Notice2023-18244
Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for the Revolution Wind Farm and Revolution Wind Export Cable Project
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 24, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentOcean Energy Management Bureau
Abstract
BOEM announces the availability of the joint ROD on the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the construction and operations plan (COP) submitted by Revolution Wind, LLC (Revolution Wind) for its Revolution Wind Farm and Revolution Wind Export Cable Project (Project) offshore Rhode Island. The joint ROD includes the Department of the Interior's (DOI) decision regarding the Revolution Wind COP, NMFS' decision regarding Revolution Wind's request for Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of Authorization (LOA) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and the DA's decision regarding authorizations under section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA) and section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). NMFS has adopted the FEIS to support its decision of whether or not to promulgate ITRs and issue a LOA to Revolution Wind under the MMPA. USACE has adopted the FEIS to support its decision to issue a DA permit under section 10 of the RHA and section 404 of the CWA. The joint ROD concludes the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for each agency and is available with associated information on BOEM's website at: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state- activities/revolution-wind.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 163 (Thursday, August 24, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 163 (Thursday, August 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57967-57968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18244]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM-2023-048]
Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for the
Revolution Wind Farm and Revolution Wind Export Cable Project
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior; National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Commerce; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE),
Department of the Army (DA).
ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA); record of decision (ROD).
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SUMMARY: BOEM announces the availability of the joint ROD on the Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the construction and
operations plan (COP) submitted by Revolution Wind, LLC (Revolution
Wind) for its Revolution Wind Farm and Revolution Wind Export Cable
Project (Project) offshore Rhode Island. The joint ROD includes the
Department of the Interior's (DOI) decision regarding the Revolution
Wind COP, NMFS' decision regarding Revolution Wind's request for
Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of
Authorization (LOA) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and
the DA's decision regarding authorizations under section 10 of the
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA) and section 404 of the Clean Water
Act (CWA). NMFS has adopted the FEIS to support its decision of whether
or not to promulgate ITRs and issue a LOA to Revolution Wind under the
MMPA. USACE has adopted the FEIS to support its decision to issue a DA
permit under section 10 of the RHA and section 404 of the CWA. The
joint ROD concludes the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
process for each agency and is available with associated information on
BOEM's website at: <a href="https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/revolution-wind">https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/revolution-wind</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Project ROD,
please contact Jessica Stromberg, BOEM Office of Renewable Energy
Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP, Sterling, Virginia 20166,
(703) 787-1730 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9df7f8eeeef4fefcb3eee9eff2f0fff8effaddfff2f8f0b3faf2eb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ef858a9c9c868c8ec19c9b9d80828d8a9d88af8d808a82c1888099">[email protected]</span></a>. For information related
to NMFS' action, contact Katherine Renshaw, NOAA Office of General
Counsel, Environmental Review and Coordination Section, (302) 515-0324,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#264d47524e43544f484308544348554e4751664849474708414950"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d3b8b2a7bbb6a1babdb6fda1b6bda0bbb2a493bdbcb2b2fdb4bca5">[email protected]</span></a>. For information related to USACE's action,
contact Ruth Brien, New England District Regulatory Division, (978)
318-8054 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8cfef9f8e4ede2e2a2eda2eefee5e9e2ccf9ffedefe9a2edfee1f5a2e1e5e0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7002050418111e1e5e115e120219151e3005031113155e11021d095e1d191c">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Revolution Wind seeks approval to construct,
operate, maintain, and eventually decommission the Project: a wind
energy facility on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Rhode
Island. The Project would be developed within the range of design
parameters outlined in the Revolution Wind COP, subject to applicable
mitigation measures. The Project as proposed in the COP would include
up to 100 wind turbine generators (WTGs), up to 2 offshore high voltage
alternating current substations, inter-array cables linking the
individual turbines to the offshore substations, one substation
interconnector cable linking the substations to each other, offshore
export cables, an onshore export cable system, one onshore substation,
and connection to the existing electrical grid at The Narragansett
Electric Company Davisville Substation in North Kingstown, Rhode
Island. The WTGs, offshore substations, inter-array cables and
substation interconnector cables would be located on the OCS
approximately 15 nautical miles (18 statute miles) southeast of Point
Judith, Rhode Island, within an area defined by Renewable Energy Lease
OCS-A 0486 (Lease Area). The offshore export cables would be buried
below the seabed in the OCS and State of Rhode Island submerged lands.
The onshore export cables, substations, and grid connections would be
located in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
A notice of availability for the FEIS was published in the Federal
Register on July 21, 2023. On August 15, 2023, BOEM published an errata
on its website that included certain edits to the summary of impacts by
alternative tables in the Executive Summary and Chapter 2 of the FEIS
to include species-specific impact determinations for North Atlantic
Right Whale at the request of NOAA. The errata also provides numbering
corrections, and text and footnotes to tables note clarifications in
Chapter 3, Appendix E-2, and Appendix F. None of these edits
[[Page 57968]]
or corrections are substantive or affect the analysis or conclusions in
the FEIS. After carefully considering alternatives described and
analyzed in the FEIS and comments from the public on the Draft EIS, the
DOI has decided to approve the COP for Revolution Wind under the
preferred Alternative G, which reduces the installation to 65 WTGs from
the Project as proposed in the COP. The full text of the mitigation,
monitoring, and reporting requirements, which will be included in
BOEM's COP approval, are available in the ROD, which is available on
BOEM's website at: <a href="https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/revolution-wind">https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/revolution-wind</a>.
NMFS has adopted BOEM's FEIS to support its decision of whether or
not to promulgate the requested ITR and issue the associated LOA to
Revolution Wind. NMFS' final decision of whether or not to promulgate
the requested ITR and issue the LOA will be documented in a separate
Decision Memorandum prepared in accordance with internal NMFS policy
and procedures. The final ITR and a notice of issuance of the LOA, if
issued, will be published in the Federal Register. The LOA would
authorize Revolution Wind to take a small number of marine mammals
incidental to Project construction and would set forth permissible
methods of incidental taking; means of effecting the least practicable
adverse impact on the species and its habitat; and requirements for
monitoring and reporting. Pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act, NMFS issued a final Biological Opinion to BOEM on July 21,
2023, evaluating the effects of the proposed action on ESA-listed
species. The proposed action in the opinion includes the associated
permits, approvals and authorizations that may be issued.
USACE has decided to adopt BOEM's FEIS and issue a permit to
Revolution Wind pursuant to section 10 of the RHA and section 404 of
the CWA. The DA permit will authorize Revolution Wind to discharge fill
below the high tide line of waters of the United States. It will also
authorize Revolution Wind to perform work and place structures below
the mean high water mark of navigable waters of the United States and
to affix structures to the seabed on the OCS.
Authority: This NOA is published in accordance with regulations (40
CFR parts 1500-1508) implementing the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Karen Baker,
Chief, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-18244 Filed 8-23-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P
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