Bureau of Ocean Energy Management July 3, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

BOEM has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) considering the reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts and socioeconomic effects of issuing renewable energy leases and subsequent site characterization activities (geophysical, geotechnical, archaeological, and biological surveys needed to develop specific project proposals on those leases) in an identified Wind Energy Area (WEA) on the OCS offshore Rhode Island (RI) and Massachusetts (MA). This EA also considers the reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts associated with the approval of site assessment activities (including the installation and operation of meteorological towers and buoys) on the leases that may be issued in the WEA. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability of the EA for review and to solicit public comments on the EA. The EA can be found online at http:/ /www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/Smart-from-the-Start/I ndex.aspx.