Abstract
The United States Department of the Interior (USDOI), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) prepared an environmental assessment (EA) to determine whether the approval of the research activities plan (RAP) for the Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project (VOWTAP), as proposed by the Virginia Department of Mines, Mineral, and Energy (DMME) and Dominion Resources, Inc. (Dominion), would have a significant effect on the environment and whether an environmental impact statement (EIS) must be prepared. DMME and Dominion’s proposed project would consist of two 6 megawatt (MW) wind turbine generators (WTGs), a 34.5-kV alternating current (AC) submarine cable interconnecting the WTGs (inter-array cable), a 34.5-kV submarine transmission cable (export cable), and a 34.5-kV underground cable (onshore interconnection cable) that would connect the project with existing infrastructure located in the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia. BOEM conducted its analysis to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 United States Code (U.S.C.) §§ 4321-4370f, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations at 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1501.3(b) and 1508.9, USDOI regulations implementing NEPA at 43 CFR 46, and USDOI Manual (DM) Chapter 15 (516 DM 15).
On March 14, 2014, BOEM published a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment (79 FR 14534) in connection with the VOWTAP RAP, and requested public input regarding important environmental issues and the identification of reasonable alternatives that should be considered in the EA. BOEM held a public scoping meeting on April 3, 2014 in Virginia, Beach, to solicit comments on the scope of the EA. Neither of these comment opportunities provided any alternatives that BOEM should consider during the development of the EA.
On December 2, 2014, BOEM published a Notice of Availability for the Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Virginia Environmental Assessment (79 FR 71446). BOEM hosted a public meeting on December 17, 2014, during which members of the public in attendance provided written and verbal comments on the EA. The 30-day public comment period deadline for the EA was subsequently extended from January 2 to January 16, 2015 (80 FR 53). BOEM has revised the EA to address comments received during the public comment period and public meeting, and the results of consultations. Section 4.1.3 of the revised EA includes a summary of public comments and revisions to the EA.