Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 228 / Wednesday, November 26, 2014 / Notices 70545 

Applicant requests a new permit for 

oil and gas upstream production, 

including geophysical exploration 

(seismic) and construction, 

maintenance, operation, repair, and 

decommissioning of oil and gas well 

field infrastructure within Oklahoma. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Written comments we receive become 

part of the public record associated with 

this action. Before including your 

address, phone number, email address, 

or other personal identifying 

information in your comment, you 

should be aware that your entire 

comment—including your personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available at any time. While 

you can request in your comment that 

we withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. We will not consider anonymous 

comments. All submissions from 

organizations or businesses, and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

made available for public disclosure in 

their entirety. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

10(c) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

and its implementing regulations (50 

CFR 17.22) and the National 

Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.) and its implementing 

regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). 

Dated: November 19, 2014. 

David Mendais, 

Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28007 Filed 11–25–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

[Docket No. BOEM–2014–0091] 

Atlantic Wind Lease Sale 4 (ATLW4) 

Commercial Leasing for Wind Power 

on the Outer Continental Shelf 

Offshore Massachusetts—Final Sale 

Notice; MMAA104000 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM), Interior. 

ACTION: Final Sale Notice for 

Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on 

the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore 

Massachusetts. 

SUMMARY: This document is the Final 

Sale Notice (FSN) for the sale of four 

commercial wind energy leases on the 

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore 

Massachusetts, pursuant to BOEM’s 

regulations at 30 CFR 585.216. BOEM is 

offering four leases for sale using a 

multiple factor auction format: Lease 

OCS–A 0500, Lease OCS–A 0501, Lease 

OCS–A 0502, and Lease OCS–A 0503. 

The four lease areas (LAs) are identical 

to those announced in the Proposed 

Sale Notice (PSN) for Commercial 

Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer 

Continental Shelf (OCS) Offshore 

Massachusetts, which was published on 

June 18, 2014, in the Federal Register 

with a 60-day public comment period 

(79 FR 34771). This FSN contains 

information pertaining to the areas 

available for leasing, lease provisions 

and conditions, auction procedures, the 

lease form, criteria for evaluating 

competing bids, award procedures, 

appeal procedures, and lease execution. 

The issuance of the leases resulting from 

this lease sale would not constitute an 

approval of project-specific plans to 

develop offshore wind energy. Such 

plans, expected to be submitted by 

successful lessees, will be subject to 

subsequent environmental and public 

review prior to a decision to proceed 

with development. 

DATES: BOEM will hold a mock auction 

for the eligible bidders on January 26, 

2015. The monetary auction will be held 

online and will begin at 8:30 a.m. 

Eastern Standard (EST) on January 29, 

2015. Additional details are provided in 

the section entitled, ‘‘Deadlines and 

Milestones for Bidders.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessica Stromberg, BOEM Office of 

Renewable Energy Programs, 381 Elden 

Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia 

20170, (703) 787–1320 or 

jessica.stromberg@boem.gov. 

Authority: This FSN is published 

pursuant to subsection 8(p) of the OCS Lands 

Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)) (‘‘the Act’’), as 

amended by section 388 of the Energy Policy 

Act of 2005 (EPAct), and the implementing 

regulations at 30 CFR part 585, including 30 

CFR 585.211 and 585.216. 

Background: The four LAs offered in 

this FSN are the same areas BOEM 

announced in the PSN on June 18, 2014 

(79 FR 34771). BOEM received 25 

comment submissions in response to the 

PSN, which are available in the Federal 

Register docket for this notice through 

BOEM’s Web site at: http://

www.boem.gov/State-ActivitiesMassachusetts/. BOEM also has posted 

a document containing responses to 

comments submitted during the PSN 

comment period and a list of other 

changes that BOEM has implemented 

for this lease sale since publication of 

the PSN. The document entitled, 

Response to Comments and Explanation 

of Changes can be found at the 

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

State-Activities-Massachusetts/. 

On June 18, 2014, BOEM published a 

Notice of Availability (NOA) (79 FR 

34781) for the revised Environmental 

Assessment (EA) and Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI) for 

commercial wind lease issuance and 

site assessment activities on the Atlantic 

OCS offshore Massachusetts pursuant to 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA). Consultations occurred 

concurrently with the preparation of the 

EA and included consultation under the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA), the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(MSFCMA), and the Coastal Zone 

Management Act (CZMA). BOEM 

prepared and executed a programmatic 

agreement (PA) to guide its 

consultations under section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act 

(NHPA). The PA provides for 

consultations to continue through 

BOEM’s decision-making process 

regarding the approval, approval with 

modification, or disapproval of a 

lessee’s Site Assessment Plan (SAP), 

and allows for phased identification and 

evaluation of historic properties. The 

four LAs identified in this FSN together 

comprise the Massachusetts Wind 

Energy Area (WEA) described in the 

preferred alternative in the Commercial 

Wind Lease Issuance and Site 

Assessment Activities on the Atlantic 

OCS Offshore Massachusetts Revised 

Environmental Assessment, which can 

be found at: http://www.boem.gov/StateActivities-Massachusetts/. 

Additional environmental reviews 

will be conducted upon receipt of the 

lessees’ proposed project-specific plans, 

such as a SAP or Construction and 

Operations Plan (COP). 

List of Eligible Bidders: BOEM has 

determined that the following 

companies are legally, technically, and 

financially qualified, pursuant to 30 

CFR 585.106 and 107, to hold a 

commercial wind lease offshore 

Massachusetts, and are therefore eligible 

to participate in this lease sale as 

bidders. 

Company name 

Company 

No. 

Deepwater Wind New England, 

LLC .............................................. 15012 

EDF Renewable Development, Inc. 15027 

Energy Management, Inc. .............. 15015 

Fishermen’s Energy, LLC ............... 15005 

Green Sail Energy LLC .................. 15045 

IBERDROLA RENEWABLES, Inc. 15019 

NRG Bluewater Wind Massachusetts, LLC .................................... 15025 

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70546 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 228 / Wednesday, November 26, 2014 / Notices 

Company name 

Company 

No. 

OffshoreMW LLC ............................ 15010 

RES America Developments Inc. ... 15021 

Sea Breeze Energy LLC ................ 15044 

US Mainstream Renewable Power 

(Offshore) Inc. ............................. 15029 

U.S. Wind Inc. ................................ 15023 

Deadlines and Milestones for Bidders: 

This section describes the major 

deadlines and milestones in the auction 

process from publication of this FSN to 

execution of a lease pursuant to this 

sale. 

• Bidder’s Financial Form (BFF): 

Each eligible bidder must submit a BFF 

to BOEM by December 15, 2014. The 

BFF is available at: http://

www.boem.gov/State-ActivitiesMassachusetts/. Once this information 

has been processed, bidders may log 

into pay.gov and leave bid deposits. 

BOEM will not consider any BFFs 

submitted by eligible bidders for 

previous lease sales for the purposes of 

this auction. BOEM will only consider 

allowing any bidder who fails to submit 

the BFF by this deadline to submit the 

BFF after this date if BOEM determines 

that the failure to submit the BFF was 

caused by events beyond the bidder’s 

control. 

• Bid Deposits: Each bidder must 

submit an adequate bid deposit by 

January 14, 2015, as described in the 

‘‘Bid Deposits’’ section. BOEM will only 

consider allowing any bidder who fails 

to submit the bid deposit by this 

deadline to submit the bid deposit after 

this date if BOEM determines that the 

failure to submit the bid deposit was 

caused by events beyond the bidder’s 

control. 

• Non-Monetary Package: Each bidder 

must submit a non-monetary package, if 

it is applying for a credit as described 

in the ‘‘Non-Monetary Auction 

Procedures’’ section of this notice, by 

January 14, 2015. 

• Mock Auction: BOEM will hold a 

Mock Auction on January 26, 2015. The 

Mock Auction will be held online. 

BOEM will contact each eligible bidder 

and provide instructions for 

participation. Only bidders eligible to 

participate in this auction will be 

permitted to participate in the Mock 

Auction. 

• Panel Convenes to Evaluate NonMonetary Packages: On January 27, 

2015, the panel described in the 

‘‘Auction Procedures’’ section will 

convene to consider non-monetary 

packages. The panel will send 

determinations of eligibility to BOEM, 

who will inform each bidder by email 

of the panel’s determination of whether 

the bidder qualifies for a non-monetary 

credit. 

• Monetary Auction: On January 29, 

2015, BOEM, through its contractor, will 

hold the monetary stage of the auction. 

The auction will start at 8:30 a.m. EST. 

The auction will proceed electronically 

according to a schedule to be distributed 

by the BOEM Auction Manager at the 

time of the auction. BOEM anticipates 

that the auction may continue on 

consecutive business days, as necessary, 

until the auction ends according to the 

procedures described in the Auction 

Format section of this notice. 

• Announce Provisional Winner: 

BOEM will announce the provisional 

winner(s) of the lease sale after the 

auction ends. 

• Reconvene the Panel: The panel 

will reconvene to verify auction results. 

• Reject Unsuccessful Bids and 

Refund Monies to Unsuccessful Bidders: 

Once provisional winner(s) have been 

announced and the panel has verified 

the auction results, BOEM will provide 

unsuccessful bidders a written 

statement of the reasons their bids were 

rejected and return the bid deposits of 

any bidders who did not win a lease. 

• Department of Justice (DOJ) Review: 

BOEM will allow DOJ 30 days to 

conduct an antitrust review of the 

auction, pursuant to 43 U.S.C. 1337(c), 

which reads, in relevant part: 

Antitrust review of lease sales. (1) 

Following each notice of a proposed 

lease sale and before the acceptance of 

bids and the issuance of leases based on 

such bids, the Secretary [of the Interior] 

shall allow the Attorney General, in 

consultation with the Federal Trade 

Commission, thirty days to review the 

results of such lease sale, except that the 

Attorney General, after consultation 

with the Federal Trade Commission, 

may agree to a shorter review period. 

• Deliver the Leases: BOEM will send 

three lease copies to each winner, with 

instructions on how to accept and 

execute the lease. The first year’s rent 

payment is due 45 days after the winner 

receives the lease for execution. 

• Return the Leases: Within 10 

business days from receiving the lease 

copies, the auction winner(s) must post 

financial assurance, pay any 

outstanding balance of their bonus bids, 

and sign and return the three copies. 

• Execute the Leases: Once BOEM has 

received the lease copies and verified 

that all required materials have been 

received, BOEM will make a final 

determination regarding its execution of 

the lease and execute it, if appropriate. 

Areas Offered for Leasing: The area 

described for leasing in this FSN are the 

same areas described in the 

Massachusetts PSN (79 FR 34771, June 

18, 2014). The area to be available for 

sale will be auctioned as four leases: 

Lease OCS–A 0500, Lease OCS–A 0501, 

Lease OCS–A 0502, and Lease OCS–A 

0503. Lease OCS–A 0500 consists of 

187,523 acres, Lease OCS–A 0501 

consists of 166,886 acres, Lease OCS–A 

0502 consists of 248,015 acres, and 

Lease OCS–A 0503 consists of 140,554 

acres. The total area is approximately 

742,978 acres. If there are adequate bids, 

four leases will be issued pursuant to 

this lease sale. A description of the LAs 

and lease activities can be found in 

Addendum ‘‘A’’ of each lease, which 

BOEM has made available with this 

notice on its Web site at: http://

www.boem.gov/State-ActivitiesMassachusetts/. 

Map of the Area Offered for Leasing: 

A map of the four LAs can be found at 

the following URL: http://

www.boem.gov/State-ActivitiesMassachusetts/. 

A large scale map showing boundaries 

of the area 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, Phone: 

(703) 787–1300, Fax: (703) 787–1708. 

Withdrawal of Blocks: Interested 

parties should note that BOEM reserves 

the right to withdraw portions of the 

LAs prior to its execution of a lease 

based upon relevant information 

provided to the Bureau. 

Lease Terms and Conditions: BOEM 

has included specific terms, conditions, 

and stipulations for the OCS 

commercial wind leases in the 

Massachusetts WEA in each lease. 

BOEM reserves the right to apply 

additional terms and conditions to 

activities conducted on the lease 

incident to any future approval or 

approval with modifications of a SAP 

and/or COP. Each lease is available on 

BOEM’s Web site at: http://

www.boem.gov/State-ActivitiesMassachusetts/. Each lease consists of 

an instrument with 20 sections and the 

following seven attachments: 

• Addendum ‘‘A’’ (Description of 

Leased Area and Lease Activities); 

• Addendum ‘‘B’’ (Lease Term and 

Financial Schedule); 

• Addendum ‘‘C’’ (Lease-Specific 

Terms, Conditions, and Stipulations); 

• Addendum ‘‘D’’ (Project Easement); 

• Addendum ‘‘E’’ (Rent Schedule); 

• Appendix A to Addendum ‘‘C’’ 

(Incident Report: Protected Species 

Injury or Mortality); and 

• Appendix B to Addendum ‘‘C’’ 

(Required Data Elements for Protected 

Species Observer Reports). 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 228 / Wednesday, November 26, 2014 / Notices 70547 

Addenda ‘‘A’’, ‘‘B’’, and ‘‘C’’ provide 

detailed descriptions of lease terms and 

conditions. Addenda ‘‘D’’ and ‘‘E’’ will 

be completed at the time of COP 

approval. 

Plans: Pursuant to 30 CFR 585.601, 

the lessee must submit a SAP within the 

1 year Preliminary Term. Pursuant to 30 

CFR 585.235, if the lessee intends to 

continue its commercial lease with an 

operations term, the lessee must submit 

a COP at least 6 months before the end 

of the site assessment term. 

Financial Terms and Conditions: This 

section provides an overview of the 

basic annual payments that the Lessee 

must pay under the lease terms, and the 

financial assurance requirements that 

will be associated with each lease. 

Rent: The first year’s rent payment of 

$3 per acre for the entire LA is due 

within 45 days of the date the lessee 

receives the lease for execution. 

Thereafter, annual rent payments are 

due on the anniversary of the Effective 

Date of the lease, i.e., the Lease 

Anniversary. Once the first commercial 

operations under the lease begin, rent 

will be charged for the portion of the 

lease not authorized for commercial 

operations, i.e., not generating 

electricity. However, instead of 

geographically dividing the LA into 

acreage that is ‘‘generating’’ and acreage 

that is ‘‘non-generating,’’ the fraction of 

the lease accruing rent is based on the 

fraction of the total nameplate capacity 

of the project that is not yet in 

operation. The fraction is the nameplate 

capacity not yet authorized for 

commercial operations at the time 

payment is due, divided by the 

maximum nameplate capacity after full 

installation of the project, as described 

in the COP. This fraction is then 

multiplied by the amount of rent that 

would be due for the lessee’s entire LA 

at the rental rate of $3 per acre to obtain 

the annual rent due for a given year. 

For example, for a hypothetical lease 

the size of 742,978 acres (the size of the 

entire Massachusetts WEA), the amount 

of rent payment would be $2,228,934 

per year if no portion of the LA is 

authorized for commercial operations. If 

500 megawatts (MW) of a project’s 

nameplate capacity is operating (or 

authorized for operation), and its most 

recent approved COP specifies a 

maximum nameplate capacity of 1000 

MW, the rent payment would be 

$1,114,467. For the above example, this 

would be calculated as follows: 500 

MW/1000 MW × ($3/acre × 742,978 

acres) = $1,114,467. 

If the lessee submits an application 

for relinquishment of a portion of the 

LA within the first 45 calendar days 

following the date that the lease is 

received by the lessee for execution, and 

BOEM approves that application, no 

rent payment will be due on that 

relinquished portion of the LA. Later 

relinquishments of any LA will reduce 

the lessee’s rent payments due for the 

year following BOEM’s approval of the 

relinquishment. 

The lessee also must pay rent for any 

project easement associated with the 

lease commencing on the date that 

BOEM approves the COP (or 

modification) that describes the project 

easement. Annual rent for a project 

easement that is 200 feet wide and 

centered on the transmission cable 

would be $70 per statute mile. For any 

additional acreage required, the lessee 

must also pay the greater of $5 per acre 

per year or $450 per year. 

