To determine whether or not there is competitive interest:

(a) We will publish a public notice, generally describing the parameters of the project, to give affected and interested parties an opportunity to comment on the proposed ROW grant or RUE grant area.

(b) We will evaluate any comments received on the notice and make a determination of the level of competitive interest.

(c) BOEM may consider a State's or Regional Transmission Operator/Independent System Operator's process that identifies a transmission project that needs a ROW and/or a RUE grant to achieve its intended purpose. BOEM may determine that there is no competitive interest that would be consistent with OCSLA's goal of allowing the expeditious and orderly development of OCS energy projects, if offering the ROW and/or RUE competitively could challenge the viability of the transmission project intended to be located on State submerged lands and the OCS (e.g., technical and economic feasibility or practicality concerns, including significant delays, by having different entities holding the right to develop the transmission project in State submerged lands and the OCS).