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Today, NOAA Fisheries issued a final Biological Opinion on the SouthCoast offshore wind energy project to the federal action agencies including Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Biological Opinion considers the effects on threatened and endangered species of the construction, operation, and eventual decommissioning of the project off the coast of Massachusetts.
NOAA Fisheries concluded the proposed action is likely to adversely affect, but is not likely to jeopardize, the continued existence of any species of ESA-listed whales, sea turtles, or fish. It is not anticipated to adversely affect any designated critical habitat. NOAA Fisheries does not anticipate serious injuries to or mortalities of any ESA-listed whale including the North Atlantic right whale.
The proposed project includes a number of measures designed to minimize, monitor, and report effects to ESA-listed species. Additional measures are included through the Biological Opinion’s Incidental Take Statement. With the incorporation of the proposed mitigation measures, all effects to North Atlantic right whales will be limited to behavioral disturbance that constitutes “harassment” under the ESA, but not “harm.”
NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Protected Resources is also proposing to issue incidental take regulations pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which we evaluated in the Biological Opinion. A number of other federal permits and authorizations associated with the SouthCoast project are proposed and were analyzed in the Biological Opinion.
NOAA Fisheries will continue working closely with BOEM and other federal agencies to ensure the effects from the SouthCoast offshore energy project to NOAA Fisheries’ trust resources are minimized and monitored.
The Biological Opinion will be available online upon publication in our library in approximately 10 days.
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