Program for Renewable Energy and Alternate Use of Existing Structures on the Outer Continental Shelf

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior. ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) and scoping meetings. 1. Authority The Notice of Intent (NOI) and notice of scoping meetings is published pursuant to the regulations ( 40 CFR 1501.7 ) implementing the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ). 2. Purpose of Notice of Intent Pursuant to the regulations implementing the procedural provisions of the NEPA, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) is announcing its intent to prepare a programmatic EIS for the National Offshore Alternate Energy-Related Use (AERU) Program and Rule as authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The NOI also serves to announce the scoping process for this programmatic EIS. Throughout the scoping process, Federal, State, and local government agencies, and other interested parties have the opportunity to advise MMS in determining the significant issues, alternatives, and mitigation measures to be considered for analysis in the programmatic EIS. The programmatic EIS analysis will focus on the potential environmental effects of implementing the AERU program, and associated rulemaking. 3. Cooperating Agency The MMS invites other Federal agencies and State, tribal, and local governments to consider becoming cooperating agencies in the preparation of the programmatic EIS. We invit…