[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 21, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3635-3636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1065]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Cape Wind Energy Project

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of final Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the proposed Cape Wind Energy Project on the Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS) off Massachusetts, in Nantucket Sound; Request 
for Comment.

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SUMMARY: The MMS is announcing the availability of a final EIS for the 
proposed Cape Wind Energy Project. Cape Wind Associates, LLC (CWA) has 
requested a lease, easement or right-of-way, pursuant to section 8(p) 
of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) (43 U.S.C. 1337) as 
amended, and proposes to construct and operate a wind energy facility 
on the OCS off Massachusetts, in Nantucket Sound. The final EIS is 
intended to inform the public of the proposed action and reasonable 
alternatives, including the ``no action'' alternative; analyze the 
direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental effects of the proposed 
action and each of the reasonable alternatives; address public comment 
received on the draft EIS that was released in January 2008; and 
provide information to support decision-making.

    Authority: This NOA is published pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 
et seq. (1988)) and regulations (40 CFR 1506.6) implementing the 
provisions of NEPA.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MMS has received a request from CWA for 
a lease, easement or right-of-way to construct and operate a wind 
energy project on Horseshoe Shoal on the OCS in Nantucket Sound. The 
proposed project would consist of 130 offshore wind turbine generators 
arranged to maximize the project's full potential electric output of 
approximately 468 megawatts. Each turbine would be approximately 440 
feet high. The proposed wind turbine array would occupy approximately 
25 square miles, and would be located approximately 5.6 miles from the 
coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 9 miles from the coast of Martha's 
Vineyard, and 13.8 miles from the coast of Nantucket Island. The 
proposed array would be in a grid formation where the distance between 
each turbine is proposed to be one-third mile from north to south and 
one-half mile from east to west. The wind-generated electricity from 
each of the turbines would be transmitted via a 33-kilovolt submarine 
transmission cable system to a centrally located electric service 
platform. This platform would transform and transmit electric power via 
two 115-kilovolt lines extending over 12 miles to the Cape Cod 
mainland, where it would ultimately connect with the existing power 
grid.
    In November 2001, CWA filed a permit application with the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers (USACE), New England District, under section 10 of 
the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, in anticipation of constructing a 
wind project located on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound. The USACE 
released a draft EIS concerning issuance of the section 10 permit in 
November 2004.
    Subsequently, Section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) 
amended the OCSLA to give the Department of the Interior, in 
consultation with other relevant federal agencies, authority for 
issuing leases, easements, or rights-of-way for alternative energy 
projects on the OCS. Additional information on the MMS Offshore 
Alternative Energy Program can be found at: http://www.mms.gov/offshore/alternativeenergy/.
    After reviewing the draft EIS prepared by the USACE, which was 
completed prior to the EPAct amendment of the OCSLA, the MMS prepared 
its own draft EIS analyzing the potential impacts of the project under 
the broader authority granted to it under the OCSLA, as amended. The 
MMS launched a renewed scoping process by publishing in the Federal 
Register (71 FR 30693) on May 30, 2006, a notice of intent to prepare 
the EIS. The 1,321 public comments received in response to that notice 
were considered and taken into account in the draft EIS, as well as the 
final EIS. The MMS also considered and took into account over 5,000 
public comments made during the review period for the USACE draft EIS, 
as well as those made at USACE public hearings held in Yarmouth, 
Martha's Vineyard, Cambridge, and Nantucket, Massachusetts.
    On January 18, 2008, MMS published a notice in the Federal Register 
stating the availability of the draft EIS. The public comment period 
lasted 60 days (until March 20, 2008) and then was extended another 30 
days to April 21, 2008, to provide the public with additional time to 
review the draft EIS and provide comment. The MMS received comments 
through its Public Connect Web site, via e-mails, via oral and paper 
copy comments provided at the four public hearings: (the Mattacheese 
Middle School in West Yarmouth, Massachusetts; the

[[Page 3636]]

Nantucket High School in Nantucket, Massachusetts; the Martha's 
Vineyard Regional High School in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts; and at the 
University of Massachusetts Boston Campus in South Boston, 
Massachusetts), and via paper copy comments mailed in. In all, more 
than 42,000 comments were received. All comments received were logged 
in and responded to as appropriate and are included in the final EIS.
    Contents of the Final EIS: The final EIS considers all reasonable 
alternatives to the proposed action, including several other offshore 
sites in the New England region, as well as non-geographic alternatives 
at the proposed Horseshoe Shoal site made up of a smaller project 
alternative, a condensed configuration, phased development, and the no-
action alternative. Seven alternatives: the proposed action, no action, 
a smaller project, condensed configuration, phased development, and 
alternative sites at Monomoy Shoals and south of Tuckernuck Island--are 
subjected to detailed analysis in the final EIS, including an analysis 
of direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental effects, and 
identification of the preferred alternative (Horseshoe Shoal). Changes 
in the document since the draft EIS include the addition of a final 
avian and bat monitoring plan, a finding of adverse visual effects to 
29 properties evaluated as eligible for listing on the National 
Register of Historic Places, updated mitigation measures, and proposed 
mitigation measures to ensure navigation safety from the U.S. Coast 
Guard based on a 2008 report by the Coast Guard analyzing two existing 
studies regarding the effects of wind turbines upon shipboard radar and 
navigation. Although this information was an outgrowth of comments 
received on the draft EIS and has not resulted in significant changes 
to the analysis of impacts prepared for the draft EIS, MMS is seeking 
comments related to these issues that will be considered for the Record 
of Decision.
    EIS Availability: To obtain a single CD-ROM copy of the final EIS, 
you may contact the Minerals Management Service, Environmental 
Assessment Branch (MS 4042), 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170. 
An electronic copy of the final EIS is available at the MMS's Internet 
Web site at: http://www.mms.gov/offshore/AlternativeEnergy/CapeWind.htm, as are electronic copies of attachments to the final EIS 
and reports used in its preparation. For a list of libraries in 
Massachusetts that were provided copies of the final EIS, visit MMS's 
Internet Web site at: http://www.mms.gov/library/ or contact MMS as 
indicated below under the heading FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Comments: Although this is a final EIS, you may provide comments. 
No decision on the proposed project will be made until at least 30 days 
from the publication of this notice. Federal, state, local government 
agencies, and other interested parties may provide written comments on 
the final EIS in one of the following ways:
    1. Electronically, using MMS's on-line commenting system at: http://ocsconnect.mms.gov/pcs-public/.
    2. In written form, mailed or delivered to MMS Cape Wind Energy 
Project, TRC Environmental Corporation, Wannalancit Mills, 650 Suffolk 
Street, Lowell, Massachusetts 01854.
    Public Comment Policy: Be advised that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold 
from public review your personal identifying information, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James F. Bennett, Minerals 
Management Service, Environmental Assessment Branch, 381 Elden Street, 
Mail Stop 4042, Herndon, Virginia 20710, or by phone at (703) 787-1656.

    Dated: January 5, 2009.
Chris C. Oynes,
Associate Director for Offshore Energy and Minerals Management.
 [FR Doc. E9-1065 Filed 1-16-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P