[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 149 (Friday, August 4, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36418-36419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16422]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2017-0041]


Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Cape 
Wind Energy Project MMAA104000

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a final supplemental environmental 
impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing the 
availability of a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 
(Final SEIS) for the Cape Wind Energy Project. This supplement to the 
2009 Final EIS has been prepared 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 (see 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for details).

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 (National 
Environmental Policy Act)'' the Court noted that ``. . . [it] does not 
necessarily mean that the project must be halted or that Cape Wind must 
redo the regulatory approval process.'' Id. at

[[Page 36419]]

1083-4. The Court explicitly left undisturbed BOEM's 2010 decision to 
issue a lease to Cape Wind Associates (CWA) and BOEM's 2011 decision to 
approve CWA's Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for the Cape Wind 
Energy Project. Id. at 1084. In response to the Circuit Court's remand 
order, BOEM published the Draft SEIS for the Cape Wind Energy Project 
on March 31, 2017.
    The Draft SEIS considered the only two alternatives that remained 
relevant as a result of the Court's remand order and CWA's lease and 
the approved Cape Wind COP: The Proposed Action (affirming BOEM's 
issuance of the existing lease), and the No Action Alternative 
(requiring BOEM to rescind lease issuance). BOEM published a notice in 
the Federal Register on March 31, 2017, to announce the availability of 
the Draft SEIS and initiate a 45-day public comment period (82 FR 
16060). All the comments received on the Draft SEIS are available for 
public viewing and can be found at: http://www.regulations.gov by 
searching for docket ID BOEM-2017-0008.
    In the Final SEIS for the Cape Wind Energy Project, BOEM examines 
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 relate to the adequacy of the seafloor to support 
wind turbines in the lease area. The Final SEIS also includes a summary 
of all the comments received on the Draft SEIS and BOEM's responses to 
those comments. The Final SEIS can be found on BOEM's Web site at: 
https://www.boem.gov/Massachusetts-Cape-Wind/.

    Authority:  This notice of availability to prepare a Final SEIS 
is in compliance with NEPA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.), and 
is published pursuant to 40 CFR 1506.6.

    Dated: July 31, 2017.
Walter D. Cruickshank,
Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2017-16422 Filed 8-3-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P