The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has published in the Federal Register the “Notice of Availability (NOA) of a Draft Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) for Additional Site Assessment Activities on Beacon Wind’s Renewable Energy Lease OCS-A 0520,” opening a 30-day public comment period that ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Mar. 4, 2024.
BOEM invites public comment on the Draft EA for additional site assessment plan (SAP) activities in the Beacon Wind lease area offshore Massachusetts. The Draft EA analyses the potential environmental impacts of proposed site assessment activities which consist of 35 deployments and removals of a single suction bucket foundation at 26 locations within the lease area to gather information to support the engineering design of wind turbine and offshore substation foundations that would potentially be installed within the lease area for a future Beacon Wind project. BOEM seeks comments on important resources and issues, impact-producing factors, and potential mitigating measures analyzed in the Draft EA. The public comments will help inform BOEM’s decision on whether to approve the site assessment plan amendment. Following the comment period, BOEM will review the comments received to include information for consideration in the Beacon Wind Final EA.
