[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 42 (Monday, March 6, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12636-12637]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-04247]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2017-0006]


Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Cape Wind 
Energy Project MMAA104000

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is giving notice 
of its intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the Cape Wind Energy Project on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket 
Sound off the coast of Massachusetts. This supplement to the 2009 Final 
EIS will provide new analysis in response to a 2016 remand order of the 
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Public 
Employees for Environmental Responsibility v. Hopper, No. 14-5301 (D.C. 
Cir.).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Morin, BOEM Office of 
Renewable Energy Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP, Sterling, 
Virginia 20166, (703) 787-1722, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Proposed Action and Alternative

    On July 5, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia Circuit vacated the 2009 Cape Wind Energy Project Final EIS 
and ordered that BOEM ``supplement [the EIS] with adequate geological 
surveys before Cape Wind may begin construction.'' Public Employees for 
Environmental Responsibility v. Hopper, 827 F.3d 1077, 1084 (D.C. Cir. 
2016). The Court opined that ``[w]ithout adequate geological surveys, 
the [BOEM] cannot ``ensure that the seafloor [will be] able to support 
wind turbines.'' Id. at 1083. While the Court found that ``[BOEM] 
therefore had violated NEPA,'' the Court noted, however, that ``[it] 
does not necessarily mean that the project must be halted or that Cape 
Wind must redo the regulatory approval process.'' Id. at 1083-4. The 
Court explicitly left undisturbed BOEM's 2010 decision to issue the 
lease and BOEM's 2011 decision to approve the Construction and 
Operations Plan (COP). Id. at 1084. Therefore, the only alternatives 
considered in the 2009 Final EIS that are still applicable and that 
will be analyzed in detail in the Supplemental EIS are: (1) Rescinding 
the decision to issue the lease to Cape Wind Associates,

[[Page 12637]]

LLC (equivalent to the No Action Alternative in the 2009 Final EIS); 
and (2) leaving undisturbed the decision to issue the lease (equivalent 
to the Proposed Action in the 2009 Final EIS).
    The Supplemental EIS will consider and analyze any new information 
that is within the scope of the Court's order. BOEM will examine the 
available geological survey data, including the geotechnical data and 
reports submitted to BOEM since the 2009 Final EIS, and any other 
relevant data that relates to the adequacy of the seafloor to support 
wind turbines in the lease area.

2. Scoping

    In accordance with 40 CFR 1502.9(c)(4), BOEM will not conduct 
additional scoping for this Supplemental EIS. The remand by the U.S. 
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia established the scope for 
this Supplemental EIS. The Draft Supplemental EIS will be announced for 
public review and comment: (1) In the Federal Register by BOEM and the 
Environmental Protection Agency and (2) on the BOEM Web site at: 
https://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/Studies/Cape-Wind.aspx.

3. Cooperating Agencies

    BOEM invites other Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments to 
consider becoming cooperating agencies in the preparation of this 
supplemental EIS. We invite qualified government entities to inquire 
about cooperating agency status. You may contact the Office of 
Renewable Energy Programs at the address shown in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this Notice.

    Authority: This Notice of Intent to prepare a Supplemental EIS 
is in compliance with NEPA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.), and 
is published pursuant to 40 CFR 1508.22.

    Dated: February 28, 2017.
Walter D. Cruickshank,
Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2017-04247 Filed 3-3-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P