TY - RPRT
TI - Guidelines for Providing Avian Survey Information for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf
AU - Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
AB - Before the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will approve the siting of a facility proposed for a renewable energy project on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), a lessee must submit the results of its site characterization surveys to BOEM with its Site Assessment Plan (SAP), Construction and Operations Plan (COP), or General Activities Plan (GAP) in accordance with 30 CFR part 585, subpart F.The purpose of this national guidance document is to provide recommendations for complying with the avian information requirements in 30 CFR Part 585 Subpart F. BOEM requires lessees to submit the results of site characterization studies so that BOEM can evaluate the impact of proposed activities on physical, biological, and socioeconomic resources, as well as the seafloor and sub-seafloor conditions, which could be affected by the construction, installation, and operation of meteorological towers, buoys, cables, wind turbines, and supporting structures. The information will be used by BOEM, other Federal agencies, and potentially affected states in the preparation of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents; interagency consultations, such as Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA); and to meet other statutory and regulatory requirements. Early communication with BOEM and adherence to these guidelines should ensure that BOEM’s information needs are met. Survey results obtained through procedures consistent with these guidelines should be sufficient for BOEM’s decision- 2 making process. BOEM may stipulate through lease or grant terms that lessees and grantees submit a SAP, COP, or GAP, and schedule a pre-survey meeting with BOEM to discuss the plan prior to conducting survey activities in the leased or granted area.This document relates only to avian surveys. BOEM provides recommendations for conducting and reporting the results of other baseline collection studies in separate guidelines: http://www.boem.gov/Survey-Guidelines/. These national guidelines may be updated periodically, as new information or methodologies become available. This version supersedes previous versions. The purpose of the required avian surveys is to describe the key species and habitat within the survey area possibly affected by the proposed operations. 30 CFR part 585, subpart F. The avian survey plan should aim to:Identify and confirm which avian species are using the project site, and when these species may be present where development is proposed;Establish a pre-construction baseline which may be used to assess whether detectable changes associated with proposed operations occurred in post-construction abundance and distribution of avian species; Collect additional information aimed at reducing uncertainty associated with baseline estimates and/or to inform the interpretation of survey results; and Develop an approach to quantify any substantial changes in the distribution and abundance of avian species associated with proposed operations.For all proposed projects on the OCS, the lessee should use https://ecos.fws.gov/ipac/ (and any other sources) to obtain a list of migratory bird species that may be in the project area. For all projects, lessees should also describe the measures to be taken to minimize or eliminate potential impacts to migratory bird species in their COP, SAP, or GAP. In addition, for projects involving the installation of wind energy turbines on the OCS, the lessee should prepare an avian survey plan that describes its methods for collecting sufficient information on the biology of the survey area to allow BOEM and other agencies with jurisdiction to make well-founded decisions in context with the regional biology. The amount of new information collected should match the scale and/or complexity of the proposed project. For example, a project to install wind energy turbines may need additional site-specific survey work prior to the submittal of a plan to build the energy generating structures. In contrast, a project to install a meteorological tower, meteorological buoy, or subsea cable would most likely not need additional survey work in the field and no survey plan for avian resources would be needed.
DA - 2020/05//
PY - 2020
SP - 17
PB - Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
UR - https://www.boem.gov/about-boem/regulations-guidance/guidance-portal
LA - English
KW - Wind Energy
KW - Fixed Offshore Wind
KW - Floating Offshore Wind
KW - Bats
KW - Birds
KW - Human Dimensions
KW - Legal & Policy
ER -