20070531-3047 Issued by FERC OSEC 05/31/2007 in Docket#: P-12751-000 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION Finavera Renewables Ocean Energy, Ltd. Project No. 1 27 51 -000 Washington NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (May 31 , 2007 ) In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission) regulations, 18 CFR Part 380 (Order No. 486, 52 F.R. 47897), the Office of Energy Projects has reviewed the application for an original license for the Makah Bay Offshore Wave Energy Pilot Project to be located in part in Makah Bay of the Pacific Ocean in Clallam County, Washington and in part on the Makah Indian Reservation near Neah Bay , Washington, and has prepared a n Environmental Assessment ( EA) for the project. The EA contains the staff's analysis of the potential environmental impacts of the project and concludes that licensing the project, with appropriate environmental protective measures, would not constitute a major federal action that would significantly affect the quality of the human environment. A copy of the EA is available for review at the Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the Commission's website at http://www.ferc.gov using the "eLibrary" link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support at [email protected] or toll -free at 1 -866 -208 -3676, or for TTY, (202) 502 -8659. You may also regis ter online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs - filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support. Any comments should be filed within 30 days fro m the date of this notice and should be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20426. Please affix Project No. 12751 -000 to all comments. Comments may be electronically fil ed via the Internet in lieu of paper. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings. See 18 CFR § 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission’s web site (http://www.ferc.gov ) under the “e -Filing ” link. For further information, contact Nicholas Jayjack at (202) 502 -6073. Kimberly D. Bose Secretary 20070531-3047 Issued by FERC OSEC 05/31/2007 in Docket#: P-12751-000 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR HYDROPOWER LICENSE Makah Bay Offshore Wave Energy Pilot Project FERC Project No. 12751 -00 0 Washington Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Office of Energy Projects Division of Hydropower Licensing 888 First Street, NE Washington, D.C. 20426 May 2007 20070531-3047 Issued by FERC OSEC 05/31/2007 in Docket#: P-12751-000 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................ ................................ ............................... v I. APPLICATION ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 1 II. PURPOSE OF ACTION AND NEED FOR POWER ................................ ............. 1 A. Purpose of Action ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 1 B. Need for Power ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 2 III. PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES ................................ .................... 3 A. Proposed Action ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 3 1. Project Facilities ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 3 2. Project Operation ................................ ................................ ............................... 8 3. Project Construction and Installation ................................ .............................. 8 4. Project Safety ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 10 5. Proposed Environmental Measures ................................ ................................ 11 B. Staff’s Recommended Alternative ................................ ................................ ........ 12 C. Staff’s Recommended Alterative with Mandatory Conditions ......................... 14 D. No -action Alternative ................................ ................................ ............................ 15 IV. CONSULTATION AND COMPLIANCE ................................ ............................. 15 A. Consultation ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 15 1. Scoping ................................ ................................ ................................ ............... 15 2. Interventions ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 16 3. Comments on the Application ................................ ................................ ......... 16 B. Compliance ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 17 1. Water Quality Certification ................................ ................................ ............. 17 2. Section 4(e) Conditions ................................ ................................ ..................... 17 3. Endangered Species Act ................................ ................................ ................... 18 4. 10(j) Recommendations ................................ ................................ .................... 19 5. Coastal Zone Management Act ................................ ................................ ....... 20 6. Essential Fish Habitat ................................ ................................ ....................... 20 7. Marine Mammal Protection Act ................................ ................................ ..... 21 8. National Historic Preservation Act ................................ ................................ .22 V. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS ................................ ................................ ............ 22 A. Genera l Description of the Project Area ................................ ............................. 22 B. Cumulative Effects ................................ ................................ ................................ .24 1. Geographic Scope ................................ ................................ ............................. 25 2. Temporal Scope ................................ ................................ ................................ .26 C. Proposed Action and Action Alternatives ................................ ........................... 26 1. Geology and Soils ................................ ................................ .............................. 26 2. Water Resources ................................ ................................ ............................... 32 3. Marine Fishery Resources ................................ ................................ ............... 46 4. Marine Mammals, Reptil es, and Seabirds ................................ ..................... 62 5. Terrestrial Resources ................................ ................................ ....................... 93 6. Threatened and Endangered Species and Essential Fish Habitat ............... 97 ii 20070531-3047 Issued by FERC OSEC 05/31/2007 in Docket#: P-12751-000 7. Recreation, Ocean Use, and Land Use ................................ .......................... 109 8. Aesthetic Resources ................................ ................................ ........................ 124 9. Soci oeconomic Resources ................................ ................................ ............... 127 10. Cultural Resources ................................ ................................ ...................... 130 11. Project Decommissioning ................................ ................................ ........... 136 VI. DEVELOPMENTAL RESOURCES ................................ ................................ ... 137 VII. COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT AND RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVE ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 146 VIII. FISH AND WILDLIFE RECOMMENDATIONS ................................ .......... 156 IX. CONSISTENCY WITH COMPREHENSIVE PLANS ................................ ..... 158 X. FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ................................ ....................... 159 XI. LITERATURE CITED ................................ ................................ .......................... 160 XII. LIST OF PREPARERS ................................ ................................ ....................... 175 iii 20070531-3047 Issued by FERC OSEC 05/31/2007 in Docket#: P-12751-000 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Project location map ................................ ................................ ........................... 4 Figure 2. Schematic of Finavera’s proposed AquaBuOY array and associated mooring surface floats ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 6 Figure 3. Configuration of Finavera’s proposed AquaBuOY mooring and anchoring system ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................... 7 LIST