The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced the availability of its final Environmental Assessment (EA), which considers possible impacts from issuing leases for potential offshore wind development off the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia coasts.
This includes site assessment and site characterisation activities such as geophysical, geological, and archaeological surveys. The EA concluded that there would be no significant impacts from lease issuance. BOEM plans to hold a sale in the Central Atlantic later this year. A final sale notice (FSN) will be published at least 30 days prior to the sale, detailing the time and date of the lease sale and qualified participants.
For any proposed offshore wind projects, BOEM will develop an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyse the specific impacts of those projects before making decisions on whether to approve the proposed construction and operations plan. The EISs will be prepared in consultation with tribes and appropriate government agencies, and informed by input from stakeholders, ocean users, and the public.
