The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Thursday published its final “NOI Checklist” guidelines intended to improve the permitting process for offshore wind farms.
Non-profit organisation the Business Network for Offshore Wind said that the NOI Checklist brings needed clarity and streamlines offshore wind environmental reviews.
The guidance identifies the threshold requirements for information that should be included in an offshore wind Construction and Operation Plan (COP) submission before BOEM will formally initiate the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) through publication of a Notice of Intent (NOI).
NOI Checklist stands for a checklist of information needed for issuance of an NOI under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for a COP.
According to Liz Burdock, founder and chief executive of the Business Network for Offshore Wind, “BOEM’s new guidelines will improve the process for all involved by providing clear guidance to developers, encouraging earlier cooperation between developers and stakeholder agencies, and helping to avoid delays once an NOI has been published.”
The NOI Checklist guidance can be viewed here: https://www.boem.gov/sites/default/files/documents/renewable-energy/state-activities/FINAL%20BOEM%20NOI%20Checklist%20_August%202023.pdf
Together with the checklist, BOEM published Marine Acoustic Modeling and Measurement Guidelines, or recommendations for acoustic and exposure models of impact pile-driving and sound-field measurements for offshore wind COPs.
