[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 188 (Friday, September 29, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45607-45608]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20936]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2017-0059; MMAA104000]


Record of Decision for the Cape Wind Energy Project

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a Record of Decision.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing the 
availability of a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Cape Wind Energy 
Project Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) in 
this Notice of Availability (NOA). The SEIS was prepared in response to 
a 2016 remand order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia Circuit in Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility 
v. Hopper, 827 F.3d 1077 (D.C. Cir. 2016), in which the Court vacated 
the 2009 Cape Wind Energy Project Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) and ordered BOEM to supplement the EIS with adequate geological 
surveys before Cape Wind Associates LLC (Cape Wind) may begin 
construction. The SEIS presented two alternatives: The Proposed Action 
(affirming BOEM's issuance of the existing lease) and the No Action 
Alternative (requiring BOEM to rescind lease issuance). BOEM has 
decided to select the Proposed Action Alternative.

ADDRESSES: The ROD and associated information are available on BOEM's 
Web site at https://www.boem.gov/Massachusetts-Cape-Wind/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information on the ROD, you 
may

[[Page 45608]]

contact Mr. James Bennett, Program Manager, Office of Renewable Energy 
Programs, by telephone at 703-787-1300 or by email at 
[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 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. In light of the remand order and the remaining 
valid lease and COP, only two alternatives remain relevant to the 
court's remand: The Proposed Action (affirming BOEM's issuance of the 
existing lease) and the No Action Alternative (BOEM rescinding the 
lease). In its Final SEIS, BOEM examines the available geological 
survey data, including the geotechnical data and reports submitted to 
BOEM since the 2009 Final EIS, any other relevant data that relates to 
the adequacy of the seafloor to support wind turbines in the lease 
area, and considers public comments.
    On March 31, 2017, BOEM published the Draft SEIS, in response to 
the Court's 2016 remand order discussed above, and a NOA in the Federal 
Register to announce the availability of the Draft SEIS and initiate a 
45-day public comment period (82 FR 16060). Comments received can be 
found at http://www.regulations.gov by searching for docket ID BOEM-
2017-0008. The Final SEIS addressed comments received by BOEM in 
response to the Draft SEIS during the 45-day comment period. On August 
4, 2017 (82 FR 36418), BOEM published a NOA announcing the availability 
of the Final SEIS in the Federal Register. The Final SEIS can be found 
on BOEM's Web site at: https://www.boem.gov/Massachusetts-Cape-Wind/.

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

    Dated: September 26, 2017.
Walter D. Cruickshank,
Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2017-20936 Filed 9-28-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P