[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 83 (Friday, April 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25539-25545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09036]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2022-0023]


Call for Information and Nominations--Commercial Leasing for Wind 
Power Development on the Central Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.

ACTION: Call for information and nominations; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This call for information and nominations (Call or notice) 
invites public comment on and assesses interest in possible commercial 
wind energy leasing on the OCS offshore the U.S. central Atlantic 
coast. BOEM will consider information received in response to this Call 
to determine whether to schedule a competitive lease sale or to issue a 
noncompetitive lease for any portion of the area described in this Call 
(Call Area). Those interested in providing comments and information 
regarding site conditions, resources, and multiple uses in close 
proximity to or within the Call Areas should provide the information 
requested in section 7, ``Requested Information from Interested or 
Affected Parties,'' under Supplementary Information. Those interested 
in leasing within the Call Area for a commercial wind energy project 
should provide the information described in section 8, ``Required 
Nomination Information,'' under the Supplementary Information heading 
of this Call. BOEM may or may not offer a lease for a commercial 
offshore wind energy project within the Call Area after further 
government consultations, public participation, and environmental 
analyses.

DATES: Submit your interest in or comments on commercial leasing within 
the Call Area no later than June 28, 2022. Late submissions may not be 
considered.

ADDRESSES: Please submit nomination information for commercial leasing 
as discussed in section 8 entitled ``Required Nomination Information'' 
via U.S. Postal Service, Fedex, UPS, or

[[Page 25540]]

another mail carrier to: Bridgette Duplantis, Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management, Office of Leasing and Plans, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, 
New Orleans, Louisiana 70123. In addition to a paper copy, include an 
electronic copy on a digital data storage device. Do not submit 
nominations via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. BOEM will list the 
parties that submitted nominations and the aggregated locations of 
nominated areas on the BOEM website after BOEM has completed its review 
of the nominations.
    Please submit all other comments and information by either of the 
following two methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the 
search box at the top of the web page, enter BOEM-2022-0023 and then 
click ``search.'' Follow the instructions to submit public comments and 
to view supporting and related materials.
    2. U.S. Postal Service or other mail delivery service. Send your 
comments and other information to the following address: Bridgette 
Duplantis, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Leasing and 
Plans, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123.
    For information about submitting public comments, please see the 
section 9 under Supplementary Information entitled ``Protection of 
Privileged, Personal, or Confidential Information.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bridgette Duplantis, Project 
Coordinator, Office of Leasing and Plans, Leasing and Financial 
Responsibility Section, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, 
Louisiana 70123, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c785b5aea3a0a2b3b3a2e983b2b7aba6a9b3aeb487a5a8a2aae9a0a8b1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e2a0908b868587969687cca697928e838c968b91a2808d878fcc858d94">[email protected]</span></a>.
    For information regarding qualification requirements to hold a 
BOEM-issued lease, contact Gina Best, BOEM Office of Renewable Energy 
Programs, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b8dfd1d6d996daddcbccf8dad7ddd596dfd7ce"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dfb8b6b1bef1bdbaacab9fbdb0bab2f1b8b0a9">[email protected]</span></a> or 703-787-1341.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Authority

    This Call is published under subsection 8(p)(3) of the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), 43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3), and its 
implementing regulations at 30 CFR 585.210 and 585.211.

2. Purpose

    An essential part of BOEM's renewable energy leasing process is 
working closely with state and local governments, Tribes, industry and 
ocean users to identify areas that may be suitable for potential 
offshore wind development to power the nation. This Call for 
Information and Nominations serves two important purposes. The first is 
to collect information and feedback on site conditions, resources and 
ocean uses within the identified area. The second is to help BOEM 
determine competitive interest. BOEM has not yet determined which 
areas, if any, within the Call Area may be offered for lease. Your 
input is essential and will help BOEM determine areas that may be 
suitable for offshore wind development. While this is not the only 
opportunity to provide feedback, it is an important one. There will be 
multiple opportunities to provide feedback throughout the renewable 
energy process including if BOEM receives any proposed projects in the 
future. An explanation of the Call Areas and their detailed 
descriptions may be found below in Section 6. For more information 
about BOEM's competitive and noncompetitive leasing process, please see 
Section 4.

3. Background

    The Energy Policy Act of 2005 amended OCSLA by adding subsection 
8(p)(1)(C), which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to grant 
leases, easements, and rights-of-way (ROWs) on the OCS for activities 
that are not otherwise authorized by law and that produce or support 
production, transportation, or transmission of energy from sources 
other than oil or gas, including renewable energy sources. The 
Secretary delegated this authority to the BOEM director. On April 29, 
2009, the Department of the Interior published regulations entitled 
``Renewable Energy and Alternate Uses of Existing Facilities on the 
Outer Continental Shelf,'' which were subsequently re-codified at 30 
CFR part 585 in October 2011 and which can be found at: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-585.
    In March 2021, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Secretary of 
Commerce Gina Raimondo, and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm 
jointly established the goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind 
energy capacity by 2030. BOEM is committed to this ambitious goal by 
responsibly fostering the growth of offshore wind energy capacity and 
participating in collaborative, data-based planning to inform decisions 
involving shared ocean resources and the many users that depend on 
them.
    BOEM appreciates the importance of coordinating its planning with 
other OCS users, regulators, and relevant Federal agencies--including, 
but not limited to, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National 
Park Service, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Department of Defense (DOD). 
BOEM also regularly coordinates with and requests input from the Mid-
Atlantic Committee on the Ocean and the Northeast Regional Ocean 
Council, both of which include Federal and State agencies, federally 
recognized Tribes, and fishery management councils. BOEM also uses 
information contained in the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal \1\ in its 
decision-making, among other sources of information, because the portal 
includes maps of marine life, habitat areas, cultural resources, 
transportation links, fishing areas, and other human uses that must be 
considered when offshore energy or other infrastructure projects are 
proposed.
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    \1\ The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal (maintained by the Mid-
Atlantic Committee on the Ocean http://portal.midatlanticocean.org)draws upon data from the 
MarineCadastre.gov national data portal, which was developed through 
a partnership between NOAA and BOEM. MarineCadastre.gov is an 
integrated marine information system that provides data, tools, and 
technical support for ocean and Great Lakes planning, designed 
specifically to support renewable energy siting on the OCS, but also 
used for other ocean-related efforts and recognized by regional 
ocean governance groups as the central place for authoritative 
Federal ocean data, metadata, and map services.
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    In 2020 and 2021, BOEM received letters from the Commonwealth of 
Virginia and the State of Maryland, respectively, requesting the 
formation of a regional renewable energy task force that could start 
the process that may lead to a lease sale. In response, BOEM 
established the Central Atlantic Intergovernmental Renewable Energy 
Task Force to facilitate coordination among relevant Federal agencies 
and affected State, local, and Tribal governments throughout the 
leasing process. The first task force meeting was held virtually on 
February 16, 2022. Materials from the task force meeting are available 
on the BOEM website at: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/central-atlantic-activities.

4. BOEM's Planning and Leasing Process

a. Determination of Competitive Interest

    Subsection 8(p)(3) of OCSLA states that ``the Secretary shall issue 
a lease, easement, or right-of-way . . . on a competitive basis unless 
the Secretary determines after public notice of a proposed lease, 
easement, or right-of-way that there is no competitive interest.'' 
Accordingly, BOEM must first determine whether there is competitive

[[Page 25541]]

interest in acquiring a lease to develop offshore wind energy within 
the Call Area. At the conclusion of this Call's comment period, BOEM 
will review the nominations received and determine if competitive 
interest exists in any part of the Call Area.
    For areas with two or more valid nominations, BOEM may consider 
proceeding with competitive leasing as described in the section of this 
Call entitled ``Competitive Leasing Process.'' For areas where BOEM 
determines that there is only one interested entity, BOEM may consider 
proceeding with noncompetitive leasing, as described in the section 
entitled ``Noncompetitive Leasing Process.'' However, BOEM may also 
determine there is competitive interest in an area with only a single 
nomination based on input received in response to this notice, market 
conditions, and the amount of area available for leasing.
    If BOEM determines that competitive interest exists in areas BOEM 
identifies as appropriate to lease, BOEM may hold one or more 
competitive lease sales for those areas. If BOEM holds a lease sale, 
all qualified bidders, including bidders that did not submit a 
nomination in response to this Call, will be able to participate in the 
lease sale.
    BOEM reserves the rights to not offer for lease areas that are 
nominated as a result of this Call and to modify nominated areas from 
their proposed form before offering them for lease.

b. Competitive Leasing Process

    BOEM will follow the steps required by 30 CFR 585.211 through 
585.225 if it decides to proceed with the competitive leasing process 
after analyzing the responses to this Call. Those steps are:
    (1) Area Identification: Based on the information received in 
response to this Call, BOEM will determine the level of commercial 
interest and identify the areas that are appropriate to analyze for 
potential leasing. Those areas will constitute wind energy areas (WEA) 
and will be subject to environmental analysis in consultation with 
appropriate Federal agencies, federally recognized Tribes, State and 
local governments, and other interested parties.
    (2) Proposed Sale Notice (PSN): If BOEM decides to proceed with a 
competitive lease sale within the WEA after completion of its 
environmental analysis and consultations, BOEM will publish a PSN in 
the Federal Register with a comment period of 60 days. The PSN will 
describe the areas BOEM intends to offer for leasing, the proposed 
conditions of a lease sale, the proposed auction format of the lease 
sale, and the lease instrument, including lease addenda. Additionally, 
the PSN will describe the criteria and process for evaluating bids in 
the lease sale.
    (3) Final Sale Notice (FSN): After considering the comments on the 
PSN, if BOEM decides to proceed with a competitive lease sale, it will 
publish an FSN in the Federal Register at least 30 days before the date 
of the lease sale.
    (4) Bid Submission and Evaluation: Following publication of the FSN 
in the Federal Register, BOEM will offer the lease areas through a 
competitive sale process, using procedures specified in the FSN. BOEM 
will review the sale, including bids and bid deposits, for technical 
and legal adequacy. BOEM will ensure that bidders have complied with 
all applicable regulations. BOEM reserves the right to reject any or 
all bids and to withdraw an offer to lease an area, even after bids 
have been submitted.
    (5) Issuance of a Lease: Following identification of the winning 
bidder on a lease area, BOEM will notify that bidder and provide the 
lease documents for signature. BOEM requires a winning bidder to sign 
and return the lease documents, pay the remainder of its bid, if 
applicable, and file the required financial assurance within 10-
business days of receiving the lease documents. Upon receipt of the 
required payments, financial assurance, and signed lease documents, 
BOEM may execute a lease with the winning bidder.

c. Noncompetitive Leasing Process

    BOEM's noncompetitive leasing process includes the following steps 
under 30 CFR 585.231 and 585.232:
    (1) Determination of No Competitive Interest: If, after evaluating 
all relevant information, including responses to this Call, BOEM 
determines there is no competitive interest in all or a portion of the 
Call Area, it may proceed with the noncompetitive lease issuance 
process. BOEM will determine if the sole respondent, who nominated a 
particular area, intends to proceed with acquiring the lease; if so, 
the respondent must submit the acquisition fee. After receiving the 
acquisition fee, BOEM will publish a determination of no competitive 
interest in the Federal Register.
    (2) Review of Lease Request: BOEM will coordinate and consult, as 
appropriate, with relevant Federal agencies, federally recognized 
Tribes, affected State and local governments, and other affected or 
interested parties in reviewing the noncompetitive leasing request and 
in formulating lease terms, conditions, and stipulations. BOEM also 
will complete the appropriate environmental analysis to inform its 
decision-making.
    (3) Lease Issuance: After completing its review of the lease 
request and environmental analysis, BOEM may offer a noncompetitive 
lease. Within 10-business days of receiving the lease, the respondent 
must execute it and provide a $100,000 bond to guarantee compliance 
with all terms and conditions of the lease. Within 45 days of receiving 
the lease, the lessee must pay the first 12 months' rent.

5. Development of the Call Area

    BOEM delineated the Call Area in consultation with several Federal 
agencies and State and Tribal governments through the Central Atlantic 
Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force. BOEM also held multiple 
meetings to gather information from the maritime, fishing, and wind 
energy industries and environmental organizations. The Call Area 
identifies portions of the OCS for further analysis. That analysis 
includes commercial nominations and public comments submitted in 
response to this Call so that potential use conflicts can be analyzed 
during the next step in the leasing process, designation of specific 
wind energy areas (Area Identification). BOEM's analysis during Area 
Identification will evaluate the appropriateness of the Call Area for 
offshore wind energy development, balanced against potential ocean user 
conflicts. BOEM will consider information from environmental reviews, 
consultations, public comments, and continued coordination with the 
Central Atlantic Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force. 
Consequently, BOEM anticipates designating specific WEAs within the 
Call Area and developing lease terms and conditions to mitigate any 
possible adverse impacts from leasing, site assessment, construction, 
and operational activities.

a. Coordination With DOD

    The DOD conducts offshore testing, training, and operations within 
portions of the Call Area. BOEM intends to refine the Call Area during 
the Area Identification process based on DOD's assessment of 
compatibility between commercial offshore wind energy development and 
DOD activities. BOEM is working with DOD to update the Central 
Atlantic's offshore wind energy compatibility assessment. That 
assessment identifies wind energy exclusion areas and areas that may 
require site-specific conditions and stipulations to ensure offshore 
wind energy facilities are compatible with

[[Page 25542]]

DOD activities. These stipulations may include, among others: Hold and 
save harmless agreements; mandatory coordination with DOD on specified 
activities; restrictions on electromagnetic emissions; and evacuation 
procedures from the lease area for safety reasons when notified by the 
DOD. BOEM may remove from leasing consideration any OCS blocks 
identified as incompatible with DOD's activities in the updated 
assessment.

b. Coordination With USCG

    BOEM is aware of potential conflicts with preliminary USCG shipping 
fairways. BOEM is working closely with USCG to ensure the WEAs and 
fairways are deconflicted during Area Identification.

c. Deep-Sea Coral and Hardbottom Habitats

    BOEM is aware that deep-sea corals likely occur within the deeper 
waters of the Call Area. BOEM has removed from the Call Area submarine 
canyons where discreet, deep-sea corals have been identified. BOEM 
recently funded a study that synthesized data and modeled deep-sea 
coral and hardbottom habitats on the OCS offshore the U.S. southeast 
Atlantic coast, including the deep-sea portions of the Call Area. BOEM 
will consider this study during Area Identification.

6. Description of Call Area

    The Call Area comprises six distinct areas located seaward of the 
Submerged Lands Act boundary on the OCS offshore the U.S. central 
Atlantic coast, bounded on the north by areas within the Salisbury 
(NJ18-05) Official Protraction Diagram east of existing commercial 
leasehold OCS-A 0482 and northeast of existing commercial leasehold 
OCS-A 0490, bounded on the east by areas within Wilmington Canyon 
(NJ18-06) and Currituck Sound (NJ18-11) Official Protraction Diagrams, 
bounded on the south by areas northeast and southeast of existing 
commercial leasehold OCS-A 0508 within the Currituck (NJ18-11) and 
Manteo (NI18-02) Official Protraction Diagrams. The area for potential 
wind energy leasing consists of approximately 3.9 million acres (figure 
1).

[[Page 25543]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN29AP22.000

    The Call Area is located offshore the Commonwealth of Virginia and 
the States of Delaware, Maryland, and North Carolina and comprises 
areas A-F in figure 1. These six areas include 496 whole OCS blocks and 
298 partial blocks and comprise approximately 3,897,388 acres 
(1,577,217 hectares). The list of blocks and sub-blocks included in the 
Call Area, a map of the Call Area, and associated geographic 
information files, which are located in Geographic Coordinate System 
NAD 1983 Datum, are incorporated by reference into this Call and are 
available at https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/central-atlantic-activities.
    <bullet> Call Area A: The boundary of Call Area A begins 
approximately 20 nautical miles (nmi) offshore of Delaware and Maryland 
and extends eastward to the Sea Scallop Rotational Area and the 
proposed USCG's Port Access Route Studies (PARS) fairways. The area at 
its widest points is about 12 nmi from east to west and about 29 nmi 
from north to south. Call Area A does not include the Del-Jersey 
artificial reef and comprises approximately 235,222 acres (95,191 
hectares).
    <bullet> Call Area B: The boundary of Call Area B begins 
approximately 21 nmi offshore of Maryland and Virginia and extends 
eastward to the 60-meter bathymetric contour and the proposed PARS 
fairways. The area at its widest points is about 14 nmi from east to 
west and about 69 nmi from north to south. Call Area B comprises 
approximately 652,218 acres (263,943 hectares).
    <bullet> Call Area C: The boundary of Call Area C begins 
approximately 35 nmi offshore of Virginia and extends

[[Page 25544]]

eastward to the 60-meter bathymetric contour. The area is about 21 nmi 
from east to west and about 10 nmi from north to south. Call Area C 
comprises approximately 183,907 acres (74,425 hectares).
    <bullet> Call Area D: The boundary of Call Area D begins 
approximately 24 nmi offshore of Virginia and North Carolina and 
extends eastward to the 60-meter bathymetric contour. The area at its 
widest points is about 28 nmi from east to west and about 40 nmi from 
north to south. Call Area D comprises approximately 442,553 acres 
(179,095 hectares).
    <bullet> Call Area E: The boundary of Call Area E begins 
approximately 56 nmi offshore of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia and 
extends eastward to between the 2,500 and 2,600-meter bathymetric 
contour. The area at its widest points is about 35 nmi from east to 
west and about 84 nmi from north to south. Call Area E comprises is 
approximately 1.6 million acres (655,590 hectares).
    <bullet> Call Area F: The boundary of Call Area F begins 
approximately 44 nmi offshore of Virginia and North Carolina and 
extends eastward to between the 2,500 and 2,600-meter bathymetric 
contour. The area at its widest points is about 20 nmi from east to 
west and about 66 nmi from north to south. Call Area F comprises 
approximately 763,491 acres (308,974 hectares).

7. Requested Information From Interested or Affected Parties

    BOEM requests comments regarding the following features, 
activities, mitigations, or concerns within or around the Call Area. 
Commenters should be as specific and detailed as possible to help BOEM 
understand and address the comments. Where applicable, this information 
should be submitted as a spatial file compatible with ArcGIS 10.8.1 in 
a geographic coordinate system (NAD 83) in addition to your hard copy 
submittal.
    a. Geological, geophysical, and biological bathymetric conditions 
(including bottom and shallow hazards and whether seafloor is covered 
with living organisms).
    b. Known archaeological and cultural resource sites on the seabed.
    c. Information regarding the identification of historic properties 
or potential effects to historic properties from leasing, site 
assessment activities (including the construction of meteorological 
towers or the installation of meteorological buoys), or commercial wind 
energy development in the Call Area. This includes potential offshore 
archaeological sites or other historic properties within the areas 
described in this notice and onshore historic properties that could 
potentially be affected by renewable energy activities within the Call 
Area. This information will inform BOEM's review of future undertakings 
under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and 
under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
    d. Information about potentially conflicting uses of the Call Area, 
including navigation (in particular, commercial shipping and 
recreational vessel use), recreation, and fisheries (commercial and 
recreational). Additional information regarding recreational and 
commercial fisheries including, but not limited to, the use of the 
areas, the types of fishing gear used, seasonal use, and 
recommendations for reducing use conflicts.
    e. Information relating to visual resources and aesthetics, the 
potential impacts of wind turbines and associated infrastructure to 
those resources, and potential strategies to help mitigate or minimize 
any visual effects.
    f. Information regarding the potential for interference with radar 
systems covering the Call Area, including, but not limited to, the use 
of coastal oceanographic radar observations for offshore search and 
rescue operations and for environmental monitoring.
    g. Information on the constraints and advantages of possible 
electrical cable transmission routes, including onshore landing and 
interconnection points for cables connecting offshore wind energy 
facilities to the onshore electrical grid and future demand for 
electricity in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region.
    h. General interest by developers in constructing a backbone 
transmission system that would transport electricity generated by wind 
projects in the Call Area to the onshore grid, including a general 
description of the transmission system's proposed path and potential 
interconnection points.
    i. Information regarding the size and number of WEAs, taking into 
consideration the offshore wind energy goals of States bordering the 
Call Area. BOEM is also seeking further information on what additional 
factors should be considered in this process.
    j. BOEM is aware that there may be technoeconomic feasibility 
concerns with areas beyond 1,300 meters in water depth. However, BOEM 
seeks feedback on the viability of constructing a wind energy facility 
in these frontier areas including: consideration of available floating 
technology; site characterization and assessment technologies, 
equipment, and methodologies likely to be employed; transmission 
distance; water depth; seafloor conditions; and operations and 
maintenance feasibility and costs.
    k. Habitats that may require special attention during siting and 
construction.
    l. Information regarding the identification of protected species, 
federally designated (or proposed) critical habitat, essential fish 
habitat, or areas that are environmentally sensitive or crucial to 
marine productivity and are State or federally managed for their 
conservation value.
    m. Other relevant socioeconomic, cultural, biological, and 
environmental data and information.

8. Required Nomination Information

    If you wish to nominate one or more areas for a commercial wind 
energy lease within the Call Area, you must provide the following 
information for each nomination:
    a. The BOEM protraction name, number, and the specific whole or 
partial OCS blocks within the Call Area that you are interested in 
leasing. Each area you identify should be sized appropriately to 
accommodate the development of a reasonable wind energy facility. For 
context, BOEM would consider the nomination of an area comprising 
approximately 80,000 acres reasonable, as it would likely be able to 
support an 800-megawatt wind energy facility (assuming a power density 
of 0.01 megawatts per acre). Nominations that considerably exceed 
approximately 80,000 acres, such as a nomination for all of the Call 
Area, may be deemed unreasonable and not accepted by BOEM. This 
information should be submitted as a spatial file compatible with 
ArcGIS 10.8.1 in a geographic coordinate system (NAD 83) in addition to 
your hard copy submittal. If your nomination includes one or more 
partial blocks, please describe those partial blocks in terms of 
sixteenths (i.e., sub-block) of an OCS block.
    b. A description of your objectives and the facilities that you 
would use to achieve those objectives.
    c. A preliminary schedule of proposed activities, including those 
leading to commercial operations.
    d. Available and pertinent data and information concerning 
renewable energy resources and environmental conditions in each area 
that you wish to lease, including energy and resource data and 
information used to evaluate the area. Where applicable, spatial 
information should be submitted in a format compatible with ArcGIS 
10.8.1 in a geographic coordinate system (NAD 83).
    e. Documentation demonstrating that you are legally, technically, 
and

[[Page 25545]]

financially qualified to hold a lease, as set forth in 30 CFR 
585.106-.107. Qualification materials should be developed in accordance 
with the guidelines available at https://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Qualification-Guidelines/. Treatment of confidential information is 
addressed in Section 9, entitled ``Protection of Privileged, Personal, 
or Confidential Information.'' For examples of documentation 
appropriate for demonstrating your legal qualifications and related 
guidance, contact Gina Best, BOEM Office of Renewable Energy Programs, 
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8deae4e3eca3efe8fef9cdefe2e8e0a3eae2fb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5e3937303f703c3b2d2a1e3c313b3370393128">[email protected]</span></a> or 703-787-1341.

9. Protection of Privileged, Personal, or Confidential Information

a. Freedom of Information Act

    BOEM will protect privileged or confidential information that you 
submit when required by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). 
Exemption 4 of FOIA applies to trade secrets and commercial or 
financial information that is privileged or confidential. If you wish 
to protect the confidentiality of such information, clearly label it 
and request that BOEM treat it as confidential. BOEM will not disclose 
such information if BOEM determines under 30 CFR 585.113(b) that it 
qualifies for exemption from disclosure under FOIA. Please label 
privileged or confidential information ``Contains Confidential 
Information'' and consider submitting such information as a separate 
attachment.
    BOEM will not treat as confidential any aggregate summaries of such 
information or comments not containing such privileged or confidential 
information. Additionally, BOEM will not treat as confidential the 
legal title of the nominating entity (for example, the name of your 
company) or the list of whole or partial blocks that you are 
nominating. Information that is not labeled as privileged or 
confidential may be regarded by BOEM as suitable for public release.

b. Personally Identifiable Information

    BOEM does not consider anonymous comments; please include your name 
and address as part of your comment. You should be aware that your 
entire comment, including your name, address, and any personally 
identifiable information (PII) included in your comment, may be made 
publicly available. All submissions from identified individuals, 
businesses, and organizations will be available for public viewing on 
regulations.gov. For BOEM to withhold your PII from disclosure, you 
must identify any information contained in your comments that, if 
released, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of your 
personal privacy. You must also briefly describe any possible harmful 
consequences of the disclosure of information, such as embarrassment, 
injury, or other harm. Under the law, BOEM is unable to guarantee that 
all information in your request will be withheld.

c. Section 304 of the NHPA (54 U.S.C. 307103(a))

    After consultation with the Secretary, BOEM is required 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.

10. BOEM's Environmental Review Process

    Before deciding whether leases may be issued, BOEM will prepare an 
environmental assessment (EA) under NEPA (including public comment 
periods to determine the scope of the EA and to review and comment on 
the draft EA). The EA will analyze anticipated impacts from leasing 
within the WEAs resulting from this Call and from site characterization 
and assessment activities expected to take place after leases are 
issued. Site characterization activities include geophysical, 
geotechnical, archaeological, and biological surveys; and site 
assessment activities include installation and operation of 
meteorological buoys. BOEM also will conduct appropriate consultations 
with Federal agencies and Tribal, State, and local governments during 
the EA. These consultations include, but are not limited to, those 
required by the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Endangered Species Act, 
section 106 of the NHPA, and Executive Order 13175,``Consultation and 
Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments.''
    Before BOEM allows a lessee to begin construction of a wind energy 
project in the Call Area, BOEM will consider the potential 
environmental effects of the construction and operation of any wind 
energy facility under a separate, project-specific analysis under NEPA. 
This analysis will include additional opportunities for public 
involvement and likely will result in the publication of an 
environmental impact statement.

Amanda Lefton,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2022-09036 Filed 4-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P


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