[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 164 (Friday, August 25, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58173-58174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18370]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

30 CFR Parts 550, 556, and 590

[Docket No. BOEM-2023-0027]
RIN 1010-AE14


Risk Management and Financial Assurance for OCS Lease and Grant 
Obligations; Extension of Public Comment Period

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of public comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is extending the 
public comment period on our notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), 
``Risk Management and Financial Assurance for Outer Continental Shelf 
Lease and Grant Obligations,'' by 10 days. Comments previously 
submitted do not need to be resubmitted and will be fully considered.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule ``Risk Management and 
Financial Assurance for Outer Continental Shelf [OCS] Lease and Grant 
Obligations,'' which was published on June 29, 2023, at 88 FR 42136, is 
extended by 10 days. Online comments submitted at https://www.regulations.gov must be uploaded by 11:59 p.m. eastern daylight 
time on September 7, 2023. Hardcopy comments submitted by a parcel 
delivery service must be received by BOEM or postmarked on or before 
September 7, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The publicly available documents relevant to this action are 
available for public inspection electronically at https://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. BOEM-2023-0027.
    Submitting Comments. You may send comments regarding the substance 
of this proposed rule, identified by Docket No. BOEM-2023-0027 or 
regulation identifier number (RIN) 1010-AE14, using any of the 
following methods:
     Federal e-rulemaking portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Search for and submit comments on Docket No. BOEM-2023-0027.
     U.S. Postal Service or other parcel delivery service: 
Address comments to the Office of Regulations, Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management, Department of the Interior, Attention: Kelley Spence, 45600 
Woodland Road, Mailstop: DIR-BOEM, Sterling, VA 20166.
    Instructions: All comments submitted regarding this proposed rule 
should reference Docket No. BOEM-2023-0027 or RIN 1010-AE14. All 
comments received by BOEM will be reviewed and may be posted to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided with 
the submission. For further instructions on protecting personally 
identifiable information, see ``Public Availability of Comments'' under 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelley Spence, Office of Regulations, 
BOEM, at telephone number 984-298-7345 or email address 
[email protected]; or Karen Thundiyil, Chief, Office of 
Regulations, BOEM, at telephone number 202-742-0970 or email address 
[email protected]. Individuals in the United States who are 
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 
711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay 
services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay 
services offered within their country to make international calls to 
the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 29, 2023, BOEM published the 
proposed rule ``Risk Management and Financial Assurance for [OCS] Lease 
and Grant Obligations.'' 88 FR 42136. That proposed rule would modify 
the criteria for determining whether oil, gas, and sulfur lessees, 
right-of-use and easement (RUE) grant holders, and pipeline right-of-
way grant holders may be required to provide financial assurance above 
the current regulatorily prescribed base financial assurance to ensure 
compliance with their Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act obligations. 
This proposed rule would also remove existing restrictive provisions 
for third-party guarantees and decommissioning accounts and would add 
new criteria under which a bond or third-party guarantee that was 
provided as supplemental financial assurance may be canceled. 
Additionally, this proposed rule would clarify financial assurance 
requirements for RUEs serving Federal leases. With this notice, we are 
extending the public comment period on the NPRM from August 28, 2023, 
to September 7, 2023.

[[Page 58174]]

Public Availability of Comments

    You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Before including your 
name, return address, phone number, email address, or other personally 
identifiable information in your comment, you should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your personally identifiable information--may 
be made publicly available. In order for BOEM to withhold from 
disclosure your personally identifiable information, you must identify, 
in a cover letter, any information contained in the submittal of your 
comments that, if released, would constitute a clearly unwarranted 
invasion of your personal privacy. You must also briefly describe in 
such cover letter any possible harmful consequences of the disclosure 
of information, such as embarrassment, injury, or other harm. While you 
can ask us in your comment to withhold your personally identifiable 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so. Even if BOEM withholds your information in the context 
of this rulemaking, your submission is subject to the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA) and any relevant court orders. If your 
submission is requested under the FOIA or such court order, your 
information will only be withheld if a determination is made that one 
of the FOIA's exemptions to disclosure applies or if such court order 
is challenged. Such a determination will be made in accordance with the 
Department's FOIA regulations and applicable law.

Elizabeth Klein,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-18370 Filed 8-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P