[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 135 (Friday, July 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42495-42498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15159]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM 2022-0034]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement for Future Wind Energy Development in the New York Bight

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

ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare a programmatic environmental 
impact statement (PEIS); request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Consistent with the regulations implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BOEM announces its intent to prepare a 
PEIS to analyze the potential impacts of wind energy development 
activities in the New York Bight (NY Bight), as well as the change in 
those impacts that could result from adopting programmatic avoidance, 
minimization, mitigation, and monitoring (AMMM) measures for the NY 
Bight. This NOI announces the scoping process BOEM will use to identify 
significant issues and potential alternatives for consideration in the 
NY Bight PEIS. Detailed information can be found on BOEM's website at: 
https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/new-york-bight.

DATES: Comments received by August 15, 2022, will be considered.
    BOEM will hold virtual public scoping meetings for the NY Bight 
PEIS at the following dates and times (eastern time):

 Thursday, July 28, 5:00 p.m.
 Tuesday, August 2, 5:00 p.m.
 Thursday, August 4, 1:00 p.m.

    Registration for the public meetings may be completed here: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/new-york-bight or by 
calling (202) 517-1249. The virtual meetings are open to the public and 
free to attend.

ADDRESSES: Written comments can be submitted in any of the following 
ways:
     Delivered by mail or delivery service, enclosed in an 
envelope labeled, ``NY BIGHT PEIS'' and addressed to Chief, Division of 
Environmental Assessment, Office of Environmental Programs, Bureau of 
Ocean Energy Management, 45600 Woodland Road VAM-OEP, Sterling, 
Virginia 20166; or
     Through the regulations.gov web portal: Navigate to 
www.regulations.gov and search for Docket No. BOEM-2022-0034. Select 
the document in the search results on which you want to comment, click 
on the ``Comment'' button, and follow the online instructions for 
submitting your comment. A commenter's checklist is available on the 
comment web page. Enter your information and comment, then click 
``Submit.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Lewandowski, BOEM Office of 
Environmental Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, Virginia 20166, 
telephone (703) 787-1703, or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose of and Need for the Proposed Action

    In February 2022, through a competitive leasing process under 30 
CFR 585.211, BOEM awarded Commercial Leases OCS-A 0537, 0538, 0539, 
0541, 0542, and 0544 covering an area offshore New York and New Jersey 
known as the NY Bight and totaling over 488,000 acres. The leases grant 
the lessees the exclusive right to submit construction and operation 
plans (COPs) to BOEM proposing the construction, operation, and 
conceptual decommissioning of offshore wind energy facilities in the 
lease areas. Through an intergovernmental renewable energy task force 
that included the States of New York and New Jersey and numerous 
Federal agencies and Tribal and local governments, BOEM identified 
these lease areas for consideration in development of commercial-scale 
offshore wind energy projects, subject to the appropriate reviews and 
approvals.
    Potential development of the leaseholds would assist with meeting 
several State mandates for renewable energy. New Jersey's goal of 7.5 
gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy generation by 2035 is outlined 
in New Jersey Executive Order No. 92, issued on November 19, 2019. New 
York's goal of 9.0 GW of offshore wind energy generation by 2035 is 
outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, signed 
into law on July 18, 2019. Based on a conservative power ratio of 3 
megawatts per square kilometer, BOEM estimates that full development of 
leases in this area has the potential to create up to 5.6 to 7 GW of 
offshore wind energy.
    The Proposed Action for the PEIS is the adoption of programmatic 
AMMM measures that BOEM may require as conditions of approval for 
activities proposed by lessees in COPs submitted for the NY Bight 
unless the COP-specific NEPA analysis shows that implementation of such 
measures is not warranted or effective. BOEM may require additional or 
different measures based on subsequent, site-specific NEPA analysis or 
the parameters of specific COPs. These AMMM measures are considered 
programmatic insofar as they may be applied to COPs within the whole NY 
Bight area, not because they necessarily will apply to COPs under 
BOEM's renewable energy program outside of the NY Bight area. The PEIS 
will analyze the potential impacts of development in the NY Bight and 
how those impacts can be avoided, minimized, or mitigated by AMMM

[[Page 42496]]

measures. However, the Proposed Action will not result in the approval 
of any activities.
    The purpose of the Proposed Action is to identify, analyze, and 
adopt, as appropriate, issues, degree of potential impacts, and AMMM 
measures. The site-specific NEPA analyses and consultations for each 
proposed wind energy project will focus on the impacts of approving a 
particular COP, including identification of AMMM measures that are best 
suited for consideration in the COP-specific NEPA analysis. The 
Proposed Action is needed to help BOEM make timely decisions on COPs 
submitted for the NY Bight. Timely decisions further the United States 
policy to make Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy resources available 
for expeditious and orderly development, subject to environmental 
safeguards (43 U.S.C. 1332(3)) and other requirements listed at 43 
U.S.C. 1337(p)(4), including protection of the environment, among 
several other factors. Project-specific NEPA analysis for individual 
COPs will tier to or incorporate by reference this PEIS and could apply 
additional or different AMMM measures as needed.
    A broader approach to the NEPA analysis for the six COPs expected 
for the NY Bight is consistent with Executive Order 14008, ``Tackling 
the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,'' issued on January 27, 2021. In 
that order, President Biden stated that the policy of his 
administration is ``to organize and deploy the full capacity of its 
agencies to combat the climate crisis to implement a Government-wide 
approach that reduces climate pollution in every sector of the economy; 
increases resilience to the impacts of climate change; protects public 
health; conserves our lands, waters, and biodiversity; delivers 
environmental justice; and spurs well-paying union jobs and economic 
growth, especially through innovation, commercialization, and 
deployment of clean energy technologies and infrastructure.'' To 
support the goals outlined in Executive Order 14008, the administration 
has also announced plans to increase renewable energy production, with 
a goal of 30 GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.
    Through the development of this PEIS, BOEM will address the 
following objectives:
     Analysis of the impacts expected from a representative 
project in the NY Bight that is informed by input provided by the 
lessees on the type of projects they intend to develop;
     Analysis of programmatic AMMM measures for the NY Bight;
     Focused, regional cumulative analysis;
     Identification of minor or negligible impacts so that 
site-specific reviews can focus on moderate or major impacts; and
     Tiering of project-specific environmental analyses.
    The analysis in this PEIS will provide a framework for its 
integration with site-specific NEPA reviews. The framework will provide 
a way for project-specific analyses to determine whether the project 
will have greater, equal, or fewer impacts than those that were 
analyzed in the PEIS by considering the level of action analyzed and 
the particularities of the site. Future COP-specific NEPA documents 
will make impact determinations for the specific project and affected 
resources and will focus on moderate to major impacts. The COP-specific 
NEPA analyses of potential impacts to resources will not generally 
revisit resources for which the PEIS analysis has indicated that the 
impact is likely to be negligible to minor. However, these impacts may 
be revisited if warranted by particular characteristics of the site or 
proposed project that suggest that the impact determination might shift 
to moderate or major.

