The FEIS published Aug 2 and BOEM is on track to meet the ROD milestone of Sep 4.

BOEM provided the FEIS to the Federal Register on July 30, to meet the Aug 2 milestone to publish the FEIS NOA. BOEM is on track to meet the ROD milestone of Sep 4.

Additional updates to finalize the Visual Impact Assessment (VIA), in response to BOEM comments, has the potential to impact the FEIS schedule. BOEM is assessing the impact and if a schedule change is necessary, will consult with Cooperating Agencies, the Sponsor, and the Permitting Council.

BOEM submitted an Executive Director Determination request to the Permitting Council on May 21 to shift the NEPA timeline by 35-days. The schedule shift reflects the minimum time BOEM needs to complete each the FEIS and ROD, based on experience with prior projects. Factors driving the 35-day shift include BOEM's need to conduct a final review of the COP version 7, submitted by the project sponsor on May 10, and BOEM's need to better align the FEIS and ROD dates with the Coastal Zone Management (CZM) review of the COP by the state of Delaware.

BOEM received confirmation from Delaware that the state's CZMA milestone of July 9 is on track. The Sponsor had submitted information to the state on Mar 29, as anticipated. BOEM also anticipates receiving a COP update from the Sponsor by May 13, with the information that was provided to the state of Delaware. 

Additional information related to dredging for the cable route was still outstanding at the beginning of the month. Sponsor submittal anticipated by the end of the month. The information is required for the ESA consultation.  

The current alternative completion date is June 14, 2024 for the FEIS. The critical path to meeting the NEPA milestone is completing analysis of dredging for onshore cable route.

BOEM is working toward the alternative completion date of June 14, 2024 for the FEIS. A critical path to meeting the NEPA milestone is conclusion of the EFH consultation on schedule. Currently, both EFH and NEPA actions are on track to meet their milestones.

BOEM is on track to meet the alternative completion date.

BOEM is on track to meet the alternative completion date.

BOEM is on track to meet the alternative completion date.

BOEM is on track to meet the alternate milestone. 

BOEM expects to meet the alternative completion date for the FEIS of October 6, 2023. The shift in the NEPA milestone was due to 1) the need for additional information from the Project Sponsor for offshore and onshore Historic Resources Visual Effects Assessment, Visual Impact Assessment, Marine Archaeological Resource Assessment, and the Terrestrial Archeological Resource Assessment, and 2) notification from the Sponsor of an update to the COP related to additional dredging, modified cable routes, and refinement of operation and maintenance facility details.   

Additional information required of, and provided by, the Project Sponsor resulted in a delay of slightly more than one month in the development of the DEIS, and cascading delays in the FEIS and ROD. BOEM prepared a draft EIS based on the COP updates available in November 2022 and completed a cooperating agency review of the partial DEIS in June 2023. The Project Sponsor submitted a COP update in Nov 2022 and an additional COP update in July 2023. BOEM cannot complete the DEIS until all the Project Sponsor’s complete revisions to the PDE and associated reports have been provided, reviewed, and incorporated into the analysis in the DEIS. The PDE changes in the COP update include additional dredging, updated cable routes, and refinement of O&M facility details.  This additional information is required for the DEIS, which will shift the date for the ROD.  Though BOEM included the date changes for this action in an Executive Director determination request that covered multiple actions, the request was not submitted with enough time in advance of the 30-day lockout for this action for FPISC-OED to complete the necessary analysis and coordination before the lockout.   Because the Executive Director determination request did not meet the minimum 50-day advance notice to FPISC-OED for this action, this milestone has been updated through the nonconformance protocol.