May 10, 2021 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is close to issuing a record of decision for Vineyard Wind 1. This is the last major step before work on the 62-turbine offshore wind farm project commences. In a statement to The Times, BOEM wrote that a review through the lens of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) is the only thing left before the record of decision can be issued.
“Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) requires federal agencies to consider the effects on historic properties of projects they carry out, assist, fund, permit, license, or approve throughout the country,” the agency stated. “If a federal or federally assisted project has the potential to affect historic properties, a Section 106 review will take place. In this case, the federal undertaking is to approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove the Construction and Operations Plan submitted by Vineyard Wind, LLC, for a wind energy development project southwest of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.”
Among the things beneath the ocean that must be considered in the Section 106 review are shipwrecks and Native American archeological sites.