Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has issued a Dear Tribal Leader Letter announcing that it will host a virtual roundtable discussion with BSEE Director Devin Sligh to discuss its National Tribal Engagement Program (NTEP). The BSEE oversees safety and environmental standards related to offshore energy and mineral exploration, development, and production under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. This authority directs BSEE to regulate energy-related activities on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, which includes offshore wind energy projects.
The purpose of this virtual Tribal roundtable is to provide an overview of how the BSEE regions and program offices collaborate and plan to work with Tribal Nations on federal actions that may have Tribal implications. This roundtable discussion provides an opportunity for USET SPF’s member Tribal Nations to voice concerns
regarding offshore wind development and the lack of Tribal consultation, transparency, and resources available to Tribal Nations to review environmental impact statements and other studies conducted for the construction of offshore wind projects.
Details regarding this upcoming virtual Tribal roundtable are as follows—
In March 2023, the USET SPF Executive Committee adopted USET SPF Resolution No. 2023 SPF:013, “Urging a Moratorium on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Offshore Wind Scoping and Permitting.” In this Resolution, USET SPF urged BOEM to issue a temporary moratorium on current scoping and permitting processes to allow time to enact a new Nationwide Programmatic Agreement for all currently proposed and future offshore wind projects. It also urges BOEM and the Administration to support shared Tribal jurisdictional authority over and Tribal management of offshore renewable energy activities.
To view Framing Questions as well as a proposed Agenda, please view the Dear Tribal Leader Letter. Questions may be submitted prior to the roundtable session and can be sent to BSEE Tribal Liaison Officer Jack Lorrigan at jack.lorrigan@bsee.gov.
For more information, please contact Brian Howard, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at bhoward@usetinc.org.
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