Defenders of Wildlife filed 1 comment on this docket between Mar 22, 2011 and Mar 22, 2011. 9 other organizations filed here. The comment window closed 5618d ago.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for Mid-Atlantic Wind Energy Areas, 76 Fed. Reg. 7226 (Feb. 9, 2011). These comments are submitted on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife ("Defenders"), and its approximately one million members and supporters.
This notice is being published as an initial step for the purpose of involving Federal agencies, States, Tribes, local government, wind power developers, and the public in the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) “Smart from the Start” wind energy initiative, to identify areas for wind energy leasing proposals, and to provide public notice of the Department's commitment to analyze the initiative’s siting, leasing and site assessment decisions in accordance with the DOI regulations implementing the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). On November 23, 2010, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the “Smart from the Start” renewable energy initiative to accelerate responsible renewable wind energy development on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) by using appropriate identified areas, coordinated environmental studies, large-scale planning and expedited approval processes. This notice identifies Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) offshore New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) has found, in consultation with other Federal agencies and State Renewable Energy Task Forces, to be suitable for consideration for wind energy development. Federal, state, and local government agencies, Tribal governments, and other interested parties may assist BOEMRE in determining the important issues and alternatives to be analyzed in the regional EA. Input is also requested on measures (e.g., limitations on activities based on technology, distance from shore, or timing) that would mitigate impacts to environmental resources and socioeconomic conditions that could result from leasing, site characterization, and site assessment in and around the WEAs described below.
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