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Federal Register/Vol. 81, No. 55/Tuesday, March 22, 2016/Proposed Rules 15191
<br />01RA_Submission@omb.eop.gov. Please
<br />also send a copy to BOEM, Office of
<br />Policy, Regulation and Analysis at
<br />45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, VA
<br />20166.
<br />Public Availability of Comments:
<br />Before including your address, phone
<br />number, email address, or other
<br />personal identifying information in your
<br />comment, you should be aware that
<br />your entire comment—including your
<br />personal identifying information—may
<br />be made publicly available at any time.
<br />While you can ask us in your comment
<br />to withhold your personal identifying
<br />information from public review, we
<br />cannot guarantee that we will be able to
<br />do so.
<br />FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
<br />comments or questions, contact Loren
<br />Thompson, Office of Policy, Regulation
<br />and Analysis, at Loren. Thompson®
<br />boem.gov, or at (202) 208-5890. To see
<br />a copy of the IC request submitted to
<br />OMB, go to http://www.reginfo.gov
<br />(select Information Collection Review,
<br />Currently Under Review). You may also
<br />obtain a copy of the supporting
<br />statement for the new collection of
<br />information by contacting BOEM, Office
<br />of Policy, Regulation and Analysis at
<br />45600 Woodland Rd., Sterling, VA
<br />20166.
<br />SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
<br />Table of Contents
<br />I. Background
<br />A. Program Description
<br />B. Program History
<br />Il. Section -by -Section Analysis of the
<br />Proposed Rule
<br />A. Subpart A—General
<br />B. Subpart B—Reserved
<br />C. Subpart C—Outer Continental Shelf
<br />Sand, Gravel and Shell Resources
<br />Negotiated Agreements
<br />111. Legal and Regulatory Analysis
<br />A. Procedural Matters
<br />B. List of Subjects
<br />I. Background
<br />Congress amended the Outer
<br />Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C.
<br />1331-1356 (OCSLA, or the Act), in 1994
<br />to authorize the Secretary of the Interior
<br />to negotiate noncompetitive agreements
<br />with any person for the use of OCS
<br />sand, gravel and shell resources in a
<br />program of or project for shore
<br />protection, beach restoration, or coastal
<br />wetlands restoration undertaken by a
<br />Federal, State or local government
<br />agency, or in a construction project
<br />either authorized or funded in whole or
<br />in part by the Federal Government. See
<br />43 U.S.C. 1337(k)(2). The Secretary may
<br />assess a fee based on an assessment of
<br />the value of the resources and the public
<br />interest served by promoting
<br />development of the resources. No fee
<br />shall be assessed directly or indirectly
<br />against a Federal, State, or local
<br />government agency. See 43 U.S.C.
<br />1337(k)(2)(B).
<br />A. Program Description
<br />Generally, shore protection and beach
<br />and coastal wetlands restoration
<br />projects are initiated to rebuild eroding
<br />shoreline segments, such as beaches and
<br />dunes, barrier islands, and wetlands. In
<br />sensitive wetland areas, these projects
<br />are intended to forestall further erosion,
<br />restore habitat and/or to provide
<br />protection from hurricanes, storms, and
<br />coastal erosion. These projects are
<br />typically accomplished by placing sand
<br />directly on the beach, in open water
<br />areas that are the former location of an
<br />eroded beach, and/or within breaches in
<br />the shoreline that compromise integrity
<br />of the beach or barrier island system to
<br />form, and subsequently maintain, a
<br />beach. Material may also be placed
<br />updrift from the beach, allowing
<br />longshore processes to redistribute the
<br />sand, gravel and shell resources along
<br />the beach.
<br />The Act authorizes BOEM to enter
<br />into a negotiated agreement when the
<br />use of OCS sand, gravel and shell
<br />resources is authorized for qualifying
<br />projects. This negotiated agreement will
<br />take the form of a lease or a
<br />Memorandum of Agreement (MOA),
<br />depending on the identity of the
<br />applicant(s) requesting use of OCS sand,
<br />gravel and shell resources. If a non -
<br />Federal entity requests the use of OCS
<br />sand, gravel and shell resources, the
<br />negotiated agreement required by the
<br />Act would generally take the form of a
<br />lease. If a Federal agency requests the
<br />use of OCS sand, gravel and shell
<br />resources, BOEM and the Federal
<br />agency, as well as their Federal, State or
<br />local government agency counterparts
<br />on the project, would enter into a MOA.
<br />For example, when a Federal agency
<br />partially or wholly funds a non -Federal
<br />entity to conduct a project that is
<br />otherwise eligible for OCS sand, gravel
<br />and shell resources, the negotiated
<br />agreement may take the form of a three -
<br />party MOA. As warranted, the Federal
<br />applicant(s) and BOEM would designate
<br />a lead agency and enter into a
<br />cooperating agency agreement for the
<br />environmental analysis and review.
<br />Likewise, if a non -Federal applicant is
<br />involved, BOEM would ensure that
<br />appropriate environmental analysis and
<br />review is completed. The negotiated
<br />agreement in each of these situations
<br />would describe the project and
<br />procedures that would be followed and
<br />identify environmental and
<br />administrative requirements that must
<br />be met.
<br />B. Program History
<br />BOEM and its predecessor agencies,
<br />the Minerals Management Service and
<br />the Bureau of Ocean Energy
<br />Management, Regulation and
<br />Enforcement, through the Marine
<br />Minerals Program, have been exercising
<br />statutory authority regarding OCS sand,
<br />gravel and shell resources under the Act
<br />pursuant to written guidelines, without
<br />the benefit of implementing regulations.
<br />Nearly fifty agreements have been
<br />negotiated, providing for the use of
<br />more than 100 million cubic yards of
<br />OCS sand, gravel and shell resources for
<br />shore protection, beach restoration, or
<br />coastal wetlands restoration undertaken
<br />by a Federal, State or local government
<br />agency, and for Federally authorized or
<br />funded construction projects. BOEM
<br />believes that the promulgation of
<br />regulations at this time is advisable in
<br />order to provide additional clarity and
<br />certainty and to help ensure continuity
<br />of the Marine Minerals Program.
<br />II. Section by Section Analysis of the
<br />Proposed Rule
<br />Subpart A—General
<br />Section 583.100 Whot is BOEM's
<br />authority for information collection (IQ?
<br />This section would explain BOEM's
<br />authority for IC activities related to this
<br />proposed part 583. It would explain the
<br />reasons the information is being
<br />collected and establish the OMB
<br />approval of the collection.
<br />Section 583.101 What is the purpose of
<br />this rule and to whom does it apply?
<br />This section would explain that the
<br />purpose of this proposed rule is to
<br />refine and formally adopt procedures for
<br />entering into negotiated noncompetitive
<br />agreements for the use of OCS sand,
<br />gravel and shell resources for shore
<br />protection, beach or wetlands
<br />restoration by a Federal, State or local
<br />government agency or for construction
<br />projects authorized or funded; in whole
<br />or in part; by the Federal Government.
<br />This section would explain that the rule
<br />would apply exclusively to negotiated
<br />noncompetitive use of sand, gravel and
<br />shell resources in the OCS and would
<br />not apply to competitive leasing of
<br />minerals, including oil, gas, sulphur,
<br />geopressured-geothermal and associated
<br />resources, and all other minerals which
<br />are authorized by an Act of Congress to
<br />be produced from "public lands" as
<br />defined in section 103 of the Federal
<br />Land Policy and Management Act of
<br />1976, as amended (FLPMA). (43 U.S.C.
<br />1701 et seq.)
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