Today, NOAA Fisheries announced proposed incidental take regulations, pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, to govern the incidental harassment of marine mammals related to the Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project offshore Rhode Island. These regulations would govern the “take” of small numbers of marine mammals exposed to elevated underwater noise generated by the project’s activities over a five-year period. Under power purchase agreements, the project would provide 704 megawatts of power to Rhode Island and Connecticut.
The public comment period on the proposed regulations will be open from December 23, 2022 through January 23, 2023. Documents associated with this proposed action, including information on how to submit a public comment, are available on our website. NOAA Fisheries has preliminarily determined that the project would have a negligible impact on all marine mammal species and stocks predicted to be in the project area. The proposed incidental take regulations would allow for the authorization of both Level A harassment (i.e., injury) and/or Level B harassment (i.e., behavioral disturbance) of small numbers of marine mammals during the five-year period. However, no Level A harassment (i.e., permanent loss of hearing sensitivity) for North Atlantic right whales is anticipated or proposed to be authorized. No mortality or serious injury is expected or proposed to be authorized. The proposed regulations include mandatory mitigation measures that avoid and minimize the impacts of the project’s activities on marine mammals and their habitat, as well as monitoring and reporting requirements to better understand those impacts. This regulatory action is part of NOAA’s ongoing work to ensure the nation’s robust deployment of offshore wind energy is done in a manner that avoids and minimizes risks to protected resources, habitats, and managed Fisheries.
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