Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 83 / Friday, April 29, 2022 / Notices 25539 

that did not submit a nomination in 

response to this Call, will be eligible to 

participate in the lease sale. 

BOEM reserves the right to not lease 

nominated areas or to modify 

nominated areas 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 continue with 

Area Identification. Area Identification 

is the process in which BOEM 

establishes WEAs based on information 

received on this Call, Task Force input, 

Tribal input, ocean user input, and 

stakeholder input. BOEM considers all 

information received in response to the 

Call during area identification, 

including information pertaining to 

wildlife (including endangered species), 

Department of Defense, navigational 

safety, visual impacts, and fishing. 

BOEM may conduct visual simulations 

of hypothetical projects to inform the 

designation of WEAs. 

The Call Areas are of a sufficient size 

to allow for refinement. BOEM, in 

coordination with the State, is 

considering 3 gigawatts for near-team 

commercial development for the first 

leasing activities offshore Oregon, less 

than one-fourth of the estimated 14 

gigawatts of potential capacity within 

the Call Areas. The WEAs will be 

subject to environmental review as 

described in section 8 above, 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, 

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 

and the proposed conditions of sale, 

auction format, and lease instrument, 

including lease addenda. Additionally, 

the PSN will describe the criteria and 

process for evaluating bids in the 

auction. 

(3) Final Sale Notice (FSN): After 

considering the comments on the PSN 

and completion of its NEPA review, if 

BOEM decides to proceed with a 

competitive lease sale, it will publish a 

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 the FSN and all applicable 

regulations. BOEM reserves the right to 

reject any or all bids and to withdraw 

its offer to lease an area, even after bids 

have been submitted. 

(5) Issuance of a Lease: Following 

identification of the winning bid on a 

lease area, BOEM will notify the 

successful bidder and will provide lease 

documents for signature. BOEM requires 

a successful bidder to sign and return 

the lease documents, pay the remainder 

of the 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 

properly signed lease documents, BOEM 

may execute a lease with the successful 

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 

responses to this Call, BOEM 

determines competitive interest does 

not exist in all or a portion of the Call 

Areas, it may proceed with 

noncompetitive leasing. BOEM will seek 

to determine if the sole respondent who 

nominated a particular area intends to 

proceed with acquiring the lease. If so, 

the respondent must submit an 

acquisition fee. After the acquisition fee 

is paid, BOEM will publish a 

determination of no competitive interest 

in the Federal Register. 

(2) Review of Lease Request: BOEM 

will complete a NEPA review and 

required consultations as discussed in 

section 8 entitled ‘‘BOEM’s 

Environmental Review Process’’ before 

issuing a lease noncompetitively. 

Specifically, 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 formulating lease 

terms, conditions, and stipulations. 

(3) Lease Issuance: After completing 

its review of the lease request, BOEM 

may offer a noncompetitive lease. 

Within 10-business days of receiving the 

lease documents, the respondent must 

sign them and provide a $100,000 bond 

to guarantee compliance with all terms 

and conditions of the lease. Within 45 

days of receiving the lease documents, 

the respondent must pay the first 12 

months’ rent. 

Amanda Lefton, 

Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2022–09000 Filed 4–28–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

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. 

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 


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25540 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 83 / Friday, April 29, 2022 / Notices 

1The 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. 

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, Bridgette.Duplantis@boem.gov. 

For information regarding 

qualification requirements to hold a 

BOEM-issued lease, contact Gina Best, 

BOEM Office of Renewable Energy 

Programs, at gina.best@boem.gov 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/subchapterB/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. 

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/renewableenergy/state-activities/central-atlanticactivities. 

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-ofway that there is no competitive 

interest.’’ Accordingly, BOEM must first 

determine whether there is competitive 


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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 


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25542 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 83 / Friday, April 29, 2022 / Notices 

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). 


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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/renewableenergy/state-activities/central-atlanticactivities. 

• 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). 

• 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). 

• Call Area C: The boundary of Call 

Area C begins approximately 35 nmi 

offshore of Virginia and extends 


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Figure 1: Central Atlantic Call for Information and Nominations Area 
25544 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 83 / Friday, April 29, 2022 / Notices 

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). 

• 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). 

• 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). 

• 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 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 83 / Friday, April 29, 2022 / Notices 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-EnergyQualification-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 gina.best@boem.gov 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 MagnusonStevens 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, projectspecific 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 

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

Notice of Receipt of Complaint; 

Solicitation of Comments Relating to 

the Public Interest 

AGENCY: U.S. International Trade 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the U.S. International Trade 

Commission has received a complaint 

entitled Certain Digital Set-Top Boxes 

and Systems and Services Including the 

Same, DN 3616; the Commission is 

soliciting comments on any public 

interest issues raised by the complaint 

or complainant’s filing pursuant to the 

Commission’s Rules of Practice and 

Procedure. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa 

R. Barton, Secretary to the Commission, 

U.S. International Trade Commission, 

500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 

20436, telephone (202) 205–2000. The 

public version of the complaint can be 

accessed on the Commission’s 

Electronic Document Information 

System (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov. 

For help accessing EDIS, please email 

EDIS3Help@usitc.gov. 

General information concerning the 

Commission may also be obtained by 

accessing its internet server at United 

States International Trade Commission 

(USITC) at https://www.usitc.gov. The 

public record for this investigation may 

be viewed on the Commission’s 

Electronic Document Information 

System (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov. 

Hearing-impaired persons are advised 

that information on this matter can be 

obtained by contacting the 

Commission’s TDD terminal on (202) 

205–1810. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Commission has received a complaint 

and a submission pursuant to § 210.8(b) 

of the Commission’s Rules of Practice 

and Procedure filed on behalf of 

Broadband iTV, Inc. on April 22, 2022. 

The complaint alleges violations of 

section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

U.S.C. 1337) in the importation into the 

United States, the sale for importation, 

and the sale within the United States 

after importation of certain digital setVerDate Sep<11>2014 17:08 Apr 28, 2022 Jkt 256001 PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\29APN1.SGM 29APN1

lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1