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Outer Continental Shelf, Headquarters, Cape Wind Offshore Wind Development 2007
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: May 30, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 103)]
[Notices]
[Page 30693-30694]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30my06-90]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Outer Continental Shelf, Headquarters, Cape Wind Offshore Wind
Development 2007
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS), request for written scoping comments and invitation
for participation by cooperating agencies.
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SUMMARY: The MMS has received a request from Cape Wind Associates, LLC
(CWA) for a lease, easement or right-of-way to construct and operate a
wind park located in Federal waters 4.7 miles offshore Cape Cod,
Massachusetts. The purpose of this project is to provide a utility-
scale wind energy facility providing power to the New England power
grid. By this document, the MMS announces: (1) Its intention to prepare
an EIS; (2) commencement of a 45-day written scoping period under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); and (3) invitation for
participation by interested cooperating agencies.
DATES: Comments must be received no later than July 14, 2006 in
envelopes labeled ``Comments on the Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS
for Proposed Cape Wind Project.'' Further instructions on submitting
comments is contained in Section 3 of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Rodney E. Cluck, Project
Coordinator, at (703) 787-1087 in MMS's Headquarters office regarding
questions on the NOI.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
1. Background
In November 2001, CWA filed a permit application with the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (USACE), New England District, under section 10 of
the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, in anticipation of constructing a
wind park located on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts.
The proposed wind park would consist of 130 offshore wind turbine
generators arranged to maximize the park's maximum potential electric
output of approximately 454 megawatts. The wind-generated electricity
from each of the turbines would be transmitted via a 33 kilovolt
submarine transmission cable system to a centrally located electric
service platform. This platform would transform and transmit electric
power to the Cape Cod mainland (12+ miles) via two 115 kilovolt lines,
where it would ultimately connect with the existing power grid.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 was enacted on August 8, 2005, giving
the Department of the Interior authority for issuing leases, easements,
or rights-of-way for alternative energy projects on the Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS). Since its establishment in 1982, the DOI's
Minerals Management Service (MMS) has been responsible for management
of oil, natural gas, and other mineral resource activities on offshore
Federal lands. With the new authority in the Energy Policy Act of 2005,
the MMS will now also manage the alternative energy-related uses on
Federal OCS lands, act as a lead agency for coordinating the permitting
process with other Federal agencies, and monitor and regulate those
facilities used for alternative energy production and energy support
services. As such, the MMS must comply with NEPA when considering the
CWA application.
In addition to the MMS' analysis under NEPA, the Massachusetts
Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) will apply to the project's upland and
submarine cable system components in Nantucket Sound out to the 3-mile
State/Federal boundary. In order to address all the environmental
analyses in the most efficient manner, the State
[[Page 30694]]
MEPA and Federal NEPA processes will run concurrently and be analyzed
together, within the NEPA document.
General information on the MMS Renewable Energy and Alternate Use
Program can be found at http://www.mms.gov/offshore/RenewableEnergy/
RenewableEnergyMain.htm. 
2. Solicitation of Comments and Issues Under This Notice of Intent
Pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR 1508.22) implementing the
procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the MMS is announcing its intent to prepare
an EIS for the CWA project. The EIS analysis will focus on the
potential environmental effects of the development, operations and
decommissioning on the proposed action area and alternatives. This NOI
also serves to announce the initiation of the written scoping process
for this EIS. The scoping process allows Federal, State, tribal, and
local governments and other interested parties to aid the MMS in
determining the significant issues, potential alternatives, and
mitigating measures to be analyzed in the EIS and the possible need for
additional information. The MMS is considering potential alternatives
to the proposed action such as: modifying the size of the development,
phasing the development, reconfiguring the development, and considering
alternative sites. These and any additional alternatives developed
through the scoping and analytical processes will be considered in the
decision process. Alternatives to be considered in the EIS include:
? Proposed Action.
? Phased installations and operations of wind turbine generators.
? Alternative locations.
1. South of Tuckernuck Island.
2. Nantucket Shoals.
3. Monomoy Shoals.
4. Deepwater Alternative--East of Nauset Beach.
? No Action.
3. Instructions on Notice of Intent
Federal, State, tribal, and local governments and other interested
parties are requested to send their written comments on the scope of
the EIS, significant issues that should be addressed, and potential
alternatives and mitigating measures. Written comments will be accepted
by mail or through the MMS Web site noted below. Comments are due no
later than July 14, 2006.
Mailed comments should be enclosed in an envelope labeled,
``Comments on the Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS on the Cape Wind
Project.'' The MMS will also accept written comments submitted to our
electronic public commenting system. This system can be accessed at
http://www.mms.gov/offshore/RenewableEnergy/Projects.htm.
? Mail written comments to: Comments on the Notice of Intent
to Prepare an EIS on the Cape Wind Project, Minerals Management
Service, 381 Elden Street, Mail Stop 4042, Herndon, VA 20164.
Our practice is to make comments, including names and addresses of
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours.
Individual respondents may request that we withhold their address from
the rulemaking record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by
law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a
respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold
your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the
beginning of your comment. However, we will not consider anonymous
comments. We will make all submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.
4. Cooperating Agency
The Department of the Interior invites other Federal, State,
tribal, and local governments to consider becoming cooperating agencies
in the preparation of the EIS. We invite qualified government entities
to inquire about cooperating agency status for the Cape Wind EIS. Under
guidelines from the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ), qualified
agencies and governments are those with ``jurisdiction by law or
special expertise.'' Potential cooperating agencies should consider
their authority and capacity to assume the responsibilities of a
cooperating agency and to remember that your role in the environmental
analysis neither enlarges nor diminishes the final decisionmaking
authority of any other agency involved in the NEPA process. Upon
request, the MMS will provide potential cooperating agencies with a
written summary of ground rules for cooperating agencies, including
time schedules and critical action dates, milestones, responsibilities,
scope and detail of cooperating agencies' contributions, and
availability of pre-decisional information. You should also consider
the ``Factors for Determining Cooperating Agency Status'' in Attachment
1 to CEQ's January 30, 2002, Memorandum for the Heads of Federal
Agencies on Cooperating Agencies in Implementing the Procedural
Requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. A copy of this
document is available at: http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/cooperating/
cooperatingagenciesmemorandum.html and http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/
nepa/regs/cooperating/cooperatingagencymemofactors.html
The MMS, as the lead agency, will not be providing financial
assistance to cooperating agencies. Even if your organization is not a
cooperating agency, you will continue to have opportunities to provide
information and comments to the MMS during the normal public input
phases of the NEPA/EIS process. The MMS will also consult with tribal
governments on a Government-to-Government basis. If you would like
further information about cooperating agencies, please contact Dr.
Rodney E. Cluck, the MMS's Cape Wind project manager at 703-787-1087.
Current Cooperating Agencies on the Cape Wind project EIS include:
United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Cape Cod Commission.
United States Department of Energy.
United States Coast Guard.
United States Department of the Interior/Office of Environmental Policy
and Compliance.
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head.
Federal Aviation Administration.
Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management.
Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office.
National Oceans and Atmospheric Association/National Marine Fisheries
Service.
United States Environmental Protection Agency.
United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Dated: April 26, 2006.
Chad Calvert,
Acting Assistant Secretary--Land and Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. E6-8216 Filed 5-26-06; 8:45 am]
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