[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 222 (Monday, November 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66334-66335]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25320]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2021-0047]


Notice of Additional Public Scoping and Name Change for the 
Vineyard Wind South Project Offshore Massachusetts Environmental Impact 
Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of additional public scoping; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: On June 30, 2021, BOEM published the ``Notice of Intent to 
Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Vineyard Wind South 
Project Offshore Massachusetts'' in the Federal Register. The Notice of 
Intent (NOI) announced that BOEM will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to inform its review of a construction and operations 
plan (COP) submitted by Vineyard Wind, LLC (Vineyard Wind). This notice 
provides updated project information related to potential changes in 
cable routing and announces an additional EIS public scoping comment 
period to account for the new information. Detailed information about 
the proposed wind energy facilities, including an updated COP, can be 
found on BOEM's website at: www.BOEM.gov/New-England-Wind. Also, this 
notice formally announces that the project's name has changed from 
Vineyard Wind South to New England Wind.

DATES: Comments are due to BOEM no later than December 22, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Written comments can be submitted in any of the following 
ways:
     Delivered by mail or delivery service, enclosed in an 
envelope labeled ``NEW ENGLAND WIND COP EIS'' and addressed to Program 
Manager, Office of Renewable Energy, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 
45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, Virginia 20166; or
     Through the regulations.gov web portal: Navigate to http://www.regulations.gov and search for ``Docket No. BOEM-2021-0047.'' 
Select this document from the search results and, once on the document 
page, click on the ``Comment'' button below the document title. Enter 
your information and comment, then scroll to bottom of the web page and 
click ``Submit Comment.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Fiori, BOEM Office of 
Environmental Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, Virginia 20166, 
(703) 787-1832, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 30, 2021, BOEM published the 
``Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Vineyard Wind South Project Offshore Massachusetts'' in the Federal 
Register (86 FR 34782). The NOI announced that BOEM will prepare an EIS 
as part of its review of a COP submitted by Vineyard Wind and provided 
project information. This notice provides revised project information 
and announces an additional EIS public scoping comment process to 
account for the new information.
    Vineyard Wind intends to install all Phase 2 offshore export cables 
within the offshore export cable corridor (OECC) through the Muskeget 
Channel to reach landfall sites in the Town of Barnstable, 
Massachusetts. However, Vineyard Wind has identified two variations of 
the Phase 2 OECC. These variations are necessary to provide Vineyard 
Wind with commercial flexibility should technical, logistical, grid 
interconnection, or other unforeseen issues arise during project review 
that would preclude or limit placement of Phase 2 export cables through 
the initial OECC in vicinity of the Muskeget Channel. The two 
variations of the Phase 2 OECC are as follows:
    (1) The Western Muskeget Variant is an OECC variant that was 
included in the Vineyard Wind 1 project and includes the installation 
of one or two Phase 2 export cables in the western Muskeget Channel.
    (2) The South Coast Variant diverges from the initial OECC at the 
northern boundary of Lease Area OCS-A 0501 and travels west-northwest 
to the state waters boundary near Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts, through 
state waters, and onshore to a substation. The South Coast Variant 
includes an offshore routing envelope that indicates a region within 
Buzzards Bay where the Phase 2 offshore export cables may be installed 
before making landfall. It also includes an onshore routing envelope 
that indicates a region within southwest Massachusetts where the Phase 
2 onshore cables may be installed. The location of a potential 
substation in southwest Massachusetts has not been identified.

Public Participation

    This notice commences an additional public scoping process to 
identify issues and potential alternatives related to the two newly 
proposed variations of the New England Wind Phase 2 OECC. Throughout 
the scoping process,

[[Page 66335]]

