Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 160 / Thursday, August 18, 2011 / Notices 51391 

the applicant wishes to modify its 

nomination. 

It is critical that you submit a 

complete nomination so that BOEMRE 

may evaluate your submission in a 

timely manner. If BOEMRE reviews 

your nomination and determines that it 

is incomplete, BOEMRE will inform you 

of this determination in writing. This 

letter will describe the information that 

BOEMRE determined to be missing from 

your nomination, and indicate the 

information that you must submit in 

order for BOEMRE to deem your 

submission complete. You will be given 

15 business days from the date of the 

letter to submit the information that 

BOEMRE found to be missing from your 

original submission. If you do not meet 

this deadline, or if BOEMRE determines 

this second submission to be 

insufficient, then BOEMRE may deem 

your nomination invalid. In such a case, 

BOEMRE would not move forward with 

your nomination submitted in response 

to this Call. 

Requested Information From Interested 

or Affected Parties 

BOEMRE is requesting from the 

public and other interested or affected 

parties specific and detailed comments 

regarding the following conditions in 

the area identified: 

(1) Geological and geophysical 

conditions (including bottom and 

shallow hazards); 

(2) Known archaeological and/or 

cultural resource sites on the seabed or 

nearshore and methodologies used to 

acquire that data; 

(3) Historic properties potentially 

affected by the construction of 

meteorological towers, the installation 

of meteorological buoys, or commercial 

wind development in the area identified 

in this Call; 

(4) Multiple uses of the area, 

including navigation (in particular, 

commercial and recreational vessel use), 

recreation, and fisheries (commercial 

and recreational); and 

(5) Other relevant socioeconomic, 

biological, and environmental 

information. 

Protection of Privileged or Confidential 

Information 

Freedom of Information Act 

BOEMRE 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 

BOEMRE treat it as confidential. 

BOEMRE 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, BOEMRE will not treat as 

confidential any aggregate summaries of 

such information or comments not 

containing such information. 

Additionally, BOEMRE 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 BOEMRE as suitable for 

public release. 

Section 304 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470w–3(a)) 

BOEMRE 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: August 1, 2011. 

Michael R. Bromwich, 

Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, Regulation and Enforcement. 

[FR Doc. 2011–21136 Filed 8–17–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 

Regulation and Enforcement 

[Docket No. BOEM–2011–0063] 

Commercial Wind Lease Issuance and 

Site Characterization Activities on the 

Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) 

Offshore Rhode Island and 

Massachusetts 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, Regulation and 

Enforcement (BOEMRE), Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an 

Environmental Assessment. 

SUMMARY: This notice is being published 

as an initial step for the purpose of 

involving Federal agencies, states, 

tribes, local government, offshore wind 

energy developers, and the public in the 

Department of the Interior’s (DOI) 

‘‘Smart from the Start’’ wind energy 

initiative. 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 

OCS, and to obtain public and expert 

input that will inform the Department’s 

decisionmaking with regard to issuing 

leases and approving site assessment 

activities in these areas, in accordance 

with the DOI 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 

(Wind Energy Areas (WEAs)), and 

utilizes coordinated environmental 

studies, large-scale planning processes, 

and expedited review processes within 

these areas to achieve an efficient and 

responsible renewable energy leasing 

process. 

In consultation with other Federal 

agencies and the Rhode Island and 

Massachusetts Renewable Energy Task 

Forces, BOEMRE has identified an area 

for consideration for potential future 

wind energy leasing. This area, offshore 

Rhode Island and Massachusetts, is 

identified in the Commercial Leasing for 

Wind Power on the Outer Continental 

Shelf (OCS) Offshore Rhode Island and 

Massachusetts-Call for Information and 

Nominations (Call), which is being 

published concurrently with this notice. 

The area identified in the Call and this 

notice is located within the Area of 

Mutual Interest (AMI), as described by 

a Memorandum of Understanding 

(MOU) between the Governors of Rhode 

Island and Massachusetts. 

