Notice2024-20642
Notice of Final Federal Agency Action on the Authorization for the New England Wind Farm and New England Wind Project
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Published
September 12, 2024
Issuing agencies
Defense DepartmentEngineers Corps
Abstract
USACE announces final agency action on the USACE authorization for the proposed construction and maintenance of the New England Wind Farm and New England Wind Project Phase I (New England Wind Phase I Project) offshore Massachusetts. USACE has issued a permit authorizing the construction and maintenance of the New England Wind Phase I Project under section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA) and section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The New England Wind Phase I Project is a "covered project" under title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 177 (Thursday, September 12, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 177 (Thursday, September 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 74263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20642]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
[Permit No. NAE-2021-01301]
Notice of Final Federal Agency Action on the Authorization for
the New England Wind Farm and New England Wind Project
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of limitation on claims for judicial review of actions
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
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SUMMARY: USACE announces final agency action on the USACE authorization
for the proposed construction and maintenance of the New England Wind
Farm and New England Wind Project Phase I (New England Wind Phase I
Project) offshore Massachusetts. USACE has issued a permit authorizing
the construction and maintenance of the New England Wind Phase I
Project under section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA)
and section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The New England Wind
Phase I Project is a ``covered project'' under title 41 of the Fixing
America's Surface Transportation Act.
DATES: A claim seeking judicial review of the USACE authorization of
construction and maintenance of the New England Wind Phase I Project
will be barred unless the claim is filed not later than two years after
this notice's publication date. If the Federal law that allows for
judicial review of the USACE authorization specifies a shorter time
period for filing such a claim, then that shorter time period will
apply.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Jacek, 696 Virginia Road,
Concord, Massachusetts 01742, 978-318-8026, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9cfff9f2fdf9b1eeb1f3fafaeff4f3eef9ebf5f2f8dce9effdfff9b2fdeef1e5b2f1f5f0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3e5d5b505f5b134c135158584d56514c5b4957505a7e4b4d5f5d5b105f4c534710535752">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that USACE has taken
final agency action on its authorization for the proposed New England
Wind Phase I Project by issuing a permit authorizing construction and
maintenance of the Project under section 10 of the RHA and section 404
of the CWA. A majority of the work will occur in the Atlantic Ocean
within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Renewable Energy
Lease Area OCS-A 0534, which is approximately eighteen (18) nautical
miles (NM) south of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Export cable work
would occur within a forty two (42) NM long offshore export cable
corridor extending from the lease area, through the Muskeget Channel
and Nantucket Sound with cable landfall at Craigville Beach,
Barnstable, Massachusetts. The export cables would also cross the
Centerville River in Barnstable, Massachusetts.
The work authorized under the USACE permit includes the
construction and maintenance of a commercial-scale offshore wind
facility within a 63,012 acre BOEM Renewable Energy Lease Area OCS-A
0534. The work includes: (1) the installation of up to sixty two (62)
wind turbine generators (WTGs) and up to two (2) electrical service
platforms (ESPs) with up to seventy four (74) acres associated scour
protection for the structures, (2) the installation of approximately
133 NM of inter-array cables connecting the WTGs and inter-link cable
connecting the ESPs to the WTGs with eleven (11) acres of associated
scour protection for the cables, (3) the installation up to two (2)
export transmission cables within a single forty two (42) NM offshore
export cable corridor (OECC) with approximately 2.5 acres of cable
scour protection on the outer continental shelf (OCS) and 21.5 acres of
subtidal fills associated with cable scour protection and sand wave
relocation activities. Each export transmission cable will have a 12
foot (ft.) wide disturbance zone associated with installation and an
estimated disturbance area involving up to 75 acres of subtidal
waters., (4) the refilling of two horizontal directional drilling (HDD)
exit pits to be excavated for the HDD work associated with the shore to
landfall work. Each HDD exit pit will be approximately 10,000 square
feet (sq. ft.) in size with approximately 20,000 sq. ft. of total
impacts associated with the discharge of excavated material back into
the HDD pits, and (5) HDD installation of the transmission cables under
the Centerville River.
The USACE's decision to issue a permit, and the laws under which
the action was taken, are described in the New England Wind Project
Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) published in March 2024, in
the joint Record of Decision (ROD) issued on April 1, 2024, and in
other project records. The FEIS, ROD, and other documents can be viewed
and downloaded from the BOEM project website at <a href="https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/new-england-wind-1-and-2">https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/new-england-wind-1-and-2</a>. The USACE
permit can be viewed and downloaded from the USACE website at <a href="https://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/permits-Issued/">https://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/permits-Issued/</a>. By this
notice, USACE is advising the public of final agency action subject to
42 U.S.C. 4370m-6(a)(1)(A).
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4370m-6(a)(1)(A).
John P. Lloyd,
Brigadier General, USA, Commanding.
[FR Doc. 2024-20642 Filed 9-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
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