Abstract
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE) ability to guarantee that a lessee or grantee can efficiently decommission their offshore wind facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) comes from both Bureaus’ stringent regulations and comprehensive system of financial assurances, authorized by Section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. BOEM’s implementing regulations at 30 CFR 585 provide specific financial security requirements for OCS projects and requires the lessee to provide a surety bond or other form of financial assurance. The Bureaus requires leaseholders to prepare conceptual decommissioning plans when their project is first proposed and more detailed plans for evaluation at the time decommissioning is requested. This report provides an overview of the processes, regulatory requirements, and financial assurances for decommissioning offshore wind facilities on the OCS. This white paper is a living document and will be updated as new information becomes available.
This paper was revised in April 2023, in response to the Reorganization of Title 30 – Renewable Energy and Alternate Uses of Existing Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf into 30 CFR Parts 285, 585, and 586 final rule (January 31, 2023; 88 FR 6376). This final rule reorganized regulations to transfer safety and environmental oversight for the OCS renewable energy program from BOEM to BSEE due to increased wind energy activity. This paper was updated to incorporate these changes and reflect the regulations under BSEE’s oversight in 30 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 285 – Renewable Energy and Alternate Uses of Existing Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf, and under BOEM’s oversight in 30 CFR Part 585 – Renewable Energy on the Outer Continental Shelf. Certain regulations appear in more than one part because they implicate responsibilities delegated to both BOEM and BSEE.