[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44154-44155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14647]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2023-0029]


Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision (ROD) for 
the Ocean Wind LLC Proposed Wind Energy Facility Offshore New Jersey

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior; National 
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA); record of decision (ROD).

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SUMMARY: BOEM announces the availability of the joint ROD on the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the construction and 
operations plan (COP) submitted by Ocean Wind LLC (Ocean Wind) for its 
Ocean Wind 1 Offshore Wind Farm Project (Project) offshore New Jersey. 
The joint ROD includes the decisions of the Department of the Interior 
(DOI) regarding the Ocean Wind 1 COP and NMFS regarding Ocean Wind 
LLC's requested Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated 
Letter of Authorization (LOA) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
(MMPA). NMFS has adopted the Final EIS to support its decision of 
whether or not to issue the requested ITR under the MMPA. The joint ROD 
concludes the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for each 
agency and is available with associated information on BOEM's website 
at: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/ocean-wind-1.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Project ROD, 
please contact Jessica Stromberg, BOEM Office of Renewable Energy 
Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, Virginia 20166, (703) 787-
1730, or [email protected]. For information related to NMFS' 
action, please contact Katherine Renshaw, NOAA Office of General 
Counsel, (302) 515-0324.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Ocean Wind seeks approval to construct, 
operate, and maintain the Project: a wind energy facility on the Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore New Jersey. The Project would be 
developed within the range of design parameters outlined in the Ocean 
Wind 1 COP, subject to applicable mitigation measures. The Project as 
proposed in the COP would include up to 98 wind turbine generators 
(WTGs), up to 3 offshore high voltage alternating current substations, 
inter-array cables linking the individual turbines to the offshore 
substations, substation interconnector cables linking the substations 
to each other, offshore export cables, an onshore export cable system, 
2 onshore substations, and connections to the existing electrical grid 
in New Jersey. The WTGs, offshore substations, inter-array cables, and 
substation interconnector cables would be located on the OCS 
approximately 13 nautical miles (15 statute miles) southeast of 
Atlantic City, New Jersey, within the area defined by Renewable Energy 
Lease OCS-A 0498 (Lease Area). The offshore export cables would be 
buried below the seabed surface in the OCS and State of New Jersey-
owned submerged lands. The onshore export cables, substations, and grid 
connections would be located in Ocean County and Cape May County, New 
Jersey. After carefully considering alternatives described and analyzed 
in the Final EIS and comments from the public on the Draft EIS, the 
Department of the Interior has decided to approve the COP for Ocean 
Wind 1 under Alternative A (the Proposed Action) in combination with 
Alternative E (Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Avoidance Alternative), 
which is the Preferred Alternative identified in the FEIS and one of 
the three environmentally preferred alternatives identified in the ROD. 
The full text of the mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 
requirements, which will be included in BOEM's COP approval as terms 
and conditions, are available in the ROD, which is available on BOEM's 
website at: https://www.boem.gov/

[[Page 44155]]

renewable-energy/state-activities/ocean-wind-1.
    NMFS has adopted BOEM's Final EIS to support its decision making of 
whether or not to issue the requested ITR and associated LOA to Ocean 
Wind. NMFS' final decision of whether or not to issue the requested ITR 
and LOA will be documented in a separate Decision Memorandum prepared 
in accordance with internal NMFS policy and procedures. The ITR and 
associated LOA, if issued, will govern the authorization of take of 
marine mammals while prescribing the means of take as well as 
mitigation and monitoring requirements, including those mandated by the 
Biological Opinion issued to complete the formal Endangered Species Act 
Section 7 consultation process. The final ITR and a notice of issuance 
of the LOA, if issued, will be published in the Federal Register.
    Authority: This Notice of Availability is published in accordance 
with regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

Karen Baker,
Chief, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-14647 Filed 7-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P