Proposed Action and Preliminary Alternatives

    As noted above, the Proposed Action does not include the approval 
of any activities. The Proposed Action is the adoption of programmatic 
AMMM measures that BOEM may require as conditions of approval for 
activities proposed by lessees in COPs submitted for the NY Bight. BOEM 
may require additional or modified measures based on subsequent, site-
specific NEPA analysis or the parameters of specific COPs. The analysis 
of the Proposed Action considers the change in potential impacts 
resulting from the AMMM measures. The analysis of the Proposed Action 
assumes that a representative project will be developed for the NY 
Bight and considers the potential impacts of that development on the 
environment. The activities scenario upon which analysis of the 
Proposed Action is based is that of a representative project, including 
associated export cables, within a range of design parameters informed 
by lessees. By developing the activities scenario based on a 
representative project design envelope created with the input of the 
lessees that will be submitting the COPs for the NY Bight, BOEM avoids 
engaging in speculative analysis of potential impacts. The Proposed 
Action does not itself require any actions by BOEM or lessees.
    If any reasonable alternatives to the Proposed Action are 
identified during the scoping period, BOEM will evaluate those 
alternatives in the draft PEIS, which will also include a no action 
alternative (NAA). The NAA considers no development of the lease areas 
in the NY Bight. This alternative provides analysis for tiering at the 
COP-specific NEPA stage, including context that can be used in COP-
specific NEPA analyses and against which proposed actions at the COP-
specific stage may be compared. In addition, the analysis of the 
adoption of AMMM measures for the NY Bight is predicated upon an 
understanding of the impacts of development, which in turn are 
predicated on an understanding of the impacts of no development.
    The draft PEIS will also include an alternative that analyzes the 
impacts of not adopting the programmatic AMMM measures for a 
representative project in the NY Bight. This alternative will 
facilitate comparison of the potential impacts from a representative 
project with and without the AMMM measures. In addition, this 
alternative will provide analyses that can be incorporated at the COP-
specific stage and allow the analysis at that stage to focus on issues 
particular to the specific COP.

Summary of Potential Impacts

    Potential impacts to resources may include adverse or beneficial 
impacts on air quality, water quality, bats, benthic habitat, essential 
fish habitat, invertebrates, finfish, birds, marine mammals, 
terrestrial and coastal habitats and fauna, sea turtles, wetlands and 
other waters of the United States, commercial fisheries and for-hire 
recreational fishing, cultural resources, demographics, employment, 
economics, environmental justice, land use and coastal infrastructure, 
navigation and vessel traffic, other marine uses, recreation and 
tourism, and scenic and visual resources. These potential impacts will 
be analyzed in the draft and final PEIS.
    Based on a preliminary evaluation of these resources, BOEM expects 
potential impacts on certain marine life from underwater noise caused 
by construction and on marine mammals from collisions with project-
related vessel traffic. Structures installed by the projects could 
permanently change benthic and fish habitats (e.g., creation of 
artificial reefs). Commercial fisheries and for-hire recreational 
fishing could be impacted. Project structures above the water could 
affect the visual character defining historic properties

[[Page 42497]]

and recreational and tourism areas. Project structures also would pose 
an allision and height hazard to vessels passing close by, and vessels 
would, in turn, pose a hazard to the structures. Additionally, the 
projects could cause conflicts with military activities, air traffic, 
land-based radar services, cables and pipelines, and scientific 
surveys. Beneficial impacts are also expected by facilitating 
achievement of State renewable energy goals, increasing job 
opportunities, improving air quality, and reducing carbon emissions.

Anticipated Authorizations and Consultations

    Neither the PEIS nor the resulting programmatic record of decision 
(ROD) will authorize any activities or approve any individual 
applications. The PEIS and ROD will provide a programmatic 
environmental analysis and framework to support future decision-making 
on individual COP submittals. When COPs are submitted to BOEM, the 
site-specific characteristics of the project will be evaluated by 
preparing additional environmental analyses that may tier from this 
PEIS or may incorporate it by reference. Based on the site-specific 
applications and evaluations, BOEM may then reach a site-specific 
determination and approve, approve with modifications, or deny 
individual COPs. This PEIS will inform future BOEM decisions on COP 
submittals but will not approve or authorize any applications or plans. 
Therefore, neither this PEIS nor its resulting ROD would constitute a 
final agency action authorizing or approving any individual COPs.
    In conjunction with this PEIS, BOEM will undertake various 
consultations in accordance with applicable Federal laws, such as the 
Endangered Species Act, Magnuson[hyphen]Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Marine Mammal 
Protection Act, Rivers and Harbors Act, Clean Water Act, and the 
Coastal Zone Management Act. However, it may be determined that some of 
these consultations are better suited for the COP-specific decision 
stage. BOEM will also conduct government-to-government Tribal 
consultations.

Decision-Making Schedule

    After the draft PEIS is completed, BOEM will publish a notice of 
availability (NOA) and request public comments on the draft PEIS. BOEM 
currently expects to issue the NOA in September 2023. After the public 
comment period ends, BOEM will review and respond to comments received 
and will develop the final PEIS. BOEM currently expects to make the 
final PEIS available to the public in June 2024. BOEM would issue any 
ROD no sooner than 30 days after the final PEIS is made available.
    The ROD for the NY Bight PEIS is expected to (1) identify certain 
programmatic AMMM measures that BOEM may require as conditions of 
approval on COPs in the NY Bight, (2) identify the AMMM measures that 
should (or should not) be considered in a COP-specific NEPA analysis, 
and (3) require BOEM to use a tiered review process that relies on the 
analyses in the PEIS for the COPs expected to be filed for the six 
leases issued in the NY Bight.

Scoping Process

    This NOI commences the public scoping process to identify issues 
and potential alternatives for consideration in the NY Bight PEIS. BOEM 
will hold virtual public scoping meetings at the times and dates 
described above under the DATES caption. Throughout the scoping 
process, Federal agencies, Tribal, State, and local governments, and 
the public have the opportunity to help BOEM identify significant 
resources and issues, impact-producing factors, and reasonable 
alternatives for AMMM measures (e.g., size, geographic, seasonal, or 
other restrictions on construction and siting of facilities and 
activities) to be analyzed in the PEIS, as well as to provide 
additional information.
    BOEM will also use the NEPA comment process to initiate the section 
106 consultation process under the National Historic Preservation Act 
(NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.), as permitted by 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). 
Through this notice, BOEM intends to inform its section 106 
consultation by seeking public comment and input regarding the 
identification of historic properties affected by or potential effects 
to historic properties from activities associated with approval of wind 
energy development in the NY Bight.
    Before publication of this NOI, BOEM met with NY Bight 
leaseholders, interested Federal agencies, Tribal governments, and 
other potential State partners to provide information on the NY Bight 
programmatic approach. Additionally, BOEM met separately with the 
National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
to discuss how the programmatic analysis may support and streamline 
their project-level approvals, as well as with the Advisory Council on 
Historic Preservation to discuss potential approaches to section 106 
consultation.

NEPA Cooperating Agencies

    BOEM invites other Federal agencies and Tribal, State, and local 
governments to consider becoming cooperating agencies in the 
preparation of this PEIS. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
NEPA regulations specify that qualified agencies and governments are 
those with ``jurisdiction by law or special expertise.'' Potential 
cooperating agencies should consider their authority and capacity to 
assume the responsibilities of a cooperating agency and should be aware 
that an agency's role in the environmental analysis neither enlarges 
nor diminishes the final decision-making authority of any other agency 
involved in the NEPA process.
    Upon request, BOEM will provide potential cooperating agencies with 
a written summary of expectations for cooperating agencies, including 
schedules, milestones, responsibilities, scope and detail of 
cooperating agencies' expected contributions, and availability of pre-
decisional information. BOEM anticipates this summary will form the 
basis for a memorandum of agreement between BOEM and any non-Department 
of the Interior cooperating agency. Agencies also should consider the 
factors for determining cooperating agency status in the CEQ memorandum 
entitled, ``Cooperating Agencies in Implementing the Procedural 
Requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act,'' dated January 
30, 2002. This document is available on the internet at: 
www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/nepapub/nepa_documents/RedDont/G-CEQ-CoopAgenciesImplem.pdf.
    BOEM, as the lead agency, does not provide financial assistance to 
cooperating agencies. Governmental entities that are not cooperating 
agencies will have opportunities to provide information and comments to 
BOEM during the public input stages of the NEPA process.
    Comments: Federal agencies, Tribal, State, and local governments, 
and other interested parties are requested to comment on the scope of 
this PEIS, significant issues that should be addressed, and 
alternatives that should be considered. 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

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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. To help BOEM determine whether to 
withhold from disclosure your personally identifiable information, you 
must identify in a cover letter 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 NHPA, BOEM is required, after 
consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, to withhold the 
location, character, or ownership of historic property if it determines 
that disclosure may, among other things, cause a significant invasion 
of privacy, risk harm to the historic property, or impede the use of a 
traditional religious site by practitioners. Tribal entities and other 
parties providing information on historic resources 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 Proposed Action

    BOEM requests data, comments, views, information, analysis, 
alternatives, or suggestions relevant to the analysis of the Proposed 
Action from the public; affected Federal, Tribal, State, and local 
governments, agencies, and offices; the scientific community; industry; 
or any other interested party. Specifically, BOEM requests information 
on the following topics:
    1. Potential AMMM measures, including NY Bight wind energy 
development alternatives, and the effects these could have on--
    a. biological resources, including bats, birds, coastal fauna, 
finfish, invertebrates, essential fish habitat, marine mammals, and sea 
turtles;
    b. physical resources and conditions including air quality, water 
quality, wetlands, and other waters of the United States; and
    c. 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.
    2. As part of its compliance with section 106 of the NHPA and the 
implementing regulations (36 CFR part 800), BOEM intends to develop a 
section 106 programmatic agreement (PA) through consultation with the 
State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs), federally-recognized 
Tribes, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and consulting 
parties. The PA will identify a standard process for the future 
identification of historic properties and the evaluation, avoidance, 
minimization, mitigation, and monitoring of historic properties within 
the New York Bight. The PA may address possible programmatic AMMM 
measures in the NY Bight if potential adverse effects are identified 
during the consultation for this PA. BOEM plans to execute the PA 
before the PEIS ROD is issued. The PA will clarify the section 106 
consultations that will be conducted for the individual COPs. The 
section 106 consultations for each COP will be conducted in conjunction 
with the NEPA reviews for each COP and will ensure consistency with the 
PA.
    BOEM also seeks comment and input from the public and consulting 
parties regarding the identification of other potential consulting 
parties, the identification of historic properties within the NY Bight, 
the potential effects on those historic properties from NY Bight wind 
energy development alternatives including any AMMM, 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. BOEM will present available 
information regarding known historic properties during the public 
scoping period at https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/new-york-bight.
    If any historic properties are identified, BOEM's draft PA and 
potential effects analysis will be available for public and consulting 
party comment in the draft PEIS.
    3. Information on other current or planned activities in, or in the 
vicinity of, the NY Bight wind energy development alternatives 
including any AMMM measures, their possible impacts on the 
alternatives, and the alternatives' possible impacts on those 
activities.
    4. Other information relevant to impacts on the human environment 
from potential NY Bight wind energy development alternatives, including 
any AMMM measures.
    5. Information on the following for the development of the 
representative project design envelope and activities scenario: layout 
of turbines (analyze one or more standard layouts); setbacks identified 
in the leases; size (wind turbine generator nameplate capacity), 
dimensions (tip height, hub height, and rotor diameter) and number of 
turbines; offshore substation dimensions, number, and location; type of 
foundation; foundation installation method; scour protection; approach 
to cable emplacement (installation methods and disturbance corridor 
width); location of landfalls; onshore substation location; point of 
grid interconnection; ports, fabrication facilities, and staging areas; 
timing of onshore and offshore activities; and, associated activities 
such as vessel trips.
    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 for 
consideration of the Proposed Action, as well as economic, employment, 
and other impacts affecting the quality of the human environment.
    The draft PEIS 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. 2022-15159 Filed 7-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P