BOEM Archives - Page 82 of 82

New York Wind Farm Part of Larger Offshore Energy Ambitions

July 14, 2016 — UNIONDALE, N.Y. — A New York utility plans to approve a wind farm off eastern Long Island that it says would be the nation’s largest offshore wind energy project built to date.

The project would be the first phase of a more ambitious effort to construct hundreds of electricity-producing turbines in the Atlantic Ocean in the coming years.

The announcement that the Long Island Power Authority plans to approve a proposed 90-megawatt, 15-turbine wind farm in U.S. waters east of Montauk at a meeting next week was greeted enthusiastically by energy experts, elected officials and environmentalists.

“This is obviously an important development,” said Jeffrey Firestone, a professor at the University of Delaware and an expert on offshore wind. “Hopefully, this will be something toward facilitating a more regional approach to the need for offshore wind energy.”

The U.S. lags behind Europe and others in development of offshore wind energy because of regulatory hurdles and opposition from fossil fuel and fishing interests, among other challenges. Many wind farms in Europe are already producing hundreds of megawatts of power.

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has issued several leases for wind projects along the Atlantic coast, but none have come to fruition yet. LIPA said its project would be the next one built after one opens near Block Island, Rhode Island, later this year.

A scallop industry trade organization, the Fisheries Survival Fund, has raised concerns about some wind farm proposals, but not this one. Important scallop areas were removed from the possible lease areas for this wind farm, said Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney for the fund. He cautioned that other commercial fishermen could raise objections.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News

Now Available: BOEM Provides New Resource for Atlantic Fishing Industry

July 14, 2016 — The following was released by the Bureau of Ocean Managment:

BOEM is pleased to announce that we have recently added a new webpage for the commercial fishing industry to serve as a single point of entry for updates on Atlantic offshore renewable energy planning and leasing efforts.

http://www.boem.gov/Atlantic-Fishing/

The webpage will provide users with status updates, charts and maps, and project-specific developer contact information for fisheries liaisons and fishery representatives.

Please bookmark this link to find the latest information. We encourage and welcome feedback on how we can further enhance this resource. Please send your comments to the email address below.

Proposed wind farm off the New Jersey coast concerns local fisherman

June 21, 2016 — LONG BRANCH, N.J. — A proposal to build a wind farm off the coasts of Long Island and New Jersey is concerning some local fisheries, which say that the farm could hurt their livelihood.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held its first of four public meeting in Long Branch Monday night to education the public on what environmental impacts a wind farm in the ocean could have.

Local fisherman Arthur Osche says that the proposed building site for the farm is right where he usually fishes for scallops. Scallops make up about 40 percent of his fishery business.

“My boat typically does about $3 million a year, so it would be like $1.2 million,” he says.

Osche says that although he does support renewable energy sources, he does not want to see them build where he and other fisheries fish.

Read and watch the full story at News 12 The Bronx

Fishermen worry about plan for wind farm off New York coast

June 20, 2016 — MINEOLA, N.Y. — A long-stalled plan to build a forest of power-producing windmills off the coast of New York may finally be gathering momentum, and that is sparking concern among commercial fishermen who fear the giant turbines will ruin an area rich with scallops and other sea life.

Federal officials announced earlier this month that they would auction off the rights to build the wind power farm on a 127-square-mile wedge of the Atlantic Ocean.

The tip of the wedge begins about 11 miles south of Long Island’s popular Jones Beach and spreads out across an area, sandwiched between major shipping lanes, where trawlers harvest at least $3.3 million worth of sea scallops each year, as well as smaller amounts of mackerel, squid and other species, according to a study commissioned by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

“There’s got to be a better place,” said Eric Hansen, a scallop fisherman based in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Groups including the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association and the Fisheries Survival Fund and a seafood company in Rhode Island have already voiced objections about damage to the fishing ground and potential navigation hazards for vessels traversing the area.

