Abstract
Virginia Electric and Power Company doing business as Dominion Energy Virginia (Dominion Energy), proposes to construct, own, and operate the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial Project (the Project; Figure 1). This Vessel Strike Avoidance Plan (the Plan) applies to all Project-related vessels (Dominion Energy/Project-owned, contracted, subcontracted, etc.) year-round within the spatial delineation of the specified geographical region, the Mid-Atlantic Bight, defined as the region between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, extending eastward into the Atlantic to the 100- meter (m; 328-foot [ft]) isobath (Figure 1). This region includes, but is not limited to, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Lease Area Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)-A 0483 Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development, one export cable route, and a sea-to-shore transition point located at the State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach, Virginia (Lease No. OCS-A 0483; the Lease Area). The proposed activities will occur within the vicinity of the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis, NARW) Mid-Atlantic Seasonal Management Area (SMA) at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Rather than only adhering to the seasonal NARW speed restrictions (operating at less than 10 knots [18.5 kilometers per hour (km/h)]) within the spatial delineation of the SMAs, the seasonal speed restrictions apply to all Project-related vessels operating within the Mid-Atlantic Bight region to the 100-m (328-ft) isobath during the seasonal restriction period (November 1 through April 30). A speed restriction (10 knots [18.5 km/hr]) for Project-related vessels transiting within the vessel corridor, defined as the Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) to the Lease Area, is also in place year-round except during the months of May through October, provided a Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) system is approved by NOAA Fisheries and deployed in the transit corridor.
Dominion Energy has committed to the following comprehensive set of monitoring and mitigation measures for all Project-associated vessels during all Project-related activities, including but not limited to construction, operation, maintenance, decommissioning, and survey activities; Dominion Energy also commits to engaging in ongoing coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) regarding mitigation and monitoring protocols. This Plan details the measures designed to ensure that marine protected species are not adversely affected by the Project activities, with particular focus on the NARW.
Dominion Energy is dedicated to upholding the requirements of the issued Letter of Authorization (LOA), applicable conditions of the NOAA Fisheries Biological Opinion Terms and Conditions, BOEM COP approval Terms and Conditions (T&Cs), the joint BOEM and NOAA Fisheries Record of Decision T&Cs (to the extent consistent with the COP approval T&Cs),3 and the United States Army Corps of Engineers Individual Permit Special Conditions.4 This Plan is subject to updates in accordance with all future amendments or revisions to the aforementioned requirements and regulations. Dominion Energy is committed to communicating any changes and seeking approval of a revised Plan with the relevant agencies should future amendments or revisions be necessary.
The mitigation measures contained in this Plan will be adhered to except in cases where the health, safety, and/or life of a person is at risk, or when additional speed is necessary to ensure a safe speed for navigation.5 As per the Vessel Strike Avoidance Measures in the LOA, COP approval T&Cs, and the NOAA Fisheries Biological Opinion issued for the Project, vessels and their operators are exempt from complying with the speed and maneuverability requirements described in this Plan for the entire life of the Project, including the five years of the active LOA and beyond through decommissioning, when approaching, attempting to avoid, and/or avoiding an emergency situation. In these situations, vessels and their operators will use their discretion to avoid or prevent an emergency.
There are specific navigational areas of concern for vessels over 500 gross tons associated with the Project, depicted in Figure 2. These areas of navigational concern begin when vessels transiting through the vessel transit corridor from the Project Area enter the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay6 estuary, beginning in the waters north of Fort Story, Virginia. Vessels and their operators continue through the navigational areas of concern for the entire duration of their transit through the Chesapeake Bay estuary to the end of the vessel transit, approximately at the Middle Reach, a portion of the Chesapeake Bay estuary where the Elizabeth River meets Paradise Creek. The same navigational areas of concern are relevant for Project vessels exceeding 500 gross tons transiting eastwards from the end of the vessel transit corridor to the Project Area, until they exit the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in the waters north of Fort Story.
These areas pose a navigational concern to Project vessels over 500 gross tons, as maintaining course at low speeds within a confined and at times constricted traffic separation scheme is difficult due to the physical limitations of the vessel equipment. Hazards that influence navigation in these areas include limited space, traffic density, hydrodynamic effects of ship interaction and channel contours, restricted maneuverability, traffic congestion, and tides and currents. The vessel traffic scheme is primarily designed to avoid interactions with other maritime commerce and traffic but also to ameliorate the possibility of a negative environmental interaction (i.e. vessel encountering a shoal area). For large vessels, reduced speed leads to diminished steering control and maneuverability, a wider turning radius, and overall increased difficulty in maintaining course. These factors can create hazardous situations for the vessel and crew, as well as nearby traffic. As a result, a safe speed greater than 10 knots (18.5 km/h) may be necessary to avoid vessel allisions (an accident where only one of the objects is moving), collisions (an accident where two moving objects strike each other), or groundings (the impact of a vessel on seabed or waterway side). Vessels over 500 gross tons may operate at a speed necessary to maintain safe maneuvering speed instead of the required 10 knots (18.5 km/h) only if justified by the aforementioned hazards, and if the need to operate at such speed is confirmed by the pilot onboard or, in the event a vessel is not carrying a pilot, the master of the vessel.
Dominion Energy and Project-related vessels over 500 gross tons will not report exemptions to these requirements when the exemption was taken to maintain a safe speed within the navigational areas of concern in the narrow channels of the Chesapeake Bay per the LOA Condition 4 - Monitoring and Reporting Requirements (g)Reporting 15(i) – “All instances wherein an exemption is taken must be reported to the NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources within 24 hours.” However, the vessel operators will not exceed speeds of 10 knots (18.5 km/h) in all other situations. As soon as navigational and safety conditions permit, the vessel master will return the vessel to a speed of 10 knots (18.5 km/h) or less. At all other times, if an exemption is taken in the transit corridor but outside of the areas of navigational concern designated in the map below (see areas depicted in red on Figure 2), the exemption will be reported to NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources within 24 hours after the event. Additionally, the reason the exemption was necessitated, the speed at which the vessel was operating, the latitude and longitude of the area, and the time and duration of the exemption will be entered into the vessel logbook. The master of the vessel will attest to the accuracy of the logbook entry of the exemption by validating the log with their date and signature upon verification.