La. Admin. Code tit. 43 § I-1011

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024

Section I-1011 - Nomination of State Lands and Water Bottoms for Wind Lease

A. Interested, registered parties shall nominate state lands and water bottoms for wind lease by scheduling a pre-nomination meeting with and submitting proposals (called "nominations") by application to the Office of Mineral Resources in the form it requires. Each application shall include a description of the land, including a map, on both paper and diskette or CD-ROM, and be accompanied by submission of a nonrefundable $400 processing fee made payable to the Office of Mineral Resources, as well as any other documentation and information required.

B. Only those parties who are registered applicants with the Office of Mineral Resources as set forth under §1007. A shall be allowed to nominate state lands and water bottoms for wind lease.

C. A party interested in nominating state lands and water bottoms for wind lease shall observe the following restrictions.

1. Use bearing, distance and X-Y coordinates based on the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927, North or South Zone (as applicable), to accurately and clearly describe the nominated acreage. Determine whether the acreage to be nominated falls in the North Zone or the South Zone of the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927 and provide this information in the nomination packet. A single nomination may contain acreage that falls partially in the North Zone and partially in the South Zone. However, allocate the nominated acreage to the zone wherein the majority of the acreage falls and use that zone's coordinates (see R.S. 50:1).

a. A nominating party is excepted from using the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927 only if the acreage to be nominated is not susceptible of or has another type legal description not translatable into a description using bearing, distance and X-Y coordinates based on the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927. If the acreage to be nominated falls under this exception, the nominating party is allowed to provide the legal description of the property as provided in the title deed wherein the state acquired its ownership interest in the property.

2. N ominate 5,000 acres or less of state lands and water bottoms for state wind lease in a single nomination.

3. Delineate the nominated acreage by a square or rectangle only, no side of which shall be greater than 3 1/2 half miles 18,480.00 feet in length.

a. A nominating party is excepted from delineating the nominated acreage by a square or rectangle when the nominated acreage abuts the Three Mile Line as decreed by the United States Supreme Court in United States v. State of Louisiana et al. In this situation, use a polygon as close in shape to a square or rectangle as is practical.

D. A party interested in nominating state lands and water bottoms for wind lease shall schedule a pre-nomination meeting with the Office of Mineral Resources, at which meeting the party shall submit a nomination packet that includes one copy (unless required otherwise) of the following items:

1. an official letter of application for a state wind lease available from the Office of Mineral Resources. Provide three originally signed paper copies and no electronic copy;

2. any title documentation obtained pursuant to §1009. A 6;

3. any proof of notification documentation obtained pursuant to §1009. B 2;

4. a written property description of the nominated acreage, fully justified, using Microsoft Word. Provide three original paper copies and one electronic copy as a Word .doc file on the nomination diskette or CD-ROM. Include:

a. a designated point of beginning using X-Y coordinates based on the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927, North or South Zone (as applicable), then going clockwise fully write out (no abbreviations or symbols) bearing and distance to the next X-Y coordinates for each corner back to the point of beginning;

b. the gross acreage amount of state lands and water bottoms, inclusive of Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission/Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Property, contained within the nomination area;

c. the net acreage amount of state lands and water bottoms, exclusive of Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission/Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries property, contained within the nomination area; and

d. the net acreage amount of Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission/Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries property contained within the nomination area;

5. a plat of the nominated acreage, using the most recent background imagery. Use X-Y coordinates based on the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927, North or South Zone (as applicable). Provide three original paper copies and one electronic copy as a .pdf file on the nomination diskette or CD-ROM. Include:

a. an outline of the nominated acreage with a designated point of beginning and corners using X-Y coordinates that exactly match the X-Y coordinates for the point of beginning and corners provided in the written property description, clearly labeled therein;

b. an outline of the state lands and water bottoms falling in the nomination area, clearly labeled along with the acreage amount contained therein;

c. an outline of any Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission/Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries property, school indemnity lands, tax adjudicated lands, vacant state lands, White Lake, and legal areas, falling in the nomination area, clearly labeled along with the acreage amount contained in each;

d. an outline of each active or non-released land use agreement granted by the state of Louisiana including, but not limited to, a state wind lease, state mineral lease, state operating agreement, state exclusive geophysical agreement, state non-exclusive seismic permit, state right of way, and/or state surface/subsurface agreement, as well as any nomination tract approved for advertisement or advertised as offered for state mineral lease, state operating agreement, or state exclusive geophysical agreement abutting, adjacent to, intersecting, and partially/wholly enclosed in the nomination area, clearly labeled with its official number along with the acreage amount contained therein;

e. an outline of any lands and water bottoms not belonging to the state of Louisiana falling in the nomination area, clearly labeled "Not State Owned" along with the acreage amount contained therein;

f. all water bodies, clearly labeled;

g. the block system (if applicable), with block names and numbers;

h. section, township, range information (if applicable);

i. parish name(s); and

j. the name and date of the background imagery used;

6. a .dxf file that contains only the boundary of the nominated acreage, provided on the nomination diskette or CD-ROM. The boundary shall be a single line with no additional lines, labels, text, or graphics, and shall be constructed of individual line segments between vertices. The X-Y coordinates in the .dxf file must exactly match those in the written property description and the plat;

7. a nomination diskette or CD-ROM clearly labeled "State Wind Lease Nomination Diskette" that shall have the applicant and project names affixed thereon and contain the written property description as a Word .doc file, the plat as a .pdf file, and the .dxf file;

8. a summary of the environmental issues including, but not limited to, avian and baseline noise levels, the environmental impact of the placement of wind turbines and other equipment necessary for the exploration, development and production of wind energy, and the steps proposed to minimize the environmental impact, along with any supporting environmental impact documentation;

9. a list of governmental entities including each federal, state, parish and local governmental entity that has jurisdiction in the nomination area and for each, the contact person name, title, office address, telephone and fax numbers, and email, as well as the type of legal authority, if any, acquired or to be acquired from the governmental entity;

10. a nomination fee payment in the amount of $400 made payable to the Office of Mineral Resources as a non-refundable fee to satisfy the cost of processing an application for a state wind lease. A personal or business check is acceptable;

11. any other information and documentation required by the Office of Mineral Resources.

La. Admin. Code tit. 43, § I-1011

Promulgated by the Department of Natural Resources, Office of Mineral Resources, LR 34:261 (February 2008).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 41:1734.