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ARTICLE · 11 JULY 2012

Developments In Off-Shore Wind: BOEM Releases ENF For Rhode Island And Massachusetts

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Last week, I noted that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced that it had identified an area for commercial wind energy leasing offshore Massachusetts.

United StatesEnvironment
Seth Jaffe
Seth Jaffe
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Last week, I noted that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced that it had identified an area for commercial wind energy leasing offshore Massachusetts. This week, BOEM announced the availability of an Environmental Assessment to support commercial leases in an adjoining parcel offshore both Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  (Couldn't find a photo with good resolution.  The figure is obviously in the EA, but you can find a stand-alone map here.)

The scope of the EA is limited. Separate analysis, almost certainly to require preparation of environmental impact statements, will be required prior to the construction of any wind farms. The EA addresses only the potential environmental impacts from issuance of leases and approval of site assessment plans, or SAPs, by each lessee. BOEM characterized the potential consequences from lease issuance and SAP approval as including:

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