Notice2024-31062
Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for the Proposed SouthCoast Wind 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
December 27, 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 SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC (SouthCoast Wind) for its proposed SouthCoast Wind Project (Project) offshore Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The joint ROD includes the Department of the Interior's (DOI) decision regarding the COP; National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) decision, pending completion of all statutory processes, regarding SouthCoast Wind's requested Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of Authorization (LOA) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA); and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) 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 final EIS to support its decision about whether or not to promulgate the requested ITR and issue an LOA to SouthCoast Wind under the MMPA. USACE has adopted the final EIS to support its decision to issue a Department of the Army (DA) permit under section 10 of the RHA and section 404 of the CWA. The joint ROD concludes the National Environmental Policy Act process for each agency.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 248 (Friday, December 27, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 248 (Friday, December 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 105626-105627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31062]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No. BOEM-2024-0055]
Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for the
Proposed SouthCoast Wind Project
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior; National Marine
Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
Commerce; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army.
ACTION: Record of decision; notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC
(SouthCoast Wind) for its proposed SouthCoast Wind Project (Project)
offshore Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The joint ROD includes the
Department of the Interior's (DOI) decision regarding the COP; National
Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) decision, pending completion of all
statutory processes, regarding SouthCoast Wind's requested Incidental
Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of Authorization (LOA)
under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA); and U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers' (USACE) 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 final EIS to support its
decision about whether or not to promulgate the requested ITR and issue
an LOA to SouthCoast Wind under the MMPA. USACE has adopted the final
EIS to support its decision to issue a Department of the Army (DA)
permit under section 10 of the RHA and section 404 of the CWA. 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/southcoast-wind-formerly-mayflower-wind">https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/southcoast-wind-formerly-mayflower-wind</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information related to BOEM's
action, please contact Genevieve Brune, BOEM Office of Renewable Energy
Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP, Sterling, Virginia 20166,
(703) 787-1553, or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0e696b606b78676b786b206c7c7b606b4e6c616b6320696178"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2b4c4e454e5d424e5d4e0549595e454e6b49444e46054c445d">[email protected]</span></a>. For information related to
NMFS' action, please contact Katherine Renshaw, National Oceanic
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of General Counsel, (302) 515-
0324, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#88e3e9fce0edfae1e6eda6faede6fbe0e9ffc8e6e7e9e9a6efe7fe"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a2c9c3d6cac7d0cbccc78cd0c7ccd1cac3d5e2cccdc3c38cc5cdd4">[email protected]</span></a>. For information related to USACE's
action, please contact Roberta Budnik, Regulatory Division, New England
District, (978) 318-8766, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6d1f020f081f190c4326432f18090304062d181e0c0e08430c1f001443000401"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="087a676a6d7a7c692643264a7d6c666163487d7b696b6d26697a657126656164">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SouthCoast 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
Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 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 November 15, 2024 at 89 FR 90316. On December 16,
2024, BOEM published an errata on its website that included certain
edits to the Executive Summary, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Appendix F,
Appendix G, Appendix I, Appendix N, and Appendix O. None of these edits
are substantive or affect the analysis or conclusions in the final EIS.
The proposed Project would be located about 26 nautical miles (nm)
(48 kilometers) south of Martha's Vineyard and 20 nm (37 kilometers)
south of Nantucket in the area defined in BOEM's renewable energy lease
number OCS-A 0521 (Lease Area). The Lease Area covers approximately
127,388 acres. The Project would consist of up
[[Page 105627]]
to 149 positions in the Lease Area to be occupied by up to 147 wind
turbine generators and up to five offshore substation platforms. The
149 positions will conform to a 1 nm x 1 nm grid layout with an east-
west and north-south orientation, which lessees agreed would apply
across all the Massachusetts and Rhode Island wind energy areas. The
Project would include one preferred export cable corridor making
landfall and interconnecting to the ISO New England Inc. (ISO-NE) grid
at Brayton Point in Somerset, Massachusetts. The Project would be
developed in two parts or projects: Project 1 refers to the development
in the northern portion of the Lease Area and associated
interconnection, and Project 2 refers to the development in the
southern portion of the Lease Area and associated interconnection. The
preferred export cable corridor to Brayton Point would be used for both
Project 1 and Project 2 to be built out within the Lease Area. The
Project would also include one variant export cable corridor that, if
used, would make landfall and interconnect to the ISO-NE grid in the
town of Falmouth, Massachusetts. In the event that technical,
logistical, grid interconnection, or other unforeseen challenges arise
during the design and engineering phase that prevent Project 2 from
making interconnection at Brayton Point, Project 2 would use the
Falmouth variant export cable corridor.
After carefully considering public comments on the draft EIS and
the alternatives described and analyzed in the final EIS, DOI selected
Alternative D, ``Nantucket Shoals,'' which eliminates six wind turbine
generators from the Project as proposed in the COP. Alternative D 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 Appendix A of the ROD, which is available at: <a href="https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/southcoast-wind-formerly-mayflower-wind">https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/southcoast-wind-formerly-mayflower-wind</a>.
NMFS has adopted BOEM's final EIS to support its decision about
whether or not to promulgate the requested ITR and issue the associated
LOA to SouthCoast 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, would be published in the Federal Register. The LOA
would authorize SouthCoast Wind to take small numbers 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 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
November 7, 2024, 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.
USACE has decided to adopt BOEM's final EIS and issue a permit to
SouthCoast Wind under section 10 of the RHA and section 404 of the CWA.
The USACE permit will authorize SouthCoast Wind to discharge fill below
the high tide line of waters of the United States. It will also
authorize SouthCoast 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: National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended,
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 40 CFR 1505.2
Karen Baker,
Associate Director, Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management.
[FR Doc. 2024-31062 Filed 12-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 27, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.