Cape Wind Energy Project, 3635-3636 [E9-1065]
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 21, 2009 / Notices
local governments to consider becoming
cooperating agencies in the preparation
of the EIS. We invite qualified
government entities to inquire about
cooperating agency status for the EIS for
the proposed 5-year program. Using the
guidelines from the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ), 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 to remember 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.
Agencies should also consider the
‘‘Factors for determining Cooperating
Agency Status’’ in Attachment 1 to
CEQ’s January 30, 2002, Memorandum
for the Heads of Federal Agencies:
Cooperating Agencies in Implementing
the Procedural Requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act. The
appropriate pages can be found at:
https://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/
cooperating/cooperatingagencies
memorandum.html and https://ceq.hss.
doe.gov/nepa/regs/cooperating/
cooperatingagencymemofactors.html.
The MMS, as the lead agency, will not
provide financial assistance to
cooperating agencies. Even if an
organization is not a cooperating
agency, opportunities will exist to
provide information and comments to
MMS during the normal public input
phases of the NEPA/EIS process. MMS
will also consult with tribal
governments on a government-togovernment basis. If further information
about cooperating agencies is needed,
please contact Mr. James F. Bennett, at
(703) 787–1660.
Next Steps in the Process
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The MMS plans to issue the proposed
program and draft EIS in mid-summer
2009 for a 90-day comment period. We
plan to issue the proposed final program
and final EIS in spring 2010. The
Secretary may approve the new 5-year
program 60 days later to go into effect
as of July 1, 2010.
Dated: January 8, 2009.
Randall B. Luthi,
Director, Minerals Management Service.
[FR Doc. E9–1062 Filed 1–16–09; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Cape Wind Energy Project
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service
(MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of
final Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the proposed Cape Wind
Energy Project on the Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS) off Massachusetts, in
Nantucket Sound; Request for
Comment.
SUMMARY: The MMS is announcing the
availability of a final EIS for the
proposed Cape Wind Energy Project.
Cape Wind Associates, LLC (CWA) has
requested a lease, easement or right-ofway, pursuant to section 8(p) of the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
(OCSLA) (43 U.S.C. 1337) as amended,
and proposes to construct and operate a
wind energy facility on the OCS off
Massachusetts, in Nantucket Sound.
The final EIS is intended to inform the
public of the proposed action and
reasonable alternatives, including the
‘‘no action’’ alternative; analyze the
direct, indirect, and cumulative
environmental effects of the proposed
action and each of the reasonable
alternatives; address public comment
received on the draft EIS that was
released in January 2008; and provide
information to support decision-making.
Authority: This NOA is published
pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as amended (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (1988)) and regulations
(40 CFR 1506.6) implementing the provisions
of NEPA.
The MMS
has received a request from CWA for a
lease, easement or right-of-way to
construct and operate a wind energy
project on Horseshoe Shoal on the OCS
in Nantucket Sound. The proposed
project would consist of 130 offshore
wind turbine generators arranged to
maximize the project’s full potential
electric output of approximately 468
megawatts. Each turbine would be
approximately 440 feet high. The
proposed wind turbine array would
occupy approximately 25 square miles,
and would be located approximately 5.6
miles from the coast of Cape Cod,
Massachusetts, 9 miles from the coast of
Martha’s Vineyard, and 13.8 miles from
the coast of Nantucket Island. The
proposed array would be in a grid
formation where the distance between
each turbine is proposed to be one-third
mile from north to south and one-half
mile from east to west. The windgenerated electricity from each of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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3635
turbines would be transmitted via a 33kilovolt submarine transmission cable
system to a centrally located electric
service platform. This platform would
transform and transmit electric power
via two 115-kilovolt lines extending
over 12 miles to the Cape Cod mainland,
where it would ultimately connect with
the existing power grid.
In November 2001, CWA filed a
permit application with the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (USACE), New
England District, under section 10 of the
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, in
anticipation of constructing a wind
project located on Horseshoe Shoal in
Nantucket Sound. The USACE released
a draft EIS concerning issuance of the
section 10 permit in November 2004.
Subsequently, Section 388 of the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct)
amended the OCSLA to give the
Department of the Interior, in
consultation with other relevant federal
agencies, authority for issuing leases,
easements, or rights-of-way for
alternative energy projects on the OCS.
Additional information on the MMS
Offshore Alternative Energy Program
can be found at: https://www.mms.gov/
offshore/alternativeenergy/.