Operating Fee: For the purposes of 

calculating the initial annual operating 

fee payment, an operating fee rate is 

applied to the wholesale market value of 

the electricity established by the 

Northeast-Massachusetts Hub power 

market and expected to be generated 

from the project during its first 12 

months of operations. This initial 

payment is prorated to reflect the period 

between the commencement of 

commercial operations and the Lease 

Anniversary. The initial annual 

operating fee payment is due within 45 

days of the start of commercial 

operations. Thereafter, subsequent 

annual operating fee payments are due 

on or before each Lease Anniversary. 

The subsequent annual operating fee 

payments are calculated by multiplying 

the operating fee rate by the wholesale 

market value of the projected annual 

electric power production. For the 

purposes of this calculation, the market 

value is the product of the project’s 

nameplate capacity, the total number of 

hours in the year (8,760), a capacity 

utilization factor, and the annual 

average price of electricity derived from 

a historical regional wholesale power 

price index. For example, an annual 

operating fee for a 100 MW wind facility 

operating at 40% capacity (decimal 

equivalent is 0.4) with a regional 

wholesale power price of $40/MWh 

under an operating fee rate of 2% 

(decimal equivalent is 0.02) would be 

calculated to be $280,320 as follows: 

Annual operating fee = 100 MW × 8,760 

hours/year × 0.4 × $40/MWh power 

price × 0.02. 

Operating Fee Rate: The operating fee 

rate is set at 0.02 (i.e., 2%) during the 

entire life of commercial operations. 

Nameplate Capacity: Nameplate 

capacity is the maximum rated electric 

output, expressed in MW, which the 

turbines of the wind facility under 

commercial operations can produce at 

their rated wind speed as designated by 

the turbine’s manufacturer. The 

nameplate capacity at the start of each 

year of commercial operations on the 

lease will be specified in the COP. For 

example, if the Lessee has 20 turbines 

in commercial operations rated by the 

design manufacturer at 5 MW of output 

each, the nameplate capacity of the 

wind facility at the rated wind speed of 

the turbines would be 100 MW. 

Capacity Factor: The capacity factor 

relates to the amount of energy 

delivered to the grid during a period of 

time compared to the amount of energy 

the wind facility would have produced 

at full capacity during that same period 

of time. This factor is represented as a 

decimal between zero and one. There 

are several reasons why the amount of 

power delivered is less than the 

theoretical 100% of capacity. For a wind 

facility, the capacity factor is mostly 

determined by the availability of wind. 

Transmission line loss and down time 

for maintenance or other purposes also 

affect the capacity factor. 

The capacity factor for the year in 

which the commercial operation date 

occurs and for the first six full years of 

commercial operations on the lease is 

set at 0.4 (i.e., 40%) to allow for one 

year of installation and testing followed 

by five years at full availability. At the 

end of the sixth year, the capacity factor 

may be adjusted to reflect the 

performance over the previous five 

years based upon the actual metered 

electricity generation at the delivery 

point to the electrical grid. Similar 

adjustments to the capacity factor may 

be made once every five years thereafter. 

The maximum change in the capacity 

factor from one period to the next will 

be limited to plus or minus 10 percent 

of the previous period’s value. 

Wholesale Power Price Index: The 

wholesale power price, expressed in 

dollars per MW-hour, is determined at 

the time each annual operating fee 

payment is due, based on the weighted 

average of the inflation-adjusted peak 

and off-peak spot price indices for the 

Northeast–Massachusetts Hub power 

market for the most recent year of data 

available as reported by the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) 

as part of its annual State of the Markets 

Report with specific reference to the 

summary entitled, ‘‘Electric Market 

Overview: Regional Spot Prices.’’ The 

wholesale power price is published as 

the annual spot price and then adjusted 

for inflation using the implicit price 

deflator. The original spot price is 

inflated to the year in which the 

operating fee is to be due. Data on 

annual implicit price deflators are 

reported by the U.S. Department of 

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70548 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 228 / Wednesday, November 26, 2014 / Notices 

Commerce’s Bureau of Economic 

Analysis. 

Financial Assurance: Within 10 

business days after receiving the lease 

copies, the provisional winner must 

provide an initial lease-specific bond or 

other approved means of meeting the 

Lessor’s initial financial assurance 

requirements in the amount of $100,000. 

BOEM will base the amount of all SAP, 

COP, and decommissioning financial 

assurance requirements on estimates of 

the cost to meet all accrued lease 

obligations. BOEM will determine the 

amount of supplemental and 

decommissioning financial assurance 

requirements on a case-by-case basis. 

The financial terms can be found in 

Addendum ‘‘B’’ of the lease, which 

BOEM has made available with this 

notice on its Web site at: http://

www.boem.gov/State-ActivitiesMassachusetts/. 

Bid Deposit: A bid deposit is an 

advance cash deposit submitted to 

BOEM in order to participate in the 

auction. No later than January 14, 2015, 

each bidder must have submitted a bid 

deposit of $450,000 per unit of desired 

initial eligibility. Each lease is worth 

one unit of bid eligibility in the auction. 

Any participant intending to bid on 

only one of the leases during the auction 

must submit a bid deposit of $450,000. 

The required bid deposit for any 

participant intending to bid on multiple 

leases in the first round of the auction 

will be the number of leases the bidder 

intends to bid on multiplied by 

$450,000. For example, the required bid 

deposit for any participant intending to 

bid on three leases in the first round of 

the auction will be $1,350,000. BOEM 

will only consider allowing any bidder 

who fails to submit the bid deposit by 

this deadline to submit the bid deposit 

after this date if BOEM determines that 

the failure to submit the bid deposit was 

caused by events beyond the bidder’s 

control. Bid deposits will be accepted 

online via pay.gov. 

Following publication of the FSN, 

each bidder must fill out the BFF 

included in the FSN. BOEM has made 

a copy of the BFF available with this 

notice on its Web site at: http://

www.boem.gov/State-ActivitiesMassachusetts/. This form requests that 

each bidder designate an email address, 

which the bidder should use to create 

an account in pay.gov. After 

establishing the pay.gov account, 

bidders may use the Bid Deposit Form 

on the pay.gov Web site to leave a 

deposit. BOEM will not consider any 

BFFs submitted by eligible bidders for 

previous lease sales for the purposes of 

this auction. BOEM will only consider 

allowing any bidder who fails to submit 

the BFF by this deadline to submit the 

BFF after this date if BOEM determines 

that the failure to submit the BFF was 

caused by events beyond the bidder’s 

control. 

Following the auction, bid deposits 

will be applied against any bonus bids 

or other obligations owed to BOEM. If 

the bid deposit exceeds a bidder’s total 

financial obligation, the balance of the 

bid deposit will be refunded to the 

bidder. BOEM will refund bid deposits 

to unsuccessful bidders. 

Minimum Bid: In this auction, 

approximately 187,523 acres will be 

offered for sale as Lease OCS–A 0500, 

approximately 166,886 acres will be 

offered for sale as Lease OCS–A 0501, 

approximately 248,015 acres will be 

offered for sale as Lease OCS–A 0502, 

and approximately 140,554 acres will be 

offered for sale as Lease OCS–A 0503. 

BOEM has established for this lease sale 

a minimum bid of $1 per acre for each 

LA. Therefore, the minimum acceptable 

bid will be $187,523 for Lease OCS–A 

0500, $166,886 for Lease OCS–A 0501, 

$248,015 for Lease OCS–A 0502, and 

$140,554 for Lease OCS–A 0503. 

Auction Procedures 

Summary 

For the sale of Lease OCS–A 0500, 

Lease OCS–A 0501, Lease OCS–A 0502, 

and Lease OCS–A 0503, BOEM will use 

a multiple-factor auction format with a 

multiple-factor bidding system. Under 

this system, BOEM may consider a 

combination of monetary and nonmonetary factors, or ‘‘variables,’’ in 

determining the outcome of the auction. 

BOEM has appointed a panel of three 

BOEM employees for the purposes of 

reviewing the non-monetary packages 

and verifying the results of the lease 

sale. BOEM reserves the right to change 

the composition of this panel prior to 

the date of the lease sale. The panel will 

meet to consider non-monetary 

packages on January 27, 2015. The panel 

will determine whether any bidder has 

earned a non-monetary credit to be used 

during the auction, and, if one or more 

bidders have earned such a credit, the 

percentage of the monetary bid the 

credit will be worth. 

The auction will balance 

consideration of two variables: (1) A 

cash bid, and (2) a non-monetary credit, 

i.e., if a bidder holds a Community 

Benefits Agreement (CBA) or a Power 

Purchase Agreement (PPA), as described 

herein. In sum, these two variables 

comprise the multi-factor bid or ‘‘AsBid’’ auction price. A bidder’s As-Bid 

price, which is the sum of its cash bid 

and any credit portion earned, can be 

submitted by the bidder at BOEM’s 

asking price or as an Intra-Round Bid 

price subject to certain conditions, as 

described more fully herein. BOEM’s 

regulations at 30 CFR 585.220(a)(4) and 

585.221(a)(6) provide for multiple-factor 

auctions, wherein both monetary and 

non-monetary bid variables may be 

considered. 

Overview of the Multiple-Factor 

Bidding Format Proposed for This Sale 

Under a multiple-factor bidding 

format, as set forth at 30 CFR 

585.220(a)(4), BOEM may consider a 

combination of factors as part of a bid. 

The regulations state that one bid 

proposal per bidder will be accepted, 

but do not further specify the 

procedures to be followed in the 

multiple-factor format. A multiple-factor 

format is intended to allow BOEM 

flexibility in administering the auction 

and in balancing the variables 

presented. The regulations leave to 

BOEM the determination of how to 

administer the multiple-factor auction 

format to ensure the receipt of a fair 

return under the Act, 43 U.S.C. 

1337(p)(2)(A). BOEM has chosen to do 

this through an auction format that 

considers a non-monetary factor along 

with ascending bidding over multiple 

rounds, sharing certain useful 

information with bidders at the end of 

each auction round (e.g., the number of 

live bids associated with each LA), and 

ensuring that a bidder’s live bid 

submitted in the final round of the 

auction will win the LAs included in 

that bid. This auction format enhances 

competition and reduces bidder 

uncertainty more effectively than other 

auction types that BOEM considered. 

BOEM’s regulations at 30 CFR 

585.220(a)(4) provide for a multi-round 

auction in which each bidder may 

submit only one proposal per LA or for 

a set of LAs in each round of the 

auction. This formulation presents an 

administratively efficient auction 

process. It also takes advantage of the 

flexibility built into the regulations by 

enabling BOEM to benefit from both the 

consideration of more than one bidding 

factor and the price discovery involved 

in successive rounds of bidding. 

The auction will be conducted in a 

series of rounds. At the start of each 

round, BOEM will state an asking price 

for each LA offered. The asking price for 

a bid on more than one LA is the sum 

of the asking prices for each LA in the 

bid. Each bidder will indicate whether 

it is willing to meet the asking price for 

one or more LAs. A bid submitted at the 

full asking price for one or more LAs in 

a particular round is referred to as a 

‘‘live bid.’’ A bidder must submit a live 

bid for at least one of the LAs in each 

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round to participate in the next round 

of the auction. As long as there is at 

least one LA that is included in two or 

more live bids, the auction continues, 

and the next round is held. 

A bidder may meet the asking price 

by submitting a monetary bid equal to 

the asking price or, if it has earned a 

credit, by submitting a multiple-factor 

bid—that is, a live bid that consists of 

a monetary element and a non-monetary 

element, the sum of which equals the 

asking price. A multiple-factor bid 

would consist of the sum of a cash 

portion and any credit portion that the 

bidder has earned. 

An uncontested bid is a live bid that 

does not overlap with other live bids in 

that round. For example, a bid for two 

LAs is considered contested if any LA 

included in that bid is included in 

another bid—a bid cannot be ‘‘partially 

uncontested.’’ If a bidder submits an 

uncontested bid consisting of one or 

more LA, and the auction continues for 

another round, BOEM automatically 

carries that same live bid forward as a 

live bid into the next round, and 

BOEM’s asking price for the LA(s) 

contained in the uncontested bid would 

remain unchanged from the previous 

round. If the price on any LA(s) in that 

bid rises later in the auction because 

another bidder places a live bid on one 

or more of those LAs, BOEM will stop 

automatically carrying forward the 

previously uncontested bid. Once the 

asking price(s) goes up, the bidder that 

placed the previously carried-forward 

bid is free to bid on any LA at the new 

asking price(s). 

Following each round in which any 

LA is contained in more than one live 

bid, BOEM will raise the asking price 

for that LA by an increment determined 

by BOEM. The auction concludes at the 

end of the round in which none of the 

four LAs is included in the live bid of 

more than one bidder. The series of 

rounds and the rising asking prices set 

by BOEM will facilitate consideration of 

the first variable—the cash portion of 

the bid. 

The second variable—a credit of 10% 

of a monetary bid for holding a CBA or 

a credit of up to 25% of a monetary bid 

for holding a PPA—will be applied 

throughout the auction rounds as a form 

of imputed payment against the asking 

price for the highest priced LA in a 

bidder’s multiple-factor bid. This credit 

serves to supplement the amount of a 

cash bid proposal made by a particular 

bidder in each round. In the case of a 

bidder holding a credit and bidding on 

more than one LA, the credit will be 

applied only on the LA with the highest 

asking price. More details on the nonmonetary factors are found in the 

‘‘Credit Factors’’ section herein. 

Under BOEM’s regulations at 30 CFR 

585.222(d), determination of the 

winning bid is made by the panel. The 

regulations state that BOEM ‘‘will 

determine the winning bid for proposals 

submitted under the multiple-factor 

bidding format on the basis of selection 

by the panel . . .’’ 30 CFR 585.224(h). 

The panel will evaluate each nonmonetary package to determine whether 

it meets the criteria provided in this 

FSN, and therefore whether it will 

qualify for a credit for its holder. It is 

possible that the panel could determine 

that no bidder qualifies for a nonmonetary credit during the auction, in 

which case the auction would proceed 

as described in this FSN. The panel will 

determine the winning bids for each LA 

in accordance with the procedures 

described in this FSN. 

Details of the Auction Process 

Bidding—Live Bids 

Each bidder is allowed to submit a 

live bid for any number of LAs based on 

its ‘‘eligibility’’ at the opening of each 

round. A bidder’s initial eligibility is 

determined based on the amount of the 

bid deposit submitted by the bidder by 

January 14, 2015. To be eligible to offer 

a bid on one LA at the start of the 

auction, a bidder must submit a bid 

deposit of $450,000. To be eligible to 

offer a bid on two LAs in the first round 

of the auction, the bidder must submit 

a bid deposit of $900,000; for three LAs, 

the bid deposit is $1,350,000; for four 

LAs, the bid deposit is $1,800,000. A 

bidder’s bid deposit will be used by 

BOEM as a down payment on any 

monetary obligations incurred by the 

bidder should it be awarded a lease. 

As the auction proceeds, a bidder’s 

continuing eligibility is determined by 

the number of LAs included in its live 

bid submitted in the round prior to the 

current round. That is, if a bidder 

submitted a live bid on one LA in the 

previous round, that bidder may submit 

a bid that includes at most one LA in 

the current round. If a bidder submitted 

a live bid comprised of two or more LAs 

in the previous round, that bidder may 

submit a live bid that also includes that 

number of LAs in the current round. 

Unless a bidder has an uncontested bid 

that is carried forward into the next 

round, a bidder that submitted a live bid 

for one or more LAs may choose to 

submit a live bid for fewer LAs than the 

maximum number it is eligible to 

include in its bid. Thus, eligibility in 

successive rounds may stay the same or 

go down, but it can never go up. 

In the first round of the auction, 

bidders have the following options: 

A bidder with an initial eligibility of 

one (that is, a bidder who submitted a 

bid deposit of $450,000) may: 

• Submit a live bid on any of the four 

LAs, or 

• Submit nothing, and drop out of the 

auction. 

A bidder with an initial eligibility of 

more than one (that is, a bidder who 

submitted a bid deposit of $900,000 up 

to $1,800,000) may: 

• Submit a live bid for any number of 

LAs up to its bid eligibility, or 

• Submit nothing, and drop out of the 

auction. 

There is no requirement that the LAs 

contained in a live bid be contiguous. A 

bidder who has included multiple LAs 

in a live bid can include any 

combination of LAs up to the bidder’s 

bid eligibility. Before each subsequent 

round of the auction, BOEM will raise 

the asking price for any LA that received 

more than one live bid in the previous 

round. BOEM will not raise the asking 

price for a LA that received only one or 

no live bids in the previous round. 

BOEM, in its sole discretion, will 

determine asking price increments. 

BOEM will base asking price increments 

on a number of factors, including: 

• Making the increments sufficiently 

large that the auction will not take an 

unduly long time to conclude; and 

• Decreasing the increments as the 

asking price of a LA nears its apparent 

final price. 

BOEM reserves the right during the 

auction to increase or decrease 

increments if it determines, in its sole 

discretion, that a different increment is 

warranted to enhance the efficiency of 

the auction process. 

A bidder must submit a live bid in 

each round of the auction (or have an 

uncontested live bid automatically 

carried forward by BOEM) for it to 

remain active and continue bidding in 

future rounds. All of the live bids 

submitted in any round of the auction 

will be preserved and considered 

binding until determination of the 

winning bids is made. Therefore, the 

bidders are responsible for payment of 

the bids they submit and can be held 

accountable for up to the maximum 

amount of those bids determined to be 

winning bids during the final award 

procedures. 

Between rounds, BOEM will release 

the following information: 

• The level of demand for each LA in 

the previous round of the auction (i.e., 

the number of live bids that included 

the LA); and 

• The asking price for each LA in the 

upcoming round of the auction. 

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In any subsequent round of the 

auction, if a bidder’s previous round bid 

was uncontested, and the auction 

continues for another round, then 

BOEM will automatically carry forward 

that bid as a live bid in the next round. 

A bidder whose bid is carried forward 

will not have an opportunity to modify 

or drop its bid until some other bidder 

submits a live bid that overlaps with the 

LA(s) in the carried forward bid. In 

particular, for rounds in which a bidder 

finds its uncontested bid is carried 

forward, the bidder will be unable to do 

the following: 

• Switch to any other LAs; 

• Submit an Intra-Round Bid (see 

herein for discussion of Intra-Round 

Bids); or 

• Drop out of the auction. 

A bidder may be bound by that bid or, 

indeed, by any other bid which BOEM 

determines is a winning bid in the 

award stage. Hence, a bidder cannot 

drop an uncontested bid. In no scenario 

can a bidder be relieved of any of its 

bids from any round until a final 

determination is made of the winners of 

the auction. 

Except when a bidder’s bid is being 

carried forward by BOEM (i.e., an 

uncontested bid), a bidder with an 

eligibility of one (that is, a bidder who 

submitted a live bid for one LA in the 

previous round) may: 

• Submit a live bid for any of the four 

LAs; 

• Submit an Intra-Round Bid for the 

same LA for which the bidder submitted 

a live bid in the previous round, and 

exit the auction; or 

• Submit nothing, and drop out of the 

auction. 

Additionally, if a bid is not carried 

forward by BOEM (i.e., a contested bid), 

a bidder with an eligibility of two or 

more (that is, a bidder who submitted a 

live bid for two or more LAs in the 

previous round) may: 

• Submit a live bid for any number of 

LAs up to its eligibility; 

• Submit an Intra-Round Bid for the 

specific combination of LAs in that 

bidder’s previous-round bid, and a live 

bid for any number of LAs fewer than 

the number of LAs in that bidder’s 

previous-round bid; 

• Submit an Intra-Round Bid for the 

specific combination of LAs in that 

bidder’s previous-round bid, no live 

bids, and exit the auction; or 

• Submit nothing, and drop out of the 

auction. 

Subsequent auction rounds occur in 

this sale as long as one of the four LAs 

is contested. The auction concludes at 

the end of the round in which none of 

the four LAs is included in the live bid 

of more than one bidder, e.g., all live 

bids are uncontested. 

Bidding—Intra-Round Bids 

All asking prices and asking price 

increments will be determined by the 

BOEM Auction Manager. Intra-round 

bidding allows bidders to more 

precisely express the maximum price 

they are willing to offer for a single LA 

or for a combination of LAs while also 

minimizing the chance of ties. An IntraRound Bid must consist of a single offer 

price for exactly the same LA(s) 

included in the bidder’s live bid in the 

previous round. 

When submitting an Intra-Round Bid, 

the bidder is indicating that it is not 

willing to meet the current round’s 

asking price, but it is willing to pay 

more than the previous round’s asking 

price. In particular, in an Intra-Round 

Bid, the bidder specifies the maximum 

(higher than the previous round’s asking 

price and less than the current round’s 

asking price) that it is willing to offer for 

the specific LA(s) in its previous 

round’s live bid. 

Although an Intra-Round Bid is not a 

live bid, in the round in which a valid 

Intra-Round Bid is submitted for any 

number of LAs, the bidder’s eligibility 

for a live bid in that same round and 

future rounds is permanently reduced to 

one less than the amount of LAs for 

which the bidder was eligible to bid in 

the previous round. In other words, 

once an Intra-Round Bid is submitted, 

the bidder will never again have the 

opportunity to submit a live bid on as 

many LAs as it has bid in previous 

rounds. 

BOEM will not consider the presence 

of Intra-Round Bids for the purpose of 

determining whether to increase the 

asking price for a particular LA or to 

end the auction. Also, BOEM will not 

count or share with bidders between 

rounds the number of Intra-Round Bids 

received for each LA. 

All of the Intra-Round Bids submitted 

during the auction will be preserved, 

and may be determined to be winning 

bids. Therefore, bidders are responsible 

for payment of the bids they submit and 

may be held accountable for up to the 

maximum amount of any Intra-Round 

Bids or live bids determined to be 

winning bids during the final award 

procedures. 

Please note that all bids are treated as 

separate packages in deciding how and 

to whom to award LAs. In other words, 

Intra-Round bids, like all other bids 

consisting of more than one LA, are not 

divisible. The auction rules also 

guarantee that a final round live bid is 

a provisionally winning bid. 

Accordingly, a bidder’s earlier round 

bid for multiple LAs, which contains 

one or more of the LAs included in a 

final round bid of a different bidder, 

cannot be a provisionally winning bid. 

For example, if an Intra-Round bid is 

submitted for two LAs, and in the final 

round a different bidder submits a live 

bid for only one of those lease areas, the 

Intra-Round bid will not be considered 

for the area that did not receive a live 

bid. Because Intra-Round bids are 

considered inseparable packages, in this 

scenario the Intra-Round bid cannot win 

either LA. 

Determining Provisional Winners 

After the bidding ends, BOEM will 

determine the provisionally winning 

bids in accordance with the process 

described in this section. This process 

consists of two stages: Stage 1 and Stage 

2, which are described below. Once the 

auction ends, nothing further is required 

of bidders within or between Stages 1 

and 2. In practice, the stages of the 

process will be determined by the 

auction software, which will analyze the 

monetary and credit portion of the bids, 

determine provisional winners, find the 

LAs won by the provisional winners, 

and calculate the applicable bid prices 

to be paid by the winners for the LAs 

they won. This evaluation will be 

reviewed, checked and validated by the 

panel. The determination of provisional 

winners, in both stages, will be based on 

the two auction variables, as well as on 

a bidder’s adherence to the rules of the 

auction, and the absence of conduct 

detrimental to the integrity of the 

competitive auction. 

• Stage 1 

Live bids submitted in the final round 

of the auction are Qualified Bids. Live 

bids submitted before the final round 

and any Intra-Round Bids submitted in 

any round of the auction are Contingent 

Bids. In Stage 1, a bidder with a 

Qualified Bid is provisionally assured of 

winning the LA(s) included in its final 

round bid, regardless of any other 

Contingent Bids. If all four LAs receive 

live bids in the final round, they are 

awarded to bidders in Stage 1, and the 

second award stage is not necessary. If 

any LA received a Contingent Bid but 

not a Qualified Bid, BOEM will proceed 

to Stage 2 to award the leases. 

Following the auction, all winning 

bidders must pay the price associated 

with their winning bids, which may 

consist of cash and non-monetary 

credits or just cash. 

• Stage 2 

In Stage 2, BOEM will consider 

Contingent Bids to determine if the 

LA(s) not awarded in Stage 1 can be 

awarded in Stage 2. BOEM will award 

these LAs in Stage 2 based upon the 

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Contingent Bids that maximize the total 

As-Bid prices in the auction. However, 

in order to preserve the award of 

Qualified Bids in Stage 1, the only 

circumstance in which a Contingent Bid 

may replace a Qualified Bid is when the 

Contingent Bid is submitted by the same 

bidder and includes the LA of the 

Qualified Bid it replaces. For example, 

if a particular bidder placed a live bid 

for the Lease OCS–A 0500 in the final 

round of the auction, in Stage 2, if there 

are LAs that did not receive a final 

round live bid, BOEM will review the 

bids placed in the auction to determine 

if the same bidder placed a Contingent 

Bid containing Lease OCS–A 0500 and 

one or more other LAs. If this 

Contingent Bid maximizes the As-Bid 

prices in the auction, BOEM may choose 

this bid as the winning bid instead of 

that bidder’s Qualified Bid for Lease 

OCS–A 0500. If the bidder’s Qualified 

Bid is replaced by its Contingent Bid for 

Lease OCS–A 0500 and one or more of 

the other LAs (either by an Intra-Round 

bid for those LAs or by a live bid 

comprised of those LAs), the bidder 

would pay the price associated with its 

Contingent Bid for the LAs contained 

therein. 

Under certain circumstances, different 

combinations of Contingent Bids from 

two or more bidders may result in the 

same total As-Bid price. In such cases, 

BOEM will resolve the resulting tie with 

a random drawing. 

In the event a bidder submits a bid for 

a LA that the panel and BOEM 

determine to be a winning bid, the 

bidder will be expected to sign the 

applicable lease documents in a timely 

manner and submit the full cash 

payment due, pursuant to 30 CFR 

585.224. If a bidder fails to timely sign 

and pay for the lease, then BOEM will 

not issue the lease to that bidder, and 

the bidder will forfeit its bid deposit. 

BOEM may take into account failure of 

a bidder to timely pay the full amount 

due in determining whether the bidder 

is financially capable to participate in 

other lease sales under BOEM’s 

regulations at 30 CFR 585.106 and 

585.107. 

Credit Factors 

Prior to the auction, BOEM will 

convene a panel pursuant to 30 CFR 

585.222(d) to evaluate bidders’ nonmonetary packages to determine 

whether and to what extent each bidder 

is eligible for a non-monetary credit 

applicable to the As-Bid auction price 

for one of the LAs in each round of the 

auction, as described herein. Any single 

PPA or CBA cannot be used by more 

than one bidder in the auction. 

The percentage credit that will be 

applicable to each bidder throughout 

the auction and award process is 

determined based on the panel’s 

evaluation of required documentation 

submitted by the bidders as of January 

14, 2015. Bidders will be informed by 

email before the monetary auction about 

the percentage credit applicable to their 

bids. A bidder may not receive more 

than one credit, and the bid credit will 

be applicable to only one LA. Any nonmonetary credit will be applicable only 

to the highest priced LA in a bid for 

multiple LAs. For an Intra-Round Bid 

containing multiple LAs, the highest 

priced LA will be determined using the 

previous round’s asking prices. After 

application of the credit percentage to 

the appropriate As-Bid auction price, it 

will be rounded to the nearest whole 

dollar amount. 

The bidder’s credit percentage is 

limited to the greater of 10% for a CBA 

or up to 25% for a PPA. This credit 

percentage will be applied to the highest 

priced LA related to the bidder’s latest 

live bid or Intra-Round Bid. During each 

round, bidders are informed by the 

BOEM Auction System how the credit 

applies to their live bid and any IntraRound Bid. In the case of a live bid for 

multiple LAs, the credit will apply only 

to the LA having the highest current 

round asking price. In the case of an 

Intra-Round Bid for multiple LAs, the 

credit will apply only to the highestpriced LA, but the applicable price for 

calculating the credit will be based on 

the previous round’s asking prices, not 

on any additional amount above the 

previous round’s asking prices as 

reflected in the incremental amount 

associated with its Intra-Round Bid. 

The panel will review the nonmonetary package submitted by each 

bidder, and, based on the criteria of a 

PPA or CBA as provided in this FSN, 

determine whether bidders have 

established that they are qualified to 

receive a credit and the percentage at 

which that credit will apply. If the panel 

determines that no bidder has qualified 

for a non-monetary credit, the auction 

will proceed with each bidder registered 

with no imputed credit. 

Credit Factor Definitions 

The following definitions describe the 

factors for which bidders may earn a 

credit. 

Community Benefits Agreements 

(CBA). BOEM will provide a 10% credit 

for any bidder that can demonstrate that 

it has executed a CBA, as defined in this 

section. In order for a non-monetary 

package to qualify for a 10% credit in 

this auction, the BOEM-appointed panel 

must answer ‘‘yes’’ to the following 

questions: 

1. Is there a legally binding contract? 

2. Is the contract between: 

a. A bidder; and 

b. One or more community-based 

organizations (CBO)? 

3. Has the bidder committed to 

provide specified community benefits? 

4. Has the CBO committed in specific 

ways to support the project in the 

governmental approval process? 

A community-based organization 

(CBO) is defined as: A legally 

incorporated organization whose 

membership includes residents or 

property owners of a community within 

the potentially affected region, the local 

government of the community, or an 

entity created or managed by the local 

government(s) of the community or 

communities. 

Bidders seeking non-monetary credit 

for a CBA must submit the CBA as part 

of their non-monetary package by the 

date specified in this FSN. In addition, 

bidders must include a description of 

how the CBA meets the requirements 

outlined in this FSN. For protection of 

confidential business information, 

please see the section entitled, 

‘‘Protection of Privileged or Confidential 

Information’’ in this notice. 

Power purchase agreement (PPA) is 

any legally enforceable long-term 

contract negotiated between an 

electricity generator (Generator) and a 

power purchaser (Buyer) that identifies, 

defines, and stipulates the rights and 

obligations of one party to produce, and 

the other party to purchase, energy from 

an offshore wind project to be located in 

the lease sale area. Except where 

approval of the PPA by the 

Massachusetts Department of Public 

Utilities would not otherwise be 

required, such approval must be 

obtained before a PPA will be eligible 

for credit in a non-monetary package in 

BOEM’s lease sale. The PPA must state 

that the Generator will sell to the Buyer 

and the Buyer will buy from the 

Generator capacity and/or energy 

products from the project, as defined in 

the terms and conditions set forth in the 

PPA. Energy products to be supplied by 

the Generator and the details of the firm 

cost recovery mechanism approved by 

the state’s public utility commission or 

other applicable authority used to 

recover expenditures incurred as a 

result of the PPA must be specified in 

the PPA. To qualify, a PPA must contain 

the following terms or supporting 

documentation: 

(i) A complete description of the 

proposed project; 

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(ii) Identification of both the 

electricity Generator and Buyer that will 

enter into a long term contract; 

(iii) A timeline for permitting, 

licensing, and construction; 

(iv) Pricing projected under the long 

term contract being sought, including 

prices for all market products that 

would be sold under the proposed long 

term contract; 

(v) A schedule of quantities of each 

product to be delivered and projected 

electrical energy production profiles; 

(vi) The term for the long-term 

contract; 

(vii) Citations to all filings related to 

the PPA that have been made with state 

and Federal agencies, and identification 

of all such filings that are necessary to 

be made; and 

(viii) Copies of or citations to 

interconnection filings related to the 

PPA. 

If the panel determines a bidder has 

executed a PPA for at least 250 MW, it 

will be eligible for the entire 25% credit. 

If the panel determines a bidder has 

executed a PPA for an amount less than 

250 MW, the bidder may still be eligible 

for a non-monetary credit proportional 

to the PPA’s fraction of 250 MW. The 

smaller percentage for a partial credit 

will be calculated according to the 

formula below: 

Where: 

• Partial Credit = Percent credit for which a 

smaller PPA is eligible 

• Full PPA = 250 MW 

• Full Credit = 25% 

• Partial PPA = amount (less than 250 MW) 

of power under contract 

Additional Information Regarding the 

Auction 

Non-Monetary Auction Procedures 

All bidders seeking a non-monetary 

auction credit are required to submit a 

non-monetary auction package. If a 

bidder seeks a non-monetary auction 

credit, this submission must contain 

information sufficient to establish the 

bidder’s eligibility to receive a nonmonetary credit in the monetary phase 

of the auction. Further information on 

this subject can be found in the section 

of this notice entitled, ‘‘Credit Factor 

Definitions.’’ If a bidder does not submit 

a non-monetary package by January 14, 

2015, to BOEM, then BOEM will assume 

that bidder is not seeking a nonmonetary auction credit and the panel 

will not consider that bidder for a nonmonetary auction credit. 

Bidder Authentication 

Prior to the auction, the Auction 

Manager will send several bidder 

authentication packages to the bidders 

shortly after BOEM has processed the 

BFFs. One package will contain tokens 

for each authorized individual. Tokens 

are digital authentication devices. The 

tokens will be mailed to the Primary 

Point of Contact indicated on the BFF. 

This individual is responsible for 

distributing the tokens to the 

individuals authorized to bid for that 

company. Bidders are to ensure that 

each token is returned within three 

business days following the auction. An 

addressed, stamped envelope will be 

provided to facilitate this process. In the 

event that a bidder fails to submit a bid 

deposit or does not participate in the 

auction, BOEM will de-activate that 

bidder’s token and login information, 

and the bidder will be asked to return 

its tokens. 

The second package contains login 

credentials for authorized bidders. The 

login credentials will be mailed to the 

address provided in the BFF for each 

authorized individual. Bidders can 

confirm these addresses by calling 703– 

787–1320. This package will contain 

user login information and instructions 

for accessing the Auction System 

Technical Supplement and Alternative 

Bidding Form. The login information, 

along with the tokens, will be tested 

during the Mock Auction. 

Monetary Auction Times 

This section will describe, from a 

bidder’s perspective, how the auction 

will take place. This information will be 

elaborated on and clarified in the 

Auction System Technical Supplement 

available on BOEM’s Web site at: http:// 

www.boem.gov/State-ActivitiesMassachusetts/. The Auction System 

Technical Supplement describes 

auction procedures that are 

incorporated by reference in this notice, 

except where the procedures described 

in the Auction System Technical 

Supplement directly contradict this 

notice. 

The monetary auction will begin at 

8:30 a.m. EST on January 29, 2015. 

Bidders may log in as early as 8:00 a.m. 

on that day. We recommend that 

bidders log in earlier than 8:30 a.m. on 

that day to ensure that any login issues 

are resolved prior to the start of the 

auction. Once bidders have logged in, 

they should review the auction 

schedule, which lists the start times, 

end times, and recess times of each 

round in the auction. Each round is 

structured as follows: 

• Round bidding begins; 

• Bidders enter their bids; 

• Round bidding ends and the Recess 

begins; 

• During the Recess, previous Round 

results are posted; 

• Bidders review the previous Round 

results and prepare their next Round 

bids; 

• Next Round bidding begins. 

The first round will last about 30 

minutes, though subsequent rounds may 

be shorter. Recesses are anticipated to 

last approximately 10 minutes. The 

descriptions of the auction schedule and 

asking price increments included with 

this FSN are tentative. Bidders should 

consult the auction schedule on the 

bidding Web site during the auction for 

updated times. Bidding will continue 

until about 6:00 p.m. each day. BOEM 

anticipates the auction will last one or 

two business days, but bidders are 

advised to prepare to continue bidding 

for additional business days as 

necessary to resolve the auction. 

BOEM and the auction contractors 

will use the auction platform messaging 

service to keep bidders informed on 

issues of interest during the auction. For 

example, BOEM may change the 

schedule at any time, including during 

the auction. If BOEM changes the 

schedule during the auction, it will use 

the messaging feature to notify bidders 

that a revision has been made, and 

direct bidders to the relevant page. 

BOEM will also use the messaging 

system for other changes and items of 

note during the auction. 

Bidders may place bids at any time 

during the round. At the top of the 

bidding page, a countdown clock will 

show how much time remains in the 

round. Bidders have until the scheduled 

time to place bids. Bidders should do so 

according to the procedures described 

in this notice, and the Auction System 

Technical Supplement. No information 

about the round is available until the 

round has closed and results have been 

posted, so there should be no strategic 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 228 / Wednesday, November 26, 2014 / Notices 70553 

advantage to placing bids early or late 

in the round. 

Alternate Bidding Procedures 

Any bidder who is unable to place a 

bid using the online auction and would 

be interested in placing a bid using the 

Alternate Bidding Procedures must: 

• Call BOEM/the BOEM Auction 

Manager at the help desk number that 

is listed in the Auction Manual before 

the end of the round. BOEM will 

authenticate the caller to ensure he/she 

is authorized to bid on behalf of the 

company. The bidder must explain to 

the BOEM Auction Manager the reasons 

for which he/she is forced to place a bid 

using the Alternate Bidding Procedures. 

BOEM may, in its sole discretion, 

permit or refuse to accept a request for 

the placement of a bid using the 

Alternate Bidding Procedures. 

• The Alternate Bidding Procedures 

enable a bidder who is having 

difficulties accessing the Internet to 

submit its bid via an Alternate Bidding 

Form that can be faxed to the auction 

manager. If the bidder has not placed a 

bid, but calls BOEM before the end of 

the round and notifies BOEM that it is 

preparing a bid using the Alternate 

Bidding Procedures, and submits the 

Alternate Bidding Form by fax before 

the round ends, BOEM will likely 

accept the bid, though acceptance or 

rejection of the bid is within BOEM’s 

sole discretion. When using the 

Alternate Bidding Procedures, if the 

bidder calls during the round, but does 

not submit the bid until after the round 

ends (but before the round is posted), 

BOEM may or may not accept the bid, 

in part based on how much time 

remains in the recess. Bidders are 

strongly encouraged to submit the 

Alternate Bidding Form before the 

round ends. If the bidder calls during 

the recess following the round, but 

before the previous round’s results have 

been posted, BOEM will likely reject its 

bid, even if it has otherwise complied 

with all of BOEM’s Alternate Bidding 

Procedures. If the bidder calls to enter 

a bid after results have been posted, 

BOEM will reject the bid. 

Except for bidders who have 

uncontested bids in the current round, 

failure to place a bid during a round 

will be interpreted as dropping out of 

the auction. It is possible that bids 

entered in prior rounds, before the 

bidder stopped bidding, may be 

awarded one or both LAs pursuant to 

BOEM’s Stage 2 procedures. Bidders are 

held accountable for all bids placed 

during the auction. This is true if they 

continued bidding in the last round, if 

they placed an Intra-Round Bid, or if 

they stopped bidding during the 

auction. 

Rejection of Bids: BOEM reserves the 

right and authority to reject any and all 

bids. In any case, no lease will be 

awarded to any bidder, and no bid will 

be accepted, unless (1) the bidder has 

complied with all requirements of the 

FSN, applicable regulations and 

statutes, including, among others, those 

related to: bidder qualifications, bid 

deposits, and adherence to the integrity 

of the competitive bidding process, (2) 

the bid conforms with the requirements 

and rules of the auction, and (3) the 

amount of the bid has been determined 

to be adequate by the authorized officer. 

Any bid submitted that does not satisfy 

any of these requirements may be 

rejected by the Program Manager of 

BOEM’s Office of Renewable Energy 

Programs and, in that case, would not be 

considered for acceptance. 

Process for Issuing the Leases: If 

BOEM proceeds with lease issuance, it 

will issue three unsigned copies of the 

lease to each winning bidder. Within 10 

business days after receiving the lease 

copies, the winning bidder must: 

1. Execute the lease on the bidder’s 

behalf; 

2. File financial assurance, as required 

under 30 CFR 585.515–537; and 

3. Pay by electronic funds transfer 

(EFT) the balance of the bonus bid (bid 

amount less the bid deposit). BOEM 

requires bidders to use EFT procedures 

(not pay.gov, the Web site bidders used 

to submit bid deposits) for payment of 

the balance of the bonus bid, following 

the detailed instructions contained in 

the ‘‘Instructions for Making Electronic 

Payments’’ available on BOEM’s Web 

site at: http://www.boem.gov/StateActivities-Massachusetts/. 

If the winning bidder does not meet 

these three requirements within 10 

business days of receiving the lease 

copies as described above, or if the 

winning bidder otherwise fails to 

comply with applicable regulations or 

the terms of the FSN, the winning 

bidder will forfeit its bid deposit. BOEM 

may extend this 10 business-day time 

period if it determines the delay was 

caused by events beyond the winning 

bidder’s control. 

In the event that the provisional 

winner does not execute and return the 

leases according to the instructions in 

this notice, BOEM reserves the right to 

reconvene the panel to determine 

whether it is possible to identify a bid 

that would have won in the absence of 

the bid previously determined to be the 

winning bid. In the event that a new 

winning bid is selected by the panel, 

BOEM will follow the procedures in this 

section for determining the new 

winner(s). 

BOEM will not execute a lease until 

(1) the three requirements above have 

been satisfied, (2) BOEM has accepted 

the winning bidder’s financial 

assurance, and (3) BOEM has processed 

the winning bidder’s payment. The 

winning bidder may meet financial 

assurance requirements by posting a 

surety bond or by setting up an escrow 

account with a trust agreement giving 

BOEM the right to withdraw the money 

held in the account on demand. BOEM 

may accept other forms of financial 

assurance on a case-by-case basis in 

accordance with its regulations. BOEM 

encourages provisionally winning 

bidders to discuss the financial 

assurance requirement with BOEM as 

soon as possible after the auction has 

concluded. 

Within 45 days of the date that the 

winning bidder receives the lease 

copies, the winning bidder must pay the 

first year’s rent using the pay.gov 

Renewable Energy Initial Rental 

Payment form available at: https://

pay.gov/paygov/forms/

formInstance.html?agencyFormId=

27797604. 

Subsequent annual rent payments 

must be made following the detailed 

instructions contained in the 

‘‘Instructions for Making Electronic 

Payments’’ available on BOEM’s Web 

site at: http://www.boem.gov/StateActivities-Massachusetts/. 

Anti-Competitive Behavior: In 

addition to the auction rules described 

in this notice, bidding behavior is 

governed by Federal antitrust laws 

designed to prevent anti-competitive 

behavior in the marketplace. 

Compliance with the BOEM’s auction 

procedures will not insulate a party 

from enforcement of the antitrust laws. 

In accordance with the Act at 43 

U.S.C. 1337(c), following the auction, 

and before the acceptance of bids and 

the issuance of leases, BOEM will 

‘‘allow the Attorney General, in 

consultation with the Federal Trade 

Commission, 30 days to review the 

results of the lease sale.’’ 

If a bidder is found to have engaged 

in anti-competitive behavior in 

connection with its participation in the 

competitive bidding process, BOEM 

may reject the high bid. 

Anti-competitive behavior 

determinations are fact specific. 

However, such behavior may manifest 

itself in several different ways, 

including, but not limited to: 

• An agreement, either express or 

tacit, among bidders to not bid in an 

auction, or to bid a particular price; 

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70554 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 228 / Wednesday, November 26, 2014 / Notices 

• An agreement among bidders not to 

bid for a particular LA; 

• An agreement among bidders not to 

bid against each other; and 

• Other agreements among bidders 

that have the effect of limiting the final 

auction price. 

Pursuant to 43 U.S.C. 1337(c), BOEM 

will decline to award a lease if it is 

determined by the Attorney General in 

consultation with the Federal Trade 

Commission that doing so would be 

inconsistent with the antitrust laws. 

For more information on whether 

specific communications or agreements 

could constitute a violation of Federal 

antitrust law, please see: http://

www.justice.gov/atr/public/businessresources.html, or consult counsel. 

Bidder’s Financial Form SelfCertification: Each bidder is required to 

sign the self-certification, in accordance 

with 18 U.S.C. 1001 (Fraud and False 

Statements) in the BFF, which can be 

found on BOEM’s Web site: http://

www.boem.gov/State-ActivitiesMassachusetts/. The form must be filled 

out and returned to BOEM in 

accordance with the ‘‘Deadlines and 

Milestones for Bidders’’ section of this 

notice. 

Non-Procurement Debarment and 

Suspension Regulations 

Pursuant to regulations at 43 CFR part 

42, subpart C, an OCS renewable energy 

lessee must comply with the 

Department of the Interior’s nonprocurement debarment and suspension 

regulations at 2 CFR 180 and 1400 and 

agree to communicate the requirement 

to comply with these regulations to 

persons with whom the lessee does 

business as it relates to this lease, by 

including this term as a condition in 

their contracts and other transactions. 

Force Majeure: The Program Manager 

of BOEM’s Office of Renewable Energy 

Programs has the discretion to change 

any auction details, such as the date and 

time, specified in the FSN in case of a 

force majeure event that the Program 

Manager deems may interfere with a fair 

and proper lease sale process. Such 

events may include, but are not limited 

to: natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, 

hurricanes, floods), wars, riots, acts of 

terrorism, fire, strikes, civil disorder or 

other events of a similar nature. In case 

of such events, bidders should call 703– 

787–1320 or access the BOEM Web site 

at: http://www.boem.gov/RenewableEnergy-Program/index.aspx. 

Appeals: The appeals procedures are 

provided in BOEM’s regulations at 30 

CFR 585.225 and 585.118(c). Pursuant 

to 30 CFR 585.225: 

(a) If BOEM rejects your bid, BOEM 

will provide a written statement of the 

reasons, and refund any money 

deposited with your bid, without 

interest. 

(b) You will then be able to ask the 

BOEM Director for reconsideration, in 

writing, within 15 business days of bid 

rejection, under 30 CFR 585.118(c)(1). 

We will send you a written response 

either affirming or reversing the 

rejection. 

The procedures for appealing final 

decisions with respect to lease sales are 

described in 30 CFR 585.118(c). 

Protection of Privileged or Confidential 

Information 

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, except as 

required by 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 may not treat as 

confidential the legal title of the 

commenting entity (e.g., the name of 

your company). Information that is not 

labeled as privileged or confidential will 

be regarded by BOEM as suitable for 

public release. 

Dated: November 17, 2014. 

Walter D. Cruickshank, 

Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2014–27965 Filed 11–25–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

[Docket No. BOEM–2014–0078; 

MMAA104000] 

Outer Continental Shelf, Alaska OCS 

Region, Chukchi Sea Planning Area, 

Oil and Gas Lease Sale 193 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM), Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a 

Second Draft Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Notice of Public Hearings; Correction. 

SUMMARY: On November 7, 2014, BOEM 

published a notice in the Federal 

Register (79 FR 66401). BOEM is 

changing the venue for one of the public 

hearing dates. This notice makes that 

change. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public 

Hearings: Pursuant to the regulations 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA, BOEM will hold public 

hearings on the Second Draft SEIS. The 

hearing scheduled on December 1, 2014, 

previously announced to occur at the 

Loussac Library Complex, will be held 

at a different location. The hearing will 

instead take place at the Crowne Plaza 

Hotel, 109 W. International Airport 

Road, Anchorage, Alaska. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Routhier, Program Analysis 

Officer and Project Manager, BOEM, 

Alaska OCS Region, 3801 Centerpoint 

Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska 

99503–5823 or by telephone at (907) 

334–5200. 

Dated: November 17, 2014. 

Walter D. Cruickshank, 

Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28003 Filed 11–25–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Notice of Lodging of a Proposed 

Amended Consent Decree Under the 

Clean Water Act 

On November 19, 2014, the 

Department of Justice lodged a proposed 

Amended Consent Decree with the 

United States District Court for the 

Western District of Missouri in the 

lawsuit entitled United States v. The 

City of Kansas City, Missouri, Civil 

Action No. 4:10–cv–0497–GAF, 

proposing to modify the implementation 

schedule for certain injunctive measures 

required under the original Consent 

Decree entered in this matter on 

September 27, 2010, resolving Kansas 

City’s alleged violations of the Clean 

Water Act (‘‘CWA’’ or ‘‘Act’’). 

The Consent Decree (‘‘CD’’) requires, 

among other measures intended to 

reduce or eliminate sewage overflows 

from Kansas City’s sewer system, that 

Kansas City (‘‘KC’’) build 68 million 

gallons of additional storage tank 

capacity at the City’s 87th Street 

Pumping Station in two phases: Phase I 

(20 MM gallons) is due to be completed 

in 2016; Phase II (remaining 48 MM 

gallons) is due to be completed in 2024. 

The proposed Amendment would allow 

the City to defer the Phase I 

construction so that completion of both 

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