Yesterday Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that he has appointed Liz Birnbaum to Director of MMS. Birnbaum previously served as an associate solicitor for mineral rights at DOI.
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Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the issuance of five exploratory leases for the installation of meteorological towers on the OCS off of the New Jersey and Delaware coasts. The leases were issued to (i) Bluewater Wind New Jersey Energy, LLC; (ii) Fisherman's Energy of New Jersey, LLC; (iii) Bluewater Wind Delaware, LLC; and (iv) Deepwater Wind, LLC (which received two leases). The leases authorize data-gathering activities and allow for the construction of meteorological towers on the OCS from six to 18 miles offshore to collect site-specific data. The data collected under these leases will be shared with MMS and be used to inform and support future commercial offshore wind projects, although the leases do not give the awardees rights to commercial development of those sites. These five exploratory leases were awarded pursuant to Interior's Interim Policy, established for the purpose of authorizing the installation of offshore data collection and technology testing facilities. Today's Greenwire provides additional coverage [subscription required].
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In a close vote today, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources added an amendment to the proposed energy bill that would repeal mandatory royalty relief for oil and gas leases in deep waters off the coasts of the U.S. The amendment gives the Secretary of the Interior discretion to grant or deny royalty relief below certain price thresholds. As has been the case throughout much of the debate on offshore oil and gas drilling, Democrats argued that incentives for oil and gas companies are unnecessary, while Republicans contended that the U.S. needs to increase domestic supplies to end dependence on foreign oil. See yesterday's New York Times for more details.
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On June 15, GreenWave Energy Solutions, LLC ("GreenWave") filed its proposed schedule of activities relating to its development of the San Luis Obispo Wave Park, a 100MW wave park off the California coast. FERC granted GreenWave a preliminary permit for the project in May, amending the boundaries of the project to bring the entire project within state waters, and thus allowing FERC to issue the preliminary permit under its recent MOU with the Minerals Management Service. GreenWave's proposed regulatory schedule includes: (i) the filing of its First Six Month Report on Oct. 31, 2009; (ii) the filing of a Notice of Intent and Traditional or Alternative Licensing Process Request on April 30, 2010; and (iii) the filing of its License Application on April 30, 2012.
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Last Friday, President Barack Obama issued a memorandum ordering the formation of an Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, headed by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality. The task force will develop recommendations for a national policy on oceans, coasts, and the Great Lakes, as well as develop a "recommended framework for effective coastal and marine spatial planning" within 180 days of the memo.
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Today the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved Senator Byron Dorgan's (D-ND) amendment to the broad energy bill the Committee is currently marking up. Dorgan's amendment proposes opening oil and gas leasing in the eastern Gulf of Mexico up to 45 miles from Florida's coast. The passage of Dorgan's proposal would end a drilling ban across most of the eastern Gulf waters, including in an area known as the Destin Dome which reaches within 10 miles of the Florida coast, and is believed to hold as much as 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) and others voiced strong opposition to the plan, arguing that it would interfere with military training. Further, Senator Nelson threatened to filibuster if necessary to block the effort.
Separately, the Committee rejected Senator Mary Landrieu's (D-LA) revenue sharing proposal, which would have distributed 37.5% of the revenues collected from oil and gas development in the eastern Gulf to nearby states, directed 50% of the revenues toward federal deficit reduction, and 12.5% to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. In particular, Landrieu's plan would have extended a 2006 Gulf leasing law that established a revenue sharing program for several Gulf Coast states to Alaska and other states that may have offshore leasing in the future. Find further information in E&E's Greenwire. [Subscription required]
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Maine Governor John Baldacci (D), U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe (R) and Susan Collins (R), and U.S. Reps. Mike Michaud (D) and Chellie Pingree (D) met with U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu last week to seek funding for a National Deepwater Offshore Wind Research Center to be operated by the University of Maine. According to a media release, the Maine officials asked for $20 million of stimulus package funding for the first year of this project and sought support from Sec. Chu for the program over the next four years.
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The governors of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia signed an agreement last week pledging to coordinate their respective states' coastal and ocean policies. The agreement highlights a number of policy areas as priorities for coordination, including renewable energy projects on offshore lands.
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The South Carolina Energy Office received $109,000 from the federal government to educate the public on wind energy potential and advocate for its development off the South Carolina and Georgia coasts. In May, the DOE selected 53 new wind energy projects for federal funding, including this outreach effort, which will be led by the South Carolina Energy Office in collaboration with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, and various utilities.
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In a June 3 hearing the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies urged DOI Secretary Ken Salazar to consider the potential negative environmental impacts of renewable projects on surrounding habitats both on- and offshore. Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) stated the infrastructure required for renewable projects could make a "huge mark" on areas designated for conservation. Sen. Feinstein asked the Secretary to mitigate those consequences through the DOI permitting process. Ranking Committee Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) suggested that renewable energy developers be required to post bonds that could later be used to remove equipment and restore the natural habitat to its original condition once the projects are no longer viable. Sec. Salazar was receptive to the bond idea, and agreed "what we need to do is make sure that as we are permitting renewable energy projects we are doing it cradle to grave." A webcast of the hearing can be viewed here.
Offshore Energy Law Blog notes that MMS' Final Rule for renewable energy projects on the OCS includes a bonding and decommissioning requirement for such facilities.
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On June 4, 2009, FERC and the State of Washington signed a Memorandum of Understanding with regard to review of renewable energy projects in Washington State waters that employ hydrokinetic technologies. In FERC's Press Release, the Commission explains the specific details concerning how FERC and Washington will coordinate potential license application review, environmental reviews of proposed projects, and siting plans. The Press Release can be viewed here.
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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is expected to press the California state legislature to pass a bill that would overturn a State Lands Commission decision denying an application by Plains Exploration & Production Co. to expand an existing offshore lease. State officials say the Governor's action is motivated by a $23 billion deficit in the California state budget and would not run afoul of a 1994 state ban on new offshore drilling. However, the move drew a sharp response from the State Lands Commission, which accused the Governor of making a "naked power grab." Reuters has more details.
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Energy Secretary Chu is scheduled to discuss the possibility of establishing a National Offshore Wind Research Center at the University of Maine. The conference will take place this Friday, June 5, in Washington D.C., where Secretary Chu will meet with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Representative Mike Michaud (D-ME), Governor John Baldacci (D), and Professor Habib Dagner to talk about the proposal.
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Yesterday DOI Secretary Ken Salazar announced MMS will conduct 12 public hearings in June to discuss the new regulatory program for renewable energy development on the OCS. The final rule was released in April and governs how MMS will grant leases, easements and rights-of-way for offshore renewable energy projects, and delineates how MMS will work with FERC and other agencies on these projects. The first workshop will take place in Washington, DC on June 4 and will be followed by a series of workshops in 11 coastal states. Sec. Salazar explained the workshops are open to the public and are designed to "ensure that everyone with an interest in the future of offshore renewable energy has the opportunity to learn about this program, gather the information they need, and participate in their government." More information, including the dates and locations of the hearings, can be found on the DOI's website.
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