December 19, 2022 — Sitting between New York and Connecticut, the Long Island Sound apparently has up to 1.2 million abandoned lobster traps sitting on the sea floor.
According to a report by John Moritz of CT Insider, there are somewhere between 800,000 and 1.2 million abandon lobster traps on the floor of the Long Island Sound, some with sea critters trapped inside.
December 15, 2022 — Progress continues to be made on the development of several of the first large-scale offshore wind projects in the United States. On December 16, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will publish the draft Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for two projects, Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Wind and Sunrise Wind being jointly developed by Ørsted and Eversource, as one of the final steps in the permitting process.
The release of the two EIS statements begins a 60-day comment period. BOEM will use the findings to inform its decision on whether to approve the Construction and Operating Plan (COP) submitted by each of the developers. BOEM will also determine which mitigation measures it would require at each of the sites. As part of the process, BOEM will be conducting virtual public meetings to hear comments on the plans.
“This important federal permitting milestone puts Sunrise Wind one significant step closer to advancing New York’s ambitious climate goals. As we review the draft findings we want to thank the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for its comprehensive and diligent review,” Sunrise said in a statement in response to the news of the release of its EIS.
Read the full story at The Maritime Executive
December 10, 2022 — Is that Poseidon’s triton reaching from the littoral shallows, or are you just trying to build a 132-megawatt wind farm?
The South Fork Wind project site at the end of Beach Lane in Wainscott certainly gives pause, if not a shudder of megalophobia. Three intimidatingly large steel pilings jut into the sky just off the beach, while nearby, drills continue with the jarringly loud work of drilling a horizontal tunnel from a cable tie-in near the Long Island Rail Road line to the north to the workers’ barge just offshore, temporarily anchored by the pilings.
Troy Patton, head of program execution, Americas, for Orsted, which is building the wind project via a 50-50 partnership with Eversource, was on the scene last week to give an update on the project, which will see the installation, 35 miles to the east off Montauk, of a dozen 11-megawatt wind turbines. The turbines will tie in by an undersea cable, to the land-ho connection point in Wainscott.
It’s a windy Thursday afternoon, but not as windy as the day before. “We like the wind,” Mr. Patton said as he updated reporters on what has happened to date.
November 15, 2022 — Usually during November, veteran scalloper Chris Tehan would be on the Peconics — his boat dredging for the prized mollusk living in the pair of bays squeezed between Long Island’s North Fork and South Fork.
But in 2022, Tehan is hardly finding any because the Peconic scallop population is crashing. Scientists blame the climate crisis, but they’re also hopeful the marine animal could be saved before the fishing community goes bust.
This year represents the fourth in a row of record die-offs for Peconic Bay scallops. Their population density has dropped more than 90% since 2018, according to new survey data from the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County that is yet to be published.
“We monitor 21 different sites. And in total, we found only 19 adult scallops in those 21 surveys,” said Harrison Tobi, an aquaculture specialist who helped lead the study. Recent counts have been so low that the federal government issued a disaster declaration in 2021 promising federal relief to the fishery.
Tobi said climate change-induced warmer waters are causing better conditions for a parasite that harms the scallops and impedes their reproduction. He added that Peconic scallops are essential to the bay’s ecosystem, given their position in the food web and their ability to filter algae and bacteria from the water.
October 22, 2022 — Developers of the Leading Light Wind offshore energy project in the New York Bight said Tuesday that they have brought on a new fisheries stakeholder engagement team from Sea Risk Solutions LLC.
Sarah Hudak has joined as fisheries liaison officer, supported by Ron Larsen, managing partner of Sea Risk Solutions, a maritime and fisheries communication consultant. Sea Risk is a maritime risk mitigation and liaison services company that started in 2013 working on subsea cable protection, and now is involved in offshore wind planning.
Leading Light released its new “fisheries communication plan,” a detailed document on how it will work with commercial and recreational fishermen, fisheries managers and others during planning, construction and operations.
Leading Light Wind is a led by project sponsors Invenergy and New York-based energyRe. Planned as a 2,000-plus megawatt capacity at 90 turbine locations, the 84,000-acre federal lease site 40 miles east of Atlantic City, N.J., and 80 miles south of Long Island would be tied into the New York metro energy grid by a 190 kilometer export cable, according to the company.
September 7, 2022 — This is not the way to butter up the people of Maine.
The claws are out in the New England state after an environmental group put the region’s renowned lobsters on a list of seafood to “avoid” because their harvest is allegedly putting whales in danger.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s environment-focused seafood watch program’s decision to “red-list” the tasty crustacean left state officials steaming mad.
“This is an outrageous act with very real-world consequences, and no real scientific evidence,” US Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) fumed to The Post. “It’s infuriating.”
Industry reps and restaurateurs — including owners of beloved lobster roll joints in the Big Apple and the Hamptons — also said the list can go to shell.
July 1, 2022 — New research from Rutgers University shows Mid-Atlantic surfclam fisheries could see revenue losses from planned offshore wind farms, at least in the short- to medium-term after the development takes place.
The data is sure to fuel opposition from the fishing industry to the Biden administration’s rapid offshore wind development along the New York, New Jersey, and Delaware coasts. President Joe Biden has a goal of generating 30 gigawatts of wind energy by 2030 as part of his effort to tackle climate change.
Clammers and scallop fishermen fear a shrinking patch of fishable ocean will lead to the collapse of the industry.
Surfclam harvests stretching from Maine to Virginia generate about $30 million in annual revenue. The Rutgers study, “The Atlantic Surfclam Fishery and Offshore Wind Energy Development,” published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, used a newly-developed model to determine average revenue reductions between 3 and 15% overall.
June 28, 2022 — Offshore wind developers Ørsted and Eversource say they have struck an agreement with environmental groups to improve protection of endangered north Atlantic right whales during construction and operation of the South Fork Wind project.
The companies say they will adopt monitoring measures to make sure right whales are not nearby during construction activity, and use mitigation steps to reduce underwater noise during pile driving.
They will also evaluate other new monitoring technologies, including thermal cameras, acoustic sensors, and data integration software. Developers say the findings from South Fork will be used in future projects.
A 10-knot vessel speed limit will be in place for all boats working on the project, “unless an effective adaptive speed management plan is in place,” according to the developers.
Such 10-knot limits are commonly sought by the National Marine Fisheries Service when its monitoring detects right whale movements off the East Coast, triggering announcements of special management areas to reduce the danger of ship strikes. Accidental encounters in the shipping lanes are a major cause of death for right whales, now estimated to number only around 340 animals.
NMFS whale monitoring has shown substantial overlap between right whale movements and offshore wind development areas off southern New England.
June 17, 2022 — The following was released by the Bureau of Ocean Management:
As part of the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Ocean Wind 1 wind energy project offshore New Jersey.
BOEM’s DEIS for the proposed Ocean Wind 1 Offshore Wind Farm analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action described in Ocean Wind’s project plan for constructing and operating an offshore wind energy facility. This is the first DEIS published by this Administration for an offshore wind energy project.
The Notice of Availability for the DEIS will publish in the Federal Register on June 24, opening a 45-day public comment period, which ends on August 8. During the comment period, BOEM will conduct three virtual public meetings and accept comments on the DEIS. The input received via this process will inform preparation of the Final EIS.
“BOEM remains committed to an environmental review process that establishes a strong foundation for offshore wind projects in the U.S. while promoting ocean co-use and avoiding or reducing potential conflicts,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton. “The feedback provided by ocean users and our many stakeholders will help inform the Final EIS and provide invaluable insight to decision makers.”
Over the past year, the Biden-Harris administration and the Interior Department have launched the American offshore wind industry by approving and celebrating the groundbreaking of the nation’s first two commercial-scale offshore wind projects in federal waters. The Department also announced plans to potentially hold up to seven new offshore lease sales by 2025, including the record-breaking New York Bight auction and Carolina Long Bay auction held earlier this year. BOEM also expects to complete the review of at least 16 plans to construct and operate commercial, offshore wind energy facilities by 2025, which would represent more than 22 GW of clean energy for the nation.
Ocean Wind proposes to construct up to 98 wind turbines generators (WTGs) and up to three offshore substations within the lease area, located 15 statute miles southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, with export cables making landfall in Ocean County and Cape May County, New Jersey. If all 98 WTGs are approved for installation, the estimated capacity range will be from 1,215 to 1,440 megawatts, capable of powering up to 504,000 homes per year.
BOEM will use the findings of the EIS to inform its decision on whether to approve Ocean Wind’s proposed project.
Public Meetings
During the comment period, BOEM will hold three virtual public meetings, where the public can learn more about: the review process, the EIS schedule, potential impacts from the proposed project, and proposals to reduce potential impacts. There will also be an opportunity for participants to provide comments on the DEIS.
The public meetings will be held on the following dates and times. All times are Eastern:
•Thursday, July 14, 2022; 1:00 p.m.
•Wednesday, July 20, 2022; 5:00 p.m.
•Tuesday, July 26, 2022; 5:00 p.m.
Registration for the virtual meetings is encouraged.
A virtual meeting room, information about how to register for the virtual meetings and instructions for how to submit comments will be published on BOEM’s website on June 24, 2022: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/ocean-wind-1.
The virtual meeting room will be available throughout the 45-day comment period and will include a copy of the DEIS, fact sheets, posters, and pre-recorded presentations.
If you require a paper copy of the DEIS or public meeting materials, or require call-in information for the virtual meetings (for those without reliable internet access), please contact BOEM at boempublicaffairs@boem.gov.
June 10, 2022 — Ørsted and Eversource are hosting an offshore wind supply chain forum in Albany to help New York businesses connect with Tier 1 suppliers on potential job opportunities at Sunrise Wind Farm. This the first New York forum of its kind to feature a large project supplier sharing details on opportunities for supporting vendors and subcontractors to work on the project.
The June 14 forum from 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. is the first of three that Ørsted and Eversource will host in New York; it aims to match New York businesses with near-term opportunities in the offshore wind supply chain. Eversource Energy, Siemens Gamesa, Siemens Inc., Riggs Distler, Ljungstrom, Carver Companies, Blue Ocean Energy Marine, Edison Chouest Offshore, Nexans, HeliService International, ATOS and LS Cable are scheduled to attend.