Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Assessment for Additional Site Assessment Activities on Beacon Wind, LLC's Renewable Energy Lease OCS-A 0520

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announces the availability of a final environmental assessment (EA) and its finding that additional site assessment activities in Lease Area OCS-A 0520 offshore Massachusetts will not significantly impact the environment. Beacon Wind, LLC (Beacon Wind), the leaseholder, requested to conduct the additional activities in the lease area, which were not analyzed in the initial EA titled "Commercial Wind Lease Issuance and Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Massachusetts" (2014 EA). This final EA analyzed the potential environmental impacts of the proposed additional site assessment activities. Those activities comprise 35 deployments and removals of a single suction bucket foundation at 26 locations within the lease area to gather engineering information to inform Beacon Wind's foundation design for wind turbines and offshore substations. This EA will inform BOEM's decision whether to approve Beacon Wind's site assessment plan (SAP) amendment for suction bucket foundation testing.