[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 62 (Friday, March 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22177-22178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06752]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2023-0056]


Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for the 
Proposed Sunrise Wind Farm Offshore New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode 
Island

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior; National Marine 
Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
Commerce; National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Record of decision; notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announces the 
availability of the joint record of decision (ROD) on the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the construction and 
operations plan (COP) submitted by Sunrise Wind, LLC (Sunrise Wind) for 
its proposed Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project (Project), 
offshore New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The joint ROD 
includes the Department of the Interior's (DOI's) decision regarding 
the COP, the National Park Service's (NPS) decision regarding special 
use permits (SUPs) and a Right-of-Way (ROW) permit, and the National 
Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) plans for decision, pending 
completion of all statutory processes, regarding Sunrise Wind'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 
promulgate the requested ITR under the MMPA. The NPS has adopted the 
final EIS to support its decision to issue a ROW permit and SUPs. The 
joint ROD concludes the National Environmental Policy Act process for 
each agency.

ADDRESSES: The joint ROD and associated information are available on 
BOEM's website at https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/sunrise-wind-activities.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information related to BOEM's 
action, contact Jessica Stromberg, BOEM Office of Renewable Energy 
Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP, Sterling, Virginia 20166, 
(703) 787-1730, or [email protected]. For information related 
to NMFS' action, contact Katherine Renshaw, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of General Counsel, (302) 515-
0324, or [email protected]. For information related to NPS' 
action, contact Kristin Andel, NPS Resource Planning and Compliance 
Program, (617) 564-7613, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Sunrise Wind seeks approval to construct, 
operate, and maintain the Project: a wind energy facility and the 
associated export cables on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore 
New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and to construct a portion 
of the Project within NPS-administered waters and submerged lands 
within the Fire Island National Seashore. The Project would be 
developed within the range of design parameters outlined in the COP, 
subject to applicable mitigation measures.
    A notice of availability for the final EIS was published in the 
Federal Register on December 15, 2023. On March 20, 2024, BOEM 
published an errata on its website that included certain edits to the 
North Atlantic right whale cumulative impact determination of the no 
action alternative in final EIS chapter 3. The errata also provide 
corrections for benthic resources in a no action alternative table in 
final EIS chapter 2. These corrections are neither substantive nor do 
they affect the analysis or conclusions in the final EIS.
    The Project as proposed in the COP would include up to 94 wind 
turbine generators (WTGs) within 102 potential locations, 1 offshore 
converter station, inter-array cables linking the individual WTGs to 
the offshore substation, 1 offshore export cable, 1 onshore converter 
station, 1 fiber optic cable that runs through the conduit from Fire 
Island National Seashore (the Seashore) to the proposed wind farm, and 
onshore interconnection cables connecting to the existing electrical 
grid in New York. The WTGs, offshore substation, and inter-array cables 
would be located on the OCS approximately 16.4 nautical miles (nm) 
(18.9 statute miles[mi]) south of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, 
approximately 26.5 nm (30.5 mi) east of Montauk, New York, and 14.5 nm 
(16.7 mi) from Block Island, Rhode Island, within the area defined by 
Renewable Energy Lease OCS-A 0487 (Lease Area). The offshore export 
cables would be buried below the seabed surface on the U.S. OCS and 
State of New York-owned submerged lands, including submerged lands 
where the United States holds an easement for use and occupancy for the 
purposes of the Seashore. The onshore export cables, substation, and 
grid connection would be located in Holbrook, New York. After carefully 
considering public comments on the draft EIS and the alternatives 
described and analyzed in the final EIS, DOI selected Alternative C-3b 
(84 WTGs within 87 potential locations), which combines elements of the 
``Habitat Impact Minimization Alternative'' and the results of BOEM's 
independent feasibility review. This combination is the preferred 
alternative identified in the final EIS. The anticipated mitigation, 
monitoring, and reporting requirements, which will be included in 
BOEM's COP approval as terms and conditions, are included in the ROD, 
which is available at: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/sunrise-wind-activities.
    NMFS has adopted BOEM's final EIS to support its decision of 
whether or not to promulgate the requested ITR and issue the associated 
LOA to Sunrise Wind. NMFS' final decision of whether or not to 
promulgate the requested ITR and issue the LOA will be documented in a 
separate Decision Memorandum prepared in accordance with internal NMFS 
policy and procedures. The final ITR and a notice of issuance of the 
LOA, if issued, will be published in the Federal Register. The LOA 
would authorize Sunrise Wind to take small numbers of marine mammals 
incidental to Project construction and would set forth permissible 
methods of incidental taking, means of affecting the least practicable 
adverse impact on the species and their habitat, and requirements for 
monitoring and reporting. Pursuant to section 7 of the Endangered 
Species Act (ESA), NMFS issued a final Biological Opinion to BOEM on 
September 28, 2023, evaluating the effects of the proposed action on 
ESA-listed species. The proposed action in the Biological Opinion 
includes the associated permits, approvals, and authorizations that may 
be issued.
    The NPS has adopted BOEM's final EIS to support its decision to 
issue a ROW permit and two SUPs to Sunrise Wind. These permits would 
allow Sunrise Wind to access certain waters and submerged lands of the 
Seashore in order to connect to the onshore grid from inside Smith 
Point County Park, which is contained within the Seashore's legislated 
boundaries, and carry out construction within the

[[Page 22178]]

Seashore and in both the Atlantic Ocean and the intracoastal waterway 
between Fire Island and Long Island. NPS' decision to grant these 
permits will be further documented in the forthcoming permits, 
including permit terms and conditions, in accordance with internal NPS 
policy and procedures.
    Authority: National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 40 CFR 1505.2.

Karen Baker,
Chief, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management.
[FR Doc. 2024-06752 Filed 3-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P