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Milestone Extension: Section 106 Review

Submitted by danny.wiegand@… on

The Section 106 consultation process is delayed for two reasons. First, there have been multiple changes to the terrestrial area of potential effect (APE) for the Section 106 consultation. These changes are due, in part, to USACE requesting that the Project Sponsor make changes to several submarine cable route approaches and landfall sites to avoid sand borrow areas. The Project Sponsor’s ongoing revisions to its onshore facilities additionally contributed to the difficulty in identifying the APE for Section 106. Second, the Project Sponsor did not provide the Geographic Information System (GIS) and Portable Document Format (PDF) files for their preliminary terrestrial, marine, and visual APEs for the Project until mid-April 2022, which did not allow for sufficient review prior to the April 18, 2022, Section 106 kickoff meeting with consulting parties or for inclusion in the DEIS by the original DEIS publication date.

Action
Project Name:
Empire Wind Energy Project
Responsible Agency:
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Status:
In Progress
POC Name:
Christopher Horrell
POC Title:
Historic Preservation Officer
POC Email:
Christopher.Horrell@boem.gov

Milestones:

Consultation initiated with SHPO/THPO (Agency Action)
Completed Date:
Notification agency will use NEPA substitution approach [36 CFR 800.8(c)] (Agency Action)
Completed Date:
Section 106 consultation concluded (Agency Action)
  • Monthly Status Report for November 2023:
    On track to meet the alternative completion date of Nov 21. BOEM is awaiting final signature on MOA.
  • Monthly Status Report for October 2023:
    On track to meet alternative completion date of Nov 21, 2023.
  • Non-conformance Explanation:
    BOEM is utilizing the NEPA substitution process to conduct the consultation, which aligns the consultation schedule with the NEPA process. BOEM determined the need to move the Section 106 milestone during the lockout period to align it with a new ROD milestone target. The additional time also allowed BOEM to honor a request by Consulting parties, including the Advisory Council on History Preservation and several tribes, for additional time to review the proposed mitigations due to their extensive nature.
Current Target Date:

Additional Milestones:

Additional Milestones
Measures to resolve adverse effect proposed in the DEIS or EIS and available for the consulting parties’ review and opportunity to object
Completed Date:
Include documentation in ROD of measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate such effects
Current Target Date:


View Action's Modification History

Milestone
Section 106 consultation concluded (Agency Action)
  • Monthly Status Report for November 2023:
    On track to meet the alternative completion date of Nov 21. BOEM is awaiting final signature on MOA.
  • Monthly Status Report for October 2023:
    On track to meet alternative completion date of Nov 21, 2023.
  • Non-conformance Explanation:
    BOEM is utilizing the NEPA substitution process to conduct the consultation, which aligns the consultation schedule with the NEPA process. BOEM determined the need to move the Section 106 milestone during the lockout period to align it with a new ROD milestone target. The additional time also allowed BOEM to honor a request by Consulting parties, including the Advisory Council on History Preservation and several tribes, for additional time to review the proposed mitigations due to their extensive nature.
Current Target Date:
Project

PROJECT WEBSITE: Equinor's Empire Wind

All dates below are specific to the schedule of the Environmental Review and Permitting processes for this project.

In Progress

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING STATUS
IN PROGRESS

icon_calendar

ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING
03/11/2024

10 out of 10

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING PROCESSES
COMPLETED

Renewable Energy Production

SECTOR
Renewable Energy Production

Project Category

CATEGORY
Project Category FAST-41 Covered Projects

Department of the Interior

LEAD AGENCY
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

View FAST-41 Postings by Agencies

Other Agencies with Actions or Authorizations:

Department of the Army

Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers - Civil Works

Department of the Army

Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers - Regulatory

Department of Commerce

Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Department of the Interior

Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service

Environmental Protection Agency

Environmental Protection Agency

Description:

Equinor Wind proposes to construct and operate the Empire Wind Energy Project located in Lease Area OCS-A 0512, which covers approximately 79,350 acres (ac; 32,112 hectares [ha]) and is located approximately 14 statute miles (mi) (12 nautical miles [nm], 22 kilometers [km]) south of Long Island, New York and 19.5 mi (16.9 nm, 31.4 km) east of Long Branch, New Jersey.

 

field_status
Approved
System Comments
Furthest out
Original Target Date: 06/12/2023
Milestone: Section 106 consultation concluded (Agency Action)

Requested extensions greater than 30 days for this Action are shown below:

Section 106 consultation concluded (Agency Action) extended by 133
From: 06/12/2023
To: 10/23/2023
Approver Comments
ED Determination of extension finalized, 3/23/23, approved.
Missed Date Process
No
Missed Date Triggered by Extension
No
Original Milestone
Section 106 consultation concluded (Agency Action)
  • Monthly Status Report for November 2023:
    On track to meet the alternative completion date of Nov 21. BOEM is awaiting final signature on MOA.
  • Monthly Status Report for October 2023:
    On track to meet alternative completion date of Nov 21, 2023.
  • Non-conformance Explanation:
    BOEM is utilizing the NEPA substitution process to conduct the consultation, which aligns the consultation schedule with the NEPA process. BOEM determined the need to move the Section 106 milestone during the lockout period to align it with a new ROD milestone target. The additional time also allowed BOEM to honor a request by Consulting parties, including the Advisory Council on History Preservation and several tribes, for additional time to review the proposed mitigations due to their extensive nature.
Current Target Date:
Furthest Original Target Date Milestone
Section 106 consultation concluded (Agency Action)
  • Monthly Status Report for November 2023:
    On track to meet the alternative completion date of Nov 21. BOEM is awaiting final signature on MOA.
  • Monthly Status Report for October 2023:
    On track to meet alternative completion date of Nov 21, 2023.
  • Non-conformance Explanation:
    BOEM is utilizing the NEPA substitution process to conduct the consultation, which aligns the consultation schedule with the NEPA process. BOEM determined the need to move the Section 106 milestone during the lockout period to align it with a new ROD milestone target. The additional time also allowed BOEM to honor a request by Consulting parties, including the Advisory Council on History Preservation and several tribes, for additional time to review the proposed mitigations due to their extensive nature.
Current Target Date: