Abstract
1 Introduction
Pursuant to Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) requests consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) regarding species that may be affected by the approval of a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for the for the South Fork Wind Farm (SFWF) and South Fork Export Cable (SFEC), a commercial wind energy facility. The SFWF would be constructed in the Rhode Island/Massachusetts Wind Energy Area (RI/MA WEA) on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The SFEC extends from the RI/MA WEA to eastern Long Island and includes appurtenant project elements in nearshore, coastal, and upland habitats on eastern Long Island. For simplicity, the BA refers to the SFWF and SFSC collectively as the “Project”.
The Project includes up to 15 wind turbine generators (WTGs or turbines) with a nameplate capacity of 6 megawatts (MW) to 12 MW per turbine, an offshore substation (OSS), and a submarine transmission cable network (the inter-array cable) connecting the WTGs to the OSS, all of which will be located in BOEM Renewable Energy Lease Area OCS-A 0486 (Lease Area 1), located within the RI/MA WEA. Lease Area 1 is located in federal waters of the OCS approximately 19 miles (30.6 kilometers [km], 16.6 nautical miles [nm]) southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island, and 35 miles (56.3 km, 30.4 nm) east of Montauk Point, New York. The SFWF also includes an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) facility that will be located onshore at a commercial port facility in Lake Montauk Harbor in East Hampton, New York.
The SFEC is an alternating current (AC) electric cable that will connect the SFWF to the mainland electric grid in East Hampton, New York. The SFEC includes both offshore and onshore segments. Offshore, the SFEC is located in federal waters (SFEC – OCS) and New York State territorial waters (SFEC – NYS). The SFEC will be buried to a target depth of 4 feet to 6 feet below the seabed except in areas where substrate conditions are limiting. The onshore segment of the export cable (SFEC – onshore) will be located in East Hampton, New York. The SFEC – NYS will be connected to the SFEC – Onshore at a sea-to-shore transition point where the two cable segments will be spliced together. The SFEC includes a new Interconnection Facility to link the SFEC to the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) electric transmission and distribution system. The Interconnection Facility will be located in the town of East Hampton, New York (Figure 1.1).
This biological assessment (BA) evaluates the potential effects on ESA-listed species resulting from the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the proposed action consistent with the requirements of Section 7 of the ESA. This BA addresses project effects to listed species under the jurisdiction of the USFWS. Effects to listed species under the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service are addressed in a separate consultation.
1.1 Background
The Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law No. 109-58, added Section 8(p)(1)(C) to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which grants the Secretary of the Interior the authority to issue leases, easements, or rights-of-way on the OCS for the purpose of renewable energy development (43 U.S.C. § 1337(p)(1)(C)). The Secretary delegated this authority to the former Minerals Management Service (MMS), now BOEM. On April 22, 2009, BOEM (formerly the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement [BOEMRE]) promulgated final regulations implementing this authority at 30 CFR 585.
Deepwater Wind South Fork, LLC (the Applicant) has submitted the draft COP for the Project to BOEM for review and approval. Consistent with the requirements of 30 CFR 585.620 to 585.638, COP submittal occurs after BOEM grants a lease for the proposed project and the Applicant completes all studies and surveys defined in their site assessment plan. BOEM’s renewable energy development process is described in the following section. The Applicant is working with BOEM to address additional information needs to finalize the COP. This BA relies on the most current information available for the Project.
1.2 Renewable Energy Process
Under BOEM’s renewable energy regulations, the issuance of leases and subsequent approval of wind energy development on the OCS is a staged decision-making process. BOEM’s wind energy program occurs in four distinct phases:
1. Planning and Analysis. The first phase is to identify suitable areas to be considered for wind energy project leases through collaborative, consultative, and analytical processes using the state’s task forces, public information meetings, input from the states, Native American Tribes, and other stakeholders.
2. Lease Issuance. The second phase is the issuance of a commercial wind energy lease. The competitive lease process is set forth at 30 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 585.210 to 585.225, and the noncompetitive process is set forth at 30 CFR 585.230 to 585.232. A commercial lease gives the lessee the exclusive right to subsequently seek BOEM approval for the development of the leasehold. The lease does not grant the lessee the right to construct any facilities; rather, the lease grants the right to use the leased area to develop its plans, which must be approved by BOEM before the lessee can move on to the next stage of the process (30 CFR 585.600 and 585.601).
