Executive Order (E.O.) 13891 of October 9, 2019, Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents, and the Office of Management and Budget Memorandum (OMB), M-20-02, issued October 31, 2019, which provides guidance on implementing the E.O., require that each Federal agency establish or maintain on its website a single, searchable, indexed database that contains or links to all guidance documents in effect from the agency.
On February 28, 2020, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) established its Guidance Portal, which contains all of the guidance documents that BOEM intends to cite, use or rely on. BOEM’s portal can be accessed at: http://www.boem.gov/guidance. Since that time, in accordance with E.O 13891 and M-20-02, ten renewable energy Guidelines applicable to BOEM’s offshore renewable energy program have been revised, reissued and uploaded to the portal on June 5, 2020. The updates, which are largely technical and do not change the guidelines in a substantial way, are recommended rather than mandatory. Guidance is as follows:
- Guidelines for Activities Requiring Authorization for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf Pursuant to 30 CFR Part 585;
- NTLA No. REN-N03, Filing Applications for Renewable Energy Leases, Grants, and Alternate Use Grants on the Outer Continental Shelf;
- Guidelines for Providing Archaeological and Historic Property Information Pursuant to 30 CFR Part 585;
- Guidelines for Providing Avian Survey Information for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf Pursuant to 30 CFR Part 585;
- Information Guidelines for a Renewable Energy Construction and Operations Plan (COP);
- Guidelines for Providing Geophysical, Geotechnical, and Geohazard Information Pursuant to 30 CFR Part 585;
- BOEM / FERC Guidelines on Regulation of Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Projects on the OCS;
- Qualification Guidelines to Acquire and Hold Renewable Energy Leases and Grants and Alternate Use Grants on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf;
- Guidelines for Providing Information on Fisheries Social and Economic Conditions for Renewable Energy Development on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Pursuant to 30 CFR Part 585; and
- Guidelines for Submission of Spatial Data for Atlantic Offshore Renewable Energy Development Site Characterization Surveys.
Questions about the Guidelines should be addressed to Deanna Meyer-Pietruszka, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Chief, Office of Policy, Regulation and Analysis, at (202) 208-6352 or at deanna.meyer-pietruszka@boem.gov