The reasonably foreseeable activities associated with the issuance of the commercial lease include a variety of surveys, including shallow hazards, geological, geotechnical, biological, and archaeological resource surveys. The impacts associated with NRG Bluewater conducting these surveys were analyzed in an Environmental Assessment (EA) published earlier this year, which resulted in a Finding of No Significant Impact.
Note: The lease does not grant the Lessee the right to construct any facilities in the lease area; rather, the lease grants the Lessee the right to use (e.g., survey) the leased area to develop its plans, which must subsequently be approved by BOEM. These plans may include a Site Assessment Plan (SAP) and/or a Construction and Operations Plan (COP). If the Lessee submits a COP describing the installation and operation of wind turbines in the lease area, BOEM will prepare a separate site- and project-specific NEPA analysis.