3. Approval of a Site Assessment Plan (SAP). The third stage of the process is the submission of a SAP, which contains the lessee’s detailed proposal for the construction of a meteorological tower and/or the installation of meteorological buoys on the leasehold (30 CFR 585.605 to 585.618). The lessee’s SAP must be approved by BOEM before it conducts these “site assessment” activities on the leasehold. BOEM may approve, approve with modification, or disapprove a lessee’s SAP (30 CFR 585.613). As a condition of SAP approval, meteorological towers will be required to have visibility sensors to collect data on climatic conditions above and beyond wind speed, direction, and other associated metrics generally collected at meteorological towers. These data will assist BOEM and USFWS with evaluating the impacts of future offshore wind facilities on threatened and endangered birds, migratory birds, and bats.
Approval of a Construction and Operation Plan. The fourth and final stage of the process is the submission of a COP, a detailed plan for the construction and operation of a wind energy project on the lease (30 CFR 585.620 to 585.638). BOEM approval of a COP is a precondition to the construction of any wind energy facility on the OCS (30 CFR 585.628). As with a SAP, BOEM may approve, approve with modification, or disapprove a lessee’s COP (30 CFR 585.628).
The regulations also require that a lessee provide the results of surveys with its SAP or COP, including a shallow hazards survey (30 CFR 585.626 (a)(1)), geological survey (30 CFR 585.616(a)(2)), geotechnical survey (30 CFR 585.626(a)(4)), and an archaeological resource survey (30 CFR 585.626(a)(5)). BOEM refers to these surveys as “site characterization” activities. Although BOEM does not issue permits or approvals for these site characterization activities, it will not consider approving a lessee’s SAP or COP if the required survey information is not included. See “Guidelines for Providing Geological and Geophysical, Hazards, and Archaeological Information Pursuant to 30 CFR Part 585,” (USDOI, BOEMRE, OAEP, 2011).
1.3 Design Envelope
Before a lessee may build an offshore wind energy facility on their commercial wind lease, they must submit a COP for review and approval by BOEM (see 30 CFR 585.620(C)). Pursuant to 30 CFR 585.626, the COP must include a description of all planned facilities, including onshore and support facilities, as well as anticipated project easement needs for the project. It must also describe all activities related to project construction, commercial operations, maintenance, decommissioning, and site clearance procedures. There are benefits to allowing lessees to describe a reasonable range of project designs in a COP, because of the project complexity, the unpredictability of the environment in which it will be constructed, and/or the rapid pace of technological development within the industry. In the renewable energy industry, a permit application or plan that describes a reasonable range of project designs is referred to as a Project Design Envelope (PDE) approach.
BOEM has decided that it will give offshore renewable energy lessees the option to use a PDE approach when submitting a COP for environmental review, as stated in in its September 2016 National Offshore Wind Strategy (see Action 2.1.3 in USDOE and USDOI [2016]). The PDE is a permitting approach that allows a project proponent the option to submit a reasonable range of design parameters within its permit application, allowing the BOEM to consider the maximum impacts that could occur from the range of potential design parameters.
1.4 EIS Alternatives
The proposed action addressed in this BA is the PDE maximum impact scenario for the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the SFWF and SFEC as described in the COP. Likewise, the PDE is analyzed in the EIS, and consequently all alternatives analyzed in the EIS are within PDE, therefore, this BA covers all alternatives within the EIS.
1.5 Consultation History
This BA represents the initiation of the Section 7 consultation process for the proposed action; there is no prior consultation history specific to this project. However, a considerable consultation history exists for the implementation of BOEM’s Renewable Energy Process for the Atlantic OCS and the subsequent issuance of leases to develop other wind energy facilities in the region. This history is summarized here to provide context and consistency for the analyses and effect determinations presented in this document.
BOEM was involved in consultation with USFWS regarding the construction, operations, maintenance, and decommissioning of offshore wind turbines for the Cape Wind Energy Project in federal waters of Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts. The USFWS biological opinion (dated November 21, 2008), concluded that the effects of the proposed Cape Wind Energy Project on roseate tern (Sterna dougallii dougallii) and piping plover (Charadrius melodus) would be insignificant and/or discountable. USFWS further concluded that the risks of collision-related injury and mortality were negligible (USFWS 2008).
On March 24, 2011, BOEM requested informal ESA Section 7 consultation with the USFWS for lease issuance and site assessment activities off New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. On June 20, 2011, the USFWS concurred with BOEM’s determinations that the risk to the roseate tern, piping plover, Bermuda petrel (Pterodroma cahow), and (then-candidate) rufa Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa) from site characterization and site assessment activities (construction, operations, maintenance, and decommission of buoys and meteorological towers) associated with lease issuance was “small and insignificant” and therefore not likely to adversely affect the three ESA-listed species and one candidate species occurring in the action area.
