Abstract
US Wind, Inc. is developing an offshore wind project with up to two gigawatts within Lease Area OCS-A 0490, an area off the coast of Maryland on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. The Project would include as many as 121 wind turbine generators, up to four offshore substations, and one MET tower in the roughly 80,000-acre lease area. After completion of an avian risk assessment, US Wind commissioned development of an Avian Survey Plan (Survey Plan) to meet the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management standards under avian information requirements in 30 CFR Part 585 Subpart F. The Survey Plan addresses data gaps in the natural history of birds and bats and scientific data gaps in the offshore environment. The avian risk assessment identified several species known to be sensitive to displacement. Two factors with the potential to influence the distribution and densities of displacement-sensitive species were also identified: the US Coast Guard’s planned extension of a traffic separation scheme, and the proximity of an adjacent, active lease area OCS-A 0519 known as Skipjack.