[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 212 (Friday, November 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75624-75625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24295]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2023-0047]


Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for the 
Proposed Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial Project

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

ACTION: Record of decision (ROD); notice of availability.

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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 Virginia Electric and Power Company 
(dba Dominion Energy) for its proposed Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind 
Commercial Project (Project), offshore Virginia Beach, Virginia. The 
joint ROD includes the Department of the Interior's (DOI) decision 
regarding the COP and NMFS' plans for decision, pending completion of 
all statutory processes, regarding Dominion Energy'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 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/CVOW-C.

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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f49e9187879d9795da8780869b9996918693b4969b9199da939b82"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bfd5daccccd6dcde91cccbcdd0d2dddacdd8ffddd0dad291d8d0c9">[email protected]</span></a>; For information related 
to NMFS' action, contact Katherine Renshaw, NOAA Office of General 
Counsel, (302) 515-0324.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Dominion Energy 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 
Virginia. The Project would be developed within the range of design 
parameters outlined in the COP, subject to applicable mitigation 
measures.
    The Project as proposed in the COP would include up to 202 wind 
turbine generators (WTGs); 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; an onshore switching station north of Harpers Road 
(Harpers Switching Station) or north of Princess Anne Road (Chicory 
Switching Station) in Virginia Beach, Virginia; and an overhead power 
line connection to the existing electrical grid at the Fentress 
Substation in Chesapeake, Virginia.
    The WTGs, offshore substations, inter-array cables, and substation 
interconnector cables would be located on the OCS approximately 24 
nautical miles (27 statute miles) east of Virginia Beach, Virginia, 
within the area defined by Renewable Energy Lease OCS-A-0483. The 
offshore export cables would be buried below the seabed surface on the 
OCS and Commonwealth of Virginia-owned submerged lands. The onshore 
export cables, substations, and grid connections would be located in 
Princess Anne County, Virginia.
    After carefully considering public comments on the draft EIS and 
the alternatives described and analyzed in the final EIS, DOI selected 
Alternative B, ``Revised Layout to Accommodate the Fish Haven and 
Navigation,'' in combination with Alternative D-1, ``Onshore Habitat 
Impact Minimization Alternative.'' This combination of alternatives B 
and D-1 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/CVOW-C.
    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 Dominion Energy. 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 Dominion Energy to take small numbers of marine mammals 
incidental to Project construction and would set forth permissible 
methods of incidental

[[Page 75625]]

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, NMFS 
issued a final Biological Opinion to BOEM on September 18, 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.
    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. 2023-24295 Filed 11-2-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P


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