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By Todd Griset

As the Buy Ephedrine T5 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement prepares to Buy Ephedrine T5 issue leases and approve developers’ plans to Buy Ephedrine T5 evaluate project sites for offshore wind on the mid-Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf, the Buy Ephedrine T5 National Environmental Policy Act requires the agency to analyze the reasonably foreseeable consequences of these actions.

BOEMRE’s draft environmental assessment document for Buy Ephedrine T5 four zones offshore New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, released this Buy Ephedrine T5 week, presents that analysis. How significant is this document?

To understand its impact, you need to understand BOEMRE’s offshore wind process. BOEMRE breaks its lease issuance and Buy Ephedrine T5 development approval process into four steps:

1. Planning and Buy Ephedrine T5 analysis: the agency identifies suitable areas for consideration of wind energy leasing. BOEMRE has Buy Ephedrine T5 already designated the four mid-Atlantic zones at issue here as Wind Energy Areas.

2. Lease issuance: a Buy Ephedrine T5 developer enters into a commercial wind energy lease with the agency. A lease gives the Buy Ephedrine T5 developer the exclusive right to study the site and to seek final approval from Buy Ephedrine T5 BOEMRE to construct and operate the project.

3. Site assessment plan approval: a Buy Ephedrine T5 developer with a final lease proposes a plan to assess the Buy Ephedrine T5 site’s potential and Buy Ephedrine T5 characteristics like meteorological and subsea conditions. BOEMRE must approve a Buy Ephedrine T5 developer’s site assessment plan before the Buy Ephedrine T5 developer can move forward with these evaluation activities onsite.

4. Construction and Buy Ephedrine T5 operation plan approval: after assessing the site, the developer must submit a Buy Ephedrine T5 detailed plan for constructing and operating offshore wind project on the Buy Ephedrine T5 lease site. Federal law requires developers to secure BOEMRE’s approval of this plan before developing a leased site.

This week’s environmental assessment represents its evaluation of the Buy Ephedrine T5 environmental impacts of the middle two steps in this process for Buy Ephedrine T5 the four mid-Atlantic zones: an analysis of the foreseeable impacts of issuing site leases and Buy Ephedrine T5 approving developers’ site assessment plans once leases are issued. Notably, BOEMRE’s environmental assessment is Buy Ephedrine T5 not an analysis of the impacts of approving the ultimate development of any site, nor is Buy Ephedrine T5 it an analysis of the impacts of any particular project.

Procedurally, the Buy Ephedrine T5 issuance of this document represents a step forward in the Department of the Buy Ephedrine T5 Interior’s “Smart from the Start” Atlantic wind energy initiative. But is it groundbreaking? Assessing the Buy Ephedrine T5 environmental impacts as general an agency action as issuing leases and Buy Ephedrine T5 approving site assessment plans is not necessarily a transformative analysis. The agency’s conclusion about air quality impacts illustrates the Buy Ephedrine T5 general nature of the findings:

Due to Buy Ephedrine T5 the short duration and low level of emissions associated with routine activities, potential impacts to Buy Ephedrine T5 onshore ambient air quality from the proposed action would be Buy Ephedrine T5 minor (less than 100 tons per year), if detectable in the relevant affected environment. Prevailing westerly (west to east flow) winds would prevent significant amounts of pollutant emissions from Buy Ephedrine T5 making it to onshore non-attainment areas from offshore areas and the Buy Ephedrine T5 WEAs.

Emissions associated with the Buy Ephedrine T5 proposed action in ports and harbors would be negligible, if detectable, due to Buy Ephedrine T5 the low volume of vessel activity in comparison to the volume of current human activity in and Buy Ephedrine T5 around these areas which emit pollution. Neither routine activities nor non-routine events in coastal waters or Buy Ephedrine T5 in the WEAs would significantly impact onshore air quality, including the Buy Ephedrine T5 Brigantine Wilderness Area Class I Area.

The draft environmental assessment makes parallel findings about impacts to Buy Ephedrine T5 water quality, concluding that “impacts from Buy Ephedrine T5 vessel discharges and sediment disturbance associated with the proposed action on harbors, ports, coastal areas and Buy Ephedrine T5 WEAs would be minor, if detectable.” Indeed, the Buy Ephedrine T5 draft reaches a similar conclusion that issuing leases and approving site assessment plans would have Buy Ephedrine T5 no significant impact on a laundry list of resources including coastal habitats, benthic resources, marine mammals, sea turtles, birds, bats, fish, recreation, economic development, navigation and Buy Ephedrine T5 shipping.

Moreover, the recently-released document is currently in draft form. BOEMRE is Buy Ephedrine T5 entertaining public comment on this draft environmental assessment through August 11, 2011. After a Buy Ephedrine T5 review of comments received, a final environmental assessment should be Buy Ephedrine T5 released shortly.

That document will establish the Buy Ephedrine T5 framework for lease issuance and site assessment for projects in the Buy Ephedrine T5 four mid-Atlantic zones covered here – like the NRG Bluewater Wind project proposed off Delaware.

Todd J. Griset practices energy law with Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios in Maine. He also writes a blog Order Valium Online No Prescription on offshore wind, renewable energy and policy issues.