Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2011/05/16/2011-11908/renewable-energy-alternate-uses-of-existing-facilities-on-the-outer-continental-shelf-acquire-a
Timestamp: 2017-04-29 01:49:32
Document Index: 24369097

Matched Legal Cases: ['§\u2009285', '§\u2009285', '§\u2009285', '§\u2009285', '§\u2009285', '§\u2009285', '§\u2009515', 'art1', 'art 285', 'art2', '§\u2009285', '§\u2009285', 'art3', '§\u2009285', '§\u2009285', '§\u2009285']

A Rule by the Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement Bureau on 05/16/2011
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2011-11908
As originally written, § 285.231 allowed the award of a noncompetitive lease after BOEMRE received an unsolicited request for a noncompetitive lease if BOEMRE determined that there was no competitive interest after publishing a single notice of a request for interest relating to the unsolicited request for a noncompetitive lease. As originally written, § 285.232 provided that if BOEMRE published an RFI or Call resulting in a single expression of interest in a discrete portion within the RFI or Call area, BOEMRE could offer a lease for that area through a noncompetitive process only if it also issued a notice of request for interest as required by § 285.231(b) and subsequently determined that there was no competitive interest based on responses to that notice.
BOEMRE believes that the requirement for another notice following an RFI or Call was redundant and was at odds with the noncompetitive process prescribed for cases in which a party submitted an unsolicited request for an OCS renewable energy lease, where BOEMRE is required to publish only a single notice. The final rule revises § 285.232(c) to refer to the process outlined in § 285.231(d) through (i) rather than § 285.231(b) through (i), thereby eliminating this discrepancy by requiring only one RFI notice for determining competitive interest in all cases. This will make BOEMRE's leasing processes more streamlined and efficient while maintaining BOEMRE's obligations to notify the public of areas that may be leased, to solicit public input regarding those areas, and to determine whether competitive interest exists in acquiring leases in those areas.
BOEMRE received 68 comments from private citizens, 3 that expressed Start Printed Page 28179support for revising the rule, 55 that expressed opposition (including 50 form letters), and 10 that were not germane to the rulemaking. The comments supporting the rule revision stated that it will promote more efficient noncompetitive leasing processes without curtailing public input and environmental review procedures. The comments opposing the rule revision asserted that it will reduce or eliminate competition, thereby promoting an offshore land rush for renewable energy leases, and will marginalize the public review process.
(b) Meets the criteria of section 3(b)(2) requiring that all regulations be written Start Printed Page 28180in clear language and contain clear legal standards.
In developing this final rule, BOEMRE did not conduct or use a study, experiment, or survey requiring peer review under the Data Quality Act (Pub. L. 106-554, app. C § 515, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A-153-154).
Start Amendment Part1. The authority citation for part 285 continues to read as follows:End Amendment Part
Start Amendment Part2. Amend § 285.231 by revising the section heading and paragraph (d)(1) to read as follows:End Amendment Part
§ 285.231 How will BOEMRE process my unsolicited request for a noncompetitive lease?
Start Amendment Part3. Amend § 285.232 by revising paragraph (c) to read as follows:End Amendment Part
§ 285.232 May I acquire a lease noncompetitively after responding to a Request for Interest or Call for Information and Nominations under § 285.213?