PREVIOUSLY: Environmental Review Period Begins for California Offshore Wind Lease Areas

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The environmental review process for the development of the Humboldt Offshore Wind Lease Area has begun, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) wants to hear from you!

Last month, BOEM released a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) that will analyze the potential impacts of offshore wind development in the five offshore wind lease areas off the California coast, two of which are located about 20 miles off Humboldt Bay. The release of the NOI initiated a 60-day public comment period that will inform the scope and alternatives of the PEIS.

“Based on a preliminary evaluation of these resources, BOEM estimates that potential impacts may occur on certain marine life from underwater noise caused by construction and on marine mammals from collisions with project-related vessel traffic,” according to BOEM. “Structures installed by the projects could permanently change benthic and fish habitats. Commercial fisheries (including Tribal fisheries) and recreational fishing could be impacted. Project structures may also pose an allision hazard to vessels.”

This environmental review period is one of the first steps in a years-long regulatory process that could culminate in the first commercial-scale floating offshore wind development in the United States, bringing the federal government one step closer to its goal of deploying 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy by 2030, and 15 GW of floating offshore wind energy by 2035.

The public comment period for the PEIS will end on Feb. 20. Those interested can share their comments online at this link. Snail mail must be labeled “California OSW PEIS” and sent to the Chief, Environmental Assessment Section, Office of Environment, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 760 Paseo Camarillo, Suite 102, Camarillo, Calif. 93010.

The virtual public scoping meetings will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. and Thursday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. More information, including the registration link, can be found below.

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Press release from BOEM:

On December 19, 2023, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), which will analyze potential impacts of Federal offshore wind energy development activities on the five offshore wind lease areas off California’s central and northern coast. The NOI also initiated a 60-day comment period to solicit public feedback on the scope of the PEIS, including potential alternatives and draft mitigation measures. 

BOEM will host two virtual scoping meetings where the public can learn about the environmental review process and provide comments on the scope of the draft PEIS. The virtual scoping meetings will be held on:

Tuesday, February 6, 2024
10:00 am PT
Registration Link

Thursday, February 8, 2024
5:00 pm PT
Registration Link
 
Additional information on the California Offshore Wind PEIS can be found on the CA Offshore Wind PEIS page.

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DOCUMENT: Notice of Intent to file a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement