a safe 

manner by well trained personnel using 

technology, precautions, and other 

techniques sufficient to prevent or 

minimize the likelihood of blowouts, 

loss of well control, fires, spillages, 

physical obstructions to other users of 

the waters or subsoil and seabed, or 

other occurrences which may cause 

damage to the environment or to 

property or endanger life or health.’’ 

The Independent Offices 

Appropriations Act (31 U.S.C. 9701), the 

Omnibus Appropriations Bill (Pub. L. 

104–133, 110 Stat. 1321, April 26, 

1996), and OMB Circular A–25, 

authorize Federal agencies to recover 

the full cost of services that confer 

special benefits. Under the Department 

of the Interior’s implementing policy, 

Bureau of Safety and Environmental 

Enforcement (BSEE) is required to 

charge fees for services that provide 

special benefits or privileges to an 

identifiable non-Federal recipient above 

and beyond those which accrue to the 

public at large. A request for approval 

required in Subpart A is subject to cost 

recovery, and BSEE regulations specify 

a service fee for this request. 

This ICR covers 30 CFR 250, Subpart 

A, General. This request also covers the 

related Notices to Lessees and Operators 

(NTLs) that BSEE issues to clarify and 

provide additional guidance on some 

aspects of our regulations. To 

accommodate the split of regulations 

from the Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, Regulation and 

Enforcement to BSEE, BSEE is 

requesting OMB approval of the already 

approved burden hours that were 

previously under 1010–0114 to reflect 

BSEE’s new 1014 numbering system. 

Frequency: On occasion; monthly, or 

varies by section. 

Description of Respondents: Potential 

respondents comprise Federal OCS 

lessees and/or operators. 

Estimated Reporting and 

Recordkeeping Hour Burden: We 

estimate that the reporting burden for 

this collection will be approximately 

50,859 hours. The following chart 

details the individual components and 

respective hour burden estimates of this 

ICR. In calculating the burdens, we 

assumed that respondents perform 

certain requirements in the normal 

course of their activities. We consider 

these to be usual and customary and 

took that into account in estimating the 

burden. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES