Notice of Preparation of a Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA) for Commercial Wind Lease and Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore North Carolina

Dear Mr. Reeves, The Southern Environmental Law Center submits these comments on behalf of 11 conservation groups, regarding BOEM's Notice of Intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Assessment for commercial wind lease issuance and site assessment activities in the Wilmington East Wind Energy Area off the southern coast of North Carolina. In our comments to the July 21, 2021 Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force Meeting we urged BOEM to supplement its original analyses completed between 2013 and 2015 under the National Environmental Policy Act, because of passage of time and the emergence of significant new information. We thank BOEM for initiating this analysis and take this opportunity to provide additional input on leasing the Wilmington East WEA. Sincerely, Melissa Whaling