Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement for Park City Wind LLC's Proposed New England Wind Farm Offshore Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York, 15216-15217 [2024-04303]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 42 (Friday, March 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15216-15217]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04303]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2024-0011]


Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement 
for Park City Wind LLC's Proposed New England Wind Farm Offshore 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; final environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announces the 
availability of the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for 
Park City Wind LLC's (PCW) construction and operations plan (COP) for 
its proposed New England Wind Farm Project (Project) offshore 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. The FEIS analyzes the 
potential environmental impacts of the Project as described in the COP 
(the proposed action) and the alternatives to the proposed action, 
including the no action alternative. The FEIS will inform BOEM's 
decision whether to approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove 
the COP.

ADDRESSES: The FEIS 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/new-england-wind-formerly-vineyard-wind-south.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lindy Nelson, BOEM Office of Renewable 
Energy Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, Virginia 20166, (571) 
789-6485 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Proposed Action: Park City Wind seeks approval to construct, 
operate, and maintain a wind energy facility and its associated export 
cables on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, and New York. The Project would be developed within the 
range of design parameters outlined in the New England Wind COP, 
subject to the applicable mitigation measures.
    The Project as proposed in the COP would be developed in two 
phases. The entire Project would include a combined maximum 130 wind 
turbine generators (WTGs) and electrical service platforms (ESPs, 
inter-array and inter-link cables connecting the individual WTGs and 
ESPs, five offshore export cables (two for phase I and three for phase 
II), onshore substations and interconnection cables connecting to the 
existing electrical grid in Massachusetts.
    The WTGs, offshore substation, and inter-array cables would be 
located on the OCS approximately 32 kilometers (km) (20 miles) south of 
Martha's Vineyard and approximately 38 km (24 miles) southwest of 
Nantucket, within the area defined by Renewable Energy Lease OCS-A 
0534. The Project would be adjacent to the Vineyard Wind 1 (VW1) 
project (OCS-A 0501). The environmental impact statement (EIS) 
evaluates the potential to utilize unused positions of the VW1 project 
that VW1 could reassign to the Project. The offshore export cables 
would be buried below the seabed surface in the OCS and State of 
Massachusetts-owned submerged lands. The onshore export cables, 
substations, and grid connections would be in Barnstable, MA.
    Alternatives: BOEM considered 15 alternatives when preparing the 
draft EIS and carried forward three alternatives for further analysis 
in the FEIS. These three alternatives include the proposed action, one 
other action alternative, and the no action

[[Page 15217]]

alternative. Twelve alternatives were not analyzed in detail because 
they did not meet the purpose and need for the proposed action or did 
not meet screening criteria, which are presented in FEIS chapter 2. The 
screening criteria included consistency with law and regulations; 
technical and economic feasibility; environmental impacts; and 
geographic considerations.
    Availability of the FEIS: The FEIS, New England Wind COP, and 
associated information are available on BOEM's website at: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/new-england-wind-formerly-vineyard-wind-south. BOEM has distributed digital copies of 
the FEIS to all parties listed in FEIS appendix M. If you would like a 
flash drive or paper copy, BOEM will provide one upon request, as long 
as supplies are available. You may request a flash drive or paper copy 
of the FEIS by contacting Lindy Nelson at 571-789-6485 or 
[email protected].
    Cooperating Agencies: The following Federal agencies and State 
governmental entities participated as cooperating agencies under the 
National Environmental Policy Act in the preparation of the FEIS: 
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; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; New 
York Department of State; Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone 
Management; and Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council.
    Consulting Parties: Twenty Federal agencies, Tribal Nations, State 
governmental entities, and organizations participated as consulting 
parties under the National Historic Preservation Act. The resolution of 
adverse effects to historic properties from the Project is recorded in 
a Memorandum of Agreement signed by the Director of BOEM, the 
Massachusetts State Historic Preservation Officer, the Advisory Council 
on Historic Preservation, and other invited and concurring signatories.
    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. 2024-04303 Filed 2-29-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P