Abstract
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM’s) regulations describe the requirements for a COP at Subpart F (30 C.F.R. §§ 585.620 – 585.628). BOEM’s decision to approve, disapprove, or approve with modifications a COP requires environmental reviews and consultations under the National Environmental Policy Act , 42 U.S.C. 4321–4347 (NEPA) and other applicable federal statutes. BOEM typically analyzes a COP through an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in compliance with NEPA, and these guidelines are primarily tailored to that scenario. 1 BOEM recognizes that it may not be possible or practicable for lessees to provide BOEM with a COP submission that meets all data and information requirements under Subpart F. Accordingly, BOEM may begin processing an incomplete COP submission, subject to a BOEM-reviewed “supplemental filing schedule” for submitting the remaining required information in time to inform the requisite environmental analysis and COP decision.
This guidance, known as the “NOI Checklist,” revises the current recommended process for COP submissions to: 1) provide clarity to lessees; 2) establish a pre-application and pre-NOI process with lessees and cooperating agencies that will benefit all stakeholders; 3) improve the efficiency of proposed offshore wind project reviews by avoiding delays to the NEPA analysis after the NOI has been published. The revised process identifies the threshold requirements for information that should be included in a COP submission before BOEM will formally initiate the EIS through publication of an NOI. Moreover, BOEM will consider the extent to which an operator’s COP submissions have conformed to the NOI Checklist when calculating the Permitting Timetables for projects added to the FAST-41 Permitting Dashboard, where applicable. 2
Further, in response to comments received on the draft version of this guidance, BOEM led an interagency effort to develop the second attachment to this guidance, the Recommendations for Pre-Notice of Intent (NOI) Federal Interagency Engagement on Construction and Operations Plans (COP) for Offshore Wind. (“Attachment 2”, included with this guidance, referred to as “Recommendations for Engagement” throughout this guidance.)