Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 15, 2025 / Notices 3917 

extended for an additional 20-year 

period. The lands are described as 

follows: 

Sixth Principal Meridian, Wyoming 

T. 22 N., R. 105 W., 

Sec. 11, NE1⁄4SE11⁄4SE1⁄4, 

N1⁄2SW1⁄4SE1⁄4SE1⁄4; 

Sec. 12, W1⁄2NW1⁄4SW1⁄4SW1⁄4. 

The areas described aggregate 20 

acres, according to the official plat of 

survey of the said lands, on file with the 

BLM. 

2. This withdrawal will expire 20 

years from the effective date of this 

Order unless, as a result of a review 

conducted prior to the expiration date 

pursuant to section 204(f) of the Federal 

Land Policy and Management Act of 

1976, 43 U.S.C. 1714(f), the Secretary 

determines that the withdrawal shall be 

further extended. 

(Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1714) 

Robert T. Anderson, 

Solicitor. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00776 Filed 1–14–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–26–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

[Docket No. BOEM 2025–0002] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Proposed Vineyard Mid-Atlantic 

Project on the U.S. Outer Continental 

Shelf Offshore New York 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM) announces its 

intent to prepare an environmental 

impact statement (EIS) (Unique 

Identification Number DOI–BOEM– 

OREP–2025–0001–EIS) for a 

construction and operations plan (COP) 

of an offshore wind energy facility 

submitted by Vineyard Mid-Atlantic, 

LLC (hereinafter referred to as Vineyard 

Mid-Atlantic or Proponent). This notice 

of intent (NOI) initiates the public 

scoping and comment process under the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) and under section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act 

(NHPA). Vineyard Mid-Atlantic 

proposes to construct and operate the 

facility in Renewable Energy Lease Area 

OCS–A 0544 (Lease Area), which is 

approximately 43,056 acres and located 

approximately 24 statute miles (mi) 

offshore, south of Fire Island, New York, 

and approximately 60 statute mi 

offshore New Jersey. Vineyard MidAtlantic proposes to develop the entire 

Lease Area. 

DATES: Your comments must be received 

by BOEM no later than March 3, 2025 

for timely consideration. BOEM will 

hold three virtual public scoping 

meetings at the following dates and 

times (eastern time): 

• Thursday, February 6, 5:00 p.m.— 

ending; 

• Tuesday, February 11, 5:00 p.m.— 

ending; and 

• Wednesday, February 19, 1:00 

p.m.—ending. 

Registration for the virtual public 

meetings may be completed here: 

https://www.boem.gov/renewableenergy/state-activities/vineyard-midatlantic-ocs-0544 or by calling (888) 

788–0099 (toll free). The meetings are 

open to the public and free to attend. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments can be 

submitted in any of the following ways: 

• Delivered by U.S. mail or other 

delivery service, enclosed in an 

envelope labeled ‘‘Vineyard MidAtlantic EIS’’ and addressed to Lindy 

Nelson, NEPA Coordinator, 

Environmental Branch for Renewable 

Energy, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, 45600 Woodland Road, 

VAM–OREP, Sterling, Virginia 20166; or 

• Through the regulations.gov web 

portal: Navigate to www.regulations.gov 

and search for Docket No. BOEM–2025– 

0002. Select the document in the search 

results on which you want to comment, 

click on the ‘‘Comment’’ button, and 

follow the online instructions for 

submitting your comment. A 

commenter’s checklist is available on 

the comment web page. Enter your 

information and comment, then click 

‘‘Submit.’’ 

