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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 248 (Friday, December 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 105626-105627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31062]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2024-0055]

Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for the 
Proposed SouthCoast Wind Project

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior; National Marine 
Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
Commerce; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army.

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 SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC 
(SouthCoast Wind) for its proposed SouthCoast Wind Project (Project) 
offshore Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The joint ROD includes the 
Department of the Interior's (DOI) decision regarding the COP; National 
Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) decision, pending completion of all 
statutory processes, regarding SouthCoast Wind's requested Incidental 
Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of Authorization (LOA) 
under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA); and U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers' (USACE) decision regarding authorizations under section 10 
of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA) and section 404 of the 
Clean Water Act (CWA). NMFS has adopted the final EIS to support its 
decision about whether or not to promulgate the requested ITR and issue 
an LOA to SouthCoast Wind under the MMPA. USACE has adopted the final 
EIS to support its decision to issue a Department of the Army (DA) 
permit under section 10 of the RHA and section 404 of the CWA. 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/southcoast-wind-formerly-mayflower-wind.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information related to BOEM's 
action, please contact Genevieve Brune, BOEM Office of Renewable Energy 
Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP, Sterling, Virginia 20166, 
(703) 787-1553, or [email protected]. For information related to 
NMFS' action, please contact Katherine Renshaw, National Oceanic 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of General Counsel, (302) 515-
0324, [email protected]. For information related to USACE's 
action, please contact Roberta Budnik, Regulatory Division, New England 
District, (978) 318-8766, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SouthCoast 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 
Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 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 November 15, 2024 at 89 FR 90316. On December 16, 
2024, BOEM published an errata on its website that included certain 
edits to the Executive Summary, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Appendix F, 
Appendix G, Appendix I, Appendix N, and Appendix O. None of these edits 
are substantive or affect the analysis or conclusions in the final EIS.
    The proposed Project would be located about 26 nautical miles (nm) 
(48 kilometers) south of Martha's Vineyard and 20 nm (37 kilometers) 
south of Nantucket in the area defined in BOEM's renewable energy lease 
number OCS-A 0521 (Lease Area). The Lease Area covers approximately 
127,388 acres. The Project would consist of up

[[Page 105627]]

to 149 positions in the Lease Area to be occupied by up to 147 wind 
turbine generators and up to five offshore substation platforms. The 
149 positions will conform to a 1 nm x 1 nm grid layout with an east-
west and north-south orientation, which lessees agreed would apply 
across all the Massachusetts and Rhode Island wind energy areas. The 
Project would include one preferred export cable corridor making 
landfall and interconnecting to the ISO New England Inc. (ISO-NE) grid 
at Brayton Point in Somerset, Massachusetts. The Project would be 
developed in two parts or projects: Project 1 refers to the development 
in the northern portion of the Lease Area and associated 
interconnection, and Project 2 refers to the development in the 
southern portion of the Lease Area and associated interconnection. The 
preferred export cable corridor to Brayton Point would be used for both 
Project 1 and Project 2 to be built out within the Lease Area. The 
Project would also include one variant export cable corridor that, if 
used, would make landfall and interconnect to the ISO-NE grid in the 
town of Falmouth, Massachusetts. In the event that technical, 
logistical, grid interconnection, or other unforeseen challenges arise 
during the design and engineering phase that prevent Project 2 from 
making interconnection at Brayton Point, Project 2 would use the 
Falmouth variant export cable corridor.
    After carefully considering public comments on the draft EIS and 
the alternatives described and analyzed in the final EIS, DOI selected 
Alternative D, ``Nantucket Shoals,'' which eliminates six wind turbine 
generators from the Project as proposed in the COP. Alternative D 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 Appendix A of the ROD, which is available at: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/southcoast-wind-formerly-mayflower-wind.
    NMFS has adopted BOEM's final EIS to support its decision about 
whether or not to promulgate the requested ITR and issue the associated 
LOA to SouthCoast 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, would be published in the Federal Register. The LOA 
would authorize SouthCoast Wind to take small numbers of marine mammals 
incidental to Project construction and would set forth: permissible 
methods of incidental taking; means of effecting 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 
November 7, 2024, 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.
    USACE has decided to adopt BOEM's final EIS and issue a permit to 
SouthCoast Wind under section 10 of the RHA and section 404 of the CWA. 
The USACE permit will authorize SouthCoast Wind to discharge fill below 
the high tide line of waters of the United States. It will also 
authorize SouthCoast Wind to perform work and place structures below 
the mean high water mark of navigable waters of the United States and 
to affix structures to the seabed on the OCS.
    Authority: National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 40 CFR 1505.2

Karen Baker,
Associate Director, Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management.
[FR Doc. 2024-31062 Filed 12-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P
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