What must be included in your request?
Your request should contain the following information:
- A detailed description of the proposed project and how it qualifies under Section 8(k) of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act
- A description of the proposed borrow area(s) and placement area(s) including digital maps (including ESRI shapefiles and metadata) depicting the same, navigation features, geologic sampling locations, and any hard or live-bottom benthic habitat. Please include in your request the actual volume you intend to lease from the OCS to achieve the anticipated placement volume. BOEM recommends the volume to be leased include adequate contingency to account for potential losses during dredging, unexpected encounter of incompatible material, or avoidance areas
- Any geological data (such as sediment sample locations and grain size data, core logs, photographs, etc.) and geophysical data (such as sub-bottom profiler, marine magnetometer, side-scan sonar, and bathymetric data, etc.) used in borrow area selection and design
- Any other known uses of the OCS or other infrastructure in the borrow area
- A description of the environmental evaluations and corresponding documents that have been completed or are being prepared for offshore and onshore components of the project
- A target date or range of dates when the resources will be needed
- A description of the person or government entities undertaking the project
- A list of any permits, licenses, or authorizations required for the project and their current status
- Any known potential inconsistencies with state or local statutes, regulations, or ordinances
- The name, title, telephone number, mailing address and email address of any points of contact for any federal agencies, state, or local governments, and contractor(s) with whom the applicant has contracted or intends to contract
- A statement explaining who authorized the project, and whether it is federally authorized
- A statement explaining how the project is to be funded, indicating whether it is federally funded in whole or in part
- A primary and secondary point of contact for any other federal, state, or local government agency identified in the application, including name, title, mailing address, telephone number and email address
Where to submit your request?
Leasing Marine Minerals off the Atlantic Coast: |
Leasing Marine Minerals in the Gulf of Mexico: |
Leasing Marine Minerals off the States of California, Oregon, Washington, or Hawai'i: |
Leasing Marine Minerals off the State of Alaska: |
How does BOEM determine if a project qualifies?
BOEM will consider the following:
- The project purpose
- Other previously authorized uses of material from the same borrow area
- Project funding sources and amounts
- The proposed design and feasibility of the project
- Any potential environmental and safety risks associated with the project
- Other federal interests located near or within the specified borrow area
- Comments received from potentially affected state or local governments, if any
- The applicant’s background and experience working on similar projects or activities
- Whether the project operations can be conducted in a manner that protects the environment and promotes orderly development of OCS mineral resources
If BOEM decides not to enter into noncompetitive negotiated agreement, we will inform you of the reasons for not doing so. You may ask the BOEM Director for reconsideration of this decision.
Additional Resources
- Marine Minerals Legal Framework
- 30 CFR Part 583 (Negotiated Noncompetitive Agreements for the Use of Outer Continental Shelf Sand, Gravel, and/or Shell Resources)