After reviewing the draft EIS prepared
by the USACE, which was completed
prior to the EPAct amendment of the
OCSLA, the MMS prepared its own
draft EIS analyzing the potential
impacts of the project under the broader
authority granted to it under the
OCSLA, as amended. The MMS
launched a renewed scoping process by
publishing in the Federal Register (71
FR 30693) on May 30, 2006, a notice of
intent to prepare the EIS. The 1,321
public comments received in response
to that notice were considered and taken
into account in the draft EIS, as well as
the final EIS. The MMS also considered
and took into account over 5,000 public
comments made during the review
period for the USACE draft EIS, as well
as those made at USACE public hearings
held in Yarmouth, Martha’s Vineyard,
Cambridge, and Nantucket,
Massachusetts.
On January 18, 2008, MMS published
a notice in the Federal Register stating
the availability of the draft EIS. The
public comment period lasted 60 days
(until March 20, 2008) and then was
extended another 30 days to April 21,
2008, to provide the public with
additional time to review the draft EIS
and provide comment. The MMS
received comments through its Public
Connect Web site, via e-mails, via oral
and paper copy comments provided at
the four public hearings: (the
Mattacheese Middle School in West
Yarmouth, Massachusetts; the
E:\FR\FM\21JAN1.SGM
21JAN1
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3636
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 21, 2009 / Notices
Nantucket High School in Nantucket,
Massachusetts; the Martha’s Vineyard
Regional High School in Oak Bluffs,
Massachusetts; and at the University of
Massachusetts Boston Campus in South
Boston, Massachusetts), and via paper
copy comments mailed in. In all, more
than 42,000 comments were received.
All comments received were logged in
and responded to as appropriate and are
included in the final EIS.
Contents of the Final EIS: The final
EIS considers all reasonable alternatives
to the proposed action, including
several other offshore sites in the New
England region, as well as nongeographic alternatives at the proposed
Horseshoe Shoal site made up of a
smaller project alternative, a condensed
configuration, phased development, and
the no-action alternative. Seven
alternatives: the proposed action, no
action, a smaller project, condensed
configuration, phased development, and
alternative sites at Monomoy Shoals and
south of Tuckernuck Island—are
subjected to detailed analysis in the
final EIS, including an analysis of
direct, indirect, and cumulative
environmental effects, and
identification of the preferred
alternative (Horseshoe Shoal). Changes
in the document since the draft EIS
include the addition of a final avian and
bat monitoring plan, a finding of
adverse visual effects to 29 properties
evaluated as eligible for listing on the
National Register of Historic Places,
updated mitigation measures, and
proposed mitigation measures to ensure
navigation safety from the U.S. Coast
Guard based on a 2008 report by the
Coast Guard analyzing two existing
studies regarding the effects of wind
turbines upon shipboard radar and
navigation. Although this information
was an outgrowth of comments received
on the draft EIS and has not resulted in
significant changes to the analysis of
impacts prepared for the draft EIS, MMS
is seeking comments related to these
issues that will be considered for the
Record of Decision.
EIS Availability: To obtain a single
CD–ROM copy of the final EIS, you may
contact the Minerals Management
Service, Environmental Assessment
Branch (MS 4042), 381 Elden Street,
Herndon, Virginia 20170. An electronic
copy of the final EIS is available at the
MMS’s Internet Web site at: https://
www.mms.gov/offshore/
AlternativeEnergy/CapeWind.htm, as
are electronic copies of attachments to
the final EIS and reports used in its
preparation. For a list of libraries in
Massachusetts that were provided
copies of the final EIS, visit MMS’s
Internet Web site at: https://
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18:54 Jan 16, 2009
Jkt 217001
www.mms.gov/library/ or contact MMS
as indicated below under the heading
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Comments: Although this is a final
EIS, you may provide comments. No
decision on the proposed project will be
made until at least 30 days from the
publication of this notice. Federal, state,
local government agencies, and other
interested parties may provide written
comments on the final EIS in one of the
following ways:
1. Electronically, using MMS’s on-line
commenting system at: https://
ocsconnect.mms.gov/pcs-public/.
2. In written form, mailed or delivered
to MMS Cape Wind Energy Project, TRC
Environmental Corporation,
Wannalancit Mills, 650 Suffolk Street,
Lowell, Massachusetts 01854.
Public Comment Policy: Be advised
that your entire comment—including
your personal identifying information—
may be made publicly available at any
time. While you may ask us in your
comment to withhold from public
review your personal identifying
information, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
James F. Bennett, Minerals Management
Service, Environmental Assessment
Branch, 381 Elden Street, Mail Stop
4042, Herndon, Virginia 20710, or by
phone at (703) 787–1656.
Dated: January 5, 2009.
Chris C. Oynes,
Associate Director for Offshore Energy and
Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. E9–1065 Filed 1–16–09; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service (MMS)
Geological and Geophysical
Exploration (G&G) on the Atlantic
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) To
Prepare a Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement (PEIS) and Call for
Interest for Future Industry G&G
Activity on the Atlantic OCS.
