DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE Comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on the Scope of Environmental Impact Statement for the Construction and Operations Plan of Empire Offshore Wind, LLC Docket No: BOEM-2021-0038 7/26/2021 Empire Offshore Wind Scoping Comments submitted to BOEM electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket No: BOEM-2021-0038, by Shyamala Rajan Empire Wind Offshore Facility COP EIS – BOEM - DOW Comments CONTENTS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 3 2. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 CLIMATE CRISIS, RENEWABLE ENERGY, AND BIODIVERSITY ....................................................................... 5 2.2 SUPPORT FOR RESPONSIBLE OSW PROJECTS .......................................................................................... 6 3. SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT - LOCATION AND PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT .................................... 7 4. REGULATORY SETTING OVERVIEW .............................................................................................. 7 4.1 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (NEPA) .................................................................................. 7 4.2 NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT (NHPA) .................................................................................. 9 4.3 ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT (ESA) ...................................................................................................... 10 4.4 MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT (MMPA) ................................................................................... 11 4.5 MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT (MBTA) ............................................................................................. 11 4.6 MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT (FCMA) .................................... 12 5. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING - SCOPE OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS) ................. 12 5.1 ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT AND BENTHIC RESOURCES .............................................................................. 13 5.1.1 Essential Fish Habitat and Benthic Resources in EW area ...................................................... 13 5.1.2 Potential Impacts .................................................................................................................... 14 5.1.3 Required Impacts Analysis ...................................................................................................... 15 5.1.4 Recommended Avoidance and Mitigation Measures ............................................................. 15 5.2 SEA TURTLES ................................................................................................................................... 16 5.2.1 Sea Turtles in EW area ............................................................................................................ 16 5.2.2 Potential Impacts .................................................................................................................... 17 5.2.3 Required Impacts Analysis ...................................................................................................... 19 5.2.4 Recommended Avoidance and Mitigation Measures ............................................................. 20 5.3 BIRDS ............................................................................................................................................ 22 5.3.1 Birds in EW area ...................................................................................................................... 22 5.3.2 Potential Impacts .................................................................................................................... 23 5.3.3 Required Impacts Analysis ...................................................................................................... 24 5.3.4 Recommended Avoidance and Mitigation Measures ............................................................. 25 5.4 BATS ............................................................................................................................................. 31 5.4.1 Bats in EW area ....................................................................................................................... 31 5.4.2 Potential Impacts .................................................................................................................... 32 5.4.3 Required Impacts Analysis ...................................................................................................... 33 5.4.4 Recommended Avoidance and Mitigation Measures ............................................................. 33 5.5 MARINE MAMMALS......................................................................................................................... 35 5.5.1 Marine mammals in EW area ................................................................................................. 36 5.5.2 Potential Impacts .................................................................................................................... 37 5.5.3 Required Impacts Analysis ...................................................................................................... 39 5.5.4 Recommended Avoidance and Mitigation Measures ............................................................. 42 6. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................. 45 7. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 45 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1. Seasonal presence of marine fauna in EW area. ......................................................................... 18 Figure 2. Seasonal presence of marine mammals in EW area .................................................................... 36 2 Empire Wind Offshore Facility COP EIS – BOEM - DOW Comments Comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on the Scope of Environmental Impact Statement for the Construction and Operations Plan of Empire Offshore Wind 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On behalf of the Defenders of Wildlife (Defenders) and our 2.2 million members, we offer the following comments and recommendations to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on the scope of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the construction and operations plan (COP) of the Empire Wind Energy Projects 1 and 2 within the OCS-A 0512 commercial lease area [Docket No: BOEM-2021-0038].1 Offshore wind energy is an essential, urgently needed, and economically viable component of US national climate crisis mitigation strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with the 30 gigawatts of generation capacity coming online by 20302 and achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035.3 We strongly support the responsible development of utility scale offshore wind energy which: • avoids, minimizes, mitigates, and monitors adverse impacts on marine and coastal wildlife and their habitats, • reduces negative impacts on other ocean uses, • includes robust consultation with Native American Tribes and communities, • meaningfully engages state and local governments, and stakeholders from the outset, and • uses the best available scientific and technological data to ensure science-based and stakeholder-informed decision making.4 The EW area (which encompasses the entire footprint of the two projects) has valuable and unique natural resources within the marine and coastal ecosystems including essential fish habitat, benthic resources, fish, mollusks, annelids, arthropods, sea turtles, resident and migratory shorebirds, songbirds, raptors, wading birds, pelagic birds, bats, whales, dolphins, seals, harbor porpoises, manatees, etc. These natural resources will be adversely impacted to variable extents by activities associated with the construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of EW projects such as from the use of marine vessels, vehicles, aircraft, and heavy equipment, site and seafloor preparation (clearing, grading, trenching), scour protection, installation of foundations for turbines and substations, pile driving, vessel anchoring, cable routing, foundation removal, and WTG disassembly. These activities will result in temporary or permanent adverse impacts to biological resources from vessel and vehicle collisions, noise, habitat alteration, seafloor/land disturbance, sediment suspension and deposition, electromagnetic fields, discharges/releases of chemicals, trash, and debris, etc. To avoid, minimize, and mitigate the adverse impacts to wildlife, the Environmental Impact Statement, must: 1 BOEM: https://www.boem.gov/Empire-Wind 2 White House. (2021, Jan 27). Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. Executive Order 14008. 3 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). (2021, Apr 15). The United States’ Nationally Determined Contribution - Reducing Greenhouse Gases in the United States: A 2030 Emissions Target. Paris Agreement, Article 4. 4 American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). (2020, Mar). U.S. Offshore Wind Power Economic Impact Assessment. 3 Empire Wind Offshore Facility COP EIS – BOEM - DOW Comments • establish baseline data, using best available science, on current ecological conditions, accurately identifying all resident and migratory species, and precisely determining their population