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The ESA milestones "FWS Determines ESA Consultation Package is Complete - Formal" and "ESA Consultation Concludes" are dependent on BOEM’s EIS action milestones. A shift of BOEM’s EIS action milestones by 180 days results in a commensurate shift to these ESA action milestones. Therefore, an extension is requested based upon the extension of BOEM’s EIS milestones.
The MMPA milestones "Publish Proposed ITA in the Federal Register” and “Publish Final ITA Regulations in Federal Register” are dependent on BOEM’s EIS action milestones. A shift of BOEM’s EIS action milestones by 180 days results in a commensurate shift to these MMPA action milestones. Therefore, an extension is requested based upon the extension of BOEM’s EIS milestones.
The EFH milestones "NOAA Determines EFH Assessment is Complete" and “NOAA Issues any EFH Conservation Recommendations" are dependent on BOEM’s EIS action milestones. A shift of BOEM’s EIS action milestones by 180 days results in a commensurate shift to these EFH action milestones. Therefore, an extension of the EFH milestones is requested based upon the extension of BOEM’s EIS milestones.
The ESA milestones "NOAA Determines ESA Consultation Package is Complete - Formal" and "ESA Consultation Concludes" are dependent on BOEM’s EIS action milestones. A shift of BOEM’s EIS action milestones by 180 days results in a commensurate shift to these ESA action milestones. Therefore, an extension is requested based upon the extension of BOEM’s EIS milestones.
Vineyard Offshore has requested to extend the EPA OCS air permit by 12 months to better align the OCS air permit schedule with the Project design and construction schedules. EPA regulations require construction to start within 18 months of the effective date of the permit, which if issued around the COP approval does not allow sufficient time for design completion and the start of construction.
The Section 408 milestones are dependent on BOEM’s EIS action milestones. A shift of BOEM’s EIS action milestones by 180 days results in a commensurate shift to the Section 408 action milestones. Therefore, an extension of the Section 408 milestones is requested based upon the extension of BOEM’s EIS milestones.
The Section 10/404 milestones are dependent on BOEM’s EIS action milestones. A shift of BOEM’s EIS action milestones by 180 days results in a commensurate shift to the Section 10/404 action milestones. Therefore, an extension of the Section 10/404 milestones is requested based upon the extension of BOEM’s EIS milestones.
The COP final decision/agency action milestone is dependent on the NEPA timeline and affected commensurately by delays.
The “Section 106 consultation concluded” milestone is dependent on the timing of consultation meetings with consulting parties – critical milestones in the projects permitting table. The revised schedule reflects the time necessary for BOEM to conduct thorough and meaningful consultation in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), while fully complying with any applicable departmental procedures.
With additional BOEM and DOI reviews now required for the development of offshore wind EISs, BOEM has conducted a comprehensive status review of the established EIS schedule and found that meeting upcoming milestones is no longer feasible. The implementation of additional reviews is essential to ensure that development of the EIS is consistent with current legal and policy frameworks and requires additional time for intra-agency coordination and technical analysis. These contributing factors have resulted in a 180-day delay to the development of the EIS.