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the regulations
implementing the procedural provisions
of the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA), MMS is announcing its
intent to prepare a PEIS to evaluate
potential environmental effects of
multiple G&G activities on the Atlantic
OCS. This NOI initiates the scoping
process for this PEIS and also seeks
interest from other Federal agencies,
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and State, tribal, and local governments
to consider becoming cooperating
agencies in the preparation of the EIS.
Through the scoping process, Federal,
state, and local government agencies
and other interested parties have the
opportunity to aid MMS in determining
the significant issues and alternatives
for analysis in the PEIS. Comments
received in response to the NOI will
assist MMS in developing the scope of
the PEIS. This early planning and
consultation step is important to ensure
that all interests and concerns are
communicated to MMS as it develops
this PEIS and ultimately for future
decisions regarding G&G operations
under MMS regulatory authority.
In order to assist MMS in developing
the scope of G&G activities to be
covered within the PEIS, we are also
using this NOI to solicit information
from industry on any potential interest
for future G&G activities on the Atlantic
OCS, including seismic surveys (highresolution surveys as well as various
types of seismic exploration and
development surveys), side-scan sonar
surveys, all types of electromagnetic
surveys, geological and geochemical
sampling, and remote sensing
(including gravity and magnetic
surveys) and the geographic areas of
these activities. The MMS will
specifically use this information to
develop the scope of the PEIS scenario
and its proposed action area. If details
on activities, desired geographic
locations, or other relevant information
are not provided to MMS through this
Call for Interest, then this information
may not be included in the PEIS
scenario and may require additional
NEPA analysis if proposed at a later
date.
With this NOI, MMS notes that this
PEIS is dependent upon availability of
funding. MMS welcomes participation
from outside sources consistent with
appropriate authorities and mechanisms
to award a contract to conduct the
essential analyses and prepare the PEIS.
The MMS would maintain sole
oversight over selection and
management of contractors and would
maintain full authority over the content
of the PEIS, protected resources
analyses, and final decisions. Outside
sources that are considering
participating in this PEIS process
should submit an expression of interest,
along with the requested information on
potential activities and geographic
scope, to the MMS, Gulf of Mexico OCS
Region’s Regional Supervisor for
Leasing and Environment (see
Comments section for contact
information).
E:\FR\FM\21JAN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 21, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3635-3636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1065]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Cape Wind Energy Project
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the proposed Cape Wind Energy Project on the Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) off Massachusetts, in Nantucket Sound; Request
for Comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The MMS is announcing the availability of a final EIS for the
proposed Cape Wind Energy Project. Cape Wind Associates, LLC (CWA) has
requested a lease, easement or right-of-way, pursuant to section 8(p)
of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) (43 U.S.C. 1337) as
amended, and proposes to construct and operate a wind energy facility
on the OCS off Massachusetts, in Nantucket Sound. The final EIS is
intended to inform the public of the proposed action and reasonable
alternatives, including the ``no action'' alternative; analyze the
direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental effects of the proposed
action and each of the reasonable alternatives; address public comment
received on the draft EIS that was released in January 2008; and
provide information to support decision-making.
Authority: This NOA is published pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321
et seq. (1988)) and regulations (40 CFR 1506.6) implementing the
provisions of NEPA.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MMS has received a request from CWA for
a lease, easement or right-of-way to construct and operate a wind
energy project on Horseshoe Shoal on the OCS in Nantucket Sound. The
proposed project would consist of 130 offshore wind turbine generators
arranged to maximize the project's full potential electric output of
approximately 468 megawatts. Each turbine would be approximately 440
feet high. The proposed wind turbine array would occupy approximately
25 square miles, and would be located approximately 5.6 miles from the
coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 9 miles from the coast of Martha's
Vineyard, and 13.8 miles from the coast of Nantucket Island. The
proposed array would be in a grid formation where the distance between
each turbine is proposed to be one-third mile from north to south and
one-half mile from east to west. The wind-generated electricity from
each of the turbines would be transmitted via a 33-kilovolt submarine
transmission cable system to a centrally located electric service
platform. This platform would transform and transmit electric power via
two 115-kilovolt lines extending over 12 miles to the Cape Cod
mainland, where it would ultimately connect with the existing power
grid.
In November 2001, CWA filed a permit application with the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (USACE), New England District, under section 10 of
the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, in anticipation of constructing a
wind project located on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound. The USACE
released a draft EIS concerning issuance of the section 10 permit in
November 2004.
