Site Mitigation & Monitoring

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 study uses an experiment where ferry passengers are sold hotel room “views” to evaluate the impact of wind turbines views on tourists’ vacation experience. Participants purchase a chance for a weekend hotel stay. Information about the hotel rooms was limited to the quality of the hotel and its distance from a large wind turbine, as well as whether or not a particular room would have a view of the turbine. While there was generally a negative effect of turbine views, this did not hold across all participants, and did not seem to be effected by distance or hotel quality.

Placement of wind turbines has prompted public concerns related to their effects on wildlife and scenic views. This has been especially relevant in coastal areas, where the proposed development of large offshore wind energy facilities in states including Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, and Oregon have been seen as a potential threat to the tourism industry. The response from the tourism industry has delayed or even blocked development of offshore wind facilities in some of these states.

The report is titled Socio-Economic Impact of Outer Continental Shelf Wind Energy Development on Fisheries in the U.S. Atlantic. Recognizing the importance that commercial and recreational fisheries play in the U.S. economy and to food supply, BOEM worked with the National Marine Fisheries Service to better understand fishing activity as it relates to areas of potential offshore wind energy development.

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.

NRDC provides public comments in support of the Block Island Wind Farm, with recommendations to protect marine life.

This Record of Decision (ROD) is the second decision document regarding the Cape Wind Energy Project. No significant new information bearing on the environmental impacts has been presented since the issuance of the April 28, 2010 ROD. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) decided to approve Cape Wind Associates' Construction and Operations Pla (COP), with modifications.

This Record of Decision (ROD) summarizes the background of the Cape Wind project, the alternatives the Minerals Management Service (MMS) considered, the environmentally preferable alternative, the basis for MMS' decision to select the proposed action, required mitigation measures, and the process MMS undertook to involve the public and other agencies. The decision was made to offer a commercial lease to Cape Wind Associates (CWA). Prior to conducting any construction activities, CWA must submit and obtain approval of its Construction and Operation Plan (COP).

Through this Environmental Assessment (EA), the Minerals Management Service (MMS) concludes that issuance of leases authorizing wind resource data collection on seven leases blocks located on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Delaware and New Jersey would have no significant effect on the human environment. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required, and the agency issued its Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). MMS proposes several mitigation measures that would be added to the lease terms to reduce or eliminate potential environmental impacts.