Abstract
This Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) assesses the reasonably foreseeable impacts on physical, biological, socioeconomic, and cultural resources that could result from the construction and installation (construction), operations and maintenance (operations), and conceptual decommissioning (decommissioning) of a commercial-scale offshore wind energy facility and transmission cable to shore known as the New England Wind Project (Project) proposed by Park City Wind, LLC (Park City Wind, the applicant). The proposed Project consists of two phases: Phase 1, which is also known as the Park City Wind Project, and Phase 2, which is also known as the Commonwealth Wind Project. The proposed Project described in the applicant’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP) and this Draft EIS would occupy all of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Renewable Energy Lease Number (Lease Area) OCS-A 0534 and potentially a portion of the area covered by Lease Area OCS-A 0501 (the Southern Wind Development Area [SWDA]).
BOEM has prepared the Draft EIS under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (U.S. Code, Title 42, Sections 4321–4370f [42 USC §§ 4321–4370f). This Draft EIS will inform BOEM’s decision on whether to approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove the proposed Project’s COP. Cooperating agencies may rely on this Draft EIS to support their decision-making. In conjunction with submitting its COP, Park City Wind applied to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for an Incidental Take Authorization (ITA) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972, as amended (16 USC § 1361 et seq.), for incidental take of marine mammals during proposed Project construction. NMFS is required to review applications and, if appropriate, issue an ITA under the MMPA. NMFS intends to adopt the Final EIS if, after independent review and analysis, NMFS determines the Final EIS to be sufficient to support the authorization. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) similarly intends to adopt the Final EIS to meet its responsibilities under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA).
Volume I: Chapters 1-3
Volume II: Appendices A-N
- Appendix A: Required Environmental Permits and Consultations
- Appendix B: Supplemental Information and Additional Figures and Tables
- Appendix C: Project Design Envelope and Maximum-Case Scenario
- Appendix D: Geographical Analysis Areas
- Appendix E: Planned Activities Scenario
- Appendix F: Analysis of Incomplete and Unavailable Information and Other Required Analyses
- Appendix G: Impact-Producing Factor Tables and Assessment of Resources with Minor (or Lower) Impacts
- Appendix H: Mitigation and Monitoring
- Appendix I: Seascape, Landscape, and Visual Impact Assessment (SLVIA)
- Appendix J: Finding of Adverse Effect for the New England Wind Project Construction and Operations Plan
- Appendix K: References Cited
- Appendix L: Glossary
- Appendix M: List of Preparers and Reviewers
- Appendix N: List of Agencies, Organizations, and Persons to Whom Copies of the Statement Are Sent