Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
1
Introduction
The United States is poised to begin building its first offshore wind energy
power plants. Several projects have been proposed or are under develop-
ment, primarily along the Eastern Seaboard and the Great Lakes. In April
2010, the Cape Wind project, to be located off the Massachusetts coast,
became the first to be approved by federal and state authorities.
Central to the project approval process is the Department of the Inte-
rior's Minerals Management Service (MMS), recently renamed the Bureau
of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE).
The Energy Policy Act of 2005
1
assigned it responsibility for the orderly,
safe, and environmentally responsible
2
development of renewable energy
resources in U.S. federal waters, also known as the outer continental shelf
(OCS)
3,4
(see Box 1-1). BOEMRE has exclusive jurisdiction over non-
hydrokinetic projects on the OCS.
On April 29, 2009, BOEMRE published a final rule, codified at
30 CFR 285,
5
governing renewable energy project activities on the
OCS. Figure 1-1 lays out the regulatory process stipulated by the rule.
The regulations require submission of several documents for BOEMRE
approval of a proposed facility. Chief among them are three reports
covering facility design, fabrication, and installation. The BOEMRE
1
P.L. 109-58, Section 388.
2
74 FR 81, p. 19638.
3
On June 8, 2010, MMS was renamed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and
Enforcement. For convenience, this report uses the latter name in referring to this organization,
despite the fact that some of the actions discussed took place before the name change.
4
The term “outer continental shelf ” refers to those submerged lands, subsoil, and seabed that belong
to the United States and lie seaward of state water boundaries (http://www.boemre.gov/
AboutBOEMRE/ocsdef.htm, accessed Dec. 19, 2010).
5
Excerpts from this rule are given in Appendix B of this report.
5
