Zasoby i środowisko · 24.05.2011

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Renewable Energy Program Interim Policy Leasing for Marine Hydrokinetic Technology Testing Offshore Florida

This notice is being published as an initial step for the purpose of involving Federal agencies, states, tribes, local government, and the public in the leasing decision for an offshore technology testing facility located on the OCS, in accordance with the Department of the Interior and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). On November 6, 2007, the Minerals Management Service (MMS), now BOEMRE, announced an interim policy for authorizing the issuance of leases for the installation of offshore data collection and technology testing facilities on the OCS (72 FR 62673). A lease application has been submitted pursuant to the interim policy, initiating the need for an EA. On June 11, 2010 Florida Atlantic University's (FAU) Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center (SNMREC) submitted an application to lease three OCS blocks, approximately nine to 15 nautical miles offshore of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, under its original nomination submitted on November 8, 2007. These three blocks are located on the Atlantic OCS in the Official Protraction Diag