Coastal & Ocean Management Planning

This Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (draft GEIS), prepared pur- suant to the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), ana- lyzes the potential environmental impacts associated with the State’s procurement of this 2.4 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030, and builds upon and incorporates by reference relevant material from NYSERDA’s Offshore Wind Master Plan.

The docket for this matter can be found here.

This two-year study generated and assembled the most comprehensive dataset of physical, biological, geographic, and socioeconomic information available for the Atlantic Ocean waters offshore New York State. In its entirety, the offshore planning area constituted approximately 12,650 square nautical miles (16,740 square miles) off the south shore of New York City and Long Island. This study provides information for state and federal decision-making, supplementing available use and resource data. It contains physical, biological, geographic, and socioeconomic information.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) announce the results of two new multi-year marine wildlife survey efforts that focus on collecting baseline biological occurrence and distribution data for whale, turtle, and bird species within the Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) offshore Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The wildlife surveys found that the Massachusetts and Rhode Island WEAs avoid the high concentrations of protected species of whales, turtles and seabirds in these areas.

Reports:

Abundance and Distribution of Seabirds off Southeastern Massachusetts, 2011-2015.

Northeast Large Pelagic Survey Collaborative Aerial and Acoustic Surveys for Large Whales and Sea Turtles.

In 2012, BOEM identified three Wind Energy Call Areas off of North Carolina (US Government, Federal Register Vol 77, No. 240, December 2012): the Kitty Hawk Call Area is located near the North Carolina-Virginia border whereas both the Wilmington-West and Wilmington-East Call Areas are located near the North Carolina-South Carolina border, near Cape Fear and Frying Pan Shoals. In August 2014, BOEM announced three, fully vetted, WEAs offshore of North Carolina, in which each of the three Call Areas were reduced in size. This research project examined the seafloor and benthic communities in the Wilmington-East Call Area with some assessments focused on the smaller Wilmington-East WEA.

In 2012, BOEM identified three Wind Energy Call Areas off of North Carolina, the Kitty Hawk Call Area is located near the North Carolina-Virginia border whereas both the Wilmington-West and Wilmington-East Call Areas are located near the North Carolina-South Carolina border, near Cape Fear and Frying Pan Shoals. In August 2014, BOEM announced three, fully vetted, WEAs offshore of North Carolina, in which each of the three Call Areas were reduced in size. This research project examined the seafloor and benthic communities in the Wilmington-East Call Area with some assessments focused on the smaller Wilmington-East WEA.

On January 23, 2015, BOEM published an Environmental Assessment (EA) for public review and comment. BOEM carefully considered all comments received, and on September 17, 2015, made available a revised environmental assessment (EA) for the Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) offshore North Carolina. As a result of the analysis in the revised EA, BOEM issued a "Finding of No Significant Impact" (FONSI), which concluded that reasonably foreseeable environmental effects associated with the commercial wind lease issuance and related activities would not significantly impact the environment. 

BOEM announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment for potential commercial wind leasing and site assessment activities on the Atlantic OCS offshore South Carolina.