More information on the task forces 

and the ‘‘Smart from the Start’’ initiative 

can be found at: http:// 

www.boemre.gov/offshore/ 

RenewableEnergy/ 

StateActivitiesProjects.htm and http:// 

www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/ 

Salazar-Launches-Smart-from-the-StartInitiative-to-Speed-Offshore-WindEnergy-Development-off-the-AtlanticCoast.cfm. 

BOEMRE intends to prepare an 

environmental assessment (EA), which 

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). 

The EA will not analyze or support 

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51392 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 160 / Thursday, August 18, 2011 / Notices 

development activities. If a successful 

lessee proposes development activity, 

the specific proposal will be given full 

review at that time. BOEMRE is seeking 

public input regarding the identification 

of the important environmental and/or 

socioeconomic issues and alternatives to 

be considered in the EA. 

Authority: This Notice of Intent (NOI) to 

prepare an environmental assessment is 

published pursuant to 43 CFR 46.305. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michelle Morin, BOEMRE Office of 

Offshore Alternative Energy Programs, 

381 Elden Street, MS 4090, Herndon, 

Virginia 20170–4817, (703) 787–1340 or 

michelle.morin@boemre.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. The OCS Wind Energy Leasing and 

Development Process 

There are three key phases of 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. The second phase is the 

applicant’s submission, and BOEMRE’s 

subsequent review and approval of a 

SAP. Approval of a SAP would allow 

the lessee to construct and install a 

meteorological tower and/or buoys on 

the leasehold. See 30 CFR 285.600– 

285.601; 285.605–285.618. After the 

lessee has collected sufficient site 

characterization and assessment data, 

the lessee may submit a COP, the review 

of which could authorize the actual 

construction and operation of a 

renewable energy facility on the lease. 

See 30 CFR 285.620–285.629. Although 

BOEMRE does not authorize site 

characterization activities (i.e., 

geological and geophysical surveys and 

core samples), a lessee must submit the 

results of such surveys before BOEMRE 

can consider its COP. See 30 CFR 

285.626. 

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 1 and 2 of the wind energy 

leasing and development process). 

BOEMRE 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 COP 

information requirements at 30 CFR 

285.626. 

The EA will not, however, be used to 

support any future decision 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. BOEMRE is not 

currently considering any such plan, 

nor has any plan been submitted. If and 

when a lessee is ready to begin this 

third phase of renewable energy 

development, it will submit a COP. If a 

COP is submitted for a particular project 

on a lease, a separate site- and projectspecific NEPA analysis would be 

prepared. This would 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 that 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 

285.628. 

The EA, which is the subject of this 

notice, 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, 

archeological, 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, 

the alternatives that will be considered 

are: 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 areas described in 

Section 4 of this Notice. BOEMRE is 

therefore soliciting input on the 

environmental issues and alternatives to 

be considered in the EA related to the 

potential environmental effects of the 

activities described above. 

Federal, state, and local government 

agencies, tribal governments, and other 

interested parties may assist BOEMRE 

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 would mitigate 

impacts to environmental resources and 

socioeconomic conditions that could 

result from leasing, site characterization, 

and site assessment in and around the 

Call Area described below. 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 BOEMRE determines during the EA 

process that issuing leases and 

conducting site characterization and 

assessment activities offshore within the 

Call Area would result in significant 

environmental impacts, then BOEMRE 

would publish a NOI 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 BOEMRE determines during the 

EA process that issuing leases and 

conducting site characterization and 

assessment activities within all or some 

of this Call Area would not result in 

significant environmental impacts, then 

BOEMRE would issue a Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI). After either 

a FONSI is issued or the EIS process is 

completed, BOEMRE 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, BOEMRE will 

determine whether the EA adequately 

considers the environmental 

consequences of the activities proposed 

in the lessee’s SAP. If the analysis in the 

EA adequately addresses these 

consequences, then no further NEPA 

analysis would be required before the 

SAP is approved. If that 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, BOEMRE 

published a Notice of Availability 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, BOEMRE 

published a Notice of Availability in the 

Federal Register (74 FR 30,616) of the 

EA for Issuance of Leases for Wind 

Resource Data Collection on the Outer 

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 160 / Thursday, August 18, 2011 / Notices 51393 

Continental Shelf Offshore Delaware 

and New Jersey (OCS EIS/EA MMS 

2009–025) (Interim Policy EA), which 

addressed similar activities. 

BOEMRE 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 inform 

its analysis in the EA. The EA will be 

developed using many of the principles 

of coastal and marine spatial planning, 

such as comprehensive interagency 

coordination, to identify information 

needs for COP submittals necessary for 

future decisionmaking regarding wind 

energy development. 

4. Description of the Call Area 

BOEMRE has identified an area for 

consideration for potential future wind 

energy leasing in consultation with 

other Federal agencies and the Rhode 

Island and Massachusetts Renewable 

Energy Task Forces. The area identified 

in the Call and this notice is located 

within the AMI, as described by a MOU 

between the Governors of Rhode Island 

and Massachusetts. The Call Area is 

divided into two areas separated by an 

existing traffic separation scheme. A 

detailed description of the area can be 

found in the Call that is published 

concurrently with this notice. 

Map of the Call Area 

A map of the area can be found at the 

following URL: http://www.boemre.gov/ 

offshore/RenewableEnergy/ 

StateActivities-RhodeIsland.htm. 

A large-scale map of the Call Area 

showing boundaries of the area with 

numbered blocks is available from 

BOEMRE at the following address: 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 

Regulation and Enforcement, Office of 

Offshore Alternative Energy Programs, 

381 Elden Street, Mail Stop 4090, 

Herndon, Virginia 20170, Phone: (703) 

787–1320. 

Based on the information submitted 

in response to this notice and the 

aforementioned Call, BOEMRE would 

identify an 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 area 

identified will constitute a WEA under 

the ‘‘Smart from the Start’’ initiative, 

which will be the area analyzed in the 

EA. 

5. Cooperating Agencies 

BOEMRE invites other Federal 

agencies and state, tribal, and local 

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 to remember 

that an agency’s role in the 

environmental analysis neither enlarges 

nor diminishes the final decisionmaking 

authority of any other agency involved 

in the NEPA process. 

Upon request, BOEMRE 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://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ 

cooperating/ 

cooperatingagenciesmemorandum.html 

and http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ 

cooperating/ 

cooperatingagencymemofactors.html. 

BOEMRE, 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 

BOEMRE 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 actions 

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– 

2011–0063, 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 Rhode Island 

and Massachusetts EA’’ to Program 

Manager, Office of Offshore Alternative 

Energy Programs (MS 4090), Bureau of 

Ocean Energy Management, Regulation 

and Enforcement, 381 Elden Street, 

Herndon, Virginia 20170. Comments 

should be submitted no later than 

October 3, 2011. 

Dated: July 27, 2011. 

Robert P. LaBelle, 

Acting Associate Director for Offshore Energy 

and Minerals Management. 

[FR Doc. 2011–21142 Filed 8–17–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLWYP00000–L51100000–GA0000– 

LVEMK09CK370; WYW176095] 

Notice of Availability of the Record of 

Decision for the Wright Area South 

Porcupine Coal Lease-by-Application 

and Environmental Impact Statement, 

Wyoming 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended, the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) announces the 

availability of the Record of Decision 

(ROD) for the South Porcupine Coal 

Lease-by-Application (LBA) included in 

the Wright Area Coal Lease 

Applications Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS). 

ADDRESSES: The document is available 

electronically on the following Web site: 

http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/ 

NEPA/HighPlains/Wright-Coal.html. 

Paper copies of the ROD are also 

available at the following BLM office 

locations: 

• Bureau of Land Management, 

Wyoming State Office, 5353 

Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming 

82009; and 

• Bureau of Land Management, 

Wyoming High Plains District Office, 

2987 Prospector Drive, Casper, 

Wyoming 82604. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Tyson Sackett, Acting Wyoming Coal 

Coordinator, at (307) 775–6487, or Ms. 

Sarah Bucklin, EIS Project Manager, at 

(307) 261–7541. Mr. Sackett’s office is 

located at the BLM Wyoming State 

Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, 

Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009. Ms. 

Bucklin’s office is located at the BLM 

High Plains District Office, 2987 

Prospector Drive, Casper, Wyoming 

82604. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES