Abstract
On March 2, 2023, Beacon Wind submitted, for Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) review, a Site Assessment Plan (SAP) Amendment (Tetra Tech 2023) application for additional site assessment activities in Lease Area OCS-A 0520 (Lease Area) not included in the SAP previously approved by BOEM in 2021. This Environmental Assessment (EA) supplements analysis presented in BOEM’s 2014 revised EA for Commercial Wind Lease Issuance and Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Massachusetts and focuses on new site assessment activities and their potential impacts that have not been previously evaluated. This EA complies with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 United States Code (U.S.C.) §§ 4321–4370f, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations at 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §§ 1501.3(b) and 1508.9, U.S. Department of Interior (USDOI) regulations implementing NEPA at 43 CFR Part 46, and USDOI Manual (DM) Chapter 15 (516 DM 15).
The Proposed Action for this EA is approval of Beacon Wind's amended SAP to conduct additional site assessment activities in the Lease Area. The site assessment activities consist of repeated short-term deployment and subsequent removal (i.e., tests) of a single suction bucket at select locations in the Lease Area proposed for eventual installation of wind turbines. The suction bucket deployed during testing would be similar to the suction bucket jacket foundation type considered for use in supporting wind turbines and offshore substations within the Beacon Wind Construction and Operations Plan (COP). The activities would be conducted to further assess the site conditions and gather information to support the engineering design of suction bucket jacket foundations that may be installed within the Lease Area subject to BOEM’s ongoing review and approval of the COP, which BOEM is assessing in an environmental impact statement currently in preparation (88 Federal Register 42390).
The purpose of the Proposed Action is to approve the SAP Amendment in support of site assessment activities within the Lease Area on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Massachusetts. The need for BOEM’s approval of the SAP Amendment is to enable the Lessee to adequately assess whether the geological and geotechnical conditions of select locations within the Lease Area are suitable for, and could support, commercial-scale wind energy production by wind turbine generators and offshore substations that use suction bucket jacket foundations.