For more information about 

submitting comments, please see the 

‘‘Public Participation’’ heading under 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

Detailed information about the 

proposed Project, including the COP 

and instructions for making written 

comments, can be found on BOEM’s 

website at: https://www.boem.gov/ 

renewable-energy/state-activities/ 

vineyard-mid-atlantic-ocs-0544. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lindy Nelson, Office of Renewable 

Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean 

Energy Management, 45600 Woodland 

Road, Sterling, Virginia 20166, 

telephone (703) 787–1460, or email 

Lindy.Nelson@boem.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose of and Need for the Proposed 

Action 

In Executive Order 14008, ‘‘Tackling 

the Climate Crisis at Home and 

Abroad,’’ issued on January 27, 2021, 

President Joseph R. Biden stated that the 

policy of his administration is ‘‘to 

organize and deploy the full capacity of 

its agencies to combat the climate crisis 

to implement a government-wide 

approach that reduces climate pollution 

in every sector of the economy; 

increases resilience to the impacts of 

climate change; protects public health; 

conserves our lands, waters, and 

biodiversity; delivers environmental 

justice; and spurs well-paying union 

jobs and economic growth, especially 

through innovation, commercialization, 

and deployment of clean energy 

technologies and infrastructure.’’ 

Through a competitive leasing process 

conducted under 30 CFR 585.211, 

BOEM awarded Commercial Lease 

OCS–A 0544 to Vineyard Mid-Atlantic, 

covering an area offshore New York. 

BOEM approved an assignment of 100 

percent interest in the lease to Vineyard 

Mid-Atlantic in April 2022. Vineyard 

Mid-Atlantic has the exclusive right to 

submit a COP for activities within the 

Lease Area. Vineyard Mid-Atlantic 

submitted a COP to BOEM proposing 

the construction, operation, 

maintenance, and conceptual 

decommissioning of an offshore wind 

energy facility consisting of up to two 

commercial-scale offshore wind energy 

projects in Lease Area OCS–A 0544, 

referred to collectively as the Vineyard 

Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind Project (the 

Project). 

Vineyard Mid-Atlantic’s goal is to 

develop up to two commercial-scale 

offshore wind energy project(s) in the 

Lease Area to provide renewable energy 

to the State of New York. New York 

State’s Climate Leadership and 

Community Protection Act mandates 

that at least 70% of the State’s 

electricity come from renewable energy 

sources by 2030, calls for the 

development of 9 gigawatts (GW) of 

offshore wind energy by 2035, and 

mandates that greenhouse gas (GHG) 

emissions be reduced 85% below 1990 

levels by 2050. Vineyard Mid-Atlantic’s 

ability to deliver ∼2 GW of power is 

needed to meet the State’s clean energy 

goals. The Project will help further 

diversify New York State’s electricity 

supply, increase energy reliability, and 

reduce GHG emissions. Vineyard MidAtlantic is actively seeking one or more 

offshore renewable energy certificate or 

power purchase agreement awards. 

Vineyard Mid-Atlantic proposes to 

use up to 118 positions in the Lease 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
3918 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 15, 2025 / Notices 

1FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Jumpstarts 

Offshore Wind Energy Projects to Create Jobs | 

Interior, Energy, Commerce, and Transportation 

Departments Announce New Leasing, Funding, and 

Development Goals to Accelerate and Deploy 

Offshore Wind Energy and Jobs | The White House 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/ 

statements-releases/2021/03/29/fact-sheet-bidenadministration-jumpstarts-offshore-wind-energyprojects-to-create-jobs/. 

Area to be occupied by up to 117 wind 

turbine generators (WTGs) and up to 2 

electrical service platforms (ESPs). In 

accordance with the lease stipulations, 

the WTGs and ESP(s) would be oriented 

in west-northwest to east-southeast rows 

and north to south columns with 0.68 

nautical mile (nm) (1.3 kilometer [km]) 

spacing between positions. Inter-array 

cables would transmit power from 

groups of WTGs to the ESP(s). If two 

ESPs are used, they may be connected 

with inter-link cables. Up to six high 

voltage alternating current (HVAC) 

cables, two high voltage direct current 

(HVDC) cable bundles, or a combination 

of up to four HVAC cables/HVDC cable 

bundles would be installed within an 

Offshore Export Cable Corridor (OECC) 

to transmit to shore the electricity 

collected at the ESP(s). 

The OECC extends from the northern 

end of the Lease Area, continues west 

along the boundary of neighboring Lease 

Area OCS–A 0512, and then proceeds 

northwest across the Ambrose to 

Nantucket and Nantucket to Ambrose 

Traffic Lanes towards the southern 

shore of Long Island, New York. As the 

OECC approaches shore, it splits into 

three variations to connect to three 

potential landfall site(s) (of which, up to 

two would be used): the Rockaway 

Beach Landfall Site, the Atlantic Beach 

Landfall Site, and the Jones Beach 

Landfall Site. Vineyard Mid-Atlantic 

has also identified a ‘‘Western Landfall 

Sites OECC Variant’’ that may be used 

for routing offshore export cables to the 

Rockaway Beach and Atlantic Beach 

Landfall Sites. 

Onshore export cables would connect 

up to two of the three potential landfall 

site(s) to two new onshore substations 

in Nassau County and/or Suffolk 

County, New York. If HVAC cables are 

used, an onshore reactive compensation 

station may be located along each 

onshore export cable route to manage 

the export cables’ reactive power 

(unusable electricity), increase the 

transmission system’s operational 

efficiency, reduce conduction losses, 

and minimize excess heating. Grid 

interconnection cables would connect 

the new onshore substations to up to 

two of the existing East Garden City 

Substation (Uniondale) Point of 

Interconnection (POI) in Uniondale, 

New York, the Ruland Road Substation 

POI in Melville, New York, or the 

proposed Eastern Queens Substation 

POI in Queens, New York. 

Based on BOEM’s authority under the 

Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

(OCSLA) to authorize renewable energy 

activities on the OCS; Executive Order 

14008; the shared goals of the Federal 

agencies to deploy 30 GW of offshore 

wind in the United States by 2030, 

while protecting biodiversity and 

promoting ocean co-use; 1 and in 

consideration of the Proponent’s goals; 

the purpose of BOEM’s action is to 

determine whether to approve, approve 

with conditions, or disapprove Vineyard 

Mid-Atlantic’s COP. BOEM will make 

its determination after weighing the 

factors in subsection 8(p)(4) of OCSLA 

that are applicable to plan decisions and 

in consideration of the above goals. 

BOEM’s action is needed to fulfill its 

duties under the lease, which require 

BOEM to make a decision on the 

lessee’s plan to construct and operate a 

commercial-scale, offshore wind energy 

facility(ies) in the Lease Area, in 

accordance with the relevant regulations 

in 30 CFR part 585. 

In addition, the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration’s National 

Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 

anticipates one or more requests for 

authorization under the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (16 

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) to take marine 

mammals incidental to construction 

activities related to the Project. NMFS’ 

issuance of an MMPA incidental take 

authorization would be a major Federal 

action connected to BOEM’s action (40 

CFR 1501.3(b)). The purpose of the 

NMFS action—which is a direct 

outcome of Vineyard Mid-Atlantic’s 

request for authorization to take marine 

mammals incidental to specified 

activities associated with the Project 

(e.g., pile driving)—is to evaluate 

Vineyard Mid-Atlantic’s request 

pursuant to specific requirements of the 

MMPA and its implementing 

regulations administered by NMFS, 

considering impacts of the Vineyard 

Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind Project’s 

activities on relevant resources and, if 

appropriate, to issue the permit or 

authorization. NMFS needs to render a 

decision regarding the request for 

authorization due to NMFS’s 

responsibilities under the MMPA (16 

U.S.C. 1371(a)(5)(A)&(D)) and its 

implementing regulations. If NMFS 

makes the findings necessary to issue 

the requested authorization, NMFS 

intends to adopt, after independent 

review, BOEM’s EIS to support that 

decision and fulfill its NEPA 

requirements. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

(USACE) New York District anticipates 

requests for authorizing a permit action 

to be undertaken through authority 

delegated to the district engineer by 33 

CFR 325.8, under section 10 of the 

Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA) 

(33 U.S.C. 403), and section 404 of the 

Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. 

1344). In addition, it is anticipated that 

a section 408 permission will be 

required pursuant to section 14 of the 

RHA (33 U.S.C. 408), for any proposed 

alterations that have the potential to 

alter, occupy, or use any existing 

federally authorized civil works 

projects. 

The USACE considers issuance of 

permits and permissions under these 

three delegated authorities a major 

Federal action connected to BOEM’s 

action (40 CFR 1501.9(e)(1)). The need 

for the Project, as provided by the 

Proponent in Volume 1, Section 1.2 of 

the COP and reviewed by USACE for 

NEPA purposes, is to provide a 

commercially viable offshore wind 

energy project within the Lease Area to 

supply electricity in support of 

renewable and offshore wind energy 

goals established by the State of New 

York. 

The basic Project purpose, as 

determined by USACE for section 

404(b)(1) guidelines evaluation, is 

offshore wind energy generation. The 

overall project purpose for section 

404(b)(1) guidelines evaluation, as 

determined by USACE, is the 

construction and operation of a 

commercial-scale, offshore wind energy 

project for renewable energy generation 

in Lease Area OCS–A 0544 offshore 

New York and transmission to the New 

York energy grid. 

The purpose of USACE section 408 

action as determined by Engineer 

Circular 1165–2–220 is to evaluate the 

Proponent’s request and determine 

whether the proposed alterations are 

injurious to the public interest or impair 

the usefulness of the USACE project. 

The USACE section 408 permission is 

needed to ensure that congressionally 

authorized projects continue to provide 

their intended benefits to the public. 

USACE intends to adopt BOEM’s EIS 

to support its decision on any permits 

or permissions requested under section 

10 of the RHA, section 404 of the CWA, 

and section 408 of the RHA. The USACE 

would adopt the EIS per 40 CFR 1506.3 

if, after its independent review of the 

document, it concludes that the EIS 

appropriately addresses the USACE’s 

comments and recommendations. Based 

on its participation as a cooperating 

agency and its consideration of BOEM’s 

EIS, USACE intends to issue a record of 


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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 15, 2025 / Notices 3919 

decision (ROD) to formally document its 

decision on the Proposed Action. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) Region 2 anticipates 

requests under section 402 of the CWA 

for an individual National Pollutants 

Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) 

permit to authorize discharges to surface 

waters from operation of an HVDC ESP. 

EPA intends to rely on the final EIS to 

support its decision on NPDES permit 

issuance. EPA will also rely on certain 

components of the Final EIS and ROD 

to support its Clean Air Act Outer 

Continental Shelf air permitting 

decision. 

Proposed Action and Preliminary 

Alternatives 

Vineyard Mid-Atlantic proposes to 

construct and operate an offshore wind 

energy facility consisting of up to two 

commercial-scale offshore wind energy 

projects within Lease Area OCS–A– 

0544, with up to 118 total foundation 

locations. Offshore components for the 

Vineyard Mid-Atlantic Project include 

up to 117 WTGs and up to 2 ESPs, 

foundations and associated scour 

protection for WTGs and ESPs, 

associated inter-array cables, and up to 

two OECCs for HVAC and/or HVDC 

submarine export cables and cable 

protection. Two to six offshore export 

cables are proposed to transmit 

electricity from the Lease Areas to 

shore. 

Vineyard Mid-Atlantic is proposing 

monopile foundations to support the 

WTGs, and monopile or piled jacket 

foundations to support the ESPs. The 

WTGs, ESPs, foundations, and interarray cables would be located entirely 

within the Lease Area. Additional 

details on the OECC and onshore 

facilities are described under the 

Purpose and Need section of this NOI. 

BOEM will evaluate reasonable 

alternatives to the Proposed Action that 

are identified during the scoping period 

and included in the draft EIS, including 

a no action alternative. Under the no 

action alternative, BOEM would 

disapprove Vineyard Mid-Atlantic’s 

COP, and the proposed wind energy 

facility described in the COP would not 

be built within the Lease Area. 

In addition to the Proposed Action 

and the no action alternative (i.e., 

disapproval of the COP), potential 

alternatives that the draft EIS could 

analyze include the following 

preliminary alternatives: 

• Visual Minimization Alternative: 

BOEM intends to examine design 

parameters to reduce visual impacts. 

• Habitat and Fisheries Impact 

Minimization Alternatives: BOEM 

intends to examine alternatives that 

would reduce impacts to habitat and 

fisheries. 

All preliminary alternatives would 

consider avoidance and minimization of 

impacts to Waters of the U.S. and 

federal projects such as federal 

navigation channels and flood 

protection projects. After completing the 

EIS and associated consultations, BOEM 

will decide through a record of decision 

(ROD) whether to approve, approve 

with conditions, or disapprove the 

Vineyard Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind 

Project COP. If BOEM approves the 

COP, Vineyard Mid-Atlantic must 

comply with all conditions of its 

approval. 

Summary of Potential Impacts 

The draft EIS will identify and 

describe the potential effects of the 

Proposed Action and the alternatives on 

the human environment. Those 

potential effects must be reasonably 

foreseeable and must have a reasonably 

close causal relationship to the 

Proposed Action and the alternatives. 

Such effects include those that occur at 

the same time and place as the Proposed 

Action and alternatives and those that 

are later in time or occur in a different 

place. Potential effects include, but are 

not limited to, impacts (whether 

beneficial or adverse) on air quality; 

water quality; bats; benthic habitat; 

essential fish habitat; invertebrates; 

finfish; birds; marine mammals; 

terrestrial and coastal habitats and 

fauna; sea turtles; wetlands and other 

Waters of the United States; commercial 

fisheries and for-hire recreational 

fishing; cultural resources; Tribal issues 

of concern; demographics; employment; 

economics; environmental justice; land 

use and coastal infrastructure; 

navigation and vessel traffic; other 

marine uses; recreation and tourism; 

and visual resources. These potential 

effects will be analyzed in the draft and 

final EIS. 

Based on a preliminary evaluation of 

the resources listed in the preceding 

paragraph, BOEM expects potential 

impacts on sea turtles and marine 

mammals from underwater noise caused 

by construction and from collision risks 

with Project-related vessel traffic. 

Structures installed by the Project could 

permanently change benthic and fish 

habitats (e.g., creation of artificial reefs). 

Commercial fisheries and for-hire 

recreational fishing could be impacted. 

Project structures above the water could 

affect the visual character defining 

historic properties and recreational and 

tourism areas. Project structures also 

would pose an allision and height 

hazard to vessels passing close by, and 

vessels would, in turn, pose a hazard to 

the structures. Additionally, the Project 

might cause conflicts with military 

activities, air traffic, land-based radar 

services, cables and pipelines, and 

scientific surveys. The EIS will analyze 

all significant impacts, as well as 

potential measures that would avoid, 

minimize, or mitigate identified nonbeneficial impacts. 

Beneficial impacts are also expected 

by facilitating achievement of State 

renewable energy goals, increasing job 

opportunities, improving air quality, 

and addressing climate change. 

Anticipated Permits and Authorizations 

In addition to the requested COP 

approval, various other Federal, State, 

and local authorizations will be 

required for the Project. Applicable 

Federal laws include the Endangered 

Species Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 

MMPA, RHA, CWA, Clean Air Act 

section 328, and the Coastal Zone 

Management Act. BOEM will also 

conduct government-to-government 

Tribal consultations. For a detailed 

listing of regulatory requirements 

applicable to the Project, please see the 

COP, volume I, available at https://

www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/stateactivities/vineyard-mid-atlantic-ocs0544. 

BOEM has chosen to use the NEPA 

process to fulfill its obligations under 

NHPA. While BOEM’s obligations under 

NHPA and NEPA are independent, 

regulations implementing section 106 of 

NHPA at 36 CFR 800.8(c) allow the 

NEPA process and documentation to 

substitute for various aspects of the 

NHPA review. This process is intended 

to improve efficiency, promote 

transparency and accountability, and 

support a broadened discussion of 

potential effects that the Project could 

have on the human environment. 

During preparation of the EIS, BOEM 

will ensure that the NEPA process will 

fully meet all NHPA obligations. 

Schedule for the Decision-Making 

Process 

After the draft EIS is completed, 

BOEM will publish a notice of 

availability (NOA) and request public 

comments on the draft EIS. BOEM 

currently expects to issue the NOA for 

the draft EIS in June 2026. After the 

public comment period ends, BOEM 

will review and respond to comments 

received and will develop the final EIS. 

BOEM currently expects to make the 

final EIS available to the public in April 

2027. As permitted under 40 CFR 

1501.10(b)(2), BOEM extended the 

schedule for completion of the EIS 

beyond the 2-year deadline in 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
3920 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 15, 2025 / Notices 

consultation with the Proponent. A ROD 

will be completed no sooner than 30 

days after the final EIS is released, in 

accordance with 40 CFR 1506.11. 

This Project is a ‘‘covered project’’ 

under section 41 of the Fixing America’s 

Surface Transportation Act (FAST–41). 

FAST–41 provides increased 

transparency and predictability by 

requiring Federal agencies to publish 

comprehensive permitting timetables for 

all covered projects. FAST–41 also 

provides procedures for modifying 

permitting timetables to address the 

unpredictability inherent in the 

environmental review and permitting 

process for significant infrastructure 

projects. To view the FAST–41 

Permitting Dashboard for the Project, 

visit: https://www.boem.gov/renewableenergy/state-activities/vineyard-midatlantic-ocs-0544. 

Scoping Process 

This NOI commences the public 

scoping process to identify issues and 

potential alternatives for consideration 

in the Vineyard Mid-Atlantic EIS. 

BOEM will hold three virtual public 

scoping meetings at the times and dates 

described above under the DATES

heading. Throughout the scoping 

process, Federal agencies, Tribes, State 

and local governments, and the public 

will have the opportunity to help BOEM 

identify significant resources and issues, 

impact-producing factors, reasonable 

alternatives (e.g., size, geographic, 

seasonal, or other restrictions on 

construction and siting of facilities and 

activities), and potential mitigation 

measures to be analyzed in the EIS, as 

well as to provide additional 

information. 

As noted above, BOEM will use the 

NEPA process to comply with NHPA. 

BOEM will consider all written requests 

from individuals and organizations to 

participate as consulting parties under 

NHPA and, as discussed below, will 

determine who among those parties will 

be a consulting party in accordance with 

NHPA regulations. 

NEPA Cooperating Agencies 

BOEM has invited Federal agencies 

and State and local governments to 

consider becoming cooperating agencies 

and has invited federally recognized 

Tribes to become cooperating Tribal 

governments in the preparation of this 

EIS. The Council on Environmental 

Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations specify 

that cooperating 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 should be aware 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. 

BOEM has provided potential 

cooperating agencies with a written 

summary of expectations for 

cooperating agencies, including 

schedules, milestones, responsibilities, 

scope and detail of cooperating 

agencies’ expected contributions, and 

availability of pre-decisional 

information. BOEM anticipates this 

summary will form the basis for a 

memorandum of agreement between 

BOEM and any non-Department of the 

Interior cooperating agency. Agencies 

should also consider the factors for 

determining cooperating agency status 

in the CEQ memorandum entitled 

‘‘Cooperating Agencies in Implementing 

the Procedural Requirements of the 

National Environmental Policy Act,’’ 

dated January 30, 2002. This document 

is available on the internet at: https://

www.energy.gov/nepa/articles/ 

cooperating-agencies-implementingprocedural-requirements-nationalenvironmental. BOEM, as the lead 

agency, does not provide financial 

assistance to cooperating agencies. 

Governmental entities that are not 

cooperating agencies will have 

opportunities to provide information 

and comments to BOEM during the 

public input stages of the NEPA process. 

NHPA Consulting Parties 

Individuals and organizations with a 

demonstrated interest in the Project can 

request to participate as NHPA 

consulting parties under 36 CFR 

800.2(c)(5) based on their legal or 

economic stake in historic properties 

affected by the Project. 

Before issuing this NOI, BOEM 

compiled a list of potential consulting 

parties and invited them to become 

consulting parties. To become a 

consulting party, those invited must 

respond in writing by the requested 

response date. 

Interested individuals and 

organizations that did not receive a 

written invitation can request to be 

consulting parties by writing to the staff 

NHPA contact at ICF International, Inc., 

the third-party EIS contractor 

supporting BOEM in its administration 

of this review. ICF’s NHPA contact for 

this review is Jean Stoll at 

VineyardMidAtlantic-Section106@

icf.com. BOEM will determine which 

interested parties should be consulting 

parties. 

Public Participation 

Federal agencies, Tribes, State and 

local governments, interested parties, 

and the public are requested to 

comment on the scope of this EIS, 

significant issues that should be 

addressed, and alternatives that should 

be considered. 

Information on Submitting Comments 

a. Freedom of Information Act 

BOEM will protect privileged or 

confidential information that you 

submit when required by the Freedom 

of Information Act (FOIA). Exemption 4 

of FOIA applies to trade secrets and 

commercial or financial information 

that is privileged or confidential. If you 

wish to protect the confidentiality of 

such information, clearly label it and 

request that BOEM treat it as 

confidential. BOEM will not disclose 

such information if BOEM determines 

under 30 CFR 585.114(b) that it qualifies 

for exemption from disclosure under 

FOIA. Please label privileged or 

confidential information ‘‘Contains 

Confidential Information’’ and consider 

submitting such information as a 

separate attachment. Information that is 

not labeled as privileged or confidential 

may be regarded by BOEM as suitable 

for public release. 

BOEM will not treat as confidential 

any aggregate summaries of such 

information or comments not containing 

such privileged or confidential 

information. 

b. Personally Identifiable Information 

(PII) 

BOEM discourages anonymous 

comments. Please include your name 

and address as part of your comment. 

You should be aware that your entire 

comment, including your name, 

address, and any other personally 

identifiable information included in 

your comment, may be made publicly 

available. All comments from 

individuals, businesses, and 

organizations will be available for 

public viewing on regulations.gov. 

For BOEM to consider withholding 

your PII from disclosure, you must 

identify any information contained in 

your comments that, if released, would 

constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of your personal privacy. You 

must also briefly describe any possible 

harmful consequences of the disclosure 

of information, such as embarrassment, 

injury, or other harm. Even if BOEM 

withholds your information in the 

context of this notice, your submission 

is subject to FOIA. If your submission is 

requested under FOIA, your information 

will only be withheld if a determination 


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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 15, 2025 / Notices 3921 

is made that one of FOIA’s exemptions 

to disclosure applies. Such a 

determination will be made in 

accordance with the Department of the 

Interior’s FOIA regulations and 

applicable law. 

c. Section 304 of the NHPA (54 U.S.C. 

307103(a)) 

After consultation with the Secretary, 

BOEM is required to withhold the 

location, character, or ownership of 

historic resources if it determines that 

disclosure may, among other things, risk 

harm to the historic resources or impede 

the use of a traditional religious site by 

practitioners. Tribal entities should 

designate information that falls under 

section 304 of the NHPA as confidential. 

Request for Identification of Potential 

Alternatives, Information, and 

Analyses Relevant to the Proposed 

Action 

BOEM requests data, comments, 

views, information, analysis, 

alternatives, or suggestions relevant to 

the proposed action from: the public; 

affected Federal, Tribal, State, and local 

governments, agencies, and offices; the 

scientific community; industry; or any 

other interested party. Specifically, 

BOEM requests information on the 

following topics: 

1. Potential effects on biological 

resources, including bats, birds, coastal 

fauna, finfish, invertebrates, essential 

fish habitat, marine mammals, and sea 

turtles. 

2. Potential effects on physical 

resources and conditions including air 

quality, water quality, wetlands, and 

other waters of the United States. 

3. Potential effects on socioeconomic 

and cultural resources, including 

commercial fisheries and for-hire 

recreational fishing, demographics, 

employment, economics, environmental 

justice, land use and coastal 

infrastructure, navigation and vessel 

traffic, other uses (marine minerals, 

military use, aviation), recreation and 

tourism, and scenic and visual 

resources. 

4. Other possible reasonable 

alternatives to the proposed action that 

BOEM should consider, including 

additional or alternative avoidance, 

minimization, and mitigation measures. 

5. As part of its compliance with 

NHPA section 106 and its implementing 

regulations (36 CFR part 800), BOEM 

seeks comment and input from the 

public and consulting parties regarding 

the identification of historic properties 

within the proposed action’s area of 

potential effects, the potential effects on 

those historic properties from the 

activities proposed in the COP, and any 

information that supports identification 

of historic properties under NHPA. 

BOEM also solicits proposed measures 

to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any 

adverse effects on historic properties. 

BOEM will present available 

information regarding known historic 

properties during the public scoping 

period at https://www.boem.gov/ 

renewable-energy/state-activities/ 

vineyard-mid-atlantic-ocs-0544. 

BOEM’s effects analysis for historic 

properties will be available for public 

and consulting party comment with the 

draft EIS. 

6. Information on other current or 

planned activities in, or in the vicinity 

of, the Project, their possible impacts on 

the Project, and the Project’s possible 

impacts on those activities. 

7. Other information relevant to the 

proposed action and its impacts on the 

human environment. 

To promote informed decisionmaking, comments should be as specific 

as possible and should provide as much 

detail as necessary to meaningfully and 

fully inform BOEM of the commenter’s 

position. Comments should explain why 

the issues raised are important to the 

consideration of potential 

environmental impacts and possible 

alternatives to the proposed action, as 

well as economic, employment, and 

other impacts affecting the quality of the 

human environment. 

The draft EIS will include a summary 

of all alternatives, information, and 

analyses submitted during the scoping 

process for consideration by BOEM and 

the cooperating agencies. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., and 

40 CFR 1501.9. 

Walter D. Cruickshank, 

Deputy Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00733 Filed 1–14–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4340–98–P 

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

[Investigation No. 332–606] 

Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery 

Act: Impact on U.S. Industries and 

Consumers and on Beneficiary 

Countries 

AGENCY: United States International 

Trade Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of preparation of 2025 

biennial report and scheduling of a 

public hearing. 

SUMMARY: The Commission has begun 

preparation of its 2025 report, as 

required by section 215 of the Caribbean 

Basin Economic Recovery Act, and has 

scheduled a public hearing for February 

20, 2025, in connection with the report. 

The report will cover trade during 

calendar years 2023 and 2024. 

DATES: 

February 5, 2025: Deadline for filing 

requests to appear at the public hearing. 

February 7: Deadline for filing 

prehearing briefs and statements. 

February 12: Deadline for filing 

electronic copies of public hearing oral 

statements. 

February 20: Public hearing. 

March 6: Deadline for filing 

posthearing briefs and statements. 

March 13: Deadline for filing all other 

written submissions related to this 

investigation. 

September 30: Deadline for 

transmittal of Commission report to 

Congress and the President. 

ADDRESSES: All Commission offices, 

including the Commission’s hearing 

rooms, are located in the U.S. 

International Trade Commission 

Building, 500 E Street SW, Washington, 

DC. All written submissions must be 

submitted electronically and addressed 

to the Secretary, U.S. International 

Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, 

Washington, DC 20436. The 

Commission cannot accept paper copies 

at this time. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Project Leader Alan Fox (202–205–3267 

or alan.fox@usitc.gov) or Deputy Project 

Leader Chang Hong (202–205–2791 or 

chang.hong@usitc.gov) for information 

specific to this investigation. For 

information on the legal aspects of this 

investigation, contact Brian Allen 

(brian.allen@usitc.gov or 202–205–3034) 

or William Gearhart (202–205–3091 or 

william.gearhart@usitc.gov) of the 

Commission’s Office of the General 

Counsel. The media should contact 

Claire Huber, Office of External 

Relations (202–205–1819 or 

claire.huber@usitc.gov). 

The public record for this 

investigation may be viewed on the 

Commission’s electronic docket (EDIS) 

at https://edis.usitc.gov. General 

information concerning the Commission 

may be obtained by accessing its 

internet address (https://www.usitc.gov). 

Hearing-impaired individuals are 

advised that information on this matter 

can be obtained by contacting the 

Commission’s TDD terminal on 202– 

205–1810. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: The report is required by 

section 215 of the Caribbean Economic 

Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2704). The Act 

requires the Commission to submit to 

Congress and the President biennial 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1