TY - RPRT TI - Vineyard Wind 1 Construction and Operations Plan AU - Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) AB - This document constitutes the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) joint Record of Decision (ROD) for the final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) prepared for the Vineyard Wind 1 Offshore Wind Energy Project (Project) Construction and Operations Plan (COP). The ROD addresses BOEM’s action to approve the COP under section 8(p) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA; 43 U.S.C. § 1337(p)), USACE’s permitting actions under section 10 of the River and Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA; 33 U.S.C. § 403) and section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA; 33 U.S.C. § 1344), and NMFS’ action of issuing an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to Vineyard Wind under section 101(a)(5)(D) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as amended (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. § 1371(a)(5)(D)). This ROD was prepared following the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321-4370) et seq.) and 40 C.F.R. parts 1500-1508.1 BOEM prepared the “Vineyard Wind 1 Offshore Wind Energy Project FEIS with the assistance of a third-party contractor, Environmental Resources Management Inc. The USACE, NMFS, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) were cooperating agencies during the development and review of the document. The Narragansett Indian Tribe was a cooperating tribal nation. Cooperating state agencies included the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (MA CZM), the Rhode Island Coastal Resource Management Council (RI CRMC), and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. The need for BOEM’s action is to execute its duty to approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove the COP. This action furthers BOEM’s responsibility to make Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy resources available for development in an expeditious and orderly manner, subject to environmental safeguards (43 U.S.C. § 1332(3)), including consideration of natural resources and existing ocean uses. This responsibility balances different goals and does not hold one as controlling over all others, consistent with the opinion recently issued by the Department of the Interior Solicitor, “Secretary’s Duties under Subsection 8(p)(4) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act When Authorizing Activities on the Outer Continental Shelf” (M- 37067)2. M- 37067 provides that “subsection 8(p)(4) of OCSLA and similar statutes require only that the Secretary strike a rational balance between Congress’s enumerated goals, i.e., a variety of uses. In making this determination, the Secretary retains wide discretion to weigh those goals as an application of her technical expertise and policy judgment...” M-37067, p. 2. The FEIS also analyzed impacts resulting from the proposed action that are relevant to USACE permitting actions under section 10 of the RHA and section 404 of the CWA, and NMFS’ action of issuing an IHA under the MMPA. Volume I (All Volume I Sections in one Adobe PDF file)Table of ContentsSection 1: Project OverviewSection 2: Project Location PlatSection 3: Project Structures and FacilitiesSection 4: Project ActivitiesSection 5: Regulatory FrameworkSection 6: Agency Contact and Stakeholder CoordinationSection 7: References and Incorporation by ReferenceVolume I Appendices (All Volume I Appendices in one Adobe PDF File)Appendix I-A Draft Oil Spill Response PlanAppendix I-B Draft Safety Management SystemAppendix I-C Statement of Qualifications for Certified Verification Agent (CVA) ServicesAppendix I-D CVA Scope of Work and Verification PlanAppendix I-E Hierarchy of StandardsVolume IIVolume IIITable of ContentsSection 1: Applicants Purpose and NeedSection 2: Project SummarySection 3: Project EvolutionSection 4: Summary of Potential Benefits, Impacts, and Mitigation MeasuresSection 5: Physical ResourcesSection 6: Biological ResourcesSection 7: Socioeconomic ResourcesSection 8: Low Probability EventsSection 9: ReferencesVolume III Appendices Appendix III-A: Hydrodynamic and Sediment Dispersion Modeling StudyAppendix III-B: Air Emissions Calculations and MethodologyAppendix III-C: Avian AppendixAppendix III-D: Benthic Habitat Monitoring Plan Appendix III-E: Fisheries Communication PlanAppendix III-F: Essential Fish Habitat Impact AssessmentAppendix III-G: Preliminary Terrestrial Archaeology Resources Report and Permit ApplicationAppendix III-H.a: Vineyard Wind Project Visual Impact AssessmentAppendix III-H.b: Vineyard Wind Project Historic Properties Visual Impact AssessmentAppendix III-I: Navigational Risk AssessmentAppendix III-J: Aviation Impact AssessmenAppendix III-K: Scour Potential Evaluation at Vineyard WindAppendix III-L: Proposed Vineyard Wind Offshore Wind Energy Project; Estimated Contribution to Employment and Economic DevelopmentAppendix II-M: Supplemental Information or the Assessment of Potential Impacts to Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles During Construction, Operation and Decommissioning of the Vineyard Wind Project.Appendix III-N: Frequency of Activation of an Aircraft Detection System Lighting System (ADLS) ReportAppendix III-O: Vineyard Wind Spring Tern SurveyAppendix III-P: Coastal Zone Management Act Consistency CertificationAppendix III-Q: Community and Environmental Benefits of the Vineyard Wind ProjectAppendix III-R: Proposed Mitigation to Facilitate East-West Fishing in the Wind Development Area CY - BOEM DA - 2021/05// PY - 2021 PB - US Department of the Interior (DOI) UR - https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/vineyard-wind-1 LA - English KW - Wind Energy KW - Fixed Offshore Wind KW - Human Dimensions KW - Legal & Policy KW - Social & Economic Data KW - Stakeholder Engagement ER -