[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 117 (Monday, June 19, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35293-35294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9594]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Outer Continental Shelf, Headquarters, Long Island Offshore Wind 
Park Development

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS), invitation for participation by cooperating agencies, and 
scoping period.

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SUMMARY: The MMS has received a request from Long Island Offshore Wind 
Park, LLC (LIOWP) for a lease, easement, or right-of-way to construct 
and operate a wind energy facility in Federal waters off Long Island, 
3.6 miles southwest of Jones Beach Island, Nassau and Suffolk Counties, 
New York. The purpose of this project is to provide a utility-scale 
renewable energy facility providing power to the New York electrical 
grid. Forty wind turbine generators are proposed to generate 140 
megawatts of electricity and deliver it to an existing substation near 
West Amityville by means of a buried transmission line. By this notice, 
the MMS announces: (1) Its intention to prepare an EIS; (2) an 
invitation for participation by interested cooperating agencies in the 
review; and (3) the beginning of EIS scoping under the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); and (4) the dates and locations for 
two public meetings to receive comments on the scope of the EIS.

DATES: The MMS will receive written comments on the LIOWP proposal for 
60 days beginning on the date of this notice. Scoping meetings will be 
held to receive input from the general public, interest groups, Indian 
tribes, and interested State and Federal agencies. A meeting is 
scheduled on July 10, 2006, from 7 p.m. to no later than midnight at 
the West Babylon High School Performing Arts Center, 500 Great East 
Neck Road, West Babylon, New York, 11704. Another meeting is scheduled 
on July 11, 2006, from 7 p.m. to no later than midnight at Massapequa 
High School (auditorium), 4925 Merrick Road, Massapequa, New York, 
11758. Registration at each site will begin at 5:30 p.m. Instructions 
for offering comments via the internet and in writing are provided 
below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Doug Slitor, Project Manager, at 
(703) 787-1030 in MMS's Headquarters office for questions about this 
NOI. For questions about scoping for this EIS contact Dr. Thomas 
Bjerstedt at 504-736-5743 in our Gulf of Mexico regional office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

    The LIOWP proposal is for construction and operation of a wind 
energy facility on approximately 8 sq miles of the OCS off Long Island. 
Forty wind turbine generators are proposed to be mounted on monopole 
foundations driven into the sea bed. A 3-bladed nacelle and rotor unit 
is proposed to be mounted at the top of each monopole 260 feet above 
water level and give each turbine a generating capacity of 3.6 Mw of 
electricity. A system of buried gathering lines is proposed to carry 
electricity from each turbine to an electrical service platform. From 
there, a proposed 10-mile-long 138 kV transmission cable buried in the 
sea bed from the service platform would extend across New York state 
waters to landfall and tie-in to the existing Sterling electrical 
substation in Nassau County that is operated by Long Island Power 
Authority (LIPA).
    On April 26, 2005, LIOWP/LIPA filed a joint application with the 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) in anticipation of constructing 
the LIOWP under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 
U.S.C. 403, et seq.). On June, 9, 2005, the USACOE issued a Public 
Notice (2005-00365-L4) seeking written comments on the LIOWP proposal. 
The initial July 22 comment deadline was later extended to August 12, 
2005. On August 8, 2005, however, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Act) 
was signed by the President. Section 388 of the Act authorizes the 
Department of the Interior (MMS) to issue leases, easements, or rights-
of-way for renewable energy projects on the U.S. Outer Continental 
Shelf. MMS will undertake environmental evaluation and decision-making 
for these proposals in Federal waters, and subsequently monitor and 
regulate the offshore facilities used for renewable energy production 
and energy support services.
    The MMS has determined that an EIS is required for an appropriate 
NEPA review of this proposal. This review will consider potential 
impacts from pre-construction to decommissioning. The review will 
consider all relevant information, including but not limited to the 
information developed by LIOWP/LIPA in pursuit of a USACOE Section 10 
permit under the Rivers and Harbors Act.

2. Cooperating Agency

    The MMS invites other Federal, State, tribal, and local governments 
to consider becoming cooperating agencies during preparation of the EIS 
for the LIOWP proposal. Per guidelines from the Council on 
Environmental Quality (CEQ), qualified agencies and governments are 
those with ``jurisdiction by law or special expertise.'' Potential 
cooperating agencies should consider their authority and capacity to 
assume the responsibilities of a cooperating agency and remember that 
their role in the environmental analysis neither enlarges nor 
diminishes the final decision making-authority of any other agency 
involved in the NEPA process. Upon request, the MMS will provide 
potential cooperating agencies with a written summary of ground rules 
for cooperating agencies, including time

[[Page 35294]]

schedules and critical action dates, milestones, responsibilities, 
scope and detail of cooperating agencies' contributions, and 
availability of pre-decisional information. The MMS anticipates this 
summary will form the basis for an understanding between the MMS and 
each cooperating agency. Agencies should also consider the ``Factors 
for Determining Cooperating Agency Status'' in Attachment 1 to CEQ's 
January 30, 2002, Memorandum for the Heads of Federal Agencies on 
Cooperating Agencies in Implementing the Procedural Requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act. A copy of this document is available 
at: (http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/cooperating/cooperatingagenciesmemorandum.html) and (http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/cooperating/cooperatingagencymemofactors.html).
    As the lead agency, MMS will not be providing financial assistance 
to cooperating agencies. Even if an organization is not a cooperating 
agency, it will continue to have opportunities to provide information 
and comments to the MMS during the normal public input phases of the 
NEPA process. The MMS will also consult with tribal governments on a 
government-to-government basis.
    The MMS recognizes coordination potentially involving (but not 
limited to) the following statutes during our NEPA analysis: the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Pub. L. 93-205; 16 U.S.C. 
1531, et seq.); the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act of 1976, as amended (Pub. L. 94-265; 16 U.S.C. 1801, et 
seq.), the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (Pub. L. 92-522; 16 
U.S.C. 1361, et seq.); the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, 
as amended (Pub. L. 89-665; 16 U.S.C. 470, et seq.); the Fish and 
Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958, as amended (Pub. L. 85-624; 16 
U.S.C. 661, et seq.); the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, as amended 
(16 U.S.C. 703-712, et seq.); the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, 
as amended (Pub. L. 92-583; 16 U.S.C. 1451, et seq.); the Clean Water 
Act of 1977, as amended (Pub. L. 92-500; 33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.); the 
Clean Air Act of 1970, as amended (Pub. L. 91-604; 42 U.S.C. 7401, et 
seq.); and the Rivers and Harbors Act. The MMS plans to send invitation 
letters to specific agencies we believe should assume cooperating 
status during our NEPA review of the LIOWP application, but cooperating 
status is not restricted to those agencies we contact.

3. Scoping

    This announcement begins an EIS scoping period for the LIOWP 
proposal that extends for 60 days. Public meetings to receive scoping 
comments are scheduled on July 10, 2006, at the West Babylon High 
School Performing Arts Center, and on July 11, 2006, at Massapequa High 
School at the times indicated above.
    The MMS will consider the LIOWP proposal and the no action 
alternative, as well as all other alternatives identified during 
scoping, which could include, but not be limited to, modifying the size 
or configuration of the development, phasing the development, or use of 
alternative sites. Significant resources to be analyzed are expected to 
include, among others: geology, oceanography, climate, upland and 
coastal resources, water and air quality, birds and bats, marine 
mammals, sea turtles, fish, benthic invertebrates, endangered and/or 
threatened species, vessel traffic, socioeconomic resources, urban and 
suburban infrastructure and land use, cultural and historical 
properties, cultural and historical archaeology, commercial and 
recreational fishing, visual aesthetics, tourism and recreation, human 
resources such as demographics, income profiles, and property values, 
and competing usage of the waters and sea bed of New York State and the 
Federal OCS. Impact-producing factors expected to be considered during 
the construction, operation, and decommissioning of a wind facility 
would include, among others: visual aesthetics, sea bed disturbance, 
routine and accidental vessel or facility discharges, noise and 
vibration, rotation of rotor blades resulting in the potential for bird 
collisions, installation and decommissioning activities, and economic 
impacts of the wind facility. The MMS also requests comments on how 
potential impacts might be mitigated and monitored.
    Federal, State, tribal, and local governments, interested groups or 
parties, and members of the public may send us comments on the scope of 
the EIS in one of two ways. Our preferred method to receive comments is 
through our Internet-based public commenting system, OCS Public 
Connect. Access this system at http://www.mms.gov/LIOWP and follow the 
directions provided on the Web site. If you have difficulty submitting 
your comments over OCS Public Connect, contact Dr. Thomas Bjerstedt at 
504-736-5743.
    Written comments may be mailed to the following address: Minerals 
Management Service, MS 5412, 1201 Elmwood Park Blvd., New Orleans, LA 
70123. Plainly label your comment(s), ``Comments on EIS Scoping for the 
LIOWP Project.'' Our practice is to make written comments, including 
names and addresses of respondents, available for public review during 
regular business hours. Individual respondents may request that we 
withhold their address from the rulemaking record, which we will honor 
to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in 
which we would withhold a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. 
If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state 
this prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will not consider 
anonymous comments. Comments merely expressing disapproval or support 
for the proposal will not receive a written response. We will make all 
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
    Information on the MMS's Renewable Energy and Alternate Use Program 
that we are now developing can be found at: http://www.mms.gov/offshore/RenewableEnergy/RenewableEnergyMain.htm.

    Dated: May 24, 2006.
Chris C. Oynes,
Acting Associate Director for Offshore Minerals Management.
 [FR Doc. E6-9594 Filed 6-16-06; 8:45 am]
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