CAPE CHARLES, Va. — The federal government has begun the first formal step in considering whether to open part of the ocean off Virginia’s coast to mineral leasing, launching a public comment period that could shape future offshore exploration activities.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, announced that it published a Request for Information and Interest on June 23 for potential mineral leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore Virginia. The 30-day public comment period runs through July 23.
The notice does not authorize any mining or lease sale. Instead, it marks the start of a federal review process to determine whether there is industry interest and whether BOEM should move forward with a competitive lease sale for minerals other than oil, gas or sulfur in federal waters off the Commonwealth.
According to BOEM, the Request for Information and Interest is intended to gather public input and assess commercial interest in an initial offshore area identified for comment. The agency said that if it decides to move ahead, the next step would be an Area Identification phase in which BOEM would identify specific areas for possible leasing.
Any move beyond that point would trigger a more detailed environmental review. BOEM said it would prepare an environmental assessment and consult with other agencies to evaluate the potential effects of leasing and any early-stage exploration work.
Those preliminary activities could include bathymetric, geological, geophysical and mapping surveys, as well as other work needed to prepare a delineation, testing or mining plan. BOEM said such early activities are limited to work that does not have a significant adverse effect on Outer Continental Shelf natural resources.
The agency said any environmental review would include consultations required under several federal laws, including Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and Section 307 of the Coastal Zone Management Act.
BOEM outlined a multi-step regulatory pathway that would have to occur before any lease could be awarded. After the current information-gathering phase, the agency could identify areas for potential leasing, conduct environmental analysis, publish a proposed leasing notice, then a formal leasing notice, and only after that hold a competitive lease sale. BOEM would then evaluate bids before deciding whether to award any lease.
The notice applies only to minerals and does not involve oil, natural gas or sulfur leasing.
BOEM has also released supporting materials tied to the request, including a Virginia Area ID block and aliquot list, Virginia Area ID GIS data and an overview of the agency’s regulatory pathway for Outer Continental Shelf minerals leasing in Virginia.
The public comment period gives residents, local governments, industry representatives, environmental groups and other stakeholders a chance to weigh in before BOEM decides whether to continue the leasing process.
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