- Project Overview
- Leasing History
- Site Assessment Plan
- Construction and Operations Plan
- Environmental Review
What’s New
On March 22, 2024, BOEM announced that on March 25, 2024, it would publish a “Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Vineyard Northeast Project on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Massachusetts.” The publication of the Notice of Intent (NOI) will open a 45-day public comment period for the Vineyard Northeast Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) ending at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 9, 2024. The public scoping process is to identify issues and potential alternatives for consideration in the EIS.
- Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS (Docket No. BOEM 2024-0009)
- Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS; Corrections
- Construction and Operations Plan (COP) and Appendices (see Construction and Operations Plan Tab above)
During the open public comment period, BOEM will hold two virtual and two in-person public scoping meetings where the public can learn more about project, ask questions of BOEM experts, and provide oral comment. The public meetings will be held on the following dates and times. All times are Eastern.
Virtual meetings: (registration is required)
- Monday, April 15, 2024, 1:00 p.m.
Zoom Registration Link
- Monday, April 22, 2024, 5:00 p.m.
Zoom Registration Link
In-person meetings:
- Wednesday, April 17, 2024, 5:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Clarke Center Auditorium, Mitchell College, 682 Montauk Avenue, New London, CT 06320
- Thursday, April 18, 2024, 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Westport High School Cafeteria, 400 Old County Road, Westport, MA 02790
Following the comment period, BOEM will develop a scoping report using the comments received during the public scoping process to help identify important resources and issues, impact-producing factors, reasonable alternatives for consideration, and potential mitigating measures that should be analyzed in the Vineyard Northeast draft EIS. Following the conclusion of the scoping period and development of the scoping report, BOEM, in coordination with our cooperating agencies, will begin the development of the Draft EIS. Once the Draft EIS has been completed, a Notice of Availability will be posted in the Federal Register announcing the public review and comment period.
More information including what to expect at these public meetings and how to provide comments can be found in the Virtual Meeting Room.
On December 13-14, 2018, BOEM held a competitive lease sale (i.e., auction) for Wind Energy Areas offshore Massachusetts. The auction lasted 32 rounds. Equinor Wind US, LLC was identified as the winner of Lease Area OCS-A 0520 (128,811 acres), Mayflower Wind Energy, LLC was identified as the winner of Lease Area OCS-A 0521 (127,388 acres), and Vineyard Wind, LLC was identified as the winner of Lease Area OCS-A 0522 (132,370 acres).
The commercial wind energy MA Lease OCS a 0522 Package (boem.gov) went into effect on April 1, 2019.
On March 6, 2020, Vineyard Northeast LLC submitted a Site Assessment Plan (SAP) to BOEM for meteorological evaluations and site assessment. BOEM approved the SAP on July 1, 2022. The plan details the methods and procedures Vineyard Northeast LLC will use to collect and analyze meteorological and oceanographic data and information on the conditions of the marine environment within its commercial lease. Data collection will be performed using up to two meteorological buoys.
Volume I
Appendices
COP Volume I
- Appendix I-A Offshore Facilities Location Information
- Appendix I-B Geophysical Survey Equipment List
- Appendix I-C Hierarchy of Standards
- Appendix I-D Certified Verification Agent Nomination Package
- Appendix I-E Draft Safety Management System and Emergency Response Plan
- Appendix I-F Draft Oil Spill Response Plan
- Appendix I-G Meetings and Key Correspondence with Agencies, Tribes, and Municipalities
- Appendix I-H Native American Tribes Communication Plan
- Appendix I-I Fisheries Communication Plan
COP Volume II
- Appendix II-A Air Emissions Calculations and Methodology
- Appendix II-B Marine Site Investigation Report
- Appendix II-C Lease Area OCS-A 0522 Avian Assessment
- Appendix II-D Essential Fish Habitat Assessment
- Appendix II-E Vineyard Northeast Acoustic and Exposure Modeling
- Appendix II-F Economic Exposure of Commercial Fisheries
- Appendix II-G Navigation Safety Risk Assessment
- Appendix II-H Aviation Impact Assessment
- Appendix II-I Aircraft Detection Lighting System (ADLS) Efficacy Analysis
- Appendix II-J Seascape, Landscape, and Visual Impact Assessment
- Appendix II-K Historic Resources Visual Effects Assessment
- Appendix II-L Terrestrial Archaeological Resources Assessment
- Appendix II-M Coastal Zone Management Act Consistency Certifications
- Appendix II-N Zooplankton and Ichthyoplankton Entrainment Assessment
- Appendix II-O Magnetic Field (MF) Modeling Analysis
- Appendix II-P Sediment Dispersion Modeling
- Appendix II-Q Marine Archaeological Resources Assessment
- Appendix II-R Benthic Habitat Monitoring Plan Framework
- Appendix II-S Economic Impact Analysis
- Appendix II-T Preliminary Cable Burial Risk Assessment
On March 22, 2024, BOEM announced that on March 25, 2024, it would publish a “Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Vineyard Northeast Project on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Massachusetts.” The publication of the Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register, will open a 45-day public comment period for the Vineyard Northeast Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) ending at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 9, 2024. The public scoping process is to identify issues and potential alternatives for consideration in the EIS.
- Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS (Docket No. BOEM 2024-0009)
- Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS; Corrections
- Construction and Operations Plan (COP) and Appendices (see Construction and Operations Plan Tab above)
During the open public comment period, BOEM will hold two virtual and two in-person public scoping meetings where the public can learn more about the project, ask questions of BOEM experts, and provide oral comment. The public meetings will be held on the following dates and times. All times are Eastern.
Virtual meetings: (registration is required)
- Monday, April 15, 2024, 1:00 p.m.
Zoom Registration Link
- Monday, April 22, 2024, 5:00 p.m.
Zoom Registration Link
In-person meetings:
- Wednesday, April 17, 2024, 5:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Clarke Center Auditorium, Mitchell College, 682 Montauk Avenue, New London, CT 06320
- Thursday, April 18, 2024, 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Westport High School Cafeteria, 400 Old County Road, Westport, MA 02790
The in-person meetings will follow an informal, open-house format. Attendees can visit stations to view project information posters staffed by BOEM subject matter experts. The BOEM team can share information and answer questions in their areas of expertise. Attendees can also view a pre-recorded video presentation providing a project description, details regarding the National Environmental Policy Act (or NEPA) process, and BOEM’s approach to the analysis of the Construction and Operations Plan (or COP).
At the meetings, comments can be submitted by using a written form and/or providing recorded oral comment by meeting individually with a court reporter for up to five minutes each. The public can also submit comments during the open comment period, which ends at 11:59 pm Eastern on May 9, 2024, online at www.regulations.gov or by mail to BOEM.
If additional accommodations are needed for the in-person public meetings, please contact boempublicaffairs@boem.gov or call 571-363-7441 seven days prior to the in-person meeting date.
More information including what to expect at these public meetings and how to provide comments can be found in the Virtual Meeting Room.