Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment - Commercial Wind Lease Issuance and Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore North Carolina

SELC submits the attached comments on behalf of 11 conservation groups, regarding BOEM's Draft Supplemental EA for Commercial Wind Lease Issuance and Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore North Carolina. Our organizations commend BOEM for moving forward expeditiously with a lease sale in the Wilmington East WEA, as well as for removing from consideration the Wilmington West WEA and lease blocks within the Wilmington East WEA that overlap with critical habitat for the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale. We are concerned, however, that the Draft SEA has not taken a "hard look" at the impacts of, or the alternatives to, the proposed action, resulting in under-protective mitigation measures for the proposed action. BOEM should remedy these errors to ensure that the Final SEA fully addresses the concerns detailed in this and past letters.