La. Admin. Code tit. 43 § I-1033

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section I-1033 - State Wind Lease Decommissioning

A. Definitions to be used in this Section:

Decommissioning-ending wind energy operations and returning the lease to a condition that meets the requirements of the Minerals Management Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, as required by R.S. 41:1732.C, as well as the requirements of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, State Mineral Board and Office of Mineral Resources, and the requirements of any other agencies that have jurisdiction over decommissioning activities.

Facility-any installation used for wind energy activities that is permanently or temporarily attached to state lands or water bottoms. Facilities may include obstructions.

Obstructions-structures, equipment or objects that were used in wind energy operations that, if left in place, would hinder other users of the state lands or water bottoms. Obstructions may include, but are not limited to, wind turbines, towers, pads, platforms, templates, pilings, shell mounds, overhead and underground electrical transmission and communications lines, electric transformers, energy storage facilities, telecommunications equipment, power generation facilities, roads, meteorological towers and wind measurement equipment, control buildings, maintenance yards, transmission towers, wires, cables, substations, and related facilities and equipment.

B. Lessees and owners of operating rights are jointly and severally responsible for meeting decommissioning obligations for facilities and obstructions on leases, as the obligations accrue and until each obligation is met. In this Section, the terms you or I refer to lessees and owners of operating rights, as to facilities installed under the authority of a lease.

C. You accrue decommissioning obligations when you install a facility, create an obstruction to other users of the state lands and water bottoms, are or become a lessee or the owner of operating rights of a lease on which there is a facility or an obstruction, or re-enter a facility or an obstruction that was previously abandoned.

D. When your facilities are no longer useful for operations, you shall get approval from the Office of Mineral Resources before decommissioning facilities and then permanently remove all facilities and obstructions created by your lease operations in a manner that is safe, does not unreasonably interfere with other users of the state lands or water bottoms, and does not cause undue or serious harm or damage to the human, wildlife, aquatic, or coastal environment.

E. You shall submit decommissioning applications and receive approval and submit subsequent reports according to the table in this Subpart.

Decommissioning Applications and Reports Table
Decommissioning Applications and Reports	When to Submit	Instructions
1. Final removal application for a facility	Before removing a facility	Include information required under Subpart G
2. Post-removal report for a facility	Within 30 days after you remove a facility	Include information required under Subpart I
3. Site clearance report for a facility	'Within 30 days after you complete site clearance verification activities	Include information required under Subpart N

F. You shall remove all facilities within one year after the lease terminates unless you receive approval to maintain a facility to conduct other activities. Before you may remove a facility, you shall submit a final removal application to the Office of Mineral Resources for approval and include the information listed in Subsection G. You shall remove a facility according to the approved application. You shall notify the Office of Mineral Resources at least 48 hours before you begin the removal operations.

G. You shall submit a final removal application to remove a facility to the Office of Mineral Resources for approval. Provide one paper copy and one electronic copy of the final removal application. The final removal application shall include the following, as applicable:

1. applicant identification including lease operator, address, contact person and telephone number, and shore base;

2. facility identification including facility name/ID number, location (lease, area, X-Y coordinates based on the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927, block name and number), year installed, proposed date of removal (month/year), and water depth;

3. description of the facility you are removing including configuration (attach a photograph or a diagram), size, brief description of soil composition and condition, the maximum removal lift weight and estimated number of main lifts to remove the facility, and any other pertinent information;

4. a description, including anchor pattern, of the vessel(s) you will use to remove any facility from state water bottoms;

5. identification of the purpose, including lease expiration date and reason for removing the facility;

6. a description of the removal method, including a brief description of the method you will use. If you are using explosives, the type of explosives, number and sizes of charges, whether you are using a single shot or multiple shots, if multiple shots, the sequence and timing of detonations, whether you are using a bulk or shaped charge, depth of detonation below ground level or mud line (as applicable), whether you are placing the explosives inside or outside of the facility, and a statement whether or not you will use transducers to measure the pressure and impulse of the detonations;

7. if removing a facility from state water bottoms, whether you will use divers or acoustic devices to conduct a pre-removal survey to detect the presence of aquatic life and a description of the proposed detection method;

8. your plans for transportation and disposal (including as an artificial reef) or salvage of the removed facility;

9. if available, the results of any recent biological surveys conducted in the vicinity of the structure and recent observations of wildlife or aquatic life at the facility site;

10. your plans to protect archaeological and sensitive biological features during removal operations, including a brief assessment of the environmental impacts of the removal operations and procedures and mitigation measures you will take to minimize such impacts;

11. your plans to return and restore the state lands or water bottoms to a condition as nearly equivalent to that which existed before said operations were conducted and/or facility was constructed;

12. if removing a facility from state water bottoms, a statement whether or not you will use divers to survey the area after removal to determine any effects on aquatic life.

