The Oregon Coastal Management Program is currently reviewing the following project – Leasing of areas on the Outer Continental Shelf for purposes of offshore wind exploration- for consistency with the Program’s enforceable policies.
All public comments must be received within the public comment period from 5/2/24 to 6/15/24
SUBMIT A COMMENT
Comments may also be mailed to 635 Capitol St NE # 150, Salem, OR 97301. All comments must be received by 11:59 p.m. on June 15, 2024, the last day of the public comment period.
Federal Action:
Leasing of areas on the Outer Continental Shelf for purposes of offshore wind exploration
Federal Agency: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Public Comment Period: 5/2/24 to 6/15/24
Location: Leasing would occur within the Wind Energy Areas in federal waters offshore Brookings and Coos Bay, Oregon. Site assessment activities would occur within the lease areas and outside the lease areas within federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf. Activities within state territorial jurisdiction (i.e., between 0-3 nautical miles or within estuaries or onshore) would be reviewed as separate activities under existing federal, state, or local authorities.
Description: The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes to issue leases within the designated Oregon Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) for the purposes of exploring offshore wind energy development projects. As described in the Environmental Assessment (EA) and Consistency Decision (CD) documents prepared by BOEM and included with this Notice, the Proposed Action subject to the state’s review is:
- The issuance of one commercial wind energy lease and associated easements within the Coos Bay Wind Energy Area (WEA) and one lease within Brookings WEA. The issuance of a lease only grants the lessee the exclusive right to conduct site characterization activities and to submit to BOEM a Site Assessment Plan (SAP) and/or a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) at a future date.
- A reasonably foreseeable effect of the issuance of the leases is that lessees would conduct environmental and site characterization activities in the lease areas and on the Outer Continental Shelf, such as vessel surveys, geotechnical exploration of the seafloor, and placement of anchored meteorological buoys.
The Federal Consistency review will cover those actions within BOEM jurisdiction – namely, the activities that would occur on the Outer Continental Shelf outside of the state territorial sea boundary of 3 nautical miles offshore. However, the state also expects that lessees would conduct characterization activities within state waters, estuaries, or potentially onshore as a result of a BOEM lease decision. Actions outside of BOEM jurisdictional authority would be addressed by existing federal, state, or local authorities. Activities may require other federal permits, such as from the US Army Corps of Engineers, and would be subject to separate, future Federal Consistency reviews.
Additional details about the proposed action and its effects may be found in the EA and CD included with this Public Notice. BOEM has also issued a Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) with additional information regarding the specifics of its proposed lease stipulations, available on the BOEM website.
Under the reasonably foreseeable scenario, BOEM could issue leases in late 2024. Site Assessment Plans are expected to be submitted to BOEM within one year of lease issuance. For leases issued in late 2024, surveys could begin in spring of 2025. Lessees would have up to 5 years to perform site assessment activities before they must submit a COP. Therefore, BOEM expects site assessment activities could continue through early 2030 prior to a COP being submitted.
The decision to lease areas of the Outer Continental Shelf for offshore wind characterization and exploration activities does not equate to a decision to permit the construction or operation of an offshore wind development project. A BOEM decision whether to approve a Construction and Operations Plan for an actual wind energy facility would be subject to Federal Consistency review by the state at a later time, after years of additional site assessment and project design.
Community Meetings:
DLCD is hosting a series of in-person meetings in coastal Oregon and one virtual webinar to provide background information on the State’s review of the BOEM consistency determination. These meeting are an opportunity to share feedback with DLCD staff. Meetings are planned for the following locations and days:
- Brookings, OR – June 3, 2024
- Coos Bay, OR – June 4 or 5, 2024 (to be confirmed)
- Florence, OR – June 6, 2024
- Newport, OR – June 7, 2024
More information about these meetings will be posted on the DLCD website and through this email list serv. If you wish to receive future information about our work related to Offshore wind sign up here.
For access to the documents pertaining to federal activities, please visit the public notice website. For more information on federal consistency of federal activities, please visit the website.