Federal agencies, Tribal, State, and local governments, and the general 
public have the opportunity to help BOEM identify significant resources 
and issues, impact-producing factors, reasonable alternatives (e.g., 
size, geographic, seasonal, or other restrictions on construction and 
siting of facilities and activities), and potential mitigation measures 
to be analyzed in the EIS, as well as to provide additional 
information. A pre-recorded presentation, that highlights the new 
information, can be found at https://www.boem.gov/new-england-wind. For 
information on how to submit comments, see the ADDRESSES section above.
    BOEM does not consider anonymous comments. Please include your name 
and address as part of your comment. BOEM makes all comments, including 
the names, addresses, and other personally identifiable information 
included in the comment, available for public review online. 
Individuals can request that BOEM withhold their names, addresses, or 
other personally identifiable information included in their comment 
from the public record; however, BOEM cannot guarantee that it will be 
able to do so. For BOEM to withhold from disclosure your personally 
identifiable information, you must identify any information contained 
in your comments that, if released, would constitute a clearly 
unwarranted invasion of your privacy. You also must briefly describe 
any possible harmful consequences of the disclosure of information, 
such as embarrassment, injury, or other harm.
    Additionally, under section 304 of National Historic Preservation 
Act (NHPA), BOEM is required, after consultation with the Secretary of 
the Interior, to withhold the location, character, or ownership of 
historic resources if it determines that disclosure may, among other 
things, cause a significant invasion of privacy, risk harm to the 
historic resources, or impede the use of a traditional religious site 
by practitioners. Tribal entities and other interested parties should 
designate information that they wish to be held as confidential and 
provide the reasons why BOEM should do so.
    All submissions from organizations or businesses and from 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of 
organizations or businesses will be made available for public 
inspection in their entirety.

Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, and 
Analyses Relevant to the Two Variations of the Phase 2 OECC

    BOEM requests data, comments, views, information, analysis, 
alternatives, or suggestions from the public; affected Federal, State, 
Tribal, and local governments, agencies, and offices; the scientific 
community; industry; or any other interested party on the following 
topics with particular focus on the new project information related to 
the two variations of the Phase 2 OECC:
    1. Potential effects that the two variations of the Phase 2 OECC 
could have on biological resources, including bats, birds, coastal 
fauna, finfish, invertebrates, essential fish habitat, marine mammals, 
and sea turtles.
    2. Potential effects that the two variations of the Phase 2 OECC 
could have on physical resources including air quality, water quality, 
and wetlands and other waters of the United States.
    3. Potential effects that the two variations of the Phase 2 OECC 
could have on socioeconomic and cultural resources, including 
commercial fisheries and for-hire recreational fishing, demographics, 
employment, economics, environmental justice, land use and coastal 
infrastructure, navigation and vessel traffic, other uses (marine 
minerals, military use, aviation), recreation and tourism, and scenic 
and visual resources.
    4. Other possible reasonable alternatives to the Proposed Action 
related to the two variations of the Phase 2 OECC that BOEM should 
consider, including additional or alternative avoidance, minimization, 
and mitigation measures.
    5. As part of its compliance with NHPA section 106 and its 
implementing regulations (36 CFR part 800), BOEM seeks comment and 
input from the public and consulting parties regarding the 
identification of historic properties within the Proposed Action's area 
of potential effects, the potential effects on those historic 
properties from the activities proposed in the COP, and any information 
that supports identification of historic properties under NHPA. BOEM 
also solicits proposed measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any 
adverse effects on historic properties related to the two variations of 
the Phase 2 OECC. BOEM's effects analysis for historic properties will 
be available for public and consulting party comment in the draft EIS.
    6. Information on other current or planned activities in, or in the 
vicinity of, the two variations of the Phase 2 OECC and the possible 
impacts those activities and variations may have on each other.
    7. Other information relevant to the two variations of the Phase 2 
OECC and their impacts on the human environment.
    To promote informed decision-making, comments should be as specific 
as possible and should provide as much detail as necessary to 
meaningfully and fully inform BOEM of the commenter's position. 
Comments should explain why the issues raised are important to the 
consideration of potential environmental impacts and alternatives 
relevant to the two variations of the Phase 2 OECC, as well as to the 
economic, employment, and other impacts affecting the quality of the 
human environment.
    The draft EIS will include a summary of all alternatives, 
information, and analyses submitted during the scoping process for 
consideration by BOEM and the cooperating agencies.
    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. and 40 CFR 1501.9.

William Yancey Brown,
Chief Environmental Officer, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2021-25320 Filed 11-19-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P