The new rules – a single document with 10 relatively brief chapters – have been issued jointly by the Federal Energy regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Department of the Interior’s (DoI) Minerals Management Service (MMS).
In April, the previously competing agencies set out their peace deal over jurisdication in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The latest document is an expansion on the MoU, they said in their joint statement.
Broadly, FERC has project-specific powers but needs DoI approvals at various stages. DoI also controls the access corridors along the Shelf to link the projects to shore. The work of the DoI is being mostly done by the MMS unit.
The MoU and further rules cover the offshore development of wave, tidal and ocean current technologies.