BOEM completed ESA Section 7 consultation on the Issuance of Leases for Wind Resource Data Collection on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore within the RI/MA WEA and the MA WEA in 2012. The RI/MA WEA is comprised of 13 whole and 29 partial lease blocks (Figure 1.1). This consultation addressed activities associated with the site assessment process, including geological and geophysical surveys (sonar and sediment work), wind resource assessments (meteorological towers and buoys), biological assessments, and cultural/archeological assessments. On November 1, 2012, USFWS concurred with BOEM’s determination that the proposed action is not likely to adversely affect the roseate tern or piping plover, or jeopardize the continued existence of the then-candidate rufa Red Knot. USFWS concluded that the likelihood of these species occurring in the action area was discountable, while acknowledging that the extent to which these species occur 8 or more miles offshore was not well known at that time. USFWS also concluded that the greatest potential threat posed to avian species from site assessment activities was the risk of a catastrophic oil spill resulting from vessel collision with meteorological towers. USFWS concluded that the risk of such an event was low given the number of proposed structures, the implementation of recommended visibility sensors, and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) requirements to ensure these structures are clearly marked and outside of established navigational corridors. To date, no meteorological towers have been placed on the OCS.
BOEM was a cooperating agency with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on a 2013 informal USFWS consultation for the Deepwater Wind Block Island Wind Facility and Block Island Transmission System. The wind facility is comprised of five 6-MW wind turbines within 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) of Block Island, Rhode Island. On July 31, 2013, USFWS concurred that this proposed action was not likely to adversely affect the American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus), roseate tern, piping plover, or rufa Red Knot, concluding that the effects of the proposed action on those species would be insignificant and/or discountable.
In 2015, BOEM conducted an informal consultation with USFWS for the Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project, now called the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, as the lead action agency. The project is comprised of two 6-MW wind turbines 24 nm offshore with a subsea export cable making landfall on Camp Pendleton Beach. On January 29, 2015, USFWS concurred with the determinations of “no effect” on potential nesting areas for hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) and “not likely to adversely affect” the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), piping plover, Red Knot, roseate tern, Bermuda petrel, and black-capped petrel (Pterodroma hasitata). On March 27, 2019, USFWS completed its review of the revised plan and determined the proposed action would not adversely affect these listed species or any designated critical habitat.
Starting in 2018, BOEM conducted an information consultation with USFWS for Vineyard Wind 1 Offshore Wind Energy Project comprised of up to 100 turbines. On July 8, USFWS sent a draft letter concurring with BOEM’s determination that this activity may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect, roseate terns, piping plovers and/or red knots. On September 2, 2020, USFWS found the onshore activity of clearing forest for the substation consistent with activities analyzed in the Service’s January 5, 2016 Programmatic Biological Opinion for Northern longeared bat (Consultation Code: 05E1NE00-2019-TA-1790). On September 3, 2020, BOEM sent an updated BA to USFWS for concurrence.
1.6 Project Area and Action Area
The proposed action addressed in this BA is the PDE maximum impact scenario for the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the SFWF and SFEC as described in the COP. The project area includes upland and coastal nearshore habitats on eastern Long Island and adjacent New York State waters, and ocean habitats in the RI/MA WEA on the OCS offshore of New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts (Figure 1.1).
Under federal ESA Section 7 consultation guidance the action area is defined as “all areas to be affected directly or indirectly by the Federal action and not merely the immediate area involved in the action” (50 CFR §402.02). The action area includes the project area (i.e., the project footprint), all areas exposed to temporary and long-term project effects that measurably alter environmental conditions from the environmental baseline, and the direct and indirect effects of any interrelated or interdependent actions resulting from the proposed action. The potential effects of the proposed action on the environment and the methods used to define the physical extent of these effects are described in Section 4. For the purpose of this consultation, the action area includes separate terrestrial and marine components. The terrestrial component includes the area affected –the onshore construction, operation, and decommissioning and the upland components of the O&M facility. The marine component includes the open ocean above and below the water surface affected by construction and operation of the wind farm and marine cabling.
Airborne and– underwater noise associated with project construction are the most geographically extensive effects of the action. For this, BA the action area is defined by the largest distance required for construction noise to attenuate to established behavioral effects thresholds for fish prey species that occur in the project vicinity. The resulting effect areas are as follows:
- A 2-mile (3.2-km) airborne noise radius extending outward from each monopile foundation
- An 8.0-mile (12.9-km) underwater noise radius extending outward from each monopile foundation
- A 3,100-foot (950-meter) airborne noise radius extending outward from the sea-to-shore transition
- A 0.5-mile (0.8-km) underwater noise radius extending outward from the sea-to-shore transition location in a semi-circle bounded by the Long Island shoreline.
- A 250-foot (76-meter) airborne noise radius extending outward from upland construction activities
- A 250-foot (76-meter) airborne noise radius extending outward from dredging activities in Lake Montauk Harbor