On Jan. 8, 2024, BOEM announced the availability of its Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Draft PEIS) for potential development of six wind lease areas offshore New York and New Jersey in an area known as the New York Bight. On Jan. 12, 2024, BOEM published a notice of availability of the Draft PEIS, opening a 45-day public comment period that ended on Feb. 26, 2024.
BOEM subsequently extended the comment period until March 13, 2024, in response to requests from Tribal Nations and stakeholders.
Detailed information about the Draft PEIS, can be found on BOEM's website.
- Notice of Availability for New York Bight Draft PEIS (Docket No. BOEM-2024-0001)
- New York Bight Draft PEIS
Public Meeting Schedule
During the public comment period ending on March 13, 2024, BOEM held three in-person and two virtual public meetings.
The in-person meetings were held on/at:
- Feb. 5, 2024, North Dartmouth, Mass.
- Feb. 7, 2024, Stony Brook, N.Y
- Feb. 8, 2024, Toms River, N.J.
The two virtual meetings were held on:
- Jan. 31, 2024
- Feb. 13, 2024
- Public Meetings Introductory Video
The public comment period is now closed.
What is BOEM's mission?
BOEM is the bureau within the Department of the Interior that oversees the environmentally and economically responsible development of our energy and mineral resources on almost 2.5 billion acres of the nation’s Outer Continental Shelf, or OCS. All our activities are underlain by our robust environmental program, which ensures that we develop and use the best available science in our decision making.
We also consider public input to be a critical component of safe and responsible offshore resource management. We solicit public comments from a host of stakeholders and ocean users, including the fishing community, mariners, and coastal communities, in our environmental reviews and regulatory programs.
What is the process for finalizing BOEM’s decision on if any programmatic avoidance, minimization, mitigation and monitoring (AMMM) measures will be required as conditions of approval for New York Bight construction and operation plans (COPs)?
Following the comment period, BOEM will analyze all comments received during the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Draft PEIS) public comment period and will prepare a Final PEIS. After the Final PEIS is published, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires BOEM to wait a minimum of 30 days before issuing a Record of Decision (ROD). For BOEM’s decision, the ROD will state whether BOEM will require any AMMM measures as conditions of approval for activities proposed by NY Bight developers in their COPs, unless site-specific analyses show that these measures are no longer warranted or effective. The ROD may also direct additional analysis of certain AMMM measures in the site-specific analysis to determine whether application is appropriate.
How can stakeholders comment on this Draft PEIS?
The public comment period is now closed.
