US Department of the Interior shuffles offshore wind regulatory responsibilities
The Department of the
Interior (DOI) announced that regulations governing offshore renewable
energy activities – including workplace safety and environmental compliance
- is being transferred from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).
In 2011, the Department formally established BOEM and BSEE as
new bureaus to carry out its offshore energy management, safety and environmental
oversight missions.
The rulemaking does not make substantive changes to current regulatory
requirements, nor does it impose additional regulatory burdens.
Key authorities transferred to BSEE include, but are not limited to:
• Evaluating
and overseeing facility design, fabrication, installation, safety management
systems and oil spill response plans;
• Enforcing
operational safety through inspections, incident reporting, and investigations;
• Enforcing
compliance, including safety and environmental compliance, with all applicable
laws, regulations, leases, grants, and approved plans through notices of
noncompliance, cessation orders, civil penalties, and other appropriate
means; and
• Overseeing
decommissioning activities.
Regulatory authority for the following functions remains with BOEM:
• Determining
areas suitable for siting offshore wind energy facilities;
• Issuing
leases, easements and rights-of-way for activities that produce or support
the production, transportation, or transmission of offshore energy or energy
resources;
• Reviewing
and approving or approving with modifications or disapproving plans, including
construction and operations plans, site assessment plans, and general activities
plans, required for authorizing offshore renewable energy development; and
• Conducting
analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act and other environmental
studies and incorporating mitigation measures into plan approvals to avoid
or minimize harm to the marine, coastal, or human environments.
A joint notice to lessees outlines the transfer of responsibilities
with information for submitting information to each bureau. The final
rule will publish in the Federal Register in the coming days.
The announcement comes following the release of a proposed rule from
BOEM that would modernize regulations, streamline overly complex and burdensome
processes, clarify ambiguous provisions, and enhance compliance provisions
in order to decrease costs and uncertainty associated with the deployment
of offshore wind facilities.
