5830 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 24 / Monday, February 6, 2012 / Notices 

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. 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: February 1, 2012. 

Tommy P. Beaudreau, 

Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2012–2645 Filed 2–3–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–VH–P 

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. 

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-EnergyProgram/Smart-from-the-Start/ 

Index.aspx and at: http://www.doi.gov/ 

news/pressreleases/Salazar-LaunchesSmart-from-the-Start Initiative-toSpeed-Offshore-Wind-EnergyDevelopment-off-the-AtlanticCoast.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 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 24 / Monday, February 6, 2012 / Notices 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. 

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5832 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 24 / Monday, February 6, 2012 / Notices 

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/StateActivities/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 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLWO350000.L14300000.FR0000.24–1A] 

Conveyance of Federally-Owned 

Mineral Interests; Renewal of OMB 

Control Number 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is 

announcing its intention to request 

approval to continue the collection of 

information from owners of surface 

estates who apply for underlying 

Federally-owned mineral interests. The 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) previously approved this 

information collection activity, and 

assigned it control number 1004–0153. 

DATES: Submit comments on the 

proposed information collection by 

April 6, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted by mail, fax, or electronic 

mail. 

Mail: U.S. Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C 

Street NW., Room 2134LM, Attention: 

Jean Sonneman, Washington, DC 20240. 

Fax: to Jean Sonneman at (202) 245– 

0050. 

Electronic mail: 

Jean_Sonneman@blm.gov. 

Please indicate ‘‘Attn: 1004–0153’’ 

regardless of the form of your 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

receive a copy of the information 

collection request, contact Marilyn A. 

Roth, at (202) 912–7345. Persons who 

use a telecommunication device for the 

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1 

(800) 877–8339, to leave a message for 

Ms. Roth. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB 

regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which 

implement provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3521, 

require that interested members of the 

public and affected agencies be given an 

opportunity to comment on information 

collection and recordkeeping activities 

(see 5 CFR 1320.8 (d) and 1320.12(a)). 

This notice identifies an information 

collection that the BLM will be 

submitting to OMB for approval. The 

Paperwork Reduction Act provides that 

an agency may not conduct or sponsor 

a collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. Until OMB approves a 

collection of information, you are not 

obligated to respond. 

The BLM will request a 3-year term of 

approval for this information collection 

activity. Comments are invited on: (1) 

The need for the collection of 

information for the performance of the 

functions of the agency; (2) the accuracy 

of the agency’s burden estimates; (3) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility and 

clarity of the information collection; and 

(4) ways to minimize the information 

collection burden on respondents, such 

as use of automated means of collection 

of the information. A summary of the 

public comments will accompany our 

submission of the information collection 

requests to OMB. 

The following information is provided 

for the information collection: 

Title: Conveyance of Federally-Owned 

Mineral Interests (43 CFR Part 2720). 

OMB Control Number: 1004–0153. 

Abstract: The respondents in this 

information collection are owners of 

surface estates who apply for underlying 

Federally-owned mineral estates. The 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

needs to conduct the information 

collection to determine if the applicants 

are eligible to receive title to the 

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