EPA New England accepting public comment on Draft Title V air permits for two offshore wind farm projects
BOSTON (Dec 2, 2024) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a public comment period for of two draft Clean Air Act Title V Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) air quality operating permits for New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2.
These draft permits compile all applicable Clean Air Act requirements that regulate pollutants from OCS sources during the Operations & Maintenance phase of the project, such as jack-up vessels that may be used to repair wind turbine generators. Each Title V operating permit has explicit monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including semi-annual and annual compliance certifications, to assure compliance with all emission limits.
The Title V permits are valid 5 years from the effective date of issuance, and the applicant will need to apply for a renewal at least six months before the date of expiration of the permits to continue operations.
The public comment period for the draft permits will remain open from December 2, 2024, to January 16, 2025.
Interested parties can submit comments on the draft permits at https://www.regulations.gov (NEW1 Docket ID #EPA-R01-OAR-2024-0465; NEW2 Docket ID #EPA-R01-OAR-2024-0466.
All comments must be received by January 16, 2025. EPA will consider all significant comments and make appropriate changes before issuing these permits final. In addition, the EPA will hold a public hearing for the Clean Air Act OCS operating permits at 6:00 p.m. EST on January 16th, 2024. The hearing will be held virtually via Zoom.gov with an option to join via telephone. (A registration link to the hearing can be found here: https://usepa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIsdu2rrT8rH0ntjuUMOB37_-VX1KRuc4w).
The hearing will be conducted in the English language. If you need a reasonable accommodation or have translation/interpretation needs, please contact Patrick Collins at collins.patrick@epa.gov or (617) 918-1196 no later than January 2, 2024. The hearing will end when all attendees wishing to speak have spoken, or at 8:00 p.m., whichever is sooner. If no parties join the hearing by 7:00 p.m. EST, EPA will close the hearing. We request, if possible, that you provide a written copy of any testimony you intend to present during the hearing. A written transcript of the public hearing will be made available afterwards. The public hearing will be conducted according to the rules and procedures of 40 C.F.R. § 124.12. More information regarding the public hearing and registration instructions are included on EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/caa-permitting/caa-public-comment-opportunities-region-1.
More information
Electronic copies of the permits, fact sheets, virtual public hearing information, and all supporting materials can be found on EPA's website at: https://www.epa.gov/caa-permitting/epa-issued-caa-permits-region-1.
Clean Air Act Permitting by EPA: https://www.epa.gov/caa-permitting.