Abstract
This underwater noise measurement plan for sound field verification (SFV) is proposed in connection with the planned foundation installation activities for the Revolution Wind Farm (RWF) Project. This SFV Plan meets the requirements of the Revolution Wind ITR issued by NMFS on 20 October 2023, §217.274(c)(14)(i) through (14)(x), Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation BiOp issued by NMFS Greater Atlantic Fisheries Office (GARFO) 21 July 2023 [GARFO- 2022-03532], Section 11.3 Condition 2 and Condition 10(e), and the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) Record of Decision issued by BOEM 21 August 2023, Condition 5.4.5. Additional details on these conditions are included in Table 1. The SFV Plan describes the proposed SFV for the Project. The goal of the SFV measurements is to obtain a dataset that can be used to verify modeled sound levels submitted in the underwater noise assessment (COP Appendix P3; Kusel et al. 2023) and used as input to predict ranges to acoustic thresholds that may result in injury or behavioral disruption of marine mammals, sea turtles and/or fish near the construction site. The comparison of the measured levels to the model predictions can then be used to determine if adjustments to mitigation and monitoring protocols should be made.
In accordance with §217.274(c)(14)(x) of the ITR, this SFV Plan will be submitted to NMFS for review and approval at least 180 days prior to the planned start of pile driving. This SFV Plan describes how Revolution Wind will ensure that the first seven monopile (MP) installation sites selected for SFV are representative of the rest of the MP installation sites. This plan includes methodology for collecting, analyzing, and preparing SFV data for submission to NMFS. The plan also describes how the effectiveness of the noise abatement systems (NAS) will be evaluated based on the SFV results.