§ 285.112 Definitions. Terms used in this part have the meanings as defined in this section: P>*Affected State* means with respect to any activities proposed, conducted, or approved under this part, any coastal State— ( 1 ) That is, or is proposed to be, the site of gathering, transmitting, or distributing energy or is otherwise receiving, processing, refining, or transshipping products, or services derived from activities approved under this part;
( 2 ) That is used, or is scheduled to be used, as a support base for activities approved under this part; or
( 3 ) In which there is a reasonable probability of significant effect on land or water uses from activities approved under this part.
*Alternate Use* refers to the energy- or marine-related use of an existing OCS facility for activities not otherwise authorized by this title or other applicable law.
*Alternate Use RUE* means a right-of-use and easement issued for activities authorized under subpart J of this part or part 586.
*Archaeological resource* means any material remains of human life or activities that are at least 50 years of age and that are of archaeological interest (*i.e.,* which are capable of providing scientific or humanistic understanding of past human behavior, cultural adaptation, and related topics through the application of scientific or scholarly techniques, such as controlled observation, contextual measurement, controlled collection, analysis, interpretation, and explanation).
*BOEM* means the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management of the Department of the Interior.
*BSEE* means the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement of the Department of the Interior.
*Certified Verification Agent (CVA)* means an individual or organization, experienced in the design, fabrication, and installation of offshore marine facilities or structures, who will conduct specified third-party reviews, inspections, and verifications in accordance with this part.
*Commercial activities* means, under renewable energy leases and grants, all activities associated with the generation, storage, or transmission of electricity or other energy product from a renewable energy project on the OCS, and for which such electricity or other energy product is intended for distribution, sale, or other commercial use, except for electricity or other energy product distributed or sold pursuant to technology-testing activities on a limited lease. This term also includes activities associated with all stages of development, including initial site characterization and assessment, facility construction, and project decommissioning.
*Commercial lease* means a lease issued under 30 CFR part 585 that specifies the terms and conditions under which a person can conduct commercial activities.
*Commercial operations* means the generation of electricity or other energy product for commercial use, sale, transmission, or distribution from a commercial lease.
*Critical Safety Systems and Equipment* means safety systems and equipment designed to prevent or ameliorate fires, spillages, or other major accidents that could result in harm to health, safety, or the environment in the area of your facilities.
*Decommissioning* means removing BOEM and BSEE approved facilities and returning the site of the lease or grant to a condition that meets the requirements under subpart I of this part.
*Director* means the Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), of the U.S. Department of the Interior, or an official authorized to act on the Director's behalf.
*Fabrication* means the cutting, fitting, welding, or other assembly of project elements.
*Facility* means an installation that is permanently or temporarily attached to the seabed of the OCS. Facilities include any structures; devices; appurtenances; gathering, transmission, and distribution cables; pipelines; and permanently moored vessels. Any group of OCS installations interconnected with walkways, or any group of installations that includes a central or primary installation with one or more satellite or secondary installations, is a single facility. BOEM and BSEE may decide that the complexity of the installations justifies their classification as separate facilities.
*Grant* means a right-of-way, right-of-use and easement, or alternate use right-of-use and easement issued under the provisions of 30 CFR parts 585 or 586.
*Human environment* means the physical, social, and economic components, conditions, and factors that interactively determine the state, condition, and quality of living conditions, employment, and health of those affected, directly or indirectly, by activities occurring on the OCS.
*Lease* means an agreement authorizing the use of a designated portion of the OCS for activities allowed under this part or 30 CFR part 585. The term also means the area covered by that agreement, when the context requires.
*Lessee* means the holder of a lease, a BOEM-approved assignee, and, when describing the conduct required of parties engaged in activities on the lease, it also refers to the operator and all persons authorized by the holder of the lease or operator to conduct activities on the lease.
*Limited lease* means a lease issued under 30 CFR part 585 that specifies the terms and conditions under which a person may conduct activities on the OCS that support the production of energy, but do not result in the production of electricity or other energy product for sale, distribution, or other commercial use exceeding a limit specified in the lease.
*Natural resources* include, without limiting the generality thereof, renewable energy, oil, gas, and all other minerals (as defined in section 2(q) of the OCS Lands Act), and marine animal and marine plant life.
*Operator* means the individual, corporation, or association having control or management of activities on the lease or grant issued under 30 CFR parts 585 or 586. The operator may be a lessee, grant holder, or a contractor designated by the lessee or holder of a grant issued under 30 CFR parts 585 or 586.
*Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)* means all submerged lands lying seaward and outside of the area of lands beneath navigable waters, as defined in section 2 of the Submerged Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1301), whose subsoil and seabed appertain to the United States and are subject to its jurisdiction and control.
*Person* means, in addition to a natural person, an association (including partnerships and joint ventures); a Federal agency; a State; a political subdivision of a State; a Native American Tribal government; or a private, public, or municipal corporation.
*Project,* for the purposes of defining the source of revenues to be shared, means a lease ROW, RUE, or Alternate Use RUE on which the activities authorized under this part or 30 CFR parts 585 or 586 are conducted on the OCS. The term “project” may be used elsewhere in this rule to refer to these same authorized activities, the facilities used to conduct these activities, or to the geographic area of the project, *i.e.,* the project area.
*Project Design Envelope (PDE)* means a reasonable range of design parameters proposed in a lessee's plan for components of the project, such as type, dimensions, and number of wind turbine generators; foundation type; location of the export cable route; location of an onshore substation; location of the grid connection point; and construction methods and timing.
*Project easement* means an easement to which, upon approval of your Construction and Operations Plan (COP) or General Activities Plan (GAP), you are entitled as part of the lease for the purpose of installing, gathering, transmission, and distribution cables, pipelines, and appurtenances on the OCS as necessary for the full enjoyment of the lease.
*Renewable energy* means energy resources other than oil and gas and minerals as defined in 30 CFR part 580. Such resources include, but are not limited to, wind, solar, and ocean waves, tides, and current.
*Revenues* mean bonuses, rents, operating fees, and similar payments made in connection with a project or project area. It does not include administrative fees such as those assessed for cost recovery, civil penalties, and forfeiture of financial assurance.
*Right-of-use and easement (RUE) grant* means an easement issued by BOEM under 30 CFR parts 585 or 586 that authorizes use of a designated portion of the OCS to support activities on a lease or other use authorization for renewable energy activities. The term also means the area covered by the authorization.
*Right-of-way (ROW) grant* means an authorization issued by BOEM under 30 CFR part 585 to use a portion of the OCS for the construction and use of a cable or pipeline for the purpose of gathering, transmitting, distributing, or otherwise transporting electricity or other energy product generated or produced from renewable energy, but does not constitute a project easement under 30 CFR part 585. The term also means the area covered by the authorization.
*Secretary* means the Secretary of the Interior or an official authorized to act on the Secretary's behalf.
*Significant archaeological resource* means an archaeological resource that meets the criteria of significance for eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, as defined in 36 CFR 60.4, or its successor.
*Site assessment activities* means those initial activities conducted to assess an area on the OCS, such as resource assessment surveys (e.g., meteorological and oceanographic) or technology testing, involving the installation of bottom-founded facilities.
*We, us,* and *our* refer to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement of the Department of the Interior, or its possessive, depending on the context.
*You* and *your* means an applicant, lessee, the operator, or designated operator, ROW grant holder, RUE grant holder, or Alternate Use RUE grant holder under 30 CFR parts 585 or 586, or the designated agent of any of these, or the possessive of each, depending on the context. The terms *you* and *your* also include contractors and subcontractors of the entities specified in the preceding sentence.
[88 FR 6413, Jan. 31, 2023, as amended at 89 FR 42713, May 15, 2024]