Subsequently, Section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct)
amended the OCSLA to give the Department of the Interior, in
consultation with other relevant federal agencies, authority for
issuing leases, easements, or rights-of-way for alternative energy
projects on the OCS. Additional information on the MMS Offshore
Alternative Energy Program can be found at: https://www.mms.gov/
offshore/alternativeenergy/.
After reviewing the draft EIS prepared by the USACE, which was
completed prior to the EPAct amendment of the OCSLA, the MMS prepared
its own draft EIS analyzing the potential impacts of the project under
the broader authority granted to it under the OCSLA, as amended. The
MMS launched a renewed scoping process by publishing in the Federal
Register (71 FR 30693) on May 30, 2006, a notice of intent to prepare
the EIS. The 1,321 public comments received in response to that notice
were considered and taken into account in the draft EIS, as well as the
final EIS. The MMS also considered and took into account over 5,000
public comments made during the review period for the USACE draft EIS,
as well as those made at USACE public hearings held in Yarmouth,
Martha's Vineyard, Cambridge, and Nantucket, Massachusetts.
On January 18, 2008, MMS published a notice in the Federal Register
stating the availability of the draft EIS. The public comment period
lasted 60 days (until March 20, 2008) and then was extended another 30
days to April 21, 2008, to provide the public with additional time to
review the draft EIS and provide comment. The MMS received comments
through its Public Connect Web site, via e-mails, via oral and paper
copy comments provided at the four public hearings: (the Mattacheese
Middle School in West Yarmouth, Massachusetts; the
[[Page 3636]]
Nantucket High School in Nantucket, Massachusetts; the Martha's
Vineyard Regional High School in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts; and at the
University of Massachusetts Boston Campus in South Boston,
Massachusetts), and via paper copy comments mailed in. In all, more
than 42,000 comments were received. All comments received were logged
in and responded to as appropriate and are included in the final EIS.
Contents of the Final EIS: The final EIS considers all reasonable
alternatives to the proposed action, including several other offshore
sites in the New England region, as well as non-geographic alternatives
at the proposed Horseshoe Shoal site made up of a smaller project
alternative, a condensed configuration, phased development, and the no-
action alternative. Seven alternatives: the proposed action, no action,
a smaller project, condensed configuration, phased development, and
alternative sites at Monomoy Shoals and south of Tuckernuck Island--are
subjected to detailed analysis in the final EIS, including an analysis
of direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental effects, and
identification of the preferred alternative (Horseshoe Shoal). Changes
in the document since the draft EIS include the addition of a final
avian and bat monitoring plan, a finding of adverse visual effects to
29 properties evaluated as eligible for listing on the National
Register of Historic Places, updated mitigation measures, and proposed
mitigation measures to ensure navigation safety from the U.S. Coast
Guard based on a 2008 report by the Coast Guard analyzing two existing
studies regarding the effects of wind turbines upon shipboard radar and
navigation. Although this information was an outgrowth of comments
received on the draft EIS and has not resulted in significant changes
to the analysis of impacts prepared for the draft EIS, MMS is seeking
comments related to these issues that will be considered for the Record
of Decision.
EIS Availability: To obtain a single CD-ROM copy of the final EIS,
you may contact the Minerals Management Service, Environmental
Assessment Branch (MS 4042), 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170.
An electronic copy of the final EIS is available at the MMS's Internet
Web site at: https://www.mms.gov/offshore/AlternativeEnergy/
CapeWind.htm, as are electronic copies of attachments to the final EIS
and reports used in its preparation. For a list of libraries in
Massachusetts that were provided copies of the final EIS, visit MMS's
Internet Web site at: https://www.mms.gov/library/ or contact MMS as
indicated below under the heading FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Comments: Although this is a final EIS, you may provide comments.
No decision on the proposed project will be made until at least 30 days
from the publication of this notice. Federal, state, local government
agencies, and other interested parties may provide written comments on
the final EIS in one of the following ways:
1. Electronically, using MMS's on-line commenting system at: http:/
/ocsconnect.mms.gov/pcs-public/.
2. In written form, mailed or delivered to MMS Cape Wind Energy
Project, TRC Environmental Corporation, Wannalancit Mills, 650 Suffolk
Street, Lowell, Massachusetts 01854.
Public Comment Policy: Be advised that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly
available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold
from public review your personal identifying information, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James F. Bennett, Minerals
Management Service, Environmental Assessment Branch, 381 Elden Street,
Mail Stop 4042, Herndon, Virginia 20710, or by phone at (703) 787-1656.
Dated: January 5, 2009.
Chris C. Oynes,
Associate Director for Offshore Energy and Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. E9-1065 Filed 1-16-09; 8:45 am]
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