Offshore WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition 2019

Sessions Speakers Exhibitors Floor Plan Buzz

e-Poster: Managing Regulatory Risk in the Offshore Environment (Room Station 2)

22 Oct 19
12:15 PM - 12:30 PM

Tracks: Siting, Wildlife & Environmental Monitoring

Developing commercial scale offshore wind facilities requires permits and authorizations from a multitude of agencies as well as buy-in from non-governmental organizations, regional and local stakeholders and Tribes. Dealing with these regulatory aspects in a siloed manner can lead to costly delays and erode trust between developer and regulatory agencies or stakeholders. This session examines ways developers can coordinate their planning process in the early phases and beyond to minimize regulatory surprises and stave off setbacks. Topics to be covered: 1. Preparing your Construction and Operation Plan (COP) for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) success: This topic addresses the role of developer’s COP as substantive record upon which NEPA analyses are made under new regulatory guidance. 2. Executive Order 13807 “One Federal Decision” (OFD): This topic addresses the process and challenges with integrating OFD into the regulatory review process. 3. Conducting meaningful tribal consultations: Tribal consultations are not included in the OFD process. This topic addresses gov't-to-gov't consultation and the timing of negotiations with affected Tribes. 4. Incidental Harassment Authorizations (IHAs) and the question of whether an IHA from NOAA Fisheries is needed, particularly for geophysical and geotechnical (G&G) surveys, has provided a lot of debate. This topic discusses the nature of this controversy, including known challenges and whether IHAs are worth the effort.