I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2173 

To facilitate the development of offshore wind energy resources. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 14, 2011 

Mr. WITTMAN (for himself, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. 

BROUN of Georgia, and Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To facilitate the development of offshore wind energy 

resources. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited at the ‘‘Advancing Offshore 

5 Wind Production Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OFFSHORE METEOROLOGICAL SITE TESTING AND 

7 MONITORING PROJECTS. 

8 (a) DEFINITION OF AN OFFSHORE METEOROLOG9 ICAL SITE TESTING AND MONITORING PROJECT.—In this 

10 section, the term ‘‘offshore meteorological site testing and 


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1 monitoring project’’ means a project carried out on or in 

2 the waters of the Outer Continental Shelf administered 

3 by the Department of the Interior to test or monitor 

4 weather (including wind, tidal, current, and solar energy) 

5 using towers, buoys, or other temporary ocean infrastruc6 ture, that— 

7 (1) causes— 

8 (A) less than 1 acre of surface or seafloor 

9 disruption at the location of each meteorological 

10 tower or other device; and 

11 (B) not more than 5 acres of surface or 

12 seafloor disruption within the proposed area af13 fected by for the project (including hazards to 

14 navigation); 

15 (2) is decommissioned not more than 5 years 

16 after the date of commencement of the project, in17 cluding— 

18 (A) removal of towers, buoys, or other tem19 porary ocean infrastructure from the project 

20 site; and 

21 (B) restoration of the project site to ap22 proximately the original condition of the site; 

23 and 


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1 (3) provides meteorological information ob2 tained by the project to the Secretary of the Inte3 rior. 

4 (b) OFFSHORE METEOROLOGICAL PROJECT PERMIT5 TING.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte7 rior shall by regulation require that any applicant 

8 seeking to conduct an offshore meteorological site 

9 testing and monitoring project on the outer Conti10 nental Shelf (as that term is defined in the Outer 

11 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et 

12 seq.)) must obtain a permit for the project in ac13 cordance with this subsection. 

14 (2) PERMIT TIMELINE AND CONDITIONS.— 

15 (A) DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL.—The Sec16 retary shall decide whether to issue a permit for 

17 an offshore meteorological site testing and mon18 itoring project within 30 days after receiving an 

19 application for the permit. 

20 (B) PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONSULTA21 TION.—During the period referred to in sub22 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall— 

23 (i) provide an opportunity for submis24 sion of comments by the public; and 


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1 (ii) consult with the Secretary of De2 fense, the Commandant of the Coast 

3 Guard, and the heads of other Federal, 

4 State, and local agencies that would be af5 fected by issuance of the permit. 

6 (C) DENIAL OF PERMIT; OPPORTUNITY TO

7 REMEDY DEFICIENCIES.—If the application is 

8 denied, the Secretary shall provide the appli9 cant— 

10 (i) in writing, clear and comprehensive 

11 reasons why the application was not ap12 proved and detailed information concerning 

13 any deficiencies in the application; and 

14 (ii) an opportunity to remedy such de15 ficiencies. 

16 (c) NEPA EXCLUSION.—Section 102(2)(C) of the 

17 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

18 4321 et seq.) shall not apply with respect to an offshore 

19 meteorological site testing and monitoring project. 

20 (d) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The informa21 tion provided to the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to 

22 subsection (a)(3) shall be treated by the Secretary as pro23 prietary information and protected against disclosure. 

Æ 


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