H. Unless the Office of Mineral Resources approves an alternate depth under Paragraph 2 of this Subpart, you shall remove all facilities on state water bottoms to at least 15' below mud line and you shall remove all facilities on state lands to at least 2' below plow depth. The Office of Mineral Resources may approve an alternate removal depth if:

1. the remaining facility or part thereof would not become an obstruction to other users of the state lands and water bottoms, and geotechnical and other information you provide demonstrate that erosional processes capable of exposing the obstructions are not expected; or

2. if removing a facility from state water bottoms, you determine, and the Office of Mineral Resources concurs, that you must use divers and the seafloor sediment stability poses safety concerns.

I. Within 30 days after you remove a facility, you shall submit a post-removal report to the Office of Mineral Resources that includes the following:

1. a summary of the removal operation including the date it was completed;

2. a description of any mitigation measures you took; and

3.

a. statement signed by your authorized representative that certifies that the types and amount of explosives you used in removing the facility were consistent with those set forth in the approved final removal application.

J. The Office of Mineral Resources may grant a departure from the requirement to remove a facility by approving partial facility removal or toppling in place for conversion to an artificial reef or other use if you meet the following conditions:

1. the structure becomes part of a state artificial reef program, and the responsible state agency acquires a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and accepts title and liability for the facility; and

2. you satisfy any U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) navigational requirements for the facility.

K. Within 60 days after you remove a facility from state water bottoms, you shall verify that a site is clear of obstructions by using one of the following methods.

1. For a facility site in water depths less than 300 feet, you shall drag a trawl over the site.

2. For a facility site in water depths 300 feet or more, you shall drag a trawl over the site, scan across the site using sonar equipment or use another method approved by the Office of Mineral Resources if the particular site conditions warrant.

L. If you drag a trawl across the site, you shall comply with the following.

1. Drag the trawl in a grid-like pattern across a 1,320 foot radius circle centered on the location of the facility.

2. Trawl 100 percent of the limits, described in Subparagraph 1 above, in two directions.

3. Mark the area to be cleared as a hazard to navigation according to USCG requirements until you complete the site clearance procedures.

4. Use a trawling vessel equipped with a calibrated navigational positioning system capable of providing position accuracy of +/-30 feet.

5. Use a trawling net that is representative of those used in the commercial fishing industry (one that has a net strength equal or greater than that provided by No. 18 twine).

6. Ensure that you trawl no closer than 300 feet from a shipwreck, and 500 feet from a sensitive biological feature.

7. If you trawl near an active pipeline, you must meet the requirements in the following table.

For-	You Must Trawl-	And You Must-
1. Buried active pipelines		First contact the pipeline owner or operator to determine the condition of the pipeline before trawling over the buried pipeline.
2. Unburied active pipelines that are 8 inches in diameter or larger	no closer than 100 feet to the either side of the pipeline	Trawl parallel to the pipeline. Do not trawl across the pipeline.
3. Unburied smaller diameter active pipelines in the trawl area that have obstructions (e.g., pipeline valves) present	no closer than 100 feet to either side of the pipeline	Trawl parallel to the pipeline. Do not trawl across.
4. Unburied active pipelines in the trawl area that are smaller than 8 inches in diameter and have no obstructions present.	parallel to the pipeline

8. Ensure that any trawling contractor you may use has no corporate or other financial ties to you and has a valid commercial trawling license for both the vessel and its captain.

M. If you do not trawl a state water bottom site, you can verify that the site is clear of obstructions by using any of the methods shown in the following table.

If You Use-	You Must-	And You Must-
1. Sonar	Cover 100 percent of the appropriate grid area.	Use a sonar signal with a frequency of at least 500 kHz.
2. A diver	Ensure that the diver visually inspects 100 percent of the appropriate grid area.	Ensure that the diver uses a search pattern of concentric circles or parallel lines spaced no more than 10 feet apart.
3. An ROV (remotely operated vehicle)	Ensure that the ROV camera records videotape over 100 percent of the appropriate grid area.	Ensure that the ROV uses a pattern of concentric circles or parallel lines spaced no more than 10 feet apart.

N. Within 60 days after you remove a facility from state lands other than water bottoms, you shall verify that you have returned and restored the state lands to a condition as nearly equivalent to that which existed before said operations were conducted and/or facility was constructed.

O. You shall submit a site clearance report to the Office of Mineral Resources within 30 days after you complete the verification activities. The site clearance report shall include the following:

1. a letter signed by an authorized company official certifying that the facility site area is cleared of all obstructions and that a company representative witnessed the verification activities;

2. a letter signed by an authorized official of the company that performed the verification work for you certifying that they cleared the facility site area of all obstructions;

3. the date the verification work was performed and if applicable, the vessel used;

4. the extent of the area surveyed;

5. the survey method used;

6. the results of the survey, including a list of any debris removed or, if applicable, a statement from the trawling contractor that no objects were recovered; and

7. a post-trawling job plot or map showing the trawled area.

La. Admin. Code tit. 43, § I-1033

Promulgated by the Department of Natural Resources, Office of Mineral Resources, LR 34:269 (February 2008).

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