[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 33 (Friday, February 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10377-10378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03271]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2023-0011]


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for SouthCoast Wind Energy, LLC's (Formerly Mayflower Wind Energy, LLC) 
Proposed Wind Energy Facility Offshore Massachusetts

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

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: BOEM announces the availability of the draft environmental 
impact statement (DEIS) for the construction and operations plan (COP) 
submitted by SouthCoast Wind Energy, LLC (SouthCoast Wind) for its 
proposed SouthCoast Wind Project (Project) offshore Massachusetts. The 
DEIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the Project as 
described in the COP (the proposed action) and the alternatives to the 
proposed action. This notice of availability (NOA) announces the start 
of the public review and comment period, as well as the dates and times 
for public hearings on the DEIS. After BOEM holds the public hearings 
and addresses comments provided, BOEM will publish a final 
environmental impact statement (EIS). The EIS will inform BOEM's 
decision whether to approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove 
the COP.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than April 3, 2023. BOEM will 
conduct three virtual public hearings. BOEM's virtual public hearings 
will be held on the following dates at the times (eastern time) 
indicated:
     Monday, March 20, 2023; 5 p.m.
     Wednesday, March 22, 2023; 1 p.m.
     Monday, March 27, 2023; 5 p.m.
    Registration for the virtual public hearings is required and may be 
completed at https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/southcoast-wind or by calling (703) 787-1532. Meeting information will 
be sent to registrants via their email address provided during 
registration.

ADDRESSES: The DEIS and detailed information about the Project, 
including the COP, can be found on BOEM's website at: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/southcoast-wind. 
Comments can be submitted in any of the following ways:
     Orally or in written form during any of the virtual public 
hearings identified in this NOA.
     In written form by mail or any other delivery service, 
enclosed in an

[[Page 10378]]

envelope labeled ``SouthCoast Wind DEIS'' and addressed to Chief, 
Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 
45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, VA 20166.
     Through the regulations.gov web portal: Navigate to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket No. BOEM-2023-0011. Click on 
the ``Comment'' button below the document link. Enter your information 
and comment, then click ``Submit Comment.''
    For more information about submitting comments, please see 
``Information on Submitting Comments'' under the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION heading below.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Proposed Action: SouthCoast Wind seeks approval to construct, own, 
operate, and maintain the Project: a wind energy facility and its 
associated export cables on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore 
Massachusetts. The Project would be developed within the range of 
design parameters outlined in the SouthCoast Wind COP, subject to 
applicable mitigation measures.
    The Project would be located about 26 nautical miles (nm) (48 
kilometers) south of Martha's Vineyard and 20 nm (37 kilometers) south 
of Nantucket in the area defined in BOEM's renewable energy lease OCS-A 
0521 (Leased Area). The Leased Area covers approximately 127,388 acres. 
The Project would comprise up to 149 positions in the Leased Area to be 
occupied by up to 147 wind turbine generators and up to 5 offshore 
substation platforms. The 149 positions will conform to a 1 nm x 1 nm 
grid layout with an east-west and north-south orientation, which 
lessees agreed will apply across all the Massachusetts and Rhode Island 
wind energy areas. The Project would include two export cable 
corridors. One corridor would be used by multiple export cables making 
landfall and interconnecting to the ISO New England Inc. grid in 
Falmouth, Massachusetts. The other corridor would be used by multiple 
export cables making landfall and interconnecting to the ISO New 
England Inc. grid at Brayton Point in Somerset, Massachusetts.
    Alternatives: BOEM considered 17 alternatives when preparing the 
DEIS and carried forward 6 alternatives for further analysis in the 
DEIS. These six alternatives include five action alternatives and the 
no action alternative. BOEM did not analyze in detail 11 of the 
alternatives because they did not meet the purpose and need for the 
proposed action or did not meet screening criteria, which are presented 
in chapter 2 of the DEIS. The screening criteria included consistency 
with law and regulations, technical and economic feasibility, 
environmental impact, and geographic considerations.
    Availability of the DEIS: The DEIS, COP, and associated information 
are available on BOEM's website at: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/southcoast-wind. BOEM has distributed digital 
copies of the DEIS to all parties listed in the DEIS appendix M, which 
also includes the location of all libraries receiving a copy. If you 
require a digital copy on a flash drive or paper copy, BOEM will 
provide one upon request, if supplies are available. You may request a 
flash drive or paper copy of the DEIS by calling (703) 787-1532.
    Cooperating Agencies: The following eight Federal agencies and 
State governmental entities participated as cooperating agencies in the 
preparation of the DEIS: Bureau of Safety and Environmental 
Enforcement; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; National Marine 
Fisheries Service; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. Coast Guard; 
Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management; Rhode Island Coastal 
Resources Management Council; and New York State Department of State.
    Information on Submitting Comments: BOEM does not consider 
anonymous comments. Please include your name and address as part of 
your comment. BOEM makes your comment, including your name and address, 
available for public review online and during regular business hours. 
You may request that BOEM withhold your name, address, or any other 
personally identifiable information (PII) included in your comment from 
the public record; however, BOEM cannot guarantee that it will be able 
to do so. If you wish your name, address, or other PII to be withheld, 
you must state your request prominently in a cover letter and explain 
the harm that you fear from its disclosure such as unwarranted privacy 
invasion, embarrassment, or injury. Even if BOEM withholds your 
information in the context of this notice, your comment is subject to 
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and any relevant court orders. If 
your comment is requested under FOIA or a relevant court order, your 
information will only be withheld if a determination is made that one 
of the FOIA's exemptions to disclosure applies or if the relevant court 
order is challenged. Such a determination will be made in accordance 
with the Department of the Interior's FOIA regulations and applicable 
law.
    Please label privileged or confidential information as ``Contains 
Confidential Information,'' and consider submitting such information as 
a separate attachment. Information that is not labeled as privileged or 
confidential may be regarded by BOEM as suitable for public release.
    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.
    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq. (NEPA, as amended) and 40 CFR 
1506.6.

Karen Baker,
Chief, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-03271 Filed 2-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P