Posted on February 21, 2022
BOEM’s mission is to facilitate the responsible development of renewable energy resources on the Outer Continental Shelf through conscientious planning, stakeholder engagement, comprehensive environmental analysis, and sound technical review. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized the development of regulations for the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Renewable Energy Program. This regulatory framework establishes a process for environmental review of proposed offshore wind projects. Each project is subject to a review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as well as consultations with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). Consultation is also conducted under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
In support of the NEPA process, BOEM is developing white papers to provide detailed discussions of topics raised. These papers will be summarized and incorporated by in BOEM’s offshore renewable energy NEPA documents.
Below you will find links to completed Environmental Assessments (EAs) in support of leasing and Environmental Impact Statement (EISs) in support of plan approval, white papers on technical and environmental topics, and modeling tools.
