Abstract
This report supplements the Sunrise Wind Construction and Operations Plan.
Sunrise Wind LLC (Sunrise Wind, or the Applicant), a 50/50 joint venture between Orsted North America Inc. and Eversource Investment LLC, proposes to construct, own, and operate the Sunrise Wind Farm Project. The Sunrise Wind Farm Project and its transmission components will be located in federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf, in state waters of New York, and onshore in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York. Stantec Consulting Services Inc. (Stantec) was retained by Sunrise Wind to evaluate the onshore components (Onshore Facilities) for the potential presence of regulated natural resources, such as rare, threatened, and endangered (RTE) species,1 significant natural communities or habitats, wetland and waterbody resources, and invasive plant species. This included an initial desktop assessment, followed by field surveys conducted by Stantec in June and October 2020, March, July, and September 2021, and April and May 2022. Field surveys focused on the delineation of wetlands and other waterbodies, the classification of natural communities, evaluation of potential habitat suitability for RTE species, and evaluation of presence and relative abundance of non-native, invasive species associated with the Onshore Facilities (Appendix A, Figure 1). For this report, RTE plant species include those with state and/or federal listing status or inclusion on New York’s Rare Plant Status List (Young 2019). Fish and wildlife species include those identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) or New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) during consultation. This report has been prepared in support of the Sunrise Wind federal Construction and Operations Plan as well as the Sunrise Wind application for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need under Article VII of the New York State Public Service Law for the portions of the Sunrise Wind Farm Project within New York State (NYS; the Sunrise Wind New York Cable Project).