Abstract
This document transmits the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) Biological Opinion (Opinion) based on our review of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) proposed authorization of the construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of the Maryland Offshore Wind project (Project). The Opinion considers the Project and its effects on the federally listed threatened rufa red knot (Calidris canutus rufa), threatened piping plover (Charadrius melodus), and endangered roseate tern (Sterna dougallii dougallii). The consultation for the Project also considered the Project’s effects on the federally threatened eastern black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis), endangered northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrianalis), proposed endangered tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus), and candidate monarch butterfly (Dnaus plexippus), which are addressed below. The proposed project is located in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Area A-0490. The project proponent is US Wind, Inc. (Lessee), Baltimore, Maryland.
This Opinion is issued to BOEM as the lead Federal action agency, in accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (16 USC §1531-1544, 87 Stat. 884), as amended (ESA). Other Federal agencies whose actions are addressed by this consultation include the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), each taking action under their respective statutory and regulatory authorities related to the subject project, as detailed in BOEM’s December 2023 Biological Assessment (BA) for this project. BOEM’s request for formal consultation was received on December 18, 2023.
This Opinion is based on information provided in BOEM’s BA (BOEM 2023a), draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS; BOEM 2023b), the Construction and Operations Plan (COP; TRC Companies 2024), correspondence between the Service and BOEM staff (phone calls and e-mails), and other sources of information. The consultation history is located after the Literature Cited. A complete decision file for this consultation can be made available at the Service’s Chesapeake Bay Field Office in Annapolis, Maryland.