Abstract
This report supplements the Sunrise Wind Construction and Operations Plan.
Sunrise Wind LLC (Sunrise Wind), a 50/50 joint venture between Orsted North America Inc. (Orsted NA) and Eversource Investment LLC (Eversource), proposes to construct, own, and operate the Sunrise Wind Farm Project (the Project). The Project will be located in federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the designated Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Renewable Energy Lease Area OCS-A 04871 (Lease Area) approximately 18.9 statute miles (mi) (16.4 nautical miles [nm], 30.4 kilometers [km]) south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts (MA), approximately 30.5 mi (26.5 nm, 48.1 km) east of Montauk, New York (NY), and 16.7 mi (14.5 nm, 26.8 km) from Block Island, Rhode Island (RI) as measured to the nearest Wind Turbine Generator (WTG). Components of the Project will be located in federal waters on the OCS, in state waters of New York, and onshore in Smith Point and the Town of Brookhaven, Long Island, NY. The Sunrise Wind Export Cable (SRWEC) will traverse both federal waters and state territorial waters of New York (SRWEC–OCS, SRWEC–NYS).
This Technical Report is intended to provide additional background information in support of the assessment of marine mammal, sea turtle, and threatened and endangered fish species, as presented in the Project COP. Specifically, this Technical Report provides:
1. A description of the regulatory background surrounding marine mammal, sea turtle, and fish species.
2. An overview of the underwater acoustic environment, its importance to marine animals, and potential impacts of anthropogenic noise on marine wildlife.
3. A detailed description of the life history and documented occurrences of marine mammals, sea turtles, and ESA-listed fish species (i.e., those that are listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended) with the potential to be present in the Project Area.
4. A summary of proposed avoidance, minimization, mitigation, and monitoring measures to be implemented during Project activities to reduce the potential for impacts to marine mammals, sea turtles, and ESA-listed fish species.