Notice2024-06752
Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for the Proposed Sunrise Wind Farm Offshore New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island
Primary source
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Published
March 29, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentOcean Energy Management Bureau
Abstract
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announces the availability of the joint record of decision (ROD) on the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the construction and operations plan (COP) submitted by Sunrise Wind, LLC (Sunrise Wind) for its proposed Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project (Project), offshore New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The joint ROD includes the Department of the Interior's (DOI's) decision regarding the COP, the National Park Service's (NPS) decision regarding special use permits (SUPs) and a Right-of-Way (ROW) permit, and the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) plans for decision, pending completion of all statutory processes, regarding Sunrise Wind's requested Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of Authorization (LOA) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). NMFS has adopted the final EIS to support its decision of whether or not to promulgate the requested ITR under the MMPA. The NPS has adopted the final EIS to support its decision to issue a ROW permit and SUPs. The joint ROD concludes the National Environmental Policy Act process for each agency.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 62 (Friday, March 29, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 62 (Friday, March 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22177-22178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06752]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM-2023-0056]
Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for the
Proposed Sunrise Wind Farm Offshore New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode
Island
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior; National Marine
Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
Commerce; National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Record of decision; notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announces the
availability of the joint record of decision (ROD) on the Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the construction and
operations plan (COP) submitted by Sunrise Wind, LLC (Sunrise Wind) for
its proposed Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project (Project),
offshore New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The joint ROD
includes the Department of the Interior's (DOI's) decision regarding
the COP, the National Park Service's (NPS) decision regarding special
use permits (SUPs) and a Right-of-Way (ROW) permit, and the National
Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) plans for decision, pending
completion of all statutory processes, regarding Sunrise Wind's
requested Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of
Authorization (LOA) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). NMFS
has adopted the final EIS to support its decision of whether or not to
promulgate the requested ITR under the MMPA. The NPS has adopted the
final EIS to support its decision to issue a ROW permit and SUPs. The
joint ROD concludes the National Environmental Policy Act process for
each agency.
ADDRESSES: The joint ROD and associated information are available on
BOEM's website at <a href="https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/sunrise-wind-activities">https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/sunrise-wind-activities</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information related to BOEM's
action, 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#c8a2adbbbba1aba9e6bbbcbaa7a5aaadbaaf88aaa7ada5e6afa7be"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c9a3acbabaa0aaa8e7babdbba6a4abacbbae89aba6aca4e7aea6bf">[email protected]</span></a>. For information related
to NMFS' action, contact Katherine Renshaw, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of General Counsel, (302) 515-
0324, or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a1cac0d5c9c4d3c8cfc48fd3c4cfd2c9c0d6e1cfcec0c08fc6ced7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="89e2e8fde1ecfbe0e7eca7fbece7fae1e8fec9e7e6e8e8a7eee6ff">[email protected]</span></a>. For information related to NPS'
action, contact Kristin Andel, NPS Resource Planning and Compliance
Program, (617) 564-7613, or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7f340d160c0b1611203e111b1a133f110f0c51181009"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5f142d362c2b3631001e313b3a331f312f2c71383029">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Sunrise Wind seeks approval to construct,
operate, and maintain the Project: a wind energy facility and the
associated export cables on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore
New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and to construct a portion
of the Project within NPS-administered waters and submerged lands
within the Fire Island National Seashore. The Project would be
developed within the range of design parameters outlined in the COP,
subject to applicable mitigation measures.
A notice of availability for the final EIS was published in the
Federal Register on December 15, 2023. On March 20, 2024, BOEM
published an errata on its website that included certain edits to the
North Atlantic right whale cumulative impact determination of the no
action alternative in final EIS chapter 3. The errata also provide
corrections for benthic resources in a no action alternative table in
final EIS chapter 2. These corrections are neither substantive nor do
they affect the analysis or conclusions in the final EIS.
The Project as proposed in the COP would include up to 94 wind
turbine generators (WTGs) within 102 potential locations, 1 offshore
converter station, inter-array cables linking the individual WTGs to
the offshore substation, 1 offshore export cable, 1 onshore converter
station, 1 fiber optic cable that runs through the conduit from Fire
Island National Seashore (the Seashore) to the proposed wind farm, and
onshore interconnection cables connecting to the existing electrical
grid in New York. The WTGs, offshore substation, and inter-array cables
would be located on the OCS approximately 16.4 nautical miles (nm)
(18.9 statute miles[mi]) south of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts,
approximately 26.5 nm (30.5 mi) east of Montauk, New York, and 14.5 nm
(16.7 mi) from Block Island, Rhode Island, within the area defined by
Renewable Energy Lease OCS-A 0487 (Lease Area). The offshore export
cables would be buried below the seabed surface on the U.S. OCS and
State of New York-owned submerged lands, including submerged lands
where the United States holds an easement for use and occupancy for the
purposes of the Seashore. The onshore export cables, substation, and
grid connection would be located in Holbrook, New York. After carefully
considering public comments on the draft EIS and the alternatives
described and analyzed in the final EIS, DOI selected Alternative C-3b
(84 WTGs within 87 potential locations), which combines elements of the
``Habitat Impact Minimization Alternative'' and the results of BOEM's
independent feasibility review. This combination is the preferred
alternative identified in the final EIS. The anticipated mitigation,
monitoring, and reporting requirements, which will be included in
BOEM's COP approval as terms and conditions, are included in the ROD,
which is available at: <a href="https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/sunrise-wind-activities">https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/sunrise-wind-activities</a>.
NMFS has adopted BOEM's final EIS to support its decision of
whether or not to promulgate the requested ITR and issue the associated
LOA to Sunrise 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 Sunrise Wind to take small numbers of marine mammals
incidental to Project construction and would set forth permissible
methods of incidental taking, means of affecting the least practicable
adverse impact on the species and their habitat, and requirements for
monitoring and reporting. Pursuant to section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act (ESA), NMFS issued a final Biological Opinion to BOEM on
September 28, 2023, evaluating the effects of the proposed action on
ESA-listed species. The proposed action in the Biological Opinion
includes the associated permits, approvals, and authorizations that may
be issued.
The NPS has adopted BOEM's final EIS to support its decision to
issue a ROW permit and two SUPs to Sunrise Wind. These permits would
allow Sunrise Wind to access certain waters and submerged lands of the
Seashore in order to connect to the onshore grid from inside Smith
Point County Park, which is contained within the Seashore's legislated
boundaries, and carry out construction within the
[[Page 22178]]
Seashore and in both the Atlantic Ocean and the intracoastal waterway
between Fire Island and Long Island. NPS' decision to grant these
permits will be further documented in the forthcoming permits,
including permit terms and conditions, in accordance with internal NPS
policy and procedures.
Authority: National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended,
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 40 CFR 1505.2.
Karen Baker,
Chief, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management.
[FR Doc. 2024-06752 Filed 3-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P
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