“We’ll fight it every step of the way,” said Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney representing the Fisheries Survival Fund, although he stopped short of threatening legal action. He said scallop fishermen don’t object to all wind farms, but are angry the New York site was chosen without their input.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Times Union

Could Seismic Tests Harm Fish?

June 16, 2016 — Fish might not have fancy communication equipment like whales and dolphins, but they do have their specialized ways of navigating through an ocean filled with predators and mobile food sources. And these honed adaptive responses could potentially be harmed by seismic air guns.

But as the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management continues to review the effects of proposed seismic surveys on marine mammals in the Atlantic, an environmental advocacy group is putting out alarms that the tests’ potentially ill effect on fish will be glossed over in the review process that is close to completion.

“There are fisheries impacts that are not very well understood, and now is the time to do these reviews,” said Zachary Lees, ocean and coastal policy attorney for Clean Ocean Action, a New Jersey-based nonprofit group.

Eight companies are currently seeking to conduct seismic surveys in areas off the southern Atlantic coast between Delaware and Florida to look for oil and natural gas resources. Although oil leases in the Atlantic have been canceled until at least 2023, the federal government is moving forward with mapping the sea floor for hydrocarbon deposits.

After approving a final programmatic environmental impact statement, or PEIS, on seismic surveys in 2014, BOEM was made aware earlier this year of new information on protected marine mammals that triggered additional review.

Read the full story at CoastalReview.com

Atlantic Scallop Fishery Opposes Location of Long Island Wind Energy Area

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — March 16, 2016 — Earlier today the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior, announced its finalization of the first Wind Energy Area off the coast of New York. The Wind Energy Area is located approximately 11 miles off the coast of Long Island and totals about 81,130 acres. The Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF), which represents the majority of the full-time Limited Access scallop fleet has issued the following statement opposing the decision:

In 2011, the New York Power Authority, on behalf of the Long Island-New York City Offshore Wind Collaborative, selected a 127 square mile portion of the New York Bight (shown in the figure below) and applied for a commercial wind lease there. In accordance with its “Smart from the Start” policy, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) then issued a request to determine whether there was any competitive interest for the site. Two other companies responded affirmatively. In 2014, BOEM issued a Call for Information for the same area. Responses to the Call revealed that the proposed area is critical to a wide range of maritime activities.

Despite the abundance of uses in the area, BOEM is moving forward with an environmental review of the project. The “Smart from the Start” process allows any company to submit an unsolicited bid for an ocean area of its choosing, without consideration of existing uses. Only far later, after costly site selection and physical suitability analyses have occurred, does the agency even request information from the public. Then, that information is merely presented in environmental impact statements, with no guidelines for how much conflict is too much to proceed. This process makes the burden of showing that a wind farm is not appropriate in a given area almost impossible, and it amounts to adverse possession of ocean lands.

Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data showing scallop fishing activity in New York Bight. Values increase from green to yellow to red. Proposed wind area is shaded triangle left of center.

A Sea of Conflicts:

The fishing industry refers to the area in question as the “Mudhole” or “Cholera Bank.” The commercial scallop fishery alone catches several million dollars of scallops per year in the proposed wind energy area, and many more fisheries also operate there, including for squid, monkfish, summer flounder, herring, and quahog. These fish are landed in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. It also hosts recreational angling, and contains designated Essential Fish Habitat for more than 35 federally-managed fish species including Atlantic cod, yellowtail flounder, bluefin tuna, and several skate and shark species.

The Mudhole is sandwiched between the vessel traffic separation lanes for New York Harbor, which require substantial buffer zones for safety. The World Shipping Council and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have already expressed concerns about the area’s proximity to sea lanes.

A wind energy facility in this location would also interfere with the operation of eleven high frequency radars in NY, NJ, and RI, according to comments from the National Ocean Service and Rutgers University. The radar network provides information critical to search and rescue activities, oil spill response, and beach closures due to high bacterial levels.

Finally, the Mudhole is teeming with wildlife. It is an important migratory area for numerous bird and bat species, and contains several federally-endangered species including North Atlantic right, humpback, and fin whales, Atlantic sturgeon, and several sea turtle species. A wind farm would impact all of these species.

View a PDF of the release

Jersey Shore Rally Urges Obama Admin to #KillTheDrill, #ProtectOurAtlantic

January 31, 2016 — ASBURY PARK, N.J. – The following was released by the office of Senator Bob Menendez:

U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, and Congressman Frank Pallone (N.J.-06) today were joined by over 100 local leaders, environmental and tourism groups, Jersey Shore business owners and residents at a rally on the Asbury Park boardwalk to demand action to guard the Atlantic against offshore oil and gas exploration.

The Obama Administration is currently planning to allow oil production off the coast of Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, putting New Jersey’s economy and shore communities at significant risk of a catastrophic oil spill. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is expected to release its revised plan in the coming weeks.

“The Jersey Shore is one of our most precious natural resources, providing enjoyment for generations of New Jersey families and visitors alike. An oil spill threatens everything we hold dear about the Shore—and we have to do everything in our power to prevent it from becoming a reality,” said Sen. Menendez. “Let’s call Atlantic drilling what it is: another handout to the oil industry. Oil companies don’t need another gift from the federal government.”

“We must stand united in protecting the people and economy of the Jersey Shore and the entire East Coast in the face of the potentially irreparable effects from drilling in the Atlantic,” said Sen. Booker. “Knowing full well the devastating economic and environmental dangers associated with catastrophic oil spills like Deepwater Horizon, we simply can’t stand idly by while our region is exposed to the same risk.”

“Allowing offshore drilling in the Atlantic would inevitably set the stage for another man-made environmental catastrophe—this time, off the Jersey Shore and up and down the East Coast,” said Rep. Pallone. “We know that the technology to drill safely does not exist and that the effects of a spill would be devastating and long-lasting. I have said time and time again that we cannot jeopardize our state and regional economies, our environment, and our marine life to pursue a dangerous and outdated energy policy. I urge the Administration to think twice before allowing Big Oil to endanger New Jersey’s environmental and economic well-being.”

Read the full story at Atlantic Highlands Herald

Study: Offshore wind’s impacts on fisheries unclear; federal report calls for more research

December 3, 2015 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Advocates for regional fishing industries and marine life are concerned about the impacts of offshore wind turbines as deep-pocketed, experienced developers eye construction in ocean waters south of Martha’s Vineyard.

The offshore wind industry has been touted as a key piece of New Bedford’s economic future, but advocates’ concerns are reflected in a federal report that says little is known about how turbines could affect fish populations.

“Potential impacts of offshore wind energy development on fisheries resources are not well understood, both here in the U.S. and abroad,” states a study released in July by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), citing a “comprehensive” review of related literature.

“The site-specific project data needed to evaluate the potential impacts on fisheries resources in these (wind energy areas) is lacking, resulting in uncertainty and speculation,” the study also states.

BOEM’s new committee on ocean energy management and the environment will hold its first meeting next week, in Washington, D.C. The group of respected scientists from across the nation — none from SouthCoast — will help guide BOEM’s stewardship of offshore energy resources, a BOEM news release says.

The group could help fill the void of information cited by the BOEM study over the summer.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard – Times

Assessing Potential Impacts of Offshore Wind Farms in the Northeast Region

November 18, 2015 — The following was released by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation (CFRF):

CFRF is proud to announce the availability of a new report regarding fisheries research and monitoring protocols. The report, Identifying Information Needs and Approaches for Assessing Potential Impacts of Offshore Wind Farm Development on Fisheries Resources in the Northeast Region, is the result of work conducted by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and the Cornell Cooperative Extension program. Together we canvassed fisheries managers, scientists, and fishermen to provide Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recommendations for fishery resource research and monitoring specific to the Southern New England/New York Bight area. One of the principle recommendations of the report was to improve communication between BOEM, fishermen, and offshore wind developers in order to develop, prioritize, and review BOEM’s and lessees’ fisheries research and monitoring efforts